Columbia ETP Program 2012 entry

Nursing Students Post Graduate

Published

Hi,

I plan on applying for the anesthesia program at Columbia and I wanted to know how the background of those that have been accepted look like to see if I'm even competitive enough apply.

Thanks!

In terms of volunteering experience, I was wondering what some of you have been participating in. I have volunteered in a variety of settings from an oncology unit to a peds clinic for the disadvataged to an urgent care. Because the ETP program is geared for students who do not have nursing training (more specificially a RN/BSN), I wonder what the expectation is or hopes are. A lot of what I do is patient communication, restock supplies, and when lucky observe the different clinicians. Of course this is all offer transferrable skills but I wonder if certain opportunities weigh more than others in the eyes of the admission committee.

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In terms of volunteering experience, I was wondering what some of you have been participating in. I have volunteered in a variety of settings from an oncology unit to a peds clinic for the disadvataged to an urgent care. Because the ETP program is geared for students who do not have nursing training (more specificially a RN/BSN), I wonder what the expectation is or hopes are. A lot of what I do is patient communication, restock supplies, and when lucky observe the different clinicians. Of course this is all offer transferrable skills but I wonder if certain opportunities weigh more than others in the eyes of the admission committee.

In regards to dedicatedone's post, I too am wondering what type of volunteer/life experiences will make us more of a a competitive applicant? In response to the poster above, I have interned for one year each at my undergrad's (UC Davis) Medical Center at the Pediatrics Emergency unit and also at the MIND Institute working with Autistic and Fragile X Syndrome. Recently I have completed a Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) course and am on my way to becoming a certified nursing assistant and hopefully I can find a job in the meanwhile in that area to help strengthen my apps. Hopefully someone can give us their .02 on this :yeah:

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Hi melevang,

Can I ask you how you got a hold of Jose and is he the main person to direct our admissions questions to? Also, if you happen to have the contact information for the people on admission committee, can you forward that to me? I'm not sure about everyone, but i'm nervous and excited for my first rounds of nursing school apps in the next few months! :nurse:

Thanks!

Hi! When I emailed the info address for the nursing program, Jose was the one who responded. I have been corresponding with him since. Hope this helps!

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Hi Guys. Took the GRE this past weekend. Did really well in verbal, but bombed the math section. I contacted Jose, and he indicated that competitive applicants should shoot for the 50th percentile. Just a heads up. Happy studying! =)

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Hi co-hopefuls!

FYI, there are now *TWO* deadlines for the ETP program! There is actually an "early decision" deadline, like you remember from undergrad days. :) I had an informational interview at Columbia last month and they told me this might be coming, although I have no idea what it means in practice. I assume that it is a binding decision, instituted by the school to deal with the fact that they have so many applicants who end up not accepting their places.

Early Decision Combined BS/MS Entry to Practice Program (ETP) October 14, 2011

Combined BS/MS Entry to Practice Program (ETP) November 15, 2011

Anyone have further info about this?

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Hey applicants! I was just in your shoes (last year) and have finished my first month of ETP summer term, woo hoo! Seeing as I'm in the program (and would never consider Yale, get outta here), shoot me questions or PM's and I'll see what I can answer. I'm no help on financial aid (soorrrryyy) as I didn't apply for it, but otherwise can offer some insights into the program so far.

The summer term has been AWESOME. The clinical placements are my favorite part-they really get you diving in early and the instructors are super patient with those of us who are all thumbs. My classmates are all awesome, super interesting people from all walks of life and we all make sure to keep a healthy work-play balance in the big city. Classes-wise, we have some seriously kick ass instructors who have a ton of nursing experience (and stories) to keep you going through 4hour lectures.

For those asking about past volunteer/work experience that looks good when applying- I can't say what admissions is looking for, but here's some of the things my classmates have done: CNA's, EMT's, massage therapist, financial consultant, hospital admissions, cancer/medical research assistants, college students (directly out of undergrad), starbucks barista, waiters, bartenders, peace corps volunteers, nanny, doulas, ski bum, or full-time prerequisite studying. In summary, you really can have zero experience before applying, or you could be an EMT already. I think one thing you should definitely try to do before coming is shadow an NP for a day (or longer if you can)- maybe one in a specialty you're interested in. The girls in our programs who worked as doulas or shadowed women's health NP's make me jealous of all the cool things they've seen already (like births- WOAH).

