Boston College Master's Entry

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I was recently accepted to the BC Master's Entry program (family specialty) that starts in August. Are there any current BC students who would be willing to post about their experiences? How are the faculty? How are the clinical placements? Best/worst parts of the program?

Thanks!

Nicks...are you from here originally?

I am pretty sure I am going to BC as well; I have absolutely loved every person from thte program w.whom I have been in contact:heartbeat

What specialty are you looking at?

I am from Milton, MA and its looking like I will be living with my parents the first year.I am going to specialize in Adult health. By the way have you recieved a financial aid package yet? I still have to submit my grad student app, they really have not been explicit in their directions regarding financial aid compared to other schools.

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i hear ya about living at home with the parents; ill be doing the same; i live in medfield. when did you graduate from high school, if you grew up there. i have cousins who live there.

did you go to college aroud here? are you working now?

i also have not heard anything about financial aid...ugh...but need to contact someone. i also havent submitted my deposit check so maybe thats why:)

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i hear ya about living at home with the parents; ill be doing the same; i live in medfield. when did you graduate from high school, if you grew up there. i have cousins who live there.

did you go to college aroud here? are you working now?

i also have not heard anything about financial aid...ugh...but need to contact someone. i also havent submitted my deposit check so maybe thats why:)

Milton high 2003 and I went to an engineering school in Albany, NY called RPI. I'm working as a full time medical assistant at a Beth Israel affiliated primary care clinic.

It seems as though the onous is on us to straighten out the financial aid situation. The financial aid office offers up to approx $20,000 worth of federal loans per year, no scholarship or private funds through school. In order to recieve financial aid you would have to have already submitted a fasfa and need to complete the graduate financial aid application by april(on BC student services site). If you need help answering any of the questions regarding program logistics on the app I can help. Have fun with your financial aid!:bugeyes:

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we already woudl have had to have submitted the fafsa? where does it say that? what other financial aid info do you ahve? who did you call?

sorry im freaking out!

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we already woudl have had to have submitted the fafsa? where does it say that? what other financial aid info do you ahve? who did you call?

sorry im freaking out!

Sorry didn't mean to freak you out. Go to the student services site on BCs website, click on financial services, under the brown graduate students tab click "where do i begin", this will bring you to a page that covers the fasfa and application. I think you may have until 3/15 to get the fasfa done. I would call financial aid office about this. The financial aid phone # is wrong on the website, so you will need to call the main BC # to get the right #. Let me know how it goes and good luck.

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HI Nicks, thanks for the info. BC does seem like a great choice, like you said it does depend on the student. I have to do more research. I do like northeasterns approach but the program may be too long for me. Anyway I am going to be volunteering at a hospital now every week at least for 4 hours. I had an interveiw and the Nurse Manager asked where I wanted to volunteer. I have no idea! I may start with ICU, I told her I thought patient care would be best, and she did say I could also learn a lot in the ER. Tough choice, for sure. BTW I am on the Cape.

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Specializes in allergy and asthma, urgent care.

Hey Kate,

Sorry it took so long to get back to you. Been busy studying, lol!! I don't think it's lame to live at home...you need to do what makes your life easier. I'm "older" and have kids of my own, so my perspective may be a little different. But I'm willing to bet at least some of my classmates would like to be living at home, having meals cooked for them, and having their families around them. The commute can be a pain, but it's tolerable. I think you'll be pretty happy if you decide to go to BC.

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Specializes in allergy and asthma, urgent care.

Whew...so glad to hear that people got NP jobs without any other nursing experience. I'm planning on going full time straight through and was concerned about this. Thanks for sharing your experience.

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Hi! I recently got into BC's DE program and am leaning towards going there... I have heard from some people it is hard to get a job as an NP after graduating and some people say the program is too theory based... thoughts?

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Specializes in allergy and asthma, urgent care.

Hi and congratulations on your acceptance. I honestly don't think the program is too theory based. We were put into clinicals the 3rd week of school, and haven't stopped since! We'll be doing 120 hours of clinical this summer, and then anywhere from 500-650 hours of clincial next year based on your specialty. I personally think the theory is important. You need it to pass the NCLEX, and it helps you understand how to make care decisions. The theory part is very fast paced and compressed, and that may not be right for some people. I've heard different things about getting jobs as an NP. It seems that it can be difficult to get a job in a major teaching hospital without experience, but not so difficult to get a job in a clinic or private practice. People seem to happen upon opportunites through their NP clinical placements. Worst case scenario, I'll work as an RN for a year and then look for an NP job. I'll still be paid well, and it's good experience. it's not my preference, but it beats unemployment!

Good luck!

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Hello All,

I have been accepted to both MGH and BC. I've done some research and emailed a few students. It sounds like BC's program is very intense, fast-paced, and overwhelming. However, the majority of students I've talked to seem to have chosen BC for that reason, because it's short and less expensive (relatively). Students do claim that they do feel adequately prepared to become NP's. However I am curious to hear the reasons why you all have chosen BC. Would anyone be kind enough to share the reasons for their decisions? (People in the same boat as me; trying to decide between MGH and BC would be especially helpful).

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Hi,

I graduated from BC's DE program and had the same concerns about the time frame as others on this post. However, I ended up choosing it because it was the least amount of credits (and thus least amount of money) than other schools. Also, it's possible to do the NP portion part-time (which is what I did and gained experience as an RN). Overall, the program is well-respected and I know several of my classmates who are actually working as NP's after graduation (without ever working as nurses first). If you guys have any questions, feel free to ask!

Do a lot of people in bc's program work part time as an RN during the NP portion. Also, you got paid for that right? Were you able to register for enough credits to keep your loans in deferment? Did you think that experience made you a more marketable job candidate than your peers for an NP position? Are you happy you made that decision? Will I ever stop asking questions?:uhoh3:

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