Columbia MDE 2022

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I know the application hasn't opened yet, but wondering if there was anyone else thinking of applying to Columbia MDE/DNP programs for June 2022 entry?

On 1/3/2022 at 4:11 PM, JPMANT said:

Just realizing now.. that last years cycle had an excess (over 150) of applicants than CUSON typically receives… which is why they decided to do a two round cycle of admissions decisions. Which explains why they had an early date of Jan 6/7th for their first round. Applicants received an email in October 2020 letting them know about this...  (From what I read on the thread last year).  

Which now leads me to believe we will be waiting till the end of January like the other years have?  ?  considering we were never told there was a high amount of applications this year… no one received an email regarding this right?
 

I applied in 2020 and was admitted in the first round, so I wanted to chime in because this forum was helpful to me when I was going through the application process. Yes, we received an email in October stating that admissions decisions would be published in rounds. Those of us who were admitted in the first round received our decision on Jan 7. Unfortunately, those who didn’t had to wait for up to several months for final decisions. One student in our cohort was notified that she was admitted off the waitlist just a few weeks before the program started on June 7. 

Also, I believe that Columbia SON received approximately 1,000 applications, of which ~200 students were admitted. Our cohort is now down to 170 or so. It’s an incredibly rigorous program, but has met all of my high expectations. Good luck to all of you!

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Hey BB13. Thanks for sharing your experience. How do you like the program so far? Yes a friend of mine is currently in your cohort and she mentioned the same thing.  

Fortunately, at least I am under the impression, no one this year has received correspondence from CUSON regarding an excessive applicant pool or an indication decision rounds. So hopefully it will be like all the other years prior and they will email all the decisions and waitlists/rejections all on one day towards the end of this month.  I’m hoping for sooner.

Waiting till the week of starting class to find out you were removed from a waitlist is crazy! How do you even get loans to go through last minute like that? Is that even possible? 

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1 hour ago, JPMANT said:

Hey BB13. Thanks for sharing your experience. How do you like the program so far? Yes a friend of mine is currently in your cohort and she mentioned the same thing.  

Fortunately, at least I am under the impression, no one this year has received correspondence from CUSON regarding an excessive applicant pool or an indication decision rounds. So hopefully it will be like all the other years prior and they will email all the decisions and waitlists/rejections all on one day towards the end of this month.  I’m hoping for sooner.

Waiting till the week of starting class to find out you were removed from a waitlist is crazy! How do you even get loans to go through last minute like that? Is that even possible? 

I love the program so far. Personally, I think the didactic portion of the program is tough mainly because it’s accelerated and you have additional time constraints due to clinicals/labs. I came in with a 4.0 prereq GPA and had done well in undergrad, and thought I had my study skills down - but you really need to adjust how you do things to keep up. It has been, by far, the most rigorous academic program I’ve ever experienced. The fall semester was much better because you’ve adapted to the pace a bit more, 5x5 courses are staggered, and you don’t have mandatory weekly labs. Clinicals have been the best part so far. There have been minimal - if any - disruptions in spite of covid. In the first 6 months, I’ve had rotations at several major hospitals with amazing clinical instructors. The school’s SIM lab also hosts simulation experiences and trainings with high-fidelity manikins and paid actors which are dynamic and such a huge asset for learning and skill building.

To clarify, the person I spoke with was notified several weeks prior to the start of class. Not sure if your friend knows of someone who was admitted the week of class. Thankfully, the school was flexible in working with students who received late decisions to complete orientation, programmatic requirements, financial aid etc. As far as I know, everyone was able to start on June 7 and attend clinicals as scheduled.

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Good morning everyone, I got a response for my email about decisions 

Thank you for reaching out!

We anticipate that decisions for the MDE program will be released around February. It is very possible that there will be rounds this year but the committee has yet to confirm this information. If this is the case we will be sure to communicate this with all applicants prior to releasing decisions. 
 

