secondtimer14

Hello. Second year student here. Have to be honest, it's not all that feasible. Especially during GEPN year. Professors do not allow you to zoom unless you have covid. Yes, you are allowed to skip class. But you are not allowed to skip labs or clinical, which are scattered throughout the week, and all exams are in person during class time. I knew two people in my class who were both moms and tried to commute from far, one from NYC and one from New Hampshire. The one in NYC ended up renting a place in New Haven by 6 weeks in. The one from New Hampshire dropped out by 6 weeks in. ? The school was not accommodating; it's meant to be a full time, in person program. There is more flexibility in the masters years, because they cluster things more so you can work part time. Class is Monday Tuesday. If you don't have clinical you only need to be here two days a week. But clinical sites are hard to find, so if the only site they can find you is on a Thursday, you're going to need to make it work. You could probably fly home for long weekends, and breaks. on the flip side, Connecticut is a lovely place to live and great for kids. Lots of great public schools in all the suburbs surrounding New Haven (including Orange). If you can relocate, it's lovely. I'm sorry that probably isn't what you want to hear ?

Regarding housing - to echo above, East Rock is probably the most popular neighborhood with graduate students. Lots of beautiful big old homes turned into triplexes, with East Rock Park right there and some cute coffee shops etc. Westville/West Rock is also nice (has a cute main street with a few great breakfast places) and Wooster Square, which is near the farmers market and "little Italy" with a lot of the iconic pizza places. Some people also live in Hamden (Whitneyville), which is just past East Rock. You're probably already aware, but the nursing school is on an entirely different campus from the College; it's "west campus" in Orange, CT. It's nothing like the old ivy-covered buildings you picture when you think of Yale, but the building is nice, there is ample free parking, there's a small gym and cafe, and it's near a lot of amenities (Orange is home to greater New Haven's only Trader Joe's, Costco, and Whole Foods). Orange is pretty residential so I don't recommend living *in* Orange, unless you're older with a family/kids and want to rent a suburban house. I do strongly recommend having a car. There is a shuttle that runs from old campus to west campus, but you also have to get to clinical, which could be as far as Bridgeport or Hartford, and you have to be there by 7 a.m. I'm an older student with children, so I was searching for a single family home with good public schools. I focused my search on Woodbridge, the Spring Glen section of Hamden, Guilford, and Orange. Single families in these suburbs are rare on go quick so be prepared to move. I just used zillow and facebook marketplace to search.

My kids are young as well (a toddler plus two in elementary). There is a solid group of parents in each class year, and we really band together and support each other (unsurprisingly, most of us are NM or PNP). My best advice is to have a really solid plan for childcare. Fall semester in particular is definitely a full-time commitment, between classes, labs, clinical, and studying for the endless stream of exams. However, if you treat it like a 9-5 (or 8-6) job on weekdays, you will be able to mostly unplug on nights/weekends. And then things lighten up in the Spring (right now we only have two class days, plus a 12 hour clinical). So you really have to get through the fall and then things level out. My impression is the masters years are more like our current, lighter schedule. I know it's light enough that a lot of people work at least part time, and some are working full-time as RNs. It's definitely, definitely doable with kids. Plus me being in school has been such a great enrichment for my kids. They love playing "nurse" and having me practice my assessment skills on them, hearing about what I'm learning, etc. Connecticut has also been a great place to live with kids. We relocated from another state for this program. My 8 year old said it's her "favorite place of anywhere we've ever lived." I don't know if you're already local, if not, feel free to DM me about neighborhoods/daycares/schools. Specialty played a role in my decision-making. As I didn't look into PNP, I can't speak to which schools are best for your specialty. Reaching out to current practitioners helped me get the lay of the land. Although my takeaway was that for NM, they are all fine, so finances and geography was how I narrowed things down.

