Columbia University ETP 2011

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Thought it'd be a good idea to start a thread for prospective applicants to Columbia's ETP program starting Summer 2011. I was going to apply last year but passed on it in favor of working for another year.

Applications are due November 15, 2010! :eek: Right around the corner ...

Anyone else preparing for this also? :clown:

it's not the white pants that have the extra pockets -- it's the unisex pants. the only difference between the women's pants and the unisex pants is the extra pockets, so if you like those, go with it!

tsorfia, I'd be interested to hear more about your decision not to go to columbia. I'm deciding between Yale and Columbia right now and am curious what people's views are on the two programs!

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Hi WilliamsRower,

This is from last year's Yale thread: https://allnurses.com/ct-nursing-programs/yale-gepn-fall-390981-page28.html#post4181742

-First of all, Yale is rated the #4 nursing school for the psych/mental health specialty

-I think the incoming class size at Columbia is about double the size of Yale's (180-200 students versus 80-100 students).

-Do you want to be in an extremely large, (and expensive) urban city or a much smaller city?

-Yale specializes in the graduate entry program, but Columbia grants you a BSN degree in addition to the MSN

-Yale is very research oriented, not sure about Columbia..

-Yale has no prerequisite courses and Columbia does

-Columbia starts in the summer and Yale starts in the fall

-Are you interested in working meanwhile? Does financial aid matter? Which school are you leaning towards?

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Has anyone been emailed their financial aid package yet?

I just called the financial aid office and asked. The lady who picked up had no idea emails were supposed to go out today. She said the system was down and went to check. She said Jose would send an email out now letting everyone know the system is down. Disappointing that I'd have to call to get the info rolled out...

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Hi all!

The director of financial aid said that FIN AID emails were starting to be sent out on monday. Everyone should have received an email this afternoon clarifying this.

My Highlights from Columbia Visiting Day:

- The Medical Campus is super safe considering the area it's in. You can't get in any buildings without your ID so I would feel fine staying late inside buildings

-Washington Heights is a robust community of mostly underserved people. Great practice for the real world if you ask me! (Practice your spanish!)

- The main building where we take classes is BEAUTIFUL!!! I come from a UC with brand new facilities so I was a little scared to go to a school that is so old, but columbia's teaching spaces are state of the art.

- The FNP program director is super motivated to get us working! Working is encouraged in the FNP master's portion (because the program director sets up the classes in a way which allows for Full time employment). She seems so real and has a lot of experience to share with her students.

* the different master's specialties have different takes on working, so consult your specific program director

- Regarding the 2015 recommendation for all advanced practice nursing to move to a doctoral level, Columbia is testing a seamless DNP option which will award a doctoral degree with only 2 semesters additional classroom time plus a 1 year residency. This is made possible by adding in doctoral level classes during your MSN, but seems like a sweet deal.

- Regarding licensing, the NP license if awarded in NY must be used for at least six months in state before it is transferable to other states. So consider this when timing out your life. You will need to stay in NY for an extra 6 months after conferral of the MSN. If you choose to NOT do this, depending on the state you get licensed in, you will need to work under a medical professional for a varying number of hours. BASICALLY, being underpaid and over supervised!

THINGS TO CONSIDER!!!

- NY is amazing! I'm coming from LA and I am so scared but excited to live car free! The subway is incredible and incredibly convenient!

- Buy your winter clothes NOW!!! I just bought thinsulate lined coats from J crew at 75% off which will keep me toasty all winter long!

- Consider getting a sublet during the summer. I'm sure that this is what I'll be doing because I would hate to sign a lease for a place that I'm not familiar with.

- Review your A&P! Starting in the summer the pathophysio will only be that much easier if you know the basics!