 

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15 minutes ago, BB13 said:

I love the program so far. Personally, I think the didactic portion of the program is tough only because it’s accelerated - the Summer semester especially was a rude awakening. I came in with a 4.0 prereq GPA and had done well in undergrad, and thought I had my study skills down - but you really need to adjust how you do things to keep up. The fall semester was much better because you’ve adapted to the pace a bit more, 5x5 courses are staggered, and you don’t have mandatory weekly labs. Clinicals have been the best part so far. There have been minimal - if any - disruptions in spite of covid. In the first 6 months, I’ve had rotations at several major hospitals with amazing clinical instructors. The school’s SIM lab also hosts simulation experiences and trainings which are dynamic and such a huge asset for learning and skill building.

To clarify, the person I spoke with was notified several weeks prior to the start of class. Not sure if your friend knows of someone who was admitted the week of class. Thankfully, the school was flexible in working with students who received late decisions to complete orientation, programmatic requirements, financial aid etc. As far as I know, everyone was able to start on June 7 and attend clinicals as scheduled.

Thank you for your insights! I really appreciate current students giving their inputs. 
Can you tell us what your schedule was like being in this program? Like how many days a week and the hours you’ve pre day depending on labs/clinicals etc? 

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19 minutes ago, Neasha said:

Good morning everyone, I got a response for my email about decisions 

Thank you for reaching out!

We anticipate that decisions for the MDE program will be released around February. It is very possible that there will be rounds this year but the committee has yet to confirm this information. If this is the case we will be sure to communicate this with all applicants prior to releasing decisions. 
 

 

I got an email as well just saying decisions will be in February which is their standard default response every year. It seems like the person who emailed you back was a little more forthcoming with possible info…So we are still in the dark. ? 

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27 minutes ago, EdaTheInfermiere said:

Thank you for your insights! I really appreciate current students giving their inputs. 
Can you tell us what your schedule was like being in this program? Like how many days a week and the hours you’ve pre day depending on labs/clinicals etc? 

You’re welcome! I definitely spent a lot of time on this forum trying to gain as much insight as possible when I applied, and appreciated when current students shared insight.

Weekly schedules during the Summer semester varied depending on which skills lab you were assigned, which physical assessment lab you signed up for, and which day you had hospital clinical. In general, we completed 5 didactic courses, mandatory weekly skills and physical assessment labs, hospital clinical 1 day a week, and a weekly town hall information-type course. In terms of hourly commitment - the consensus among our cohort is that it feels as though you have time for little else outside the program. It is definitely manageable though because most of us have made it through the first 6 months.

In the fall, we had two didactic course throughout the entire semester with 5x5 courses changing every 5 weeks and a weekly town hall information-type course. We didn’t have any mandatory labs but the SIM lab was open 2 days a week for open practice. We also had hospital clinical on Wednesday and Thursday and a clinical simulation experience once per 5x5 rotation.

 

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38 minutes ago, BB13 said:

I love the program so far. Personally, I think the didactic portion of the program is tough mainly because it’s accelerated and you have additional time constraints due to clinicals. I came in with a 4.0 prereq GPA and had done well in undergrad, and thought I had my study skills down - but you really need to adjust how you do things to keep up. It has been, by far, the most rigorous academic program I’ve ever experienced. The fall semester was much better because you’ve adapted to the pace a bit more, 5x5 courses are staggered, and you don’t have mandatory weekly labs. Clinicals have been the best part so far. There have been minimal - if any - disruptions in spite of covid. In the first 6 months, I’ve had rotations at several major hospitals with amazing clinical instructors. The school’s SIM lab also hosts simulation experiences and trainings with high-fidelity manikins and paid actors which are dynamic and such a huge asset for learning and skill building.

To clarify, the person I spoke with was notified several weeks prior to the start of class. Not sure if your friend knows of someone who was admitted the week of class. Thankfully, the school was flexible in working with students who received late decisions to complete orientation, programmatic requirements, financial aid etc. As far as I know, everyone was able to start on June 7 and attend clinicals as scheduled.

Do you mind sharing with us more about you experience. For example do you feel that the environment is supportive and conducive for success. Are classes in person optional and are the lectures recorded. How many hours a day do you study outside of classes. What method of studying has worked best for you. Do you feel that a lot of people dropped out or were kicked out the program. I know you mentioned it is extremely tough but do you think it’s doable ?

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1 hour ago, Matchalover2000 said:

Do you mind sharing with us more about you experience. For example do you feel that the environment is supportive and conducive for success. Are classes in person optional and are the lectures recorded. How many hours a day do you study outside of classes. What method of studying has worked best for you. Do you feel that a lot of people dropped out or were kicked out the program. I know you mentioned it is extremely tough but do you think it’s doable ?

