I'm getting ready to apply to the Columbia's ETP for 2010. I was just wondering who else was applying and what you were doing to make your application stronger! Also where else are you applying and what do your stats look like (GPA, GRE, experience, etc) ? I'm getting nervous as I start the whole application process and just thought I'd turn to the forums for some support and guidance!
I'm looking forward to sharing the journey with y'all! Hope to hear from you soon! :)
Glad to hear I'm not the only one in this situation! Here are my thoughts:
Yale - I really like their faculty, I like that the campus is (more or less) all in one place so we can study in the undergrad libraries, use the gym, etc. without a long commute, the admissions process was VERY friendly, open, and honest, which I think represents the attitude of the administration, and they clearly have a very strong academic program. My biggest worry is the process of getting your RN seems a bit more frustrating in CT (you have to attend 4 semesters of classes before sitting for the NCLEX, so when you finally take the exam you are already in your first specialty year) and based on what I have heard virtually no one takes time off between the 1st year and the masters portion, which I think I might want to do. It also sounded like they have a harder time securing quality clinicals in the appropriate specialty areas nearby, which is what causes the hour-long commutes.
Columbia - I am worried more about how frustrating it will be to live in NYC as a student that I am about the overall cost of living. New York is such an amazing city and to be living on a student budget and not able to afford to try the amazing restaurants, go to shows, etc. might kill me! That said, I think they have a very strong program and all the clinicals are close by - no car required. When I visited I was disappointed in the campus - it really doesn't have much to it and is more focused on the hospital than anything else. The Columbia undergrad campus is gorgeous but not so close that I would be inclined to take the subway down to use it regularly. I haven't talked to any Columbia students first hand, but from what I've read online there are mixed feelings about both the quality and the cost of the program. I really like that they give you a BSN and that they will allow you to take time off in between and/or do the master's portion part time.
Hopkins - I haven't visited yet, but I am very impressed with everything I have heard about their program. I have heard from several graduates and current students and they seem to really have an enthusiasm for the program that students at Yale and Columbia don't seem to share share. The kind of "OMG Hopkins is such a wonderful place I've learned so much" attitude seems to be very prevalent at Hopkins, whereas at Yale everyone seemed a bit more shaky about their first year experience (despite the fact that they've learned a lot). I not too concerned that I won't like Baltimore - from what I hear it has lots of beautiful historic buildings (which I love) and tons of art and live music - the part about it being sketchy doesn't bother me so much, since I've lived in pretty bad urban neighborhoods before. I'd love to hear input from anyone who has been there in person - I'll be going next week for admitted students day so hopefully I'll have some more input then.
I was planning to wait for financial aid decisions before deciding on a school, but Hopkins wants their decision about 2 weeks earlier than Columbia or Yale, so I have some quick thinking to do!
For those of you deciding between Columbia and Yale, I have to back up sportsgirlly on her comment about New Haven. I lived/work in New Haven and hate New Haven! I would choose NYC over New Haven any day. I don't think New Haven and NYC are even comparable when it comes to culture or experience. Also, when I started applying to direct entry programs, I shadowed three NP's who graduated from Yale's program. None of them recommended Yale's program and said if you could get in elsewhere to go there (wherever there was). From what I can remember, they thought the program was disorganized and I don't think they felt like they got the best education. Just my two cents!
Hey everyone trying to decide between Columbia, Hopkins, Yale, etc...
I will just give my quick take on Hopkins and living in Baltimore. I did my MPH there in 2007-2008. The Public Health school is located on the medical campus with the Nursing and Med School. Its a similar situation to Columbia... the undergrad campuses are much nicer and in safer areas then the medical campuses.
Anyway, Baltimore is definitely no NYC. Everyone knows that NYC is one of the greatest cities in the world culturally, etc. However, Baltimore is really fun and has a lot of different cute neighborhoods. I met some really cool people... there are fun bars, good sports, festivals, etc. going on. Living there is so cheap... I lived in a shared house close to the undergrad campus for $500/month. They have a Hopkins shuttle from the undergrad campus (with some stops along the way in other good neighborhoods to live in) to the med campus that I took all the time. I brought my car, but really rarely used it (if your clinicals are all over the city though, you may need a car since the public transport is not great).
I think the safety level is all what you are used to. Baltimore's safety literally changes block by block. Some neighborhoods I felt fine walking alone at night, others I would never go in during the day. You figure out where to stay away from pretty quick. Its a diverse city, but its very segregated, which is sort of weird to witness. And realistically it is one of the scariest cities in America and has crazy crime rates. There are literally police helicopters flying around all the time. People who are from there say that the HBO show "The Wire" is a pretty accurate portrayal.