- There is no cafeteria on the medical campus! There are restaurants around it, but I can't afford to eat out every day! Kinda bummed, but I'll have to learn how to cook for myself! :(

- The support staff (NOT administrators, faculty or program directors) are super UNhelpful. I dropped by the housing office asking to see couples housing. I truly believe that signing a lease for a place sight unseen IS STUPID and they would not even let me walk around the housing. How am I supposed to rank building preferences if I don't know the first thing about the units? lame.

hope some of this helps.

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andie_mw, Thank you so much for that wonderful explanation. On a sidenote, are you a Bruin? (Just a guess because you mentioned that you attend a UC and that you live in LA...) If so, we should meet up before the decision deadline rolls around! :nurse:

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Hey guys, does anyone know what that clarifying email meant by 'Tuesday, March 12, 2011'? March 12 is Saturday...

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Hey,

Does anyone know if they are accepting any supplemental information to help boast your application (i.e more letters of recommendation or better GRE scores). I know for medical school and business school, these are usually welcome. Are they for nursing programs as well.

Just seeing if there is anything I can do to increase my chances....

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With regard the the equipment/uniforms--our student ambassador said that you definitely need to tuning forks. She purchased the second tier package but now wishes she had gotten the first tier (the Cardiology III is a much better stethoscope and she can definitely tell the difference). She also said that you should purchase a minimum of three uniform sets.

After attending the admitted students day, I decided against Columbia. The labs facilities were described as "anemic" and "pathetic", there didn't seem to be enough merit-based aid/non-loan need-based aid to make the price tag worth it, and the ETP year seems WAY too rushed. There were definitely some strong positives to the program, though, and I would totally understand why someone would be really excited about going there! Good luck to all of you who decide to make the move to NY! :)

Tsorfia-

I was also a bit unimpressed at admitted students day, and am trying to decide between Columbia, Yale, and OHSU. Out of curiosity, where did you decide to go?

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Hi just.keep.swimming!

I actually be heading out of town tomorrow and won't be back until April. Maybe we will run into each other in nyc!

Good luck! :)

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I'm a current ETPer and thought I'd add on to what andie mw had to say.

There is no cafeteria, but once the fall semester rolls around, there's dining hall meals on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights. It's pretty much all you can eat, where you can grab seconds and take it back to your room. This year the price per meal is $5, which you have to pay in advance. I currently live in the dorms and found this meal plan really helpful. It helped me save lots of money, and I had food pretty much every day (since I always took a second meal back to my room.)

As for housing, you really don't get to pick. For non-couples housing, you will automatically be placed in Bard, which is really like a typical dorm. However you can transfer to the towers (the nicer suites that often have views of the bridge and Hudson River) later on in October or even earlier if there's an open room. As for couples housing, I have no clue about any of that. Sorry.

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Anyone picking between Columbia and johns Hopkins? Perhaps if you could share your thoughts about each program and what you think you'll pick?

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hey gcnp,

i am an etper right and i actually chose columbia over hopkins. there are times when i wonder what would have happened if i chose hopkins. but even so, i am happy that i chose columbia. i love my clinical preceptors and the faculty is very supportive, esp. if you go into office hours or stop by the etp office to talk. i love nyc, and i love the people i have met here. i’m not going to lie and say columbia is perfect because it’s not. but what Accelerated BSN program is? i choose columbia for the fact that it’s a shorter fnp program than hopkins (6 mos shorter), and i can work during my masters portion, esp. since there is only two days of class during the fnp portion. i don’t know what specialty you are going into, but i mainly based my decision on the masters portion of the school. columbia emphasizes on teaching advanced practice nurses, since everyone in your class is theoretically going to become an advanced practice nurse. hopkins has a stronger bsn program than columbia because not everyone in your class at hopkins is going to get their masters. in the end, columbia ended up being cheaper for me since i could work during my masters and get out of school 6 mos sooner. also, living in nyc is a big bonus. still, it is your decision. it depends what matters most to you. i based mine off of costs and where i want to spend the next 2-3 years of my life because that is what mattered to me. your decision should be based on what matters most to you.

pm me if you have any questions.

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