elleNY

bump any words of wisdom?

Hello all, Just asking your opinions concerning my schooling. I was planning to move to Philly to attend the Drexel ACE program which begins in March, but just last week I heard from SUNY Binghamton that I was accepted to their BAT program beginning in May. I was extremely excited about moving to Philly (I loved the city), but Binghamton is much more affordable. Unfortunately, the area of Binghamton is a dreary suburb. Because I am in-state, Binghamton will only cost around 13grand, with rents as low as 400 dollars a month. It is 12 months and ends in May 2012. Drexel University costs around 39grand and rents are around 1300 dollars a month, and it ends in Feb 2012. Do you think I should suck up the misery that is Binghamton, NY and just go there due to the difference in price? Thanks for your opinions! Elle P.S. Both schools are ranked similarly and highly regarded. SUNY Binghamton is regarded as the best NY state school.

Hey guys! I visited the campus and I really loved Philadelphia and the school seemed great and very together too! It was a little intimidating, as I got the full tour and got to see students getting tested (the professors watch you via videocamera from monitors in a back room). Seemed nerve wracking! But everyone at school seemed extremely nice. While the intense nature of the program itself it the most intimidating factor, I was incredibly happy with the school and the surrounding area. I am going to be looking for an apartment within walking or subway distance! If anyone has any questions about my visit to the school or about the surrounding area, let me know!

Visiting the nursing dept @ Drexel for a tour this Tuesday Nov 2nd. If anyone has any questions they'd like me to ask, or things to look out for, please let me know!

Hello, Chiming in a little late here, but I just received my acceptance after being wait listed! I have also been accepted to MCPHS in MA and LIU in NY, and am waiting on Pace in NY and Binghamton in NY. I am going to visit Drexel next week and I'm pretty sure it's my number one choice! I too will be moving from Manhattan. Is Center City the place to look? Thanks! E

Clara - Glad to see someone else from NYC might be attending..I joined the FB group for Jan 2011 start (students who submitted their deposit already), and so far I'm the only NYCer. Depending on where you live, it is feasible to walk from where you live/school/campus. Note that the campus is basically a few buildings in Downtown Worcester, so it's not a campus in the traditional sense. I know that there are taxis and buses, but the system is not as convenient as the NYC subway or anything. There's also a train that goes to NY and Boston that's pretty close. The people in admissions suggested that you do have a car, only because most things like grocery stores, movies, and even clinicals are driving distance. Although Worcester is a city, anywhere outside of downtown seems pretty suburban to me...So that if your clinical is at UMass Memorial, which is 5 minutes away, you will still need to drive there.. (although there may be a bus going there)...I think that being without a car would be doable, but probably difficult and far from ideal. I heard the winters can be abysmal there so that's another thing to consider. Friends with cars...a good thing :-P Where would you plan on living? That's important. I think a visit is in order!

Dominican College in Rockland County. I applied and am waiting to hear back. It is $35,000 for the 12 month program which begins in May 2011. Cost of living vis-a-vis apartment renting and what not is certainly much cheaper than NY metro area. Just a thought ;-) El

No problemo ! I mean honestly a 80 minute commute per day (assuming no traffic) sounds bad in my opinion considering it's an accelerated program..but if you think you can swing it, by all means. They bought the Crowne Plaza Hotel and turned it in to dorms. It will be opening this fall and you get a private room/private bathroom, fully furnished...lots of other amenities...I think it's only 400-600 mo and it comes with parking, gym, pool.... Something to consider..I wish I could live there but I have dogs...so I'm looking at a modern, off campus building on 600 main st (1000/mo, beautiful big apartment, borders the ghetto)...and theres another building called Bancroft Commons on 50 Franklin St, where students stay. I applied in June and I heard back 2-3 weeks later...very quick ;-) El

