amyf89

I am in the same exact boat. I'm waiting for my financial aid packages from all three schools before I can decide. All of them are great schools, so it is super hard to decide. I had my heart set on Penn (love what I've heard about the area and the program), but after calculating the total cost for the ABSN portion, it came out to be a lot more than what I had initially thought. I thought it was $42k for tuition/fees for the whole thing, but I realized that it was the price for one year (fall/spring). The ABSN program includes 2 summers, 2 falls, and 1 spring. So I estimate the total cost to be about $78k, which is ALOT of $$ for a 1.5 year program. Anyone, please correct me if I'm wrong. But I do love Penn, and it is an investment in our futures, so I might "splurge" on it. Hopkins is $64k for a 13-month program and Columbia is roughly $70k for 12 months (the shortest of the 3). I'm going to research more on the schools and possibly use a pro/con list. How are you deciding?? I would love some advice as well.

Accepted! I've also been accepted at JHU and UR, but this is definitely my top choice. I hope to talk to others that will be joining me. @ccb1 - yeah, that is really strange. Congrats on JHU and UW though! Both of them are really good.

Accepted into the ABSN portion! This is my top choice, so I'm so excited. I was really nervous because my interview was scheduled so late (Jan 27th).

Thank you for the response! This will definitely be a hard decision. And yes, I called last week and an admissions person said that the deadline to turn in the deposit has been pushed back to February 10th (postmarked, if anyone is wondering).

I got the call today that I was accepted into the summer entry ABSN. I'm so excited! I, too, am waiting on Penn's decision on Monday. Does anyone know the process to matriculate into the MSN portion from the ABSN? I know there's a combined BS/MSN program, but I didn't apply for that because I didn't know what specialty I wanted to go into. Is it pretty easy, like at Penn, or will I have to reapply for the MSN which means I would most likely have to work a few years in between? Any information would be great.

Thanks!

Nice to see that someone else is from California! Wow, and I didn't know they conducted interviews so early. It's a good thing because I would've been a nervous wreck waiting almost 3 months. Good luck to you!

Just checked my email and I didn't receive that email. Does it say when decisions are posted?

I haven't received any news either. I called last week and though the lady was very nice, she told me that the committee is working very hard to come up with decisions and as soon as they find out, they'll let us know. She did give me the email of someone I can contact but I thought I'd give them until the first week of Feb. If anyone else wants to shoot him an email, it's for Raymond San Juan.

Congrats to everyone who has been accepted! I received my admissions packet last week (I'm in California). I can't believe we only have until Feb 3rd to put down the deposit. Anyone know if the check has to be postmarked or received by that date? Or is there a way we can pay through credit card? I'm still torn on my decision since $600 is a lot and I'm still waiting to hear back from schools. And Rochester's ABSN program has a hefty price tag, even compared to other expensive programs nearby. Has anyone decided to attend this program and can tell me how they're justifying paying so much for it?

I applied for ABSN too and had my interview last Friday. The interviewer told me that the admissions committee will be meeting this week and decisions should be coming out via email at the end of the week. I was looking through another thread and someone said that we will be notified the week of Feb 6th. So we should be hearing back either this week or the next. Good luck to you all! Anyone here from California?

I hope someone can help me with this. I'm graduating soon with a BA degree and am having a hard time deciding between accelerated BSN programs and combined BSN/MSN programs (or Direct Entry, or Master's Entry). I know that some bsn/msn programs, like UCSF's or UPenn's, require you to choose your master's specialty when applying to the program. But this is hard when I haven't had any clinical exposure to all the different specialties that nursing offers. I'm leaning towards Neonatal, but I'm not 100% sure. I've heard that many bsn/msn programs don't require you to choose a specialty until later, is this true? What are some schools that offer this? I've also heard of some ABSN programs that offer you the opportunity to continue in their MSN program, contingent on whether or not you pass all your ABSN classes successfully. What kind of schools offer this option? If all bsn/msn programs made you choose your specialty upon applying, then I would most definitely choose the ABSN route, since this would give me more exposure into the field of nursing which would allow me to choose my specialty confidently. But I know that I want to become an advanced nurse, so the bsn/msn program appeals to me more. I just need to know if there are bsn/msn programs that don't make you choose your specialty when you apply, but lets you choose later on after some clinical hours. Thanks in advance!