chicurious

I was a volunteer at Mt. Sinai in peds and it was a good experience. It seemed like the nurses were happy for the most part. The area is a little rough, but not the roughest. I think there is a free shuttle from the hospital to the EL station (you mentioned Metra, but that is the public transit station that goes out to the suburbs, for in-Chicago transit it would be the CTA/EL). The EL station is the California Pink Line and it is about a 5-7 minute walk from the hospital. I don't know how young and spry you are (I assume so if you want to live in Wicker Park or Bucktown), but a bike might be an opportunity. Otherwise if you live in Wicker Park you could take the Western bus (which is about half a mile from Damen and North, so again if you live in the western part of Wicker Park it would be ideal) and then walk about three blocks from the corner of Ogden and Western to Mt Sinai. I don't know what the area is like after dark, but again it can be rough. I live in Pilsen, which is the slightly more gentrified community next to where Mt Sinai is and it isn't bad at night for the most part. If you are young living in the suburbs could be not so much fun. But that is just my opinion.

I got in as well (I found out earlier this month, but was abroad and didn't have the right internet access/time to respond to this). Rush was my first choice so I cried when I got the news and called home immediately! Jenna- My GPA from undergrad was about a 3.3 and my prereq one was maybe around the same. I volunteered at a hospital for 6 months and I interviewed about 15 nurses. Since college I also have worked for 5 years in community organizations for social justice/change. Health kept coming up in terms of an issue and it kept interesting me. Back in college I participated in reproductive and abortion rights activism and I was a social worker with young pregnant women right after college. I lived and worked in Mexico for a year and a half and I speak fluent Spanish. I think the best thing you can do to strengthen your application (and really strengthen your knowledge base) is volunteer in the health care setting. I think my regular "stats" such as GPA and GRE were average, but what aided my admission was the work I did in a community setting, my demonstrated passion for health justice and volunteering at the hospital. Angela- you should definitely be able to find places for less than $1000 in the area. I live in the Pilsen neighborhood (which some might advice as "off limits" because it is a bit rough at times) and I pay $600 for a 2-bedroom. But you can get closer to campus and even in more posh areas for under $1000. Any more info on what you want in terms of where you want to live?

Hello, I've read through about every Rush and/or GEM posting. I've applied for the June 2010 quarter and I am seeing a mixture of experiences and backgrounds for applicants from previous quarters. When I first was learning about Rush and met with an admissions counselor for the GEM program I was told in so many words that I am pretty much a shoe-in because of my background (lived and worked in another country, bilingual in Spanish, have 5 years of community service related work, plan on going into public health and global nursing, etc.), however, as we all know nerves set in during the waiting period and doubts take over. Particularly regarding my GPA and prereqs (I keep reading of people with 3.9 GPAs and it makes me very intimidated). Can someone let me know if you think I'm a competitive candidate (as in I'll be accepted most likely), please? Also, can people please share their "stats" if they feel comfortable? - I have a 3.34 GPA from undergrad and my prereqs are at a 3.4. My sciences are as such A&P I - A; A&P II - B; Org Chem - B; Microbiology - B. I did those prereqs at a community college. - I lived abroad in a Latin America for a year and a half doing human rights education and work. Not health related. - I have worked for 3 years in a addition to that in the U.S. also doing non-health related community education and organizing. - I'm returning abroad in a month (hopefully after my interview) in order to work at a rural clinic in the mountains of Mexico. Partly in order to get some experience in global health, partly to learn medical Spanish. - I volunteered at a hospital in a low-income area of Chicago in the peds department. I haven't volunteered in the past several months there because I was quite busy with school. I'm worried that will make me look like a weakling or a quitter since I haven't been continuing with it. But I did do it for 6 months and technically I'm not off the volunteering roster, just haven't been participating recently. - I've also run with a medic/firefighter friend of mine. - I'd like to work in the U.S. for a few years post-grad, but I'm really interested in going abroad again in order practice nursing. - My reason for my change from community organizing to nursing is largely based on the fact that I want to continue doing compassion-based work, but really wanted to gain and perfect a strong and specific knowledge base and a set of tangible and applicable skills. Also, in my essay I discussed how health related issues kept coming up in my work and it caused me to think about healthcare and I began talking to public health nurses before settling on the decision to pursue a degree. Anything else? Essentially, I have no doubt I have a strong community background, but I'm most concerned about my GPA, my mediocre grades in sciences and my so-so health experience background.

I'm still learning the lingo, but rotating shift refers to a rotation of actual days/dates or a rotation between night and day shifts? So, does it mean you work nights consistently, but the actual dates you are scheduled rotate? Or does it mean you can work night or days and that varies? Also, when you said you pick your own schedule, what do you mean exactly?

