mz_marit

private messaging is hard on here so if you have any questions, please feel free to write me at maritk at nursing dot upenn dot edu ... i'll probably meet women's health/midwifery folks on monday at penn. see you soon :):) marit

I didn't visit philly until I started the program in June. sort of a gamble, but it's a GREAT city!!!!! of course it makes sense to visit beforehand, but totally do what's best for you $$ wise and read up on the city, chat with current students, etc. If you're a city person, you'll like philly I think. West philly to me feels so much like the bay area/oakland/berkeley (like further away from campus, really hits close to home, which is nice. I'm west coast born & raised seattle to bay area).

lots of midwifery students are doing both WHNP and midwifery. I don't know a lot about the midwifery program but the women in my cohort who are doing it are *amazing* so no doubt they will make it as great as it is - stellar faculty as far as i know also. :):)

I did a phone interview - they weigh both equally because they understand not everyone can make it out, especially if you are doing pre-reqs and have finals that week (as I did last year!). So whatever works for you is best. I think they rely on some people doing phone interviews because 120 in persons would be hard!

congrats everyone on interview dates :) you all rock!

hi meli.avila! would love to talk to you more about your interests, my email is maritk @ nursing.upenn.edu - we do have similar interests and i'm coming to women's health because of the work that researchers at ANSIRH/UCSF are doing around scope of practice/abortion care. looking forward to hearing from you!

Penn stood out because of the BSN, and I wanted to take more time doing the BSN (not 12 months... that seems so insanely fast to me. 18 months is way more manageable!) and because the women's health NP program has INCREDIBLE faculty. The director of the program and I spoke while I was trying to pick schools and her words really resonated with me and why I want to go into health care. I wanted to focus in women's health and so few programs across the country have specific WHNP programs that aren't coupled with midwifery. love midwifery, but I don't want to deliver babies. So these are the top reasons why I picked Penn.Favorite things so far... being surrounded by highly educated women who have master's and PhDs; that my desire to broaden abortion access and sexual/reproductive healthcare is something that is respected, not shunned; my amazing cohort who I just totally adore; discovering Philadelphia and trying to tease out the cultural differences between west and east coast... gosh what else? It's just a fab city, way interesting, with a great school in it! Also the clinical placements have been very conducive to learning. Hospital of UPenn is a teaching institution, which means the nurses are all great instructors and not the least bit hostile towards us slow and steady student nurses. At least in my experience.

I also applied to Seattle University for their FNP program and picked between the two. It was a hard one because all my fam is in Seattle. Still very happy I picked Penn!

I think the BSN is a valuable asset, especially if bedside nursing is something you might consider doing before the MSN (which I never thought I wanted to until I started clinical, becuase I've always been so focused on the NP portion). Many hospitals are requiring BSN educated nurses now, and to be honest I'm not sure what the major differences are aside from just the degree title. I think we do more classes in the 18 months instead of what we would be doing if it was a 12 month RN program (as part of the MSN). I will think on this more - but the BSN appealed to me in the case that I maybe would want to work as an RN at some point.

I did the phone interview - it was too challenging to fly out in December for the in person interview. It went great. I think they weigh both equally because of how hard it is to schedule all those face to face interviews, so one doesn't put you at an advantage over another necessarily. It was a really laid back and pleasant interview - felt like a conversation. I reiterated a lot of points from my personal statement and emphasized why penn was the place for me, and why I wanted to focus in women's health. Overall, you're entering into a community of faculty who want to support you and your passions, so there won't be any gotcha questions, I don't think.

I went to Evergreen! Again, I thought it was a long shot to get into penn with the kinds of classes i took there. All fine though. The faculty are very supportive of what I want to do as an NP in women's health. It's really, really wonderful. And my accelerated BSN classmates... I couldn't be luckier. We are a cohort of 83, all walks of life, many different interests/backgrounds/NP focuses, all ages (I think from 22-36?), and all close. I've heard almost everyone in our class say that they dig everyone and we all agree that there's a strong class bond. We're continuously surprised and impressed by what we learn from one another, and it shakes many preconceived notions to the ground. Definitely we have people who we gravitate more towards and spend our time with, but in general I find us all getting along fabulously, hanging out when the chance arises, and really laughing and commiserating over the nursing student life. I've heard the class above us was not as close - it changes year to year. There are a handful of older students, married students, students with kids - it's an awesome mixed bag.

Pre-req's GPA was very good, but from my previous degree we had "evaluations" so no GPA. GRE was not good in the math department (I think something low like 460/800), good in english/writing. I can't remember now what I got. It was when the older test was in place. I did a lot of volunteering around reproductive healthcare issues in CA, which is my passion. It came across in my personal statement and the interview I think... Really they look at more than GRE scores and GPAs. These are big but really being spot on as to why Penn, and why advanced practice nursing, also why the BSN/MSN or PhD program appeals to you, is huge. Getting a BSN as opposed to an RN degree that isn't a bachelors is very cool. Know Penn nursing's mission and see how it weaves into your reasons for going into healthcare - this will shine through during the interview.

How much time do you spend in the library studying? - not enough. I need to be there more! I get a lot done there. When I study at home/cafes, I'm doing about 4-5 hours per day of work that is not in class. I never feel like I'm caught up though. Studying includes prepping patients for clinical (we go to the hospital the night before clinical to get our patient info), studying on my own, study groups, etc. What is your debt load like right about now? - Mine is not bad but in the end will be a pretty penny. Many of us having taken out private loans to afford living expenses, etc. How expensive is it to live in Philadelphia? - Philly is a very reasonably priced place to live, compared to the bay area :) I have a one bedroom and pay $825/month but it is really a 10 minute walk from campus, and you can find places much cheaper if you go out further than 41st/42nd and Baltimore. People who share places sometimes pay as low as $500-600 month. Where were you from before moving to Philadelphia? And if it was from somewhere like the west coast, or the south, or a small city, how big of an adjustment was it? - I was in Berkeley, CA before. The adjustment was a little jarring at first because I got here on a heatwave day in mid-June and it was disgustingly hot. But I love this city, have an amazing cohort, and immediately found community in and among the craziness that is nursing school. Philly has *a lot* to offer and is a true east coast gem, and affordable :):)

women's health NP :) *DYNAMITE FACULTY* for this department. my main reason for picking penn.

really knowing A&P, i think especially physio, is super important. i'm doing pharm and med/surg right now and with pharm, i really wish i had studied physio harder. i took micro and physio together last fall and honestly physio was my "easy" class.... which means i didn't study it all that much. chem too is useful. but really, physio is HUGE!!! i'll try to think of something more insightful later... i need dinner