Columbia ETP 2015

NMW1982 · Feb 10, 2015

I talked to someone in the financial aid office and they told me that the average amount of student debt after you complete the ETP program is roughly $280,000!!! Full stop. $280,000!

And apparently even if you MAXED out all of the scholarships Columbia offers, the minimum amount of debt you will have is still going to be roughly $240,000!!! This number is just insane to me. It doesn't cost this much to go to medical school. Why should nursing school cost more?

How many years will I have to work just to break even on the cost of tuition??? Crazy...

snoozyd, NP · Feb 10, 2015

What the heck???! I'm guessing that's the reality of the cost of living for those of us not native to the area. Woof. That's rough.

pave · Feb 10, 2015

Wow, thank you for finding out that terrifying info! I'm having trouble deciding between here or PA school, is anyone else by chance having the same dilemma?

DoulaMe · Feb 10, 2015

What the what? Stupid numbers.

DoulaMe · Feb 10, 2015

I don't think that is tuition. I think the tuition is around $150K. It's living off of student loans in NYC, I would guess. Sweet baby Bartholomew, I will be paying my loans in the assisted living home.

genequeen · Feb 10, 2015

I can't imagine it really costing that much, that's wild. No sense in worrying until we get the real numbers.

heatitup0000 · Feb 10, 2015

Those numbers can't be right. Like DoulaMe said: tuition and fees (including health insurance) come out to about 150k for 3 years. Assuming you have a nice apartment off campus and pay 1000 a month that 30k for 2.5 years. Assuming you like to eat out a lot and want to explore the night life, transportation, etc. ~200 dollars a week still comes outs to about 28k over 2.5 years. So if you are living in luxury with no scholarship money the total is about 208k. I think that if you live frugally enough, on top of the scholarships they offer, you can get that number way down.

Here's a link to the tuition info

Tuition and Fees | School of Nursing

DivaliciousMe85 · Feb 10, 2015

I talked to someone in the financial aid office and they told me that the average amount of student debt after you complete the ETP program is roughly $280,000!!! Full stop. $280,000!
And apparently even if you MAXED out all of the scholarships Columbia offers, the minimum amount of debt you will have is still going to be roughly $240,000!!! This number is just insane to me. It doesn't cost this much to go to medical school. Why should nursing school cost more?
How many years will I have to work just to break even on the cost of tuition??? Crazy...

I'm wondering if they meant FULL amount from this program and our first bachelor's degree. $240,000 seems way too high for just the BSN/MSN, even with living expenses. I know, for me, I'm already in about $100,000 worth of school debt because of my undergraduate and graduate degrees. So after Columbia, $240,000 seems like a realistic number for me - if I add up EVERYTHING.

jessiepaige · Feb 10, 2015

Does anyone know how many people are in the cohort at Columbia?

Lisa93 · Feb 10, 2015

Hey guys! I was just accepted to Columbia's ETP practice for the anesthesia specialty! Did anybody else get in, specifically for this specialty?

bri20 · Feb 10, 2015

I'm in the same position! What are your thoughts?

KTheHuman · Feb 10, 2015

Yikes!! 200k+ in debt!? Unbelievable and totally believable at the same time. But as aforementioned, no sense in worrying until we get the actual numbers. In the couple of emails we've received merit based scholarships are available along with need based, "The school also awards merit scholarships, there is no application for merit scholarships. The merit scholarships will be based on your commitment to the community, your academic performance, your leadership, and your dedication to the underserved."

I don't know how much is available for that however. If there are any current or past ETPs with personal anecdotes on how they made it work, I'd love to hear it. :)