Also regarding an earlier post, no interviews are done for the application. I think this might be because half of our incoming class is from California and people would feel obligated to fly out to NY for the interview (which would be expensive especially for those who don't end up getting in). On a related note, Jose is the admissions person you'll want to correspond with. The whole process can be pretty stressful for him and for us, so be patient with him. He's really trying. Good guy.

Oi, forgot to tell you I'm on the FNP track although I won't be doing anything specific to that till the Spring really. Fire away with the questions!

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Hey everyone! So, this is my second go around for applying to Columbia. I was wait-listed for the 2011 ETP class, but unfortunately they did not take anyone from the wait-list this year. After speaking to admissions I was told last year was the most competitive year ever and they had double the amount of applicants than the previous year. They also mentioned that less than a handful of students denied their acceptance, which was unheard of and was also the reason why they did not take anyone from their wait-list. I am hoping second time around is going to be the charm for me :) Good Luck to everyone during this process, I know how STRESSFUL and emotional it can be applying to schools and waiting for decisions.

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Hello!

I am applying to Columbia and Yale as well, and they are definitely my top two choices. I live in California, and I worked in the financial world for 3 years before deciding to make the switch. I guess I'm a little worried about experience...I think I have a fair shot with my grades/scores. My undergrad GPA was a 3.34, GRE Q:710, V:690, and I've got all A's so far in my prereqs. I was finally able to start volunteering at the local hospital, but I'm on the med-surg floor and just starting out. I plan to shadow an NP as soon as my A&P class is over since it's been pretty consuming. I feel like I won't have enough volunteer experience before it's time to turn in applications already! I've loved every minute of it so far, so I feel like I have a strong idea of what I'm getting myself into. Any thoughts?

Also, does anyone have a general idea of how many schools they would recommend applying to? I really HAVE to get accepted in 2012, so I am willing to apply to more than I have to. Since I'm so new to the nursing world, I'm having a hard time figuring out which schools would be considered "safety" schools. So far, I've just been looking at US News Rankings for FNP, but I don't know if anyone has other opinions about that (considering they don't rank the direct-entry programs, just the traditional MSN program i'm guessing..but maybe it's comparable?). Is 15 schools too many?

Also, is anyone applying to ABSN-MSN programs? Looks like NYU and Georgetown have programs that would help segue people who complete the ABSN into their own MSN prorams.

Thanks!!

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Also, does anyone have a general idea of how many schools they would recommend applying to? Is 15 schools too many?

Sounds like you have a pretty competitive academic profile! Congrats on that :)

I did not score as well on the GRE, not even close. But with that in mind, I still plan on applying. I don't think 15 schools are too many. I'm applying to at least that much for sure. Maybe more if I can get into this BioChem course I have been fighting to get into. I'm also from SoCal and the JC's are packed with students and finding spots are so difficult. I think it would be smart to apply for schools across all levels: RN, BSN, and the MEPN/ETP. If brought up in an interview it would show initiative and it would help your probability getting into the nursing field overall. With your profile, I'm sure you're an extremely competitive applicant.

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Wow, you guys are amazingly dedicated to be applying to so many schools!

I'm applying to three and calling it a day. :D

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Wow, I have not heard of people applying to more than 5, but if you can knock out 15 applications more power to you. I applied to 3 programs that I knew I would love attending and crossed my fingers. After getting my first "no" I kinda freaked out and looked up what programs had later application deadlines (like NYU). Luckily, I got a few acceptances and I'm here now (CUSON). You sound super qualified and I'm sure you won't have that problem if you apply to 15!

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I'm nervous about not getting accepted to a program so I hope that at least one school will say "yes." I would love to leave the Southern California area and go back east because there seems to be so much many programs available to people in out situation.

jqfish - how do you like the CUSON program? Everything you hoped it to be?

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