Samm13

To address a couple of things mentioned: I had heard a rumor that people in specialty tracks like ANP don't get to do a peds rotation. I asked a faculty member (the coordinator of ANP) at the Open House if during the first half of the program students' specialty tracks affect their clinical rotations, and she said no - everybody does everything. I wouldn't worry about not getting enough varied clinical experiences... I think that is misinformation, at least from the info I got at the Open House. As for Science Summer, if you only have to take nutrition, for goodness sakes keep your job! That is an on-line course. You'll be able to do the whole thing at night or on the weekends. What they said was not if you have to take one class, quit your job. They said if you have to take ALL that classes, quit your job. I agree that the faculty seemed very impressive. I mean, a lot of faculty at other schools have impressive resumes, but no other faculty that I've encountered has been as approachable and down-to-earth, and also seemed to work so well together, as at MGH. A lot of schools say that you will get lots of personal attention and mentoring, but at MGH I actually buy that.

Freyalisa - As usual, I hear you!!!!! Sam

Any thoughts on the accepted students info session yesterday?

Hopefully Saturday morning, traffic won't be too bad. I have probably taken the Chinatown bus literally 50 times - it is very cheap and easy. If you take the 8pm bus on Friday night it will be crowded but you probably won't hit any traffic and you'll get to Boston before the T shuts down. I am planning on taking a bus (maybe trying Bolt Bus, 7 or 8am) on Saturday morning because my fiance is coming too, and insists that that bus will be less crowded. We are taking the amtrak back on Sunday to avoid traffic (Sunday afternoon/evening traffic between Boston and New York is pretty bad!). Anyway, I am an expert on Boston-New York transportation if you need any advice! You're absolutely welcome to travel with me on Bolt Bus on Saturday morning!!

Hi Tanguera, I will be going too! I'll be at Columbia's visiting day on Friday and then I will be heading up to Boston, most likely on Saturday morning. I'm actually in Boston right now for my fiance's accepted students weekend at HBS, so I couldn't believe it when I found out on Friday that I'd have to make the trip again next weekend! It will be nice to compare the school back-to-back though. Looking forward to meeting you!

I was just accepted to MGHIHP's Direct Entry MSN program for 2009. I am looking for more information about this program. I am trying to choose between this and Columbia. Is anyone else out there trying to decide about MGHIHP? Does anyone have experience with this particular program (MSN) to share? My specialty will be ANP/WHNP. Thanks everyone!

Thank you for the calculations! Every time I try to calculate these numbers, they just blow my mind!! Does anyone know what the average amount of debt one graduates with after completing the ETP program?

Thank you, Tanguera and freyalisa for your input!! I am so amazed at the speedy replies already! I've been to an info session at MGH, which I did like a lot. The professors who were there were so warm (something I didn't always find at Yale)... It seemed like a warm and fuzzy place to go to school. That was nice for me, since I went to a large and highly competitive university for undergrad in the Boston area. Plus I've been living and working in NY (and am originally from NY) since then. Small would be nice for a change. So like you Tanguera my family is in NY, but my boyfriend is heading to business school in Boston and I still have friends there, so I'm less sure about which city to settle in for the next couple of years. What do think about the question of whether or not which city you go to school in affects your ability to get jobs after school's over? In other words, are the connections you make at Columbia beneficial to getting you a job in NY hospitals, or at MGH for Boston? Should that be a deciding factor? I've posed this question to many different RNs and NPs who I work with, and I've come up with conflicting answers! I think I want to eventually settle in Boston and work in the amazing Partners healthcare system, but I certainly would be open to staying here in NY a little longer, especially if it means a superior education. I will be at the Columbia info session on March 6 asking all these questions again! It's soooo nice to know other people are in the same confusing boat. Freyalisa, I would be very grateful if your friend would be willing to share her experiences at MGH with me. I have yet to meet a single person who's actually attended MGH (other than professors, I guess)! I would like to hear particularly about the quality of teaching, guidance, and how challenging the coursework is. I have no idea how to use this website (don't even ask me how long it took me to figure out how to post), but I will give you my e-mail address if I can!

Hi everyone, I just joined this site because I am trying to figure out not only where to go to school, but also how I can possibly take on all this debt! I applied to three schools: Columbia, Yale, and MGHIHP. I was rejected from Yale but accepted to Columbia, and I haven't heard from MGH yet. I am looking at my financial aid stuff from Columbia today, and it's SCARY! It seems like Columbia ETP costs significantly more than other programs - am I right? So that is my first question, and my second one is: Is going to Columbia (being such a highly-ranked school) worth incurring extra debt over going to MGH? It seems to me that they have the same job outcomes but might be different in quality of education/experience? It looks like a difference of about $50K-$80K in loans, which seems big but maybe shouldn't be deterring me from going to a really great school! I would truly appreciate any advice you all can give! Also if you could point me to other threads that people read that might be useful, I'd so appreciate it! I need some advice!