innatchka

Don't know where you're willing to move to, but California State University Los Angeles has an Entry Level Masters in Nursing that consists of a 15 month accelerated RN, followed by 2-3 years of the NP track. Our school offers the psych NP.

OP, I was standing quite literally where you are this time last year. I have a BA in Psych and was accepted to CSUN's ABSN and CSULA's ELMN program. I ultimately went with the Masters program because I didn't want to have to do the whole application ...

I don't recall any specifics re: health insurance, just that we have to have it and show proof as part of our health clearance packet. In terms of financial aid, you can get a max of $12,500 for the first part of the program (depending on your EFC y...

Yep - it's mandatory. I get mine through Anthem Blue Cross and pay $111/month for health and dental. I have a pretty high deductible, but I only plan to really use my insurance for emergencies. I've been able to get a physical, CXR, and titers throug...

Titers are blood tests that show how much immunity you have to those diseases you were vaccinated against - sort of like the number of antibodies floating around in your blood. Try to get quantitative counts (e.g. numbers - not just "immune"). Someti...

Wrightnurse, Did you fill out the FAFSA at all? I didn't qualify for much assistance at all, but I was still able to take out a $12,500 federal loan (some subsidized, some unsubsidized). I got the rest through Wells Fargo. As grad students, we can ta...

Hey wrightnurse, Hope this helps: Did you have any fears in succeeding in the program? Does anyone ever fail? Getting in is a big accomplishment in itself. It means that the directors have faith in you! Of course we all worry about not succeeding, ...

Go solo to orientation - it's about 4 hours of classroom time where you find out about each other and the program, and hopefully some of us will get a chance to talk to you, too. Bring your hubby to your celebratory end-of-quarter parties and such. ...

Oh yeah, I didn't mean to imply you can do this without a car at all - you'll at least need it to complete your paperwork and health clearance packets. I was merely pointing out that there are other ways to get around LA - like lovely classmates who ...

A couple more points about transportation: - A student bus pass costs $36/month. http://www.metro.net/around/fares/ - A parking pass costs $90/quarter. A day pass costs $6 and this makes more sense for the quarters when class only meets one day a wee...

Hey rpatil88, I'm not sure about housing; I know at least one girl in our class lived on campus over summer, but she quickly moved out. If you want to live near campus, East LA, Alhambra, and Pasadena are close. I live in Hollywood, and I personally...

I personally detest the feeling of being stressed out, so I usually try to stay on top of the reading, and do any assignments I can do early way in advance. It really makes a difference towards the end of the quarter when a bunch of papers are due an...

Hey dewdrops, I can answer that question (bababaowman is off studying for our MedSurg final tomorrow, aren't you bababaowman??). Here's an idea of our schedule from Summer 2010 - Spring 2011 (which we'll start in a few weeks). Summer 2010 Monday, T...

The nursing department leaves a certain number of spaces open for ELMNers, but some people will end up with their 2nd or 3rd choices if the demand is really high. I believe 14 people in Cohort 6 applied to FNP and 8 got in. FNP is the more popular op...

Hey Sam, There were quite a few people in our class interested in the peds NP who later found out they aren't offering it, period. In my opinion, they really should remove it from the application as an option. Don't want you to get your hopes up. Mo...

In all honesty, I'm not sure I want to be an NP either. To be perfectly frank, I applied with the idea of becoming the "highest level nurse", but now that I'm in the program, I could totally see myself being "just" an RN. I really like the ER so far ...

Hi all, I'm part of ELMN Cohort 7. I'd be happy to field any questions you guys have. I was in the same position last year, having applied to CSUN's ABSN and CSULA (I never bothered to apply to UCLA since I worked with a girl who dropped out of the ...

Hey there Maseca, I just started the ELMN program 8 weeks ago and so far so good. As far as I know, the post-licensure part of the program involves on-campus classes, but you are expected to work, so I imagine a lot of them are in the evening or onl...

The coordinator said she had 160 applicants and there are 23 in our class.

I'm thinking (hoping) that it won't exceed 60-70K. We do have the option to start working as RNs after we get licensed, and I'm hoping that offsets some of the cost of the grad fees. I was wary of the program because of the increased cost, and was se...

Have you checked on the West Coast - Cal States in particular. I just got accepted to the Entry Level Master's at Cal State Los Angeles, and up until this year, the cost was regular grad rates (around 2000/quarter, I believe). Unfortunately, due to t...

Congrats, joomerz!

Hi guys, Just got a call from the program that I've been admitted for Fall 2010. I've already accepted an offer of admission to CSULA and I'm going to stick with it because it's just so much closer to me and offers the Masters, too. They asked for me...

Nothing yet; I would have had to accept CSULA's offer even if I was still leaning towards CSUN because the coordinator gave me a deadline - but I'm pretty happy with my decision.

Given the difficult nature of this decision, how many of you have made mental pros and cons lists? I only applied to CSULA and CSUN and initially had my heart set on LA, then wavered and convinced myself Northridge was more practical, but ultimately ...