Columbia University ETP 2008

smit1989 · Jan 7, 2008

Hey everyone,

I, like it seems many of you, have been having a hard time figuring out the whole FAFSA thing (that is, if you have applied to more programs than just Columbia). I just got off the phone with the customer service rep from FAFSA, and she gave me some good advice. Since Columbia is the only program (that I know of) that considers the first year of the ETP "undergraduate", and the others are all "graduate" (Yale, Boston College, Northeastern, UIC, Vermont in my case), she recommended that I send FAFSA reports to all schools (including Columbia) as a Graduate level student. This is contradictory to the instructions for applying to FAFSA that Oscar sent us in his email, but the customer service rep said that if we are accepted to Columbia and decide to go there, we can change our application to "undergraduate". This seems like the only option. I'm not completely happy with it because I'm afraid that this could have a negative effect on me getting that 30K they are offering. But I guess it is the best we can do? Sorry for the disorganization of this post! If anyone has better ideas, let me know!! Take it easy:)

RedHead85 · Jan 8, 2008

Thank you for that. I was getting confused trying to figure the whole FAFSA thing out as well. I hope Columbia still considers the FAFSA as "valid" even though we'd be filling out in the wrong way according to their email.

smit1989 · Jan 8, 2008

Yeh, that is a concern I'm having too...but what can you do? Oscar was of absolutely no help to me. All he told me was "Follow the instructions in the email". Whatever, I'll figure it out when I get to that point.

fnp4me · Jan 8, 2008

Hey guys, I was working on filling out FAFSA and just wondering about this:

Do you want to answer questions about your parents?

Note: You may want to answer the parental questions if:

You are a health profession student (such as a medical or nursing student), or

Your school requires parental information from all students

I am considered an independent and would not qualify for much using my parent's income, so why would it say you may want to if you are a nursing student?

jbazoola · Jan 8, 2008

Thanks so much dg and anniepants. I feel pretty confident about my essay so I guess i'll keep my fingers crossed!!

byrd262, BSN, RN · Jan 8, 2008

I had the same concerns regarding the FAFSA. Personally, I am applying to one Master of Public Health program and a few nursing programs. This process has been a bit frustrating. I actually just submitted my FAFSA a few minutes ago so I plan on making corrections if needed by the time they send my SAR form.

Fnp4me--Some schools (based on their financial aid webpage) require parental info even if you are independent unless your parents are deceased or you were a ward of the court. This is usually the case if you want to qualify for institutional aid. Read the fine print at the school in which you are applying to determine if this applies to you. There is usually a list of exceptions (i.e. income level) on the schools' webpage. Here is an example: http://www.tju.edu/financialaid/chp_apply.cfm. This is just an example. Some schools and programs may have different criteria.

fnp4me · Jan 8, 2008

I looked around on the Columbia SON Financial Aid site and it doesn't look like they have any conditions like that?

byrd262, BSN, RN · Jan 9, 2008

I looked around on the Columbia SON Financial Aid site and it doesn't look like they have any conditions like that?

Yeah, their webpage doesn't include a lot of details. Hopefully, it will all work out and we will all get an ample finanical aid package (pending acceptance of course).

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**ETPers Don't forget to check your email. Columbia just sent out an email for updated course info.

fnp4me · Jan 10, 2008

Can a current ETPer give an example of their class schedule? How long are clinicals during the Pre-RN and after? How many days are you in class, clinicals, etc. Thanks!

dg05, RN · Jan 10, 2008

Summer: clinicals, 1 day a week. Class the other 4.

Fall, "winter": clinicals, 2 days a week, class the other 3.

Spring: this is integration. Everyone's schedule will be different since we just work the same schedule as the nurse we're assigned to.

Clinicals are usually 7:30-3 with an hour lunch.

PsychMaven · Jan 12, 2008

dg,

I was thinking about the realities of living in NYC and I am wondering what your experience has been. Do you live in the neighborhood surrounding the medical campus or do you commute? I thought I would want to live right there (it's cheaper than in "better" areas of the city), but what is actually around there as far as restaurants, coffee shops, delis, grocery stores, and the like? Will I feel like I'm cut off from everything? Is is difficult to get in town, is public transportation in NY as intimidating as I perceive it? Basically, will I actually be able to enjoy what NYC has to offer if I'm living by the hospital? As for my updated transcript, I ended up just sending it before receiving a generic email reminding us to do so. I did get an "acceptable" grade, but it certainly isn't a good one as far as I am concerned. Hopefully they don't discount me because of one less than stellar grade, either way it's out of my hands now. Thanks for the input though everyone!

dg05, RN · Jan 12, 2008

Hi there -- CUMC is right off the A train (which is an express that goes pretty quickly from midtown to uptown) and the 1 train (which is a local) so it's easy to get where the action is. I live within walking distance to the campus, which I LOVE. I also live near the A train so I can pop downtown to see a movie or whatever whenever I want. Living here is interesting and whether or not you like it totally depends on who you are. Some people HATE it and couldn't wait to move elsewhere (or would have never considered living here at all) but a lot of people really like it. There are less people than downtown and the feel is not as rushed or superficial. Plus, you definitely get to practice your spanish and see what it feels like to be a minority (a plus if you're from the "majority" culture and want to know what it feels like on the other side -- to have most of the people around you with a different language, different cultural values, different beliefs, etc).

Target is pretty close, which is nice but for groceries a lot of people go down to Whole Foods (about 15 minutes by train) or Trader Joe's (about 35 minutes by train) for their major shopping and just use the main grocery store (Gristede's) for little things.

The subway system is overwhelming at first but just buy a subway map and keep it with you at all time. Also, you'll memorize what it takes you to get home -- take X train uptown to X stop or whatever and then you'll branch out to the trains that you wouldn't normally take but that help you get really cool places (or whatever). You will figure it out and it will be the least of your worries. Once you get the concept of uptown and downtown (which makes no freakin' sense to me -- why isn't it just "north" and "south" but that's my own pet peeve) then you'll be all set. When I used to visit New York I ALWAYS ended up in some random part of the city, totally unrelated to where I was trying to go. But, it took me about 5 seconds once I moved here to figure out how to get simple places and then back. Gradually I've branched out and figure I can get just about anywhere now.

Also, lots of people commute from Queens, Brooklyn, New Jersey, etc. Personally I like being able to be to school in 15 minutes and it's worth some of the drawbacks.

As far as restaurants - there are a few but if you want a nicer meal, you'll probably have to go downtown. There's lots of good variety for every day things and lots of good takeout. Also, there's an fun wine bar and a good wine store (on 181st).

I've found the Not For Tourist guide to be helpful in finding what's out there in a specific neighborhood. Oh, and a starbuck's just moved into the medical campus so that was a major score for a nice place to sit and chat, have coffee, etc.

good luck,

dg