momo90

Going straight from MDE to DNP doesn’t shorten the timeframe, it’s still 15 months for MDE and then 2-2.5 years for DNP depending on speciality. There’s no accelerated DNP option. Having said that, if you’re a non-Columbia RN coming into DNP, the timeframe is an additional semester long and you have a slightly heavier course load for the first few semesters than those of us who did MDE because you need to take a few classes we already took. They also knock $40k off the DNP for people go straight from MDE to DNP. If you didn’t apply to DNP with your MDE app, you can apply to DNP usually in the fall or Winter of MDE. They do accept some competitive internal applicants but my year very few internals were accepted, none to midwifery and a handful to the other programs. congrats to all accepted! Celebrate & Enjoy these next few months!!

@AnthonyforMichael LOL I just wrote out a whole long response and then deleted it because I don’t want to rain on your parade! In the end, I don’t regret going to Columbia but if I could do it all over again, I would go elsewhere. I had high expectations based on their position as an Ivy League program and promises that I just think they didn’t deliver on. Having said that, I did well academically/I feel prepared to pass the NCLEX, it’s definitely the fastest game in town, and we were able to get in most of our clinical hours despite COVID. Hopefully the name helps open doors so I can repay these hefty student loans! I’ve also heard the DNP programs are better than MDE so that’s something, and just be prepared to advocate for yourself when issues inevitably arise. The administration at least listens to the students if nothing else and they are trying to do better. If you are planning to work during DNP, I would get specific scheduling info from the program director for your DNP before committing, it seems less flexible for working nurses than I would have thought. The Patagonias are from two group orders we did, one thru student nurses association and one thru the student council. I’m sure they will order again when you’re here, it seems pretty annual!! Best of luck and enjoy!

Ahh thanks so much! Congrats! This is super helpful to know. yes, we all get that seamless discount automatically, but they aren’t considering any of us for additional merit based scholarships which is frustrating, even for those of us who were inducted into their honors society, etc., I am unlikely to continue thru to the DNP at Columbia for a number of reasons but this is one of them! appreciate the response and good luck with your studies!!

Hi, I'm a current MDE-DNP student at CUSON. Would you, or someone else who received a merit scholarship, be willing to share how much that is for? Some of us who are in MDE now and continuing straight into DNP this fall asked the school about more $$$ and they told us that they are not offering merit scholarships for MDE to DNP students, so I would love to hear more about this! Thank you and congrats to those accepted!

Thank you!! Congrats!!

oh nooo! I'm sorry!! but okay thank you that's helpful to know!!

Hi, congrats to all of you who were accepted! I'm considering applying to this program for Fall '22 and wondering if any of you could share whether you received scholarships from the school with your acceptance offers? Totally don't tell me how much, but JHU had said that 80% received scholarships and so I am curious! Thank you!!

Hi @CrystalC to answer both of your posts: 1. how much I like it depends on the day ?. this is a difficult time to be going to nursing school (or doing anything really!) and Columbia's program is accelerated. That has its pros (done faster, worst experiences are over quickly) and cons (sometimes it feels like we are moving so quickly we are not learning as deeply as we could be, the workload can be overwhelming at times). There are some professors who are awful and some who are wonderful, because of the pace you're not with either type for very long before you're on to the next thing. I would say the material is not dissimilar to the pre-reqs, it goes a little bit deeper, there's a nursing focus, and it's just a high volume (firehose analogy). Clinical experiences all over the city are great to see different hospital systems, though I think our actual clinical experiences could be better. If I could do it all over again I might choose another school and I wish I had applied to a program like MGH that does the direct-entry masters to be an NP for less $$. On the other hand, I hope the columbia name will open doors/strong alumni network. Tl;Dr is that I think columbia is a very decent nursing program but it is extremely expensive and can be very stressful. 2. I'm honestly not sure about the process of going from a MS/RN to an MSN/APRN, but a ton of people do not go straight through to DNP, many go to work as RNs or do their NP elsewhere. 3. I know some people who are working 1 day/week and I worked part-time for a few months in the beginning as I wrapped up my job (in an extremely flexible position). Columbia also offered for us to work as nursing assistants at NYP for a bit this Winter two 8-hour shifts a week max if we wanted to, and some people took them up on it so are working 1-2 days a week and getting paid for that. I think if you can swing it so that you are not working, you'll be glad, it's really just a lot to stay on top of and you'll be happy for a little downtime. If you are going to work, I would try to keep it to one day a week, best if on a weekend. Columbia changes the schedule randomly during the week with meetings, sim labs, or whatever but weekends are our own! Also I would add that a bunch of people have kids in this program and that seems to me like a job in and of itself and they're balancing it all, and if you're not particularly concerned about grades and/or things come super quickly to you, you may find you have more flexibility to work Sorry this is so long and I hope it's helpful!