I do feel as though Columbia SON administrators, faculty, and clinical instructors are supportive and available - but other students have expressed a different experience. I think it comes down to what type of person you are and what your expectations are coming in. I’m a highly independent learner and generally tend to do well without much addtional support. I also expected that there would be some challenges inherent in attending nursing school during a pandemic in terms of evolving requirements and programmatic changes. The students who have struggled, in my opinion, are the type of students who need more hands-on support and don’t do well with changes. I think Columbia SON has done a great job of adapting with covid and being receptive and supportive. The MDE program director, faculty, and TAs are available for weekly office hours and there are academic tutors and a mental health counselor available to all students.

In-person classes are not optional, and most professors record lectures which is super super helpful. Like I alluded to above - things do change. Over the Summer, didactic courses were fully online and in the fall, 5x5 courses were in person. Due to the omicron variant, however, we’ve been notified that didactic courses will be fully online for the first few weeks of the Spring semester. 

I’m not sure how many hours I study outside of class, but I feel as though I’m always studying for something. Especially the 5x5 courses - you have an exam basically every other week. With hospital clinicals, you also have weekly clinical documentation assignments and a major concept map assignment which is time intensive. Academically, I’m doing very well but know students who are struggling. I triage everything - I focus on what needs to get done first and so on. Time management and learning how to prioritize are skills you’ll need to be successful in this program, but it also translates into being a nurse so there’s a silver lining.

I know of some students who were struggling with the academic/clinical competency requirements and withdrew from the program, a couple who were kicked out, and not sure about the rest. You can tell the cohort is smaller because you can see the number of people attending live zoom lectures is smaller than when we started. In general, it is definitely doable. Exam lows, highs, and averages are posted and there are always scores in the low 60s, but the averages tend to be mid-80s to low 90s so most students do just fine.

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I don't know why that all just sounds so exciting to me hahahahaha I love a challenge 

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Just now, sc1999 said:

I don't know why that all just sounds so exciting to me hahahahaha I love a challenge 

That’s honestly the best way to look at it! And no matter where you end up for nursing school - find like-minded people who are optimistic and good to be around. Nursing school is tough and it helps to have supportive people. 

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50 minutes ago, BB13 said:

I do feel as though Columbia SON administrators, faculty, and clinical instructors are supportive and available - but other students have expressed a different experience. I think it comes down to what type of person you are and what your expectations are coming in. I’m a highly independent learner and generally tend to do well without much addtional support. I also expected that there would be some challenges inherent in attending nursing school during a pandemic in terms of evolving requirements and programmatic changes. The students who have struggled, in my opinion, are the type of students who need more hands-on support and don’t do well with changes. I think Columbia SON has done a great job of adapting with covid and being receptive and supportive. The MDE program director, faculty, and TAs are available for weekly office hours and there are academic tutors and a mental health counselor available to all students.

In-person classes are not optional, and most professors record lectures which is super super helpful. Like I alluded to above - things do change. Over the Summer, didactic courses were fully online and in the fall, 5x5 courses were in person. Due to the omicron variant, however, we’ve been notified that didactic courses will be fully online for the first few weeks of the Spring semester. 

I’m not sure how many hours I study outside of class, but I feel as though I’m always studying for something. Especially the 5x5 courses - you have an exam basically every other week. With hospital clinicals, you also have weekly clinical documentation assignments and a major concept map assignment which is time intensive. Academically, I’m doing very well but know students who are struggling. I triage everything - I focus on what needs to get done first and so on. Time management and learning how to prioritize are skills you’ll need to be successful in this program, but it also translates into being a nurse so there’s a silver lining.

I know of some students who were struggling with the academic/clinical competency requirements and withdrew from the program, a couple who were kicked out, and not sure about the rest. You can tell the cohort is smaller because you can see the number of people attending live zoom lectures is smaller than when we started. In general, it is definitely doable. Exam lows, highs, and averages are posted and there are always scores in the low 60s, but the averages tend to be mid-80s to low 90s so most students do just fine.

Thank you so much for sharing this is really helpful!

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