Columbia University ETP 2008

LovetoTravel2001 · Feb 26, 2008

Thanks so much to all the current/past ETP'ers for answering our questions! I have another one now :)

My cousin is getting married June 14 in Oregon - I really want to go to the wedding but I'm not sure if it's practical with only being about 2 1/2 weeks into the program. Any advice? It's on a Saturday so I would fly out Friday night and fly back Sunday afternoon but I'm just wondering if the program is super intense by then and if I'm going to need every spare minute I've got to not drown in the workload...

fnp4me · Feb 26, 2008

I didn't get my application package until about 6pm Friday, so the post office was already closed! I mailed it out Saturday via FedEx and paid $95490530495034095. It got there at 9:48am this morning, so yours beat mine PurpleBee! :bugeyes:

Maybe I can luck out with a room on the guys' floor -

On another note, does anyone know if there's any weird provisions of acceptance - just to confer your bachelor degree and make a C or higher in the prereqs right?

smit1989 · Feb 26, 2008

I didn't get mine until yesterday (i was out of town)...so i overnighted my application this morning via fedex for a cool $25. I am crossing my fingers to get a room, otherwise i don't know where i'll sleep!!

elizabells, BSN, RN · Feb 26, 2008

Thanks so much to all the current/past ETP'ers for answering our questions! I have another one now :)
My cousin is getting married June 14 in Oregon - I really want to go to the wedding but I'm not sure if it's practical with only being about 2 1/2 weeks into the program. Any advice? It's on a Saturday so I would fly out Friday night and fly back Sunday afternoon but I'm just wondering if the program is super intense by then and if I'm going to need every spare minute I've got to not drown in the workload...

To be honest, the summer is pretty overwhelming. It's not so much that the material is super HARD, but it's a totally different type of learning and there's so MUCH of it. And forget about taking any time off. I know a girl who did double clinicals at one point so she could have a baby and not be back at school, like, the next day.

smit1989 · Feb 26, 2008

Are there any meal plans for people in student housing? I can't imagine cooking all my meals in a shared kitchen with 30+ people each day. If there are meal plans, where is the dining hall and how is the food? Thanks!

elizabells, BSN, RN · Feb 26, 2008

Are there any meal plans for people in student housing? I can't imagine cooking all my meals in a shared kitchen with 30+ people each day. If there are meal plans, where is the dining hall and how is the food? Thanks!

No meal plan, no dining hall. There's a cafe on the ground floor, but it's kind of expensive and has weird hours. I ate a LOT of ramen, mac and cheese, tuna fish/peanut butter sandwiches and hard boiled eggs, as I bought a hotpot and minifridge. Didn't bother with a microwave. It was just like being an undergrad... without the benefit of a dining hall. I actually lost weight. :)

dg05, RN · Feb 26, 2008

Actually, they're doing a test of a meal plan this semester. Who knows how it will turn out though. Also, the cafe is not open at all in the summer (wasn't last summer at least). Lots of delivery. There is also a kitchen on the top floor.

dg

elizabells, BSN, RN · Feb 26, 2008

Actually, they're doing a test of a meal plan this semester. Who knows how it will turn out though. Also, the cafe is not open at all in the summer (wasn't last summer at least). Lots of delivery. There is also a kitchen on the top floor.
dg

Where are they going to have people eat with this mealplan? I know we had the option of adding on a plan for the downtown campus, but if you're living in Bard that's not really a functional option.

dg05, RN · Feb 26, 2008

Yeah, I don't know the details since I don't live there any more. I just that Karen sent out an e-mail from a student representative about a trial meal plan at Bard.

SairH · Feb 26, 2008

This is a question for any ETP alumnis or current students...I am stressing because my sister's wedding is the second weekend of school (in Colorado), so I am going to have to miss the second monday of classes. I have been reading how the summer session is like boot camp, so now I am really stressing! However, it is my sister and I don't have a choice. How understanding are the professors about situations like this? Is there any way I can contact them now to give them a heads up?

Any help would be great!

dg05, RN · Feb 26, 2008

At some point they ask for and approve or disapprove any time off. I can't remember when in the process that is but you'll have the opportunity soon. I would suggest calling the head of the nursing program sooner rather than later to see what she has to say.

EffinP_Meg · Feb 27, 2008

I was one of the unfortunate students moving across the country who did NOT get student housing, which caused me to go into a huge panic for about a month. I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but last year, about half of the students who applied for student housing were wait-listed. The off-campus student housing office is pretty much worthless too. I know a lot of people that had temporary summer housing and then apartment searched in July/August.

For the summer, I had housing through http://www.studenthousing.org/. It was a dorm type situation and I had a (very young) roommate. It's not perfect, but it was cheap and easy. And it gave me time to find my apartment. I just want to throw that out there to offer options and prepare people for reality.

As for the uniforms, for girls, don't get the skirts if you don't have to for religious reasons. I suggest 2-3 pairs (I got 3 pants and 2 shirts). The warm-up jacket is a waste of money. You'll really don't need it b/c you're generating heat running around the floor.