They open up applications in the Winter of MDE for current students to apply to the DNP and to allow any current seamless MDE-DNP students to switch specialties (e.g. some will have gotten accepted MDE-Pediatric NP and will decide after some experience they’d rather do Family). It’s a pretty straightforward application and as long as you’re in good standing you shouldn’t have a problem getting into DNP. Some of the DNP cohorts are smaller, acute care and midwifery for example, so those can be a bit more competitive to apply to. you get a bit of a $$$ break if you go straight from MDE to DNP, I think it’s like $40k cheaper, rather than doing MDE, leaving to go work or whatever, and then applying to DNP later.

Ours started at 208 I believe and now I think it’s about 193. Some classes, like patho 1 and 2 are closer to 250+ because there’s lateral DNP students (RNs who went to school elsewhere) taking it with us as part of their program.

My personal feeling is the faculty are a mixed bag... there’s a few professors who are fantastic and a few others who aren’t as great... maybe they struggle to adapt to online or are just not as interested in teaching. I think many feel this way because there’s a few that have a reputation for being awful. Most are supportive but keep in mind that the MDE is a huge cohort (200+) so it’s difficult to get one-on-one attention. All profs have office hours if you’re able to make the time and that can help develop a relationship. And you’ll be assigned a faculty mentor to meet with in a group of mentees periodically (via zoom). The MDE churns out nurses though so it can feel at times like you’re just a face in the crowd. The DNP cohorts are smaller and it’s supposedly much better. I think of MDE like boot camp, just get through it! we are fully online for classes and exams. Most classes have an asynchronous portion of readings or more likely prerecorded lectures, then an additional synchronous portion on zoom. Exams are live and proctored via zoom. we go to the campus periodically for sim lab and we go in-person to the hospitals for clinicals of course. You can sign up for additional time in the sim lab if you want it, otherwise we are there once or twice a week for a few weeks at the beginning and then just once a month or less for the remainder of MDE.

Also a current Columbia MDE student here and I fully agree with my colleague! If anyone has any Qs, happy to answer!

The MDE program is for a MS that allows you to sit for the NCLEX to become an RN, so when you're finished you're a nurse with a master's degree. To become an NP with Columbia you would have to continue on to one of the DNP programs or CRNA.

Definitely doesn’t matter where you do them! Fwiw I really liked the Johns Hopkins pre-reqs. They’re on the pricier side compared to a CC but I thought they were easy enough and not a competitive environment at all bc it’s very self-paced within each module week. I would prob skip harvard extension, their science classes can be tough and there’s def a ton of med school hopefuls which is a whole dif vibe (not bad just different!) good luck!!? edit to add that I can’t remember for Columbia but some schools required a lab component so just make sure that if you need that, it’s included in whichever classes you chose. I know you can email admissions and have them sign off on the class syllabus beforehand too. Not sure what the pricing is but I believe MGH Nursing also offers prereqs.

Hi- I think it depends on how important these are to your app. If you think it's make-or-break then I would email (or call) admissions and ask about updating your resume. If they're just adding a little more color, I might not bother, but it doesn't hurt to ask someone in admissions either way I guess. I also remember that there was an email sent out to everyone who had applied in ~early January requesting our fall semester grades to be submitted to the application portal, so maybe that is a good time to update your resume as well? Good luck!