I heard mixed reviews from my fellow students who were in the combined nursing/MPH program. Some loved the nursing school and some not so much. There is definitely the feeling of "OMG this is HOPKINS" there. Plenty of cool people, but also some "interesting" attitudes... not snobbish, but maybe a "I'm a smarty pants and I know it" thing... if that makes sense.
When I did my MPH I was deciding between Hopkins and Columbia... now its between Columbia and staying in California, which is a hard one for me. I'm getting that "its now or never" feel about getting to live in New York.
Good luck to everyone making your decisions. Its a great place to be in, having such excellent choices. Congrats to everyone.
The $30k scholarship sounds like a big deal, but you'll still have around $80k leftover to pay in the first year when tuition, fees, and cost of living are factored in. A bit less if you live in the dorms.
So yes, nearly everyone gets the scholarship, but no, that doesn't make the pricetag reasonable. Be sure you really want this career and be sure Columbia is offering you something you can't get elsewhere. The name of the school probably isn't a good enough reason. I'm here because they were offering a dual specialty I wanted that is only offered at a few schools, but after this year it's no longer an option.
Overall the education is strong, clinical placements are diverse, and classmates are (mostly) bright and capable.
But many NP programs are ranked higher and cost less, so don't just get pulled in by the Columbia name if you really think you can get an equivalent experience elsewhere.
As a current student... can you shed some light on the dual specialty thing? I'm accepted for WHNP, and am wondering if I would maybe be able to add on Family NP or Midwifery. Or are they making students pick one specialty and stick to it (with only the option of the sub-specialties)? A HUGE factor for me to end up picking Columbia will be their flexibility.
It's my understanding that they will not offer any dual specialties to anyone starting a master's after the Fall of 2010. Unless you're already an RN only coming to Columbia to start your Master's, I believe it won't be an option for you. Especially the midwifery leadership is not supportive of dual specialty with WHNP, because as a CNM you already are prepared to do primary GYN care that an NP does (I've heard them say this specifically).
Double check with the school to be certain, but this is what they've told us. I was told if I took a year off after the ETP year I could no longer do the dual, even though I was accepted into the program with that intent.
Also worth noting is that I believe the reason they've stopped offering the dual option had something to do with the certifying bodies outside the university. I don't know the details, but I got the impression it was somehow out of their control, so other schools may only be offering such dual programs for a limited time, too.
Hope that helps. If you are dead-set on this dual thing, you would still have the option of doing one full program and then staying or coming back to do the other (doubling your years in school to get two master's degrees). Also, a Family NP specialty should prepare you to work with women, it just wouldn't be as specialized as the WHNP.
Good luck with this decision!
I know it's exciting and stressful and overwhelming, but I'm sure you'll figure out what's right for you.
Over the summer, the whole group of ETP students is together in one lecture hall for every class. So that's, give or take, 200 students. These are core courses like Advanced Physiology, Pharmacology, and some Intro to Nursing type stuff. The instructors are, for the most part, actually quite good at making this format work, but you know yourself and how you learn better than anybody. They're available for 1-on-1 time if you need it and they have capable TAs to bear part of the burden. There are a couple of lab classes where we practiced physical assessment and other skills - in these you're with maybe 20 students and work in pairs or small groups.
In the next phase of the program, for classes that introduce nursing specialties (psych, pediatrics, OB, etc.) we're split into five groups, so classes have about 40 students. Much more discussion, more intimate, less straight lecture. There's still one class in the fall that everyone takes together, but by then you're used to the amphitheater format.
After that phase, you're on your own. One-on-one with a nurse in the hospital for the last eight weeks of the program. I didn't mention it, but in the other clinical placements, from the start throughout, you'll be in groups of about eight students. That's always felt pretty good to me, definitely not too large to get help or attention if you need it, but also large enough that you can be independent because your instructor isn't constantly harping on you.
I have no idea how that compares to other schools.
Thank you so much, anandam, for your insightful and timely responses.
I am trying not to harp on cost excessively, given that I think I will come out of school with debt no matter where I attend, but you did mention that the pricetag for Columbia seems unreasonable to you. Yet, I thought that it really isn't that different from other schools of similar ranking and caliber? Do you find this to be untrue? Also a previous poster mentioned that her sister attended the program and opted to work and go to school part-time and came out of school with very little debt. I am wondering whether there are many students who choose this option or whether it is a fairly rare occurrence.
Thank you so much for your breakdown of class size, as it varies over the course of the year. It was extremely helpful, and also calming for me - as I was concerned about the large class sizes.
I know this is a very subjective question, but overall, would you say you are happy with your experience and education at Columbia?
No problem! We've got massive snow today so class was cancelled and I'm just doing work in the house with some cocoa :) I get email alerts when people respond, so it's easy to be quick.
On the cost thing, you might be right. I haven't carefully examined the cost of programs at many other schools, because the program I wanted wasn't offered many other places. In general, I tend to think education in the US is not priced reasonably. I also paid nothing for my undergraduate education, so $100k for a year, even if it's partly covered by scholarship, sounds absurd to me. UCSF was one that I remember being less expensive, but it's also public, which obviously changes things. I'm also aware of Accelerated BSN programs at various public universities that are much less expensive, but if you want to go straight through to a master's, that isn't an option.
It sounds like you've done more research than I have - so if the cost per credit is similar someplace else, I imagine it would be comparable overall. Rent in NYC is relatively high, but varies significantly by neighborhood and I think the cost of living anywhere without income is going to be significant.
As for working during your Master's, it depends on your specialty. Anesthesia and Neonatal require a year off to work, so you'll be paying your loans back in part during that time. I believe Family, Pediatrics, and Adult all encourage working at least part-time during the program and I assume most people do. Midwifery strongly discourages working. I'm not sure about Psych and others.
Overall, yes, I'm happy that I'm here. Over the summer I was disappointed with a couple of instructors and with some whiny classmates who didn't seem prepared and complained about the workload. Probably they could be more selective about who they accept. A number of students, especially the ones straight out of college, seem clueless and overwhelmed in the first months. I'd only been out of college four years, but I think those early 20s years involve a lot of change and maturing that helps with time (and life) management. Anyway, now that I'm near the end of the year looking back, I am definitely pleased with Columbia. The administration is responsive to our complaints and requests, the instructors all really care about nursing and about their students, we're expected to learn a lot very quickly and are evaluated fairly, and being in NY really exposes us to a wide patient population in good teaching hospitals. I feel prepared to take the NCLEX and pass it. I have felt adequately challenged but never overwhelmed.
A note - I would recommend researching the director of your intended specialty program. You'll be spending a lot of time with him/her and if someone better for you, more in sync with your interests, is at another school, you should go there. If you can find students already in the master's portion, or contact the program directly, it could help clarify things. I've heard individual complaints about personality conflicts and that seems like such a bummer when you're spending so much time, energy, and money on a career mission.
Thank you so much! All of your information is incredibly helpful. I hope you enjoy your snow day, and I am certainly grateful that you spent some of it with newly accepted students. :)
I am particularly intrigued by your point about looking into the directors of the specialty programs. I think it's a great idea. I will be FNP, and it looks like the director at Columbia for the FNP specialty is Elizabeth K Hall. I look into it and see what I can find out about her, as a director.
pasitch
8 Posts
Glad to hear I'm not the only one in this situation! Here are my thoughts:
Yale - I really like their faculty, I like that the campus is (more or less) all in one place so we can study in the undergrad libraries, use the gym, etc. without a long commute, the admissions process was VERY friendly, open, and honest, which I think represents the attitude of the administration, and they clearly have a very strong academic program. My biggest worry is the process of getting your RN seems a bit more frustrating in CT (you have to attend 4 semesters of classes before sitting for the NCLEX, so when you finally take the exam you are already in your first specialty year) and based on what I have heard virtually no one takes time off between the 1st year and the masters portion, which I think I might want to do. It also sounded like they have a harder time securing quality clinicals in the appropriate specialty areas nearby, which is what causes the hour-long commutes.
Columbia - I am worried more about how frustrating it will be to live in NYC as a student that I am about the overall cost of living. New York is such an amazing city and to be living on a student budget and not able to afford to try the amazing restaurants, go to shows, etc. might kill me! That said, I think they have a very strong program and all the clinicals are close by - no car required. When I visited I was disappointed in the campus - it really doesn't have much to it and is more focused on the hospital than anything else. The Columbia undergrad campus is gorgeous but not so close that I would be inclined to take the subway down to use it regularly. I haven't talked to any Columbia students first hand, but from what I've read online there are mixed feelings about both the quality and the cost of the program. I really like that they give you a BSN and that they will allow you to take time off in between and/or do the master's portion part time.
Hopkins - I haven't visited yet, but I am very impressed with everything I have heard about their program. I have heard from several graduates and current students and they seem to really have an enthusiasm for the program that students at Yale and Columbia don't seem to share share. The kind of "OMG Hopkins is such a wonderful place I've learned so much" attitude seems to be very prevalent at Hopkins, whereas at Yale everyone seemed a bit more shaky about their first year experience (despite the fact that they've learned a lot). I not too concerned that I won't like Baltimore - from what I hear it has lots of beautiful historic buildings (which I love) and tons of art and live music - the part about it being sketchy doesn't bother me so much, since I've lived in pretty bad urban neighborhoods before. I'd love to hear input from anyone who has been there in person - I'll be going next week for admitted students day so hopefully I'll have some more input then.
I was planning to wait for financial aid decisions before deciding on a school, but Hopkins wants their decision about 2 weeks earlier than Columbia or Yale, so I have some quick thinking to do!
Please share any further inputs you have . . .