Commancer

BCgrad, Many Thanks again, that is good info. Because of the length, BC is probably my first choice at the moment. As for clinicals, all the Boston area programs seem to use the same hospitals which are big and well known. Great! But there are other programs elsewhere that seem to offer a much more limiting hospital selection for clinicals. The outpatient clinicals for NP sound good to me. I'm most interested in family NP, I want to be primary care in the truest sense. .. I also like the MassGen program because of the association with such a big hospital: my feeling is I would literally see everything there and thus be prepared for most everything in later practice. I guess overall I am attracted to programs that can offer clinicals in very large noteworthy hospitals. Some of the NPs I talk to locally have said the hospital where I worked is more of a selling point than the actual school. Let me know if you have a different take on any of this... . I have heard being male is something of an advantage and I'm happy to hear you kind of agree. But forget my concerns, I've read that a lot of patients would like to see more males around in the kind of practices that interest me. I work at a LTC facility now and my male-ness makes me arguably the most well known staff member...patients appreciate variety I think. .. So maybe I can help fulfill a need.... . Any other shorter programs besides BC?. . Thanks again!Commancer

Bcgradnurse,Many thanks, that is very helpful. I too am very motivated to get back to the job market ASAP, so BC is very attractive. Cost and debt is beginning to take up more of my thoughts, so what you're doing with the loan repayment program is also appealing. If I can get most of my loan debt paid off early on, that would eliminate most of the downside to any options I consider. Plus, I'm attracted very much to helping underserved areas anyway. I guess I could come up with dozens of questions but here's a few to start:.. . 1. Do you think I should give much consideration to where clinical rotations are offered as between the different direct entry programs? . . 2. Can you give an approximate hours per day/week the BC program required in terms of having to be somewhere specific - in class/labs/clinicals?. . 3. I'm male...any thoughts around this? Male NPs seem very few and far between, not sure why... . Anything that comes to mind in terms of advice is appreciated! . Commancer

I'm also looking at a 2013 start and your list of target schools is similar to my own, but I've started to give my list a rethink. I have a BA in government from the University of Texas (1992) and I'm currently taking the science prerequisites at a local community college here in Atlanta. My overall GPA is 3.6 with a 4.0 in the prerequisites. I just took the [new] GRE in April and got a 164 verbal and 157 math. After a 15 year career in software, I am now a CNA with about a year's experience, but will only have about half the prereqs complete by the time I apply. ... A few thoughts: ... 1. Am I missing something or does Boston College offer a uniquely quick program at just under 2 years? Any others in this timeframe? (at my age program length is more important!) ... 2. I appreciate the earlier post about going to school where you want to work....makes sense. But I'm most interested in rural underserved populations which exist in a lot of places far away from the northern/northeastern direct entry programs. I'm hoping any qualified NP from most any school will be appreciated in Wyoming, New Mexico, Alaska, etc.., any thoughts? ... 3. I'm socially friends with a NP at a Minute Clinic, which are solo practices inside CVS pharmacies. She went to a very low ranked NP school, but says her new job offers are almost weekly. Do we think the rankings are very important in real life to getting a job? Seems in real life it doesn't come up, but maybe it does in the Boston area and others with so many schools around...or perhaps it's more relevant in prestigious employers at highly sought- after locations? ... ...4. ...and speaking of the CVS type jobs, those seem fine for me, a least as a start. Maybe not forever, but are there any reasons to avoid them? ... ... ...Ok, enough babbling for now...Commancer