Columbia School of Nursing MDE 2018

imbustamante · Feb 16, 2018

Hi! Nice to meet you. I am wondering if the max scholarship funds available are posted online somewhere? Anyone have an idea? Let me know if you find anything else out.

whnpcnm · Feb 16, 2018

Has anyone else not heard from Columbia about financial aid/scholarships yet? I know a lot of people did, but I haven't yet.

qbcd08 · Feb 16, 2018

Hi! Nice to meet you. I am wondering if the max scholarship funds available are posted online somewhere? Anyone have an idea? Let me know if you find anything else out.

I believe 27k is the max amount, and also what most people get?

That's what two of my friends said, at least. There is another one for 26k or so when you do the seamless transition into DNP.

biologyonthebrain · Feb 17, 2018

Hi all! I received $24k as scholarship as well.

qbcd08 · Feb 17, 2018

For those of you that committed, what convinced you?

I'm quite worried about the cost.

cnmeg · Feb 17, 2018

For those of you that committed, what convinced you?
I'm quite worried about the cost.

My personal reasons:

1) It's Columbia. Holy crap!

2) NYC. I NEVER thought I would ever have the chance to live there, ever.

3) Clinical opportunities. It seems as though the opportunities are limitless and incredibly academically enriching.

4) Brand new school!

5) Cost is a lot... but you're coming out of it as a Columbia nurse. You will be able to pay off the loans.

6) Seamless transition to DNP. The third year of the DNP sounds amazing: you get to make a salary and gain experience!

NPDanie · Feb 17, 2018

Hi all! I received $24k as scholarship as well.

24,000 for the MDE and 3,000 for the merit... that's 27,000 (If that is what you received

Lolly415NP · Feb 17, 2018

My personal reasons:
1) It's Columbia. Holy crap!
2) NYC. I NEVER thought I would ever have the chance to live there, ever.
3) Clinical opportunities. It seems as though the opportunities are limitless and incredibly academically enriching.
4) Brand new school!
5) Cost is a lot... but you're coming out of it as a Columbia nurse. You will be able to pay off the loans.
6) Seamless transition to DNP. The third year of the DNP sounds amazing: you get to make a salary and gain experience!

My reasons almost exactly.

The cost is intimidating, but I see it as a worthy investment. I agree, we'll be able to handle the loan payments when we're working. I'm actually more concerned about securing enough funding while I'm in the program...but there's always a way through.

Not only do I find Columbia's reputation alluring, but I love the med/health facilities they're affiliated with and the clinical sites and simulation labs we'll be learning in. Columbia medical, nursing, and public health are progressive, global leaders in research and state-of-the-art care. I feel like Columbia is looking ahead of the curve, and I admire that.

Even as a slightly "older" student, I like the DNP model for advanced practice nursing and I'd rather put in an extra year or two to obtain this.

For so long, I've been dreaming of a way to get to NYC. Well, here it is!

qbcd08 · Feb 17, 2018

I was set on Columbia, but then MGH offered me a scholarship that covered most of the tuition. As it stands now, Columbia will cost about 177k more than MGH with scholarships from both schools accounted for, including the seamless transition to DNP scholarship that we will get later on. I'm just trying to justify if Columbia is still worth 177k more, I guess.

FutureNurseInfo · Feb 17, 2018

My personal reasons:
1) It's Columbia. Holy crap!
2) NYC. I NEVER thought I would ever have the chance to live there, ever.
3) Clinical opportunities. It seems as though the opportunities are limitless and incredibly academically enriching.
4) Brand new school!
5) Cost is a lot... but you're coming out of it as a Columbia nurse. You will be able to pay off the loans.
6) Seamless transition to DNP. The third year of the DNP sounds amazing: you get to make a salary and gain experience!

Not to rain on anybody's parade, but let me shed a different kind of light:

Most employers do not care if you are a Columbia nurse, or a nurse that graduated a public school. Yes, Columbia associated hospitals may hire Columbia nurses only, but, like I said, many other employers do not care what school you graduated from, as long as you have your RN.

Once you graduate with your MSN you will still be a generalist, an RN. However, with MSN your pay will be a bit more than those with BSN. What employer would want to pay you more, when you are only a generalist? They may as well higher a BSN nurse for less money.

It would be really awesome to pay off loans with the job you can get right away. What will you do if you will not be able to secure the job in the first 6 months? Relocation? You can do so. However, the wages you will earn will be far too little to make even the minimum monthly payments on a $200000 loan.

