btlejoos

to add to the BSN debate - at a columbia info session i attended, we were told that new york requires a BSN in order to enter an MSN program, so that's why they offer it. i don't think it necessarily says much about programs overall, whether they offer it or not, and i doubt future employers will care either way.

congrats biddy! it's such a relief to make a decision. i decided this weekend to do yale over columbia. the financial aid package isn't great, but at least we're starting out as grad students and are eligible for more loan money. oh, and re the scholarship, i only got $5,000. it's so irritating that they take the expected family contribution into account, seeing as how that contribution is going to be zero come august. i'm having that problem with a lot of scholarships i've looked into; if your EFC is above a certain amount, you can't apply. ugh!

calalilly - i believe they said we would get about 20,000 in stafford loans and an additional 7 or so in perkins. i've heard that the perkins loan has some sort of loan forgiveness program if you work in public health for a certain number of years. they didn't specify how much they would be able to give in scholarship money, so the amount we will need in private loans isn't clear yet. i'm just quoting these numbers from memory as i don't have my notes in front of me, so i might be a bit off.

i'm debating with columbia, only because i could be working as an RN as soon as next summer. it certainly isn't much cheaper, given cost of living. my gut is pushing for yale too though. i mean, it's YALE! ugh, and i thought the anxiety would end once i got into a program...

i'm hoping to find a place with fellow nursing students. i currently live alone but don't want to pay that kind of rent if i'm not going to be working! plus, it seems like it will make the transition easier/funner if living with people going through the same thing. my only issue is that i have two cats and know that a lot of people aren't crazy about living with pets. kind of wish yale had some kind of pre-orientation over the summer for people to meet and network.

i did stumble across this site, but there aren't many listings and i don't think it was what the guy from student affairs was referring to. http://www.yale.edu/livingnh/community/rental.html

i remember at the student affairs session the guy said that once we're admitted, they give us access to a website where people can post housing ads. does that ring a bell to anyone else? after the interview i drove around the neighborhoods that he recommended and they all looked very quaint and the homes were surprisingly really nice looking.

calalilly - i understand what you're dealing with. i have a background in psychology and was accepted into the psychiatry specialty. i'm extremely excited but definitely have had some worries in the back of my mind that during the first year, i'll find that i really love working with other populations as well. what's also difficult with psych is that we have to choose to work with adults or kids, and get certified for that specific population. because i've enjoyed working with both adults and kids, having to choose one over the other was difficult. for this reason i have been leaning towards columbia, as they made a point of saying during their visiting day that we can switch specialties during our first year. they understood that since we're new to nursing, it can be difficult to predict what population is going to interest us the most. from speaking with several MD's they also thought it odd that we would have to "know" at the time of application what our specialty would be. that said, i understand that yale has its reasons for wanting people who are firm in what they want to do. after coming for the interview, i was sure that i would attend if i was admitted. i felt that the faculty was so committed to its students, and that there was an even mix between clinical experience and providing research opportunities through the praxis. it's going to a very difficult decision, to say the least! i wonder how many of us are torn between yale and other schools?

hi all! i got in for child psych! seems like a lot of us psych people found out today. congrats to everyone who found out, and i hope everyone else hears soon!

congratulations lillyb! what a perfect ending to the week!

hmmm no clue. i'm sure angela could tell you the number of people who got accepted in acute once letters go out. that might give you an indication of how popular it is.

jnd - i asked angela this very question and she said it's highly unlikely if you want to switch to a "popular" specialty like family or pediatrics, but that if you want to do geriatrics or oncology, for example, it's a possibility.

the wait continues! just buy a bottle of wine so you have it ready when you open the letter. you'll need it regardless of the decision!

dohzen...the deadline on my financial aid package is 2/20.

planet - i received $5,500 in subsidized loans and $7,000 in unsubsidized. you may want to contact oscar if you didn't receive the $7,000 as i was under the impression that we all would receive that amount (which is the max for undergrads - i double checked with oscar). one of the attachments in the financial aid email he sent had a link to private loans that columbia recommends: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/sfs/pdfs/2008-2009_undergrad_private_chart.pdf. are any of you confused by the deadline they want us to accept the award by? since this occurs before the deadline the admissions department gave us for deciding if we want to attend, i'm wondering if there's any type of penalty for accepting the award and then deciding on a different school??

a friend of mine has a student loan through citibank and said she really likes the customer support and that they're very prompt about posting payments and getting you your money.

which bank did you go through?

freyalisa - inwood, from what i've heard from friends is a quiet, residential area, and very safe. the commute isn't bad either....about 30 blocks from columbia, which by train is quick.

the lack of standardization for pre-reqs across these types of programs is beyond frustrating. it makes no sense, and from what we heard at the Yale interview, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of evidence out there that coming in with pre-reqs makes you better prepared to be a nurse. all it seems to do is act as a barrier for many people who would like to swtich careers, but can't afford all the pre-reqs.

i've been trolling craigslist as well for places. i live in nyc, but am looking for a place closer to campus. there's definitely areas to be careful about...my friend just moved out of her place on 145th and edgecombe because she was hearing gun shots at night and clearly didn't feel too safe. unfortunately, apartments on the upper west side are pretty damn expensive, so inwood (in the 200's; columbia is on 168th) may be the way to go. i have a friend who lives there and her apartment is amazing and the rent is affordable. she even has a dishwasher, which is something you probably won't see the entire time you're in new york.

after seeing my financial aid package i freaked out and called oscar. he said that most students work at least one or two shifts during the master's program to offset costs a bit. hopefully it's possible to do that without pushing back our graduation date.

oh sweet jesus, just got my financial aid package. i can't believe we get so little in federal loans! i didn't realize that because we're considered undergrads the first year, we can only get about $12,000 in federal money. the first year is going to be so difficult. at least we get bigger loans in the master's portion.

fionagurl, i'm hoping to do the same thing. since i have two cats i can't do the on campus housing, and i'd rather live a little closer to the main part of manhattan. i've been browing craigslist and looking for places on the upper west side. rent of course is astronomical. ugh. since i'll be moving from brooklyn though, i'll be able to scope out places ahead of time, so that's a big plus. it would definitely be nice to find a place with other ETP students. hopefully those kinds of connections can be made at the visiting day!

haha, guess the b word is a no no on this site. wow, didn't know that about the perkin's loan. i found that out at the yale interviews just two weeks ago.

yeah, i love brooklyn too and my lease is up in april, so it's a ***** trying to figure out what to do. were you as taken by yale as i was? i had been on the fence between columbia and yale but after interviewing there, i really felt like they had an amazing program and faculty. i'm impresssed by columbia too, but like the idea of going to school in a college town and not feeling like a commuter.