Ivy League = Best Grad School?!?!?

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Okay...a few more questions,

So....I am applying to grad school this coming Fall (2004). I am taking a year off to complete the pre-req's and such and so I would be entering grad school in June 2005 or Fall 2005, depending on where I go. The thing is I have heard so many things about this grad school and that grad school...I want to get advice form professionals, again.

So here are the schoold I am looking at: (not in any particular order)

1.) Columbia

2.) UCSF

3.) Univerity of San Francisco

4.) Yale

5.) Penn

6.) University of San Diego

7.) Johns Hopkins

Please keep in mind that I am applying to a special program. I will not have a BSN in nursing and I am not an RN, so some schools have this special program for non-nurses who want to go into nursing, and get a MSN. (Some schools will also give you a BSN and some won't).

I have had a couple people tell me that if I got into an Ivy League (Penn, Yale, or Columbia) ----and that's a BIG IF----AND I got into UCSF, USF, etc. and I did NOT go to one of the Ivies, I would be stupid. Is this true? I was thinking that there is such a shortage of nurses that they wouldn't care where you got your degree from---or is this not the case for Advanced Degrees?. The CNS/NP that I volunteer for graduated from Yale and she basically agreed that my best bet would be an Ivy.

The reason I ask is b/c for awhile I was stuck on going to UCSF (I'm a California native, and all my family/friends are out here, including my boyfriend. He wouldn't let me pass up a chance to go to an Ivy if Igot in, but I can't imagine being that far away from him for almost 4 years! I'm at UCLA, he's in the Bay Area (where I live) and THAT'S hard enough as it is. We have been together 2.5 years, so it's not a "fling/puppy love" sort of thing).

Anyway, what do you all think? What school would be my best bet? (Assuming I am going for an Acute Care NP program).

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Teachers College, Columbia University!!! My alma mater; but I am being objective of course:chuckle

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What's Teachers College? And since you went there...how much did it roughly cost per year including living expenses? (I imagine it will be bad news):chuckle

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i hope you don't mind my opinion...but i would want an advanced practice nurse teaching me...or seeing me as a NP if they had no real nursing experience....just my 2 cents...

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Specializes in Oncology, Research.

Have you checked out US News' rankings of NP programs. UCSF has very highly regarded nursing programs. If yo have ties there, you would not being doing yourself a disservice to stay in the area. All the schools you mentioned are great choices. However, in reality, the Ivy league is really just a glorified sports division. It's not necessary to receive an Ivy education to secure employment as an NP. I'm not knocking it though, as I plan to apply to Penn for grad school. I actually attend Hopkins, if you have any questions about JHU I'll be happy to answer them.

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Originally posted by jewelsg627

What's Teachers College? And since you went there...how much did it roughly cost per year including living expenses? (I imagine it will be bad news):chuckle

Teachers College is one of many colleges in the Columbia University system...hence the term university, which means a bunch of colleges under the umbrella of the main college. ;)

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Originally posted by anc33

Have you checked out US News' rankings of NP programs. UCSF has very highly regarded nursing programs. If yo have ties there, you would not being doing yourself a disservice to stay in the area. All the schools you mentioned are great choices. However, in reality, the Ivy league is really just a glorified sports division. It's not necessary to receive an Ivy education to secure employment as an NP. I'm not knocking it though, as I plan to apply to Penn for grad school. I actually attend Hopkins, if you have any questions about JHU I'll be happy to answer them.

Glorified sports division? All the Ivy school's sports programs suck,,,what they excell in are academics; and what Ivy really means that they are the first universities in this good old USA...history, status, expensive, prestigious...yes; do you get first class education? Resounding yes. Is it necessary to have an Ivy League degree? Absolutely not...I was just lucky, I guess.;)

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Specializes in Educator.

Ok, I am replying as someone who has applied to several programs, both Ivy and Ivy-less schools for an acelerated program (ie: no nursing degree).

Check out the ratings for each school and your specialty-- it's only a guideline.

Peruse their web sites and call the schools for more info. The type of contact you have with them can be quite telling-- I called and emailed one school several times re: problem getting info on their web site)--I was not alone in that problem-- they were really not interested and would not send info becuase "it's on the web site". Didn't apply there:)

Decided whether or not you want an RN or a BSN- there can be quite a diff in prereqs and in length of the program.

And.. go with your gut. I chose an IVY becuase it had a special program within the specialty I wanted.

Feel free to contact me if you want to chat more about this!!!

:)

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Yes...I KNOW what a college is...:chuckle

What I was meaninig to ask was, if you are a nurse wouldn't you go to the School of NURSING at Columbia...not Teachers College....?

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Specializes in Oncology, Research.

I was anticipating that someone would take offense to my description of the Ivy league. I hold a very high opinion of the educational programs offered that these institutions. And yes, most of their athletic programs do "suck". However, the Ivy league is a collegiate sporting division, albeit one by invite only. Hopkins was invited a few years ago but declined since acceptance meant that they could no longer offer lacrosse scholarships.

Back to the topic. I believe that attending an Ivy league school sounds very impressive, but I don't think it prepares you any better for the real world than a state school. UCSF, Oregon, Washington, and Michigan, for example all have great programs that are just as good, if not better. That was my point, sorry if I ruffled any feathers.

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I am an MSN grad of another Ivy (I'll let Alnamvet field the Teachers' College question -- guess you haven't looked too closely at Columbia yet, jewelsg627 :) ). While I got an excellent education at the school I attended, I went there because it offered a program that was the best fit for what I wanted to do. The best school for one person may not be the best choice for another. There are many factors to consider (and, yes, the ugly truth is that cost is one of those many considerations).

There is an interesting discussion of the US News rankings on the CRNA bulletin board that you may want to look at. There are a number of reasons why people in academia don't pay much attention to those kinds of rankings.

WHATEVER school you end up attending, you will invest so much blood, sweat, tears, and $$$ that you should be sure (IMHO) that it's a program and degree YOU feel good about, regardless of others' advice about one school over another.

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Hey Elkpark,

I looked at Columbia's website and they sent me a packet, but I suppose I haven't looked/read close enough b/c I have no clue what Teacher's College is! (Mental note to self : look through packet again...):chuckle

Also, what is IMHO? (Yet again, something I've never heard of...)

:roll

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