Hi all! Another current GEPN here ? I've been meaning to pop over, as I lived on here last year. CONGRATS to those admitted!! For those seeing the cold hard numbers for the first time, deep breaths. I remember very vividly when I learned I was offered absolutely $0.00 merit aid, only loans. I didn't expect much, but 0 felt like a hard pill to swallow. BUT there is some good news. First of all, if you get a scholarship offer from another school, email Yale and ask them to match it. They won't, but they will likely give you something. Second, be sure that when you're comparing programs, you factor in cost of living. Greater New Haven is SUPER affordable, especially compared to places like NYC and San Francisco. And I've loved living here, it's diverse, international, great food, and easy access to the East Coast/New England. Third, if you're planning to work with underserved populations, apply to National Health Services Corps. It's a government-backed full tuition + stipend scholarship for all three years, as long as you commit to working at least 3 years in a federally qualified health center (think: big urban hospitals serving low income populations, plus rural underserved hospitals). I know at least 4 current GEPNs who were selected for it. There's also nursing corps, which is the same deal, but you aren't eligible until speciality year (and then you're committed to serve 2 years). There's also state-backed loan repayment, which you get once you start work. The details vary by state and position, but my impression is that it's fairly easy to get if you're wanting to work in qualified settings. Bottom line - Yale is freaking expensive. You will feel varying levels of panic about this over the next few years. But my impression from those who came before (and common sense), is that debt is a reality for most people. And like most, you work and you hustle and eventually it works out, and you get to do what you really want to be doing. For me personally as to why I chose Yale -- I was deciding between Yale, Vanderbilt, and Rush (Rush only has a generalist MSN). I wasn't willing to pay the cost of living in NYC or SF, so I didn't even apply to schools there. I didn't apply to Penn because HOLY STICKER SHOCK their tuition is insane (that aside, I do hear it's a wonderful program). My read on Vanderbilt from admitted student day is that it's a great program, probably better than Yale (better run, more integrated into the broader University, etc). But I personally did not want to move to Tennessee, especially during a pandemic. And I spoke to as many practicing midwives as I could, and they all emphasized that career options would be the same coming out of Yale versus Vanderbilt. One is not viewed as better than the other. So I chose the place that worked best for my whole family (I moved with a spouse and three kids, and can also speak to that if anyone has questions).

Yikes, yeah I don't think this should be a factor for me.

Since it's 3 scholarships for 100 people, you have to operate under the assumption you won't get it, and be pleasantly surprised if it come through. There's also the 3 second-year scholarships that will be based on grades.

Yes! Where else are you considering?

I get that, and it sounds really nice at first. But the most disadvantaged/economically vulnerable students will be lost that way, because it's scary to commit to a $160,000 program thinking you got at most 10,000 off. You can absolutely love the school and still feel like you can't take that on. Especially if other good schools have offered you money. Many if not most will make their choice now based on who gave the most aid, so it seems like a dangerous strategy. Yes my thoughts exactly. POC here too.

I'm really surprised they do it this way. Traditionally scholarships like that are used to poach the best students during this pre-enrollment process. It's still only 3 scholarships for a class of approximately 100, not sure how I should weigh this (I'm currently very split between here and Yale). Also, I got a 7800 scholarship off the bat. I wonder if it means I'm low odds for full tuition, since they give up to 10k. Probably the people who got 10 had the strongest apps?

Wow, so you're certain those haven't been allocated yet? That's huge.

Would any of the current students on the thread be willing to speak with me offline about the program (especially midwifery people)? I just got into Vanderbilt (yay!) and I need to decide by Monday and feeling really torn.

Admitted student day not until the 12th. CONGRATS to those admitted! Anyone here deciding between Yale and Vandy? Yale's deposit is due next Monday and I am completely on the fence, so I feel like I need to make a decision in the next week. (Extremely wonderful situation to be in, I am so grateful!)

It was a status update on my portal above the checklist. Nurse-Midwifery

Ah sorry don't freak out! Maybe it takes a few minutes for everyones to post. I havent received an email yet