Columbia University ETP 2011

U.S.A. New York

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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:

So stressed out with the application process! I wish I were like everyone and got it done early =(. I'm from CA but cannot apply to any NP programs here because they require CHem/Ochem which I did not take. Looks like I'm stuck applying out of state. Any good schools that you guys recommend I should apply to? I'm so afraid to apply to schools far away and the program ends up being disorganized, etc. =\ Any feedback would help! :)

Trisha

TGill -

I'm also in California and the only in-state program I applied to is UCSF. Samuel Merrit (in Oakland) has an FNP program that only requires basic chemistry which could easily be taken at a community college. I believe their application isn't due until Jan.

I also think that some of the CSUs have NP programs, though I'm unsure of the chem requirement.

Good luck,

C

Western and UCSF both don't require, but UCSF's deadline passed before I even had a clue what I was doing, and westerns was early on as well. Unfortunately I haven't found any CSU that doesn't require chemistry (except for the Clinical Nurse Specialist/Leader routes). Yeah, I guess I should just take it in the spring, but when I know that many schools don't require it I get so discouraged to even do it because I can apply to those.

Best of luck with UCSF! I hear it's fabulous and that would definitely be my top choice. As of now it's Columbia and possibly a few more out of states. Is anyone applying to Duke?

Lookingforward,

I just saw your friend request and I accepted it. Not sure if it will let you communicate with me in private. That said, maybe your midwifery questions could be asked here in case someone else has the same questions? Hope everyone is getting the applications all set!

You're right, cu2140 - should just ask questions here!

I think I've read everything official it's possible to read about Columbia/ETP (and threads here from previous years) but I'm wondering how your experience has been so far, particularly as you're now in the masters portion. I've heard criticism of lots of accelerated programs, not just Columbia, that the BSN year is disorganized and crams in too much information - now that you're in the masters, do you think that the BSN portion prepared you well?

In general, how are you finding the quality of the instruction, particularly from the midwifery faculty? Do the instructors take an active interest in the success of the students, and are there opportunities for mentoring from them?

Are you impressed with your midwifery classmates/ETP classmates in general?

How do you feel about NYC as an environment for midwifery as a student/practitioner? I'm actually from NYC, but I've lived outside the US for the past couple years.

If you wouldn't mind, it would also be great to know a bit about your application process (what kind of work/volunteer experience you had, scores, etc.) and why you decided on Columbia as opposed to anywhere else.

Many thanks!! This is a lot of questions, and it would be great to hear from you on any/all of them.

Hey, anyone going to the open house on November 5? For those of you who have gone to the open house, what can I expect? Thanks!

Hi lookingforward,

I think it's pretty universal that accelerated programs are a bit chaotic. I know from friends who have done other programs that they have felt overwhelmed and or frustrated. Columbia is not immune to this either. That said, I came into the program knowing it was going to be a crazy time so I cleared my scheduled and pretty much lived/ate/breathed school for the summer session. This fall has been less crazy and I sort of have a life again :) I think summer, by far, is the craziest time. It separated students who really wanted to be NPs/CRNAs/CNMs from those who weren't all that sure. Those who weren't sure/100% committed ended up dropping out during or after the summer session. This is not meant to scare anyone at all. Those who dropped it was because nursing was not for them. Personally, I learned a ton this summer. Actually, the summer is very organized. You always know what is expected of you and what classes you are taking. Heck, you get your whole 1st year schedule at that point. Flexibility is key too, sometimes administration has to change something and it's been an exercise in just rolling with it.

The only real knock I have on organization was during the admissions process and financial aid. The school implemented a new computer system so we were notified of our admissions decisions really late. Financial aid wasn't ironed out until we got to school. That was a really stressful time but the school says it is fixed.

Instructors are pretty supportive and are invested in student's success. That said, don't expect them to hand hold/give exams at a later/earlier date. They are really strict about everyone taking exams together. As for mentoring you are assigned a faculty mentor at the beginning of the year as well as two peer mentors (they are students from a previous year). So, the support system is there if you want to utilize it.

The quality of students is great. I have met so many interesting people in my class. We have a great variety and age range. I think our youngest student is 21/22 and our oldest is in her 50s. What people were doing before the program is pretty neat as well. We have an opera singer, researchers, phds, mphs, investment bankers, returned peace corps volunteers, new grads etc... I'm constantly amazed at the experiences my peers have had. Also, everyone is really interested in being at school. It probably helps that most (if not all) of us are paying for it out of pocket and with big loans...helps you be a little more invested :)

My midwifery cohort is also an impressive bunch of people. Everyone is very passionate about birth and health care advocacy. I'd say many have birth experience and those who don't have a woman's studies/anthropological background.