Thanks for the answer. Do they explain all of this clearly and in detail at the interview weekend? Also, a friend of mine who is a nurse smartly suggested I ask how WHC places scholars after graduation. Do you get to choose what areas you would like to work in? Also, I read on here somewhere that entry nurses get paid $25/hr. Any word or information on the raises? I know they are unionized and therefore collective contract, but I wondered what past negotiations have led to in terms of pay. Thanks in advance for answered questions.

So, I am very interested in this program where they pay 80% of the tuition and you have a 3-year commitment to work at WHC after graduation from the accelerated BSN program at Georgetown. I've lived in DC for 2 years before, and I have several good friends that still live there, so going back to familiar territory would be nice. However, it is a little bit hard to make a definite commitment to 4 and a half years in a place. While I certainly would hope that I could fulfill the commitment, I wonder if anyone knows the consequences if someone only works part of that 3 year commitment. I imagine a partial payback or perhaps even full payback. Again, this isn't my plan to try to get it and then bail, but just trying to be realistic with whatever life may throw at me (a partner that needs to relocate, a baby, etc.). Thanks in advance for any insight or information.

Hello, been reading through the Georgetown threads as well as the Georgetown website. I'm unclear as to how much the program is for tuition total. Can someone give me a rough estimate? The website says for undergrad something along the lines of $36K a year, but because this is two years packed into 16 months I didn't know how it pans out. Also, is the workload really that terrible? Did anyone feel like there was a low retention rate or a high fail rate? I have read at other programs that they don't work with you and there are up to 30% dropping out. I know the arguments for "you have to really want it", but I'd also like a supportive environment. Did people feel Georgetown was a supportive environment on behalf of the faculty and staff? I have a friend that went to Columbia (my other main choice, but I don't really want to live in NYC) and she said she felt the program really treated them well and wanted them to do well. Another friend went to Drexel in Philly and she and many/most of her classmates felt that they were almost pushed out.

Thanks for your response and encouragement. Perhaps what I lack in terms of your GRE scores and GPA, I can make up for with my work experience, Spanish language skills and (now volunteering at a hospital) health care experience. :)

Hey, you're probably in the midst of the program now. Do you have any thoughts? I'm really considering Columbia but the price and the cost of living in NYC really freaks me out. Let me know what your experience is.

I applied to Drexel well before reading the large amount of negative feedback on here. I'll continue with the application process (mainly because it is so inexpensive- sending my transcripts), but I'm thinking less and less that it sounds appealing to me. I'm leaning toward Columbia- not for the name, and certainly not for the price (uff! $13,000 more than Drexel, plus the cost of living difference in NYC), but because I have a very good friend that did it. Aside from the price and the general frustrations regarding disorganization, she speaks highly of the professors and found that they treated you like in grad school- they WANT you to do well and they really encourage students. She said there were a few in her class that dropped out, but only a few in the first semester. Anybody know the retention rate at Drexel?

I don't know if this post is read still, but I've applied to Drexel well before reading the large amount of negative feedback on here. I'll continue with the application process (mainly because it is so inexpensive- sending my transcripts), but I'm thinking less and less that it sounds appealing to me. I'm leaning toward Columbia- not for the name, and certainly not for the price (uff! $13,000 more than Drexel, plus the cost of living difference in NYC), but because I have a very good friend that did it. Aside from the price and the general frustrations regarding disorganization, she speaks highly of the professors and found that they treated you like in grad school- they WANT you to do well and they really encourage students. She said there were a few in her class that dropped out, but only a few in the first semester. Anybody know the retention rate at Drexel?

Hi- I'm new on the site. I have tried my best to read the 60+ page post on Columbia's ETP. I'll continue going through it. I wanted to hear from accepted applicants or current students. If folks are comfortable listing their basic information in terms of acceptance- GRE scores, GPA, work experience, bi/multi-lingualism, amount of health care related experience. I'm trying to get an idea of whether I'm a competitive candidate or not. I have a good friend that did the program a few years ago, but now I'm anxious about my chances particularly because of the increase of apps due to the economic crisis. Anyone that has an idea of what the incoming classes are like, please comment on my competitiveness. So... - GREs- Verbal 530, Quantitative 570, Writing 5 - GPA- 3.34 - Work experience- 5 years in world of social justice- social worker and organizer, volunteered in Latin America for over a year. - Fluent in Spanish. - No health care experience, other than many interviews with nurses (in order to have a better idea as to what area I'd be most interested in) - I expect to get strong recommendations, from an academic, professional and personal source each. Thanks for any perspective.