Columbia ETP accepted student profile

[chicurious]

Hi- I'm new on the site. I have tried my best to read the 60+ page post on Columbia's ETP. I'll continue going through it.

I wanted to hear from accepted applicants or current students. If folks are comfortable listing their basic information in terms of acceptance- GRE scores, GPA, work experience, bi/multi-lingualism, amount of health care related experience.

I'm trying to get an idea of whether I'm a competitive candidate or not. I have a good friend that did the program a few years ago, but now I'm anxious about my chances particularly because of the increase of apps due to the economic crisis. Anyone that has an idea of what the incoming classes are like, please comment on my competitiveness.

So...

- GREs- Verbal 530, Quantitative 570, Writing 5

- GPA- 3.34

- Work experience- 5 years in world of social justice- social worker and organizer, volunteered in Latin America for over a year.

- Fluent in Spanish.

- No health care experience, other than many interviews with nurses (in order to have a better idea as to what area I'd be most interested in)

- I expect to get strong recommendations, from an academic, professional and personal source each.

Thanks for any perspective.

[CharmedJ7]

In my view you sound like a good candidate. I got into Columbia, the FNP track, so if it helps I can give you my stats:

-GREs: 660 verbal, 760 math, 5.5 writing (I don't think this helps much though, I just test well)

-Undergrad: I went to a prestigious school for undergrad and am graduating with a 3.6 in biomedical science and humanistic studies. I completed my pre-reqs as part of my undergrad program, but I'd guess my GPA was around a 3.7 in those. I also had some research experience from undergrad

-Work experience: I don't have much work experience since I'm just finishing my undergrad, but I've had some leadership positions with various age groups which I think helped me a bit since I went for FNP

-Language: I'm bilingual, french and english, but I don't know how much that helps. Speaking Spanish would likely be more useful in the States.

-Healthcare experience: None really, but I do volunteer work with a social services and health center and I've done some training with the first aid society at my school.

-References: I had ok references, nothing amazing since I went to a large school

If it helps, I also got into Yale.

I think Columbia accepts all types, and I think you have a good shot. Good luck!

[chicurious]

Thanks for your response and encouragement. Perhaps what I lack in terms of your GRE scores and GPA, I can make up for with my work experience, Spanish language skills and (now volunteering at a hospital) health care experience. :)