Do not forget, Columbia churns out hundreds of MSN nurses yearly. Add to that thousands more new grads from all over the city, seasoned RNs who want to change the scenery, out-of-state RNs who want a better lifestyle- the list goes on.

A while ago I read an article about an NYU RN who graduated and could not land a job for years. She was forced to wait tables to scrap by to make loan payments.

Like I said, I do not want to sound negative or discourage anyone from pursuing their dreams, I just wanted to give an alternative version of possible events.

The_Salty_Cat · Feb 17, 2018

Do you have any insight into the NP role?

TeachEm, MSN, RN · Feb 18, 2018

Okay everyone, here we go. I wanted to share a post about my reasoning to why I am committing to Columbia, so that everyone here can weigh their options and assess their situations with some more perspective and clarity. I am very happy that I was accepted here, and that will skew my bias a little, so keep that in mind. This post will probably also be a little longer than most, so whip out your reading glasses. :happy: :bugeyes: :borg:

1.) Prestige. Columbia is an ivy-league institution. Coming from a state school, I could not be more thrilled to be attending such a prestigious school. While many prior posts noted that employers only care about the RN status when job hunting, having Columbia on your resume is an attention-grabber and I do believe it will help you stand out, if push comes to shove. Columbia's reputation will also help you move up the job ladder if that is something that you are interested in doing.

2.) Location. Columbia is one of the only ivy-league schools that exists in a diverse, urban environment, which I thought was amazingly important. I do believe medical professionals need to be trained in culturally-competent care, and Columbia exists in a space where you can train with diverse communities. Unfortunately, that cannot be said for all nursing schools. I do believe that being trained in a diverse environment will make you a stronger and more well-rounded clinician. I also do believe that studying in a big city can offer students more resources and opportunities, not necessarily from the school, but from the city itself. I also love the idea of living in NYC, and that you can manage a strong social life outside of school. It's the city that never sleeps! :sleep:

3.) Degrees Conferred. This was a big plus for me. In my case, Columbia was one of the only schools that offered an MSN+DNP collectively. I did not want to go back to school later in my life, so it made a lot of sense to earn a terminal degree and be done within 4 years. This would also be in my benefit in the future, as NPs are being pushed to earn their doctorates. This would ensure that I would be as equally-qualified as many of my future colleagues in the workforce, when MSN-prepared NPs begin to diminish.

4.) Coming Out Of Columbia. This was the final hurrah for me. I really thought about who I would be, coming out of Columbia four years later, in comparison to someone who would be coming out of another nursing program. I'll be using Yale's GEPN program as my comparison point (no shade to Yale students, they are all very smart/talented). Graduates at Yale walk out with their MSN and I believe a semester of NP experience from a residency alongside any clubs/organizations they took part in. From what I understood, they are not really encouraged to work, as their degree is not conferred until the end of the program (again, no shade to Yale, let me know if I am wrong in this). At the end of my time at Columbia, I would have an MSN and a DNP, I would have 1 year of NP experience (through the residency) and I would have atleast 1 year of RN experience (after your MDE year, Columbia encourages you to work, which I plan to do). This would also be supported by any clubs/organizations I took part in. So ON PAPER, if a Yale student and a Columbia student applied to the same position, chances are that the Columbia student would be the stronger candidate, as I would have more experience (both as an RN and NP) and academically (MSN+DNP vs MSN). I can't reiterate enough that I am not throwing shade at Yale. This comparison draws similar results to mostly all other programs, so I knew walking away, Columbia would set me up for success at the front of the pack. This would also allow for me to actually apply to jobs that require a year of NP experience, which would open up a lot more doors for me as a job candidate, which means that I would essentially be able to apply to jobs that I actually wanted, in comparison to jobs that I would only take to build experience.

So those are my little points. Just like many of you, I am very weary of the cost of the program, and while I refuse to dismiss the gravity of taking out loans, I understand that this is an investment in my future. When you complete the program, you will earn enough money to pay these loans off, and then continue to a very comfortable lifestyle. The only advice that I would tell people about loans is to not worry too much about them, do not let them influence your studies and experiences at Columbia. They will get paid off when you start working, do not worry about that. Focus more on your studies and your life in NYC as a Columbia student! I am totally willing to have a civilized discussion about any of my points, or if anyone has any questions/clarifications. Congrats to all of you MDE and MDE/DNP students, and I hope to see you all soon! :nurse: