lexi1822

Hi all - my TEMPORARY license number finally appeared on Breeze today. Does anyone know when we can expect for the actual temporary license card/form to come in the mail?? My job won't let me start until they have a copy of the actual card.

To new people applying - I got into the Psych NP program this past year but chose to go with another school. I had 3.6 GPA, pretty low GRE scores (though a 4.5 on writing), strong letters of rec and goal statement, 2-3 years working in mental health care (counselor at a residential eating disorder tx center and behavior coach at a title I high school mental health classroom), and I got in 3 days after my interview. :)

Does anyone know if we still have to submit official transcripts and GRE forms? I thought we uploaded our unofficial forms into the application and then would have had to submit official forms IF admitted, though I haven't received any information on if/when we should do that. Anyone know?

I just declined by Seattle U spot for the Psych track, so I hope my spot becomes available for one of you soon! Best of luck! The program looks great!

Question about ordering scrubs - do these get shipped to our home address, or do we pick them up from the book store during orientation?

hey @jarstar - I got the email as well. I called when I got the email that day and was under the impression that this was a 2nd review, with a chance of being on the waitlist. I called back a week later to clarify, because it all seemed very uncertain, unclear, and confusing, and the admissions coordinator told me that they would not create a waitlist for psych. He said that this phone appt with a faculty member would be merely to offer advice to apply next year - which would be my third year applying. Very disappointing. Needless to say, I am Columbia bound.

The 160 would be for the total ETP class (all specialties) and then you get broken into your specialties/cohort for the MSN portion - so I think that would make sense that there would be only 9 in psych? Psych is typically one of the smaller ones compared to Family, Midwifery, etc. I am wondering about the weeding people out thing during the ETP year. I spoke with someone in the ETP program (year 1) now, and she said that Columbia admitted way more students than they have room for this year. Hmmm??

Just skimmed through that blog post. Yikes. I have to say, it seems very pessimistic. In my opinion, it's about perspective and what you want to get out of the program. Plus, I have faith that the program has improved drastically since 2006. Let's hope, at least. :)

Hey snoozyd - I spoke with someone who just graduated from MGH's program with the psych specialty. She really liked the program but did say that the program doesn't focus as much on psych as it did the other specialties. However, she said she was able get hired as a PMHNP in Boston right out of graduation from one of her preceptor sites, and said she had multiple offers. Pretty awesome! Being from California myself, I know that a lot of people out here don't know of or quickly recognize the MGH name, so I'm more drawn to Columbia for that reason (amongst many others - I love NYC, it seems like the psych specialty is really strong there with plenty of counseling experience as well, and plenty of options to choose from for preceptor sites). That's important to me. But yes, the $$$/potential debt is daunting. :/

Does anyone know if the Columbia student housing is month to month, or do we have to sign a ~1 year lease?

They did! Let's hope!

I will also likely decline my Psych spot to Seattle U so that is one more spot that will open up, as well!

Wow, thank you, @eah87! This is helpful information. Having plenty of clinical hours is important to me. I think once I receive my financial aid package from Columbia (to see if I get the grant that a lot of students receive), my decision will become a lot easier. Thanks @eah87!

If it's any consolation, they told me I wouldn't hear back for almost a month on whether or not I would be admitted, and I ended up hearing back that I got in the Wednesday following my interview. Best of luck!!

Hi all - I'm having a difficult time deciding on which school to go to for Psych NP. I'm in between Seattle U and Columbia (I live in SF Bay Area). Any advice or suggestions from anyone in a similar position?

@ginger_99, I didn't apply to USF because they don't have a Psych specialty. I ended up not getting into UCSF, or I'm "waitlisted," maybe. Pretty bummed, so I think I will be Columbia bound. I'm drawn to Seattle because it's closer and a lot cheaper than Columbia, but Columbia may seem like the better program for psych. It's a tough choice. Good luck as you hear from schools!!

Anyone know how many applicants are/will be in the psych route? Curious how many I can expect there to be in my cohort.

I think I will call him and ask too, out of curiosity, because this is my 2nd year in a row applying. Last year, I only applied to UCSF but luckily this year I applied to other schools as well so I'll just have to move out of state. Either way, I'm pretty devastated about UCSF...

I didn't make it for psych. (( Looks like I'm Columbia bound. This will be a big move from the bay area!

@ginger_99 - If it's any consolation, I got waitlisted at MGH but got into Seattle U five days after my interview, so I'm sure you're a viable candidate for Seattle U! I'm psych though, so maybe it's hard to compare, but MGH is competitive! I'm still (anxiously) waiting to hear from UCSF before making any decisions... @holahawaii - two people. Both very warm and friendly.

I interviewed on Saturday Feb 7th as well for Psych and was admitted the following Wednesday. I was surprised I'd hear back so quickly because they had originally told me end of February to early March. @badabing, I had a 3.6 cumulative GPA, not great GRE scores at all (around 40-50%, although my writing score was around 90% I believe). However, I have a few years of experience in mental health, wrote a strong goal statement (I think?), and had a good interview. Best of luck to everyone! I'm not sure if I'll take the Seattle U offer yet or not so there may be an extra spot opening up. :) Hang in there!

I've refreshed my email more times today than I have in the past year. Good luck everyone, when the decisions arrive! :)

I was notified a couple weeks ago I was waitlisted for Psych.

Type in "Columbia Nursing ETP 2015" in the search bar and press enter. Then you'll have to go to the drop down menu "more" to find "Groups," and then it should show up there.

I have a friend who lives in Boston who connected me with an extended friend who just graduated from the direct-entry Psych route at MGH. I'm going the Psych NP route as well so I was thrilled to talk with her! She just graduated from the program and got hired as a PMHNP in Boston right after passing her licensure exam. It's an outpatient private practice. She told me that it was very easy to find a job after graduating/passing the licensure exam. Hope this helps!