Hello. Considering it is often difficult to find information on some nursing programs, I thought I would share my experience about visiting this school. MCPHS, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, is one of the oldest pharmacy (PharmD) schools in the country. They also offer a MASTERS in Physician Assistant, a 16 month accelerated BSN program (Fall start at the Manchester campus, Spring start at the Worcester campus), a MASTERS in family NP, and a traditional four year BSN at their Boston Campus (next door to Harvard). While it is a small school, they have the 6th largest endowment in the country. I recently visited the Worcester, MA campus to which I was accepted and this is what I think: - The facilities, mostly located in about three buildings which sit across the street from a hospital, are absolutely immaculate. The buildings are new and gorgeous. The technology is STATE OF THE ART. The labs are set up like hospital rooms, with top of the line simulation "dummies" who do all the things a real patient would do. All the equipment you would find in a hospital room are in the labs and fully functional. The classrooms are also state of the art, with clickers being connected to the overhead projector so that students can answer questions Jeopardy style! Everything inside this school is clean, modern, and visually impressive. The staff are incredibly friendly and kind. - This school is a school that focuses solely on graduate health professions. At the Worcester campus, all of the programs are accelerated, so the student body averages between the ages of 26-28 and everyone at the facility has a prior degree. There is an academic focus and BSN students have the opportunity to get published. As a part of the dress code, all students at the Worcester campus have to wear MCPHS white lab coats, including nursing students, which really conveys the professional impression of the nursing program. - There are about 50-55 students in the accelerated BSN program. Only about 3 fall out of sequence a year (read: FAIL), which means they have to remediate in to the class a year behind them. The teachers are highly supportive and become close with students. The teachers work with the students and do not "leave them hanging". They go with them to their clinicals. They will advocate for you in the hospitals. - MCPHS is front loaded. In each course, you learn all the classroom material for the first few weeks, take exams, practice in the lab, and then the next few weeks you are fully immersed in clinicals. Thus, you will not have classwork and clinical at the same time, and you will not be unprepared for clinical because you "haven't gotten to that chapter yet". - According to the tour guide, if you are having trouble and seek out the teacher's help early, there is no reason why you would be failed. It seems that this is a supportive environment in which everyone wants the students to succeed and become excellent, proficient, respected nurses. Thus far, they have graduated 7 classes, and have full accreditation. For the past 2 years their NCLEX pass rate has been 100%. They do have the HESI exam system in place. About Worcester, MA: Pros: - Located near 7 other colleges: Clark, Assumption, Holy Cross, WPI and UMASS Medical School to name a few. The school is across the street from a new hospital (St. Vincents), there are other state and psychiatric facilities close by, and UMASS Memorial Hospital is a five minute drive. The area is heavily populated by biotechnology companies, so healthcare and science is what draws people to this city. - It is 40 minutes from Boston and 40 minutes from Providence, RI, and there is a train station close to the school which can take you to these places. The drive from NY is about 3 hours. It is even closer to CT. - A 3-5 minute drive from the school is Shrewbury St which is Worcesters "restaurant row". Lots of cute restaurants and bars and grills. A 5-10 minute ride from the school is a strip with all the amenities..movie theaters, best buys, k-marts, cell phone stores, supermarkets... Cons: Downtown Worcester, where the school is located, SUCKS. Not too far down Main Street is a ghetto neighborhood (think hookers and crackheads). There are a plethora of liquor stores, check cashing, and pawn shops. I saw MANY drug addicts on the street - this was either due to the proximity to the ghetto neighborhood (copping drugs) or the proximity to the rehab facilities. There is definitely a shady element to downtown Worcester. There are beautiful buildings architecturally (like the court house and the churches and the park). There are normal working people walking around downtown during the day, but supposedly the area becomes desolate at night and most people recommend that you don't walk around alone. Overall, Downtown Worcester is the biggest drawback to what appears to be a FABULOUS school. If anyone has any other questions, please let me know. I have not decided whether or not I will attend yet. As a disclaimer, this is based on my personal opinions :-) El

Associate degree prepared nurse pushing for BSN only...would love to read one of her articles/papers supporting the measure!

Just got back to NY from Mass...I visited Worcester and was at the school today asking questions and getting the grand tour...does anyone have any questions? :-)

Haven't accepted the offer yet but I'm 98% sure that I will. Was weighing my options with some schools in NY, but their pass rates are lower and it seems like a lot of their alumni trash talk the programs. Plus, recently out of a long term relationship so a change of scenery might be in order :-) Im visiting this week so I will keep you guys updated on my trip!

To the OP - you need a reality check, big time. Sacrifice now or sacrifice later, BUT YOU WILL SACRIFICE. I hope you get some financial education/restraint/sense. Your 6 month old son does not love where he lives...I'm assuming you haven't taken developmental psych yet....

Hey! I was accepted for the Jan 2011 and I am pretty sure I'm going to attend. I got in touch with two previous students, one through allnurses and the other through facebook, and they said some pretty good things. I'm from Manhattan and I've never even been to Worcester, so I'm driving up there with my mom on Tuesday/Wednesday to have a look! From what I've been told, the program is really intense but the faculty is devoted to helping students succeed. I also heard that they front load the coursework before the clinicals. ALSO, they recently bought a Crowne Plaza hotel and are turning it in to dorms, which will have an indoor and an outdoor pool. Supposedly that will be opening this fall. Unfortunately I have two dogs so it looks like I'll be checking out off campus housing :-( El

I just got my acceptance too! I haven't decided what I'm going to do yet..I haven't even visited! I am going to do so ASAP. For the person who asked about grades - my prereq GPA was a 3.88 and my overall is a 2.93. Elle