As for practicing in NY I can't really speak to it. Most of my ETP clinicals have been in a major hospital system that doesn't employ midwives, so that's a bummer. That said, those who are in their master's portion are doing clinicals with midwives/hospitals that employ midwives and are a having a great time. I think if you want to stick around NY after school and practice there are opportunities for midwives. Though, like everywhere in the country it's a tight market right now. If you were looking for an answer on scope of practice...NY is a pretty liberal place and CNMs have a lot of autonomy.

This leads you to what you asked about my stats and how I chose Columbia. I think the admissions question is tough because the really look at applicants on a holistic basis. Scores alone aren't going to be the deciding factor. Since Columbia doesn't interview your goal statement is extra important. Think of that as your interview. So, my stats are: undergrad GPA 3.6, prereq GPA 3.8 (I don't think they really look at this much), GRE v 760 m 630 w5, I was a birth doula for the year and a half prior to the program.

I chose Columbia based on it's location, diverse patient population, good things I'd heard about my specialty's director as well as the generous scholarship Columbia awards to most students. One more deciding factor for me was the length of my etp/msn program. I'll be done in 2 years. This is because we don't take traditional summer or winter breaks. You do have breaks (two weeks here and there) but the logic behind it is so you are always building on your skills and you don't have a huge time gap of 3 months where you might forget stuff. It has it's pros and cons but it was the right choice for me. I chose from 3 programs and this is the one that fit my needs at the time. I have no doubt in my mind that all the ETPs/MEPNs/GEPNs are pretty similar and the programs are largely what you make of it.

I know this is really long but I hope it helps. It's a stressful and emotional time right now for everyone. Best of luck!

cu2140 - Wow, thank you so much for your lengthy and thoughtful response. I'm sure this will be tremendously helpful for lots of people on this forum, not just me! I really appreciate you taking time out of your busy school schedule to respond here.

Best of luck to you as you continue through the program!

This is my 1st time posting to this thread, but I've been reading all of the helpful info and comments everyone has been posting. Thanks for all the info =) I am applying to 9 schools, most of which had due dates of 11/01, so I am done with most and now have a minute to breathe and post! Aynone else out there applying to the psychiatric mental health track? Would be great to chat!

Was anyone else at the open house yesterday? Really surprised about some of the information we were presented with: financial aid/scholarship changes, no exposure or even encouragement to participate in faculty research.

I felt badly that the financial aid woman ended-up defending the program when a prospective student asked her some pointed questions, specifically, how does Columbia defend the price tag. She had two responses: 1, 91-95% of Columbia students who pay 100K for the BSN will pass the NCLEX on the first try whereas students who go to less expensive schools might have to take the test twice; 2, a Columbia nurse was the first to discover that using Purell between patients cut infection rates. I've had significant exposure to the health field and have done a lot of researching on programs so these two responses seemed weak.

Hey Hopkins -

Wow, that's disappointing. Although, I guess we can't really expect them to say, "We're so expensive because we're a brand name university." Nevertheless, the financial aid representative should be prepared to at least talk about where the tuition goes. Even that would have been a better response.

I've heard rumors that Columbia's program is a bit disorganized. Aside from the less than stellar response on financial aid, did you see/hear anything else that implies disorganization?

C.

Hi, Cartwheel-

I expect the high cost from Columbia and have no problem with it, but these days, you can't say the extra money gets you a first pass on the NCLEX--it has to be something more in my book.

Another prospective student asked about the quality of the faculty saying that, after looking at their profiles, almost all of them had gone to standard 2-4 year nursing programs instead of the big name schools like Columbia, Penn, Hopkins, UCSF. The Program Director sort of brushed-off the prospective student's concern saying faculty were top notch, but "not very diverse". Additionally, the PD said she tried to have a class of 140-160 but sometimes she has classes as high as 180 up to 200! While they bring in a slighty larger class to off-set inevitable attrition, this is a serious red flag to me because a PD should be able to help control the size of the class. The class is broken down into mini-cohorts and we were quoted the following: 32-35 per mini-cohort rotating on clinicals, 4:1 student to faculty ratio in labs and 8:1 when you're on a floor. Also, your clinicals are ANYWHERE in the city: as long as its accessible by transit, you're going there no matter if its Queens, Brooklyn, etc.

I understand there is a new dean so I am hopeful that things can get tightened-up, but understand that might take some time and, obviously, not everything is up to the PD. A huge positive for the program (in my book) that I learned yesterday is that they give you 800 hours of clinical whereas other schools might only give you 600. Really great when hospital programs are cutting training for new nurses or are reluctant to hire those with less clinical exposure. Also, the BSN can be completed in 12 months but to do so, you have to give-up everything--literally, the PD said don't plan to get married, have a baby, get seriously ill or have your parents get seriously ill because you only get something like 4 weeks off the entire year.

Needless to say I was feeling a bit deflated on the train ride home last night. I'm still interested in Columbia, but yesterday was just not what I expected.

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