Anyone out there Vanderbilt?

I'm scheduled to begin in the fall but can't tell you anything yet. Have you applied or are you just thinking about it?

I am going in the fall also, sorry I can't tell you anything either.

I don't want to be a downer here, but working in middle Tennessee you hear things. I didn't go to Vanderbilt and don't have first hand knowledge of the program but the word in the area among the other NPs I know and the physicians I work with is not good.

Specifically the negative comments were about the MSN bridge program.

It was a bit of a surprise seeing as the university itself seems to enjoy an excellent reputation.

ERNP...I have heard rumblings of this on the Tennessee State website through allnurses....

I have a friend who graduated from their psych np program 1 year ago. She really like it, and obtained a great job in Arizona upon graduation. BTW, she was a Fine Arts major, was our class valedictorian, never worked as a BSN, went straight to NP school.

I ultimately decided not to go as they do not offer FNP as a distance option, only adult.

I am going in the fall also, sorry I can't tell you anything either.

I'm going in the fall too! YAYYYY:lol2:

Hey Kalin!! Congrats on your house today! I am glad you made it home ok.

I personally would LOVE to go to the vandy MSN bridge program. How the HECK do you come up with $30k/year to attend. If I could figure that out, I'd be applying instead of typing this.

K

Well personally, I am taking out many many loans. But I figure that it will pay off in the long run when I am making great money as a NP and doing something I love. Student loans have a very low interest rate and you don't have to start paying them off until 6 months after you graduate, so they give you time to breathe. Plus they approve you based on your financial need and give you extra money for spending money, living expenses, etc. Luckily I have no debt going in to it, so that helps too. All in all I think I will have about 90k in loans!!!

I would have to take out loans as well. Did Vandy's fin aid dept help you get all of it ready? I've been reading about the "alternative" loans, other than the 10,500-18,500 available through stafford but I still have trouble figuring it all out. I think finances have been my biggest struggle through school. How bad is that??? A BS in Business and can't get financial aid figured out. lol

K

K, Vandy's Fin Aid dept was very helpful. I had never taken loans out before. I was in your shoes too when I had to take out loans. I was scared that I wouldn't know how to do it. But trust me, they want you to pay the money to go there, so they will walk you through it.

I graduated from Vandy in 2004 as an FNP from their bridge program. My background had been in many different areas of women's health - infertility to family planning to gynecologic oncology, from front desk to rooming patients/assisting with procedures, etc. I have mixed feelings about the program, although I do feel I was fairly well prepared and am now working at a job with a loan repayment program. I live in Washington state, and not many people know about Vandy's program, but the name sure carries some respect!

While I was in Nashville, I did hear many negative opinions about Vandy's program. There seems to be several problems, from resistance to the "direct entry" idea, to feelings that the program moved too quickly to possibly cover everything. Nashville has so many different NP programs, as well as PA programs, that opinions abound.

I was shocked when I started the program at how little "real world" experience my classmates had. I am an older student, and there were students who were not even finished with college (Vandy accepts their own undergrads after three years in a special program), as well as several who were straight out of college with no background in human services. Also, the classes for the "direct entry" program are getting larger and larger every year, and it begins to have an almost "puppy mill" feel - they're accepting more and more people so they can say they're one of the largest programs. Not always the best thing.

I graduated, and moved back to Oregon, where I was required to work as an RN for 364 hours before I could sit for the certification exam, so before working as an NP I did have experience as an RN. This did help, but I do not feel it was absolutely invaluable for me.

The program is fast, and the work is hard, and just like everything, it is what you make out of it.

And don't worry about the loans. It is expensive, but the potential is so good that it's totally worth it.