Anyone applying to Yale for Fall 2012? (MSN)

RNcDreams · Aug 20, 2011

... that's a really good question! I don't have any idea. I'll have to poke around and see what I can dig up.

It never occurred to me that they might do that. Hm.

angelalala · Oct 2, 2011

I still haven't decided whether it would be ridiculous for me to apply for the graduate entry program? My stats are pretty on-par with the ones posted above, plus I will by then have a previous Master's degree (psychology), but I almost feel silly asking my professors to write me recommendations to YALE?

Plus, I can't afford it. Things to consider.

LookingAhead · Oct 2, 2011

angelalala - if you really can't afford it, personally I think you probably shouldn't apply. It's a disastrous job market out there, and Yale is one of the most expensive programs around. There are many other good routes to an MSN.

But if you can find a way to make it work financially, and it's what you really want, don't let the name-brand aspect of it deter you - and certainly don't be embarrassed to ask your professors for recommendations as if you're not good enough! Yale is just a school, intimidating though the name may sound.

RNcDreams · Oct 2, 2011

LookingAhead-- I'm on the fence about the cost thing! Is a high quality/noteworthy program something that's going to work to your benefit when it comes time to get hired? I've been leaning this way. Plus you mentioned the tough job market. I feel like maybe a degree from a really well known, competitive school might make you stand out in a pool of applicants. Thoughts?

LookingAhead · Oct 2, 2011

RNcDreams - I've just applied for programs myself (I did decide to apply to Yale), so I'm no expert, but I've tried to get a lot of advice from NPs in the process thus far.

Basically, it seems that going though a very well-regarded program is a help in getting a job - but only to a point. I've been told that it's really important to network your behind off during the program, and to treat your clinicals like auditions for a job. The ideal situation, of course, is to get hired by a place where you've done clinicals during the program, which is why it's also ideal to attend a program in a place where you really want to live and work.

All that said, it really depends on what your plan is for funding your education - how much scholarship money do you anticipate receiving? How much money in loans? - and what the salaries are like for NPs in the area where you want to work. If you come out of the program with $70K in debt, for example, do you have a specific plan for how you're going to pay it off, and how long that will take? Might you want to work in a federally qualified underserved facility for a few years, and have your debt forgiven? Those opportunities aren't limitless. Do you have a safety net if you can't find a job for 9 months?

These are the kinds of questions I've been encouraged to ask myself, and the kind of salary information I've been told to research. Ultimately, if you can lay out a spreadsheet with dollar amounts documenting where your anticipated program funding is going to come from, what your salary prospects are afterwards, how you'll pay off debt and what your safety nets are, that can help make the decision for you.

Good luck!

RNcDreams · Oct 2, 2011

LookingAhead-- Thank you for sharing that! Really good questions to guide the process. My only debt is for my undergraduate degree. I still owe about $35,000. I know-- not good. However, I own my car, I rent, and I have zero credit card debt. I don't have kids and I'm willing to move around for a bit, so the "underserved area" concept is certainly an option for me. I'm between areas right now in the geographic sense, but I'd ultimately choose a higher quality or better-fit program over one that happens to be where I want to live, if it means a better preparation. Siiiigh. So many factors!

Basically I'm trying to figure out if taking on another $70K in loans will be worth it, if it means going to a noteworthy program that is perceived to be of high quality. I'm only doing this once (on my dollar, anyway) so I want to do it right-- even if that means living on a shoestring budget when I graduate to start paying the loans down.

GAH!

angelalala · Oct 2, 2011

Don't feel too bad: I owe more than that on my undergraduate alone, plus I have another Masters to pay off:/ I definitely plan to look for a public service position (anywhere!) to get some of this forgiven. I'm in it so deep now, though, that I feel like I have to go to school forever in order to keep deferring my student loans.

The networking aspect is a good point: I don't really see myself living in New Haven forever (though I haven't spent a lot of time there; perhaps I'd love it). UIC is my first choice, really, because I love Chicago and I like the way their program is set up (plus, it's a lot cheaper than some other options). I am also applying to some ADN programs that I may be able to pay for in cash, then get a second Masters after I get a job.

RNcDreams · Oct 2, 2011

angelala-- Is the Graduate Entry program the one for non-nurses that allows them to ultimately obtain a bachelors and a master's?

I'd be going just for a Graduate (MSN) degree, so a little bit of a different scenario, but still... holy debt.

I keep reminding myself that every other lawyer and business major out there with debt isn't suffering or in a terrible place-- they're getting along, and we will too!

angelalala · Oct 2, 2011

Yes, well, some of them. Some don't award a Bachelor's at all: just an RN + Masters. That's the route I pretty much have to go since I don't have enough undergrad financial aid left to get a second bachelors.

I've just accepted that student loans are going to be part of my life for a long time, if not forever.