Columbia ETP 2015

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Has anyone started a thread yet? The application is due in 174 days and as you can see I'm already obsessing.

Anyone else?!

I was just accepted to the anesthesia specialty of 2015. I was going crazy when applying because I was finding it difficult to find people's stats, so I will share with you mine:

Majors: Neuroscience and Psychology

Overall GPA: 3.8

Science GPA: 3.7

Pre-req GPA: 3.9

GREs: verbal reasoning 93rd percentile, writing 94th percentile, math 60th percentile

Extra Curricular: volunteer in ER (50 hours), volunteer tutor for Reading Partners of AmeriCorps (6 months), research in biochemistry lab (2 years), shadowed chief CRNA over summer, medical note-taker over summer, 2 summers of working in camps for cancer-afflicted and physically-disabled children, A&P tutor, member of several societies (Biology Honors Society, Psychology Honors Society, Biomedical Ethics Society), Honors in Math and Natural Sciences, winner of national song-writing contest.

My grades ranged from B+ to A+. However, do not ONLY focus on your grades; they want to see a well-rounded individual who is devoted to a variety of responsibilities! Acquire several extra-curricular activities, make sure your essay is succinct, well-written, and personable, and build relationships with professors or employers who can write you letters that will carry weight specifically for what you are going for.

Best of luck!

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Hey guys! I'm interested in applying for 2016, could those that got accepted kindly post their stats/experience to help me out? Thanks!

My comment above was in response to your request, bakjunghwan. I was not sure how to include your name in my comment.

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Ok I did some math! If ETP costs $84k, MSN costs $74k (based on psych curriculum), term fees are $320 and I'm guessing 8 terms (probably too many but whatever), annual fees (insurance, student health services, $1000 cost of living monthly) $17k...drum roll......$213,736! Not including 3% estimated rise in tuition.

For those of us weighing Columbia against Vanderbilt, I did more math. I showed up really early for my flight so this is helping kill time. 😁 Vandy is, what, $56k for year 1 and $50k or thereabouts for year 2, right? Airport wifi timed out on me so I can't check their fees to get a total estimate for the whole program.

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Time to start on those scholarship applications!

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

You also got into the anesthesia specialty? I am excited about having been accepted, but am not sure if I will decide to go or not. Do you think you will accept?

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I am just going to decline my spot at Vandy and use Columbia as my fallback if I don't get into Yale. Trusting my intuition here. Scholarship fairy, look my way!

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Hi Lisa,

I got into the Anesthesia specialty, which also happens to be the most expensive specialty. I really hope they give good financial aid. I can't afford $200,000+ even if they do give me loans.

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Total cost of attendance for program in anesthesia:

$230,000

Median annual salary after graduation: $130,000.

Take home salary after taxes: $85,000

If you devoted every penny of what you make for 3 years, and left nothing for living expenses and lived in your parents' basement, you will be able to pay back this debt. I can't imagine how many years it would take to pay back this debt if no one is supporting you.

This is insanity to me.

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You looked at tuition prior to applying, right? There are options for repayment, including student loan forgiveness in exchange for a few years of your time, scholarships, grants, etc but I do agree it is a staggering amount. It's an Ivy though. It's kind of par for the course. Yale is around $120k, Columbia $150k. It's a huge financial burden for sure. Not to be taken lightly. Especially if you have cheaper options available to you. To a certain extent a nurse is a nurse. I don't know how much employers care if you have a Name on your diploma. For me, it's the time factor. It would take me at least 2x as long at half the price to go through a traditional program so I am paying for time. I knew it was crazy expensive when I applied.

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DoulaMe,

I did know about tuition before I applied. But it is still hard to come to terms with.

I talked to someone who is doing nurse anesthesia at at state school and he's paying $8,000 per year for tuition and fees and the program is nearly as fast/condensed as Columbia/Penn. I applied to the ivies because of the reputation. But $60,000 debt vs. $230,000 debt. Wow.

You looked at tuition prior to applying, right? There are options for repayment, including student loan forgiveness in exchange for a few years of your time, scholarships, grants, etc but I do agree it is a staggering amount. It's an Ivy though. It's kind of par for the course. Yale is around $120k, Columbia $150k. It's a huge financial burden for sure. Not to be taken lightly. Especially if you have cheaper options available to you. To a certain extent a nurse is a nurse. I don't know how much employers care if you have a Name on your diploma. For me, it's the time factor. It would take me at least 2x as long at half the price to go through a traditional program so I am paying for time. I knew it was crazy expensive when I applied.
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There's also the connections that come from this school, and preceptors/clinical sites in the city. I've known Columbia would be the most expensive of the schools I applied to, I think it's only surprising me because I didn't expect to get in. I'm considering it but I'll probably opt for a less expensive school. I suppose I'll attend visitors day and wait for financial aid to come through before I make any big calls.

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Soonzy, did you apply to MGH as well?

There's also the connections that come from this school, and preceptors/clinical sites in the city. I've known Columbia would be the most expensive of the schools I applied to, I think it's only surprising me because I didn't expect to get in. I'm considering it but I'll probably opt for a less expensive school. I suppose I'll attend visitors day and wait for financial aid to come through before I make any big calls.
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