Questions regarding SUNY Downstate Accelerated Nursing Program

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I apologize if these questions have been answered. There are a lot of posts to go through to find answers! I am currently a Clinical Lab Technologist that holds a BS in Chemistry from Howard University. I will finish my MS in Forensic Science from Pace University in the Fall. Unfortunately, instead of following my heart and doing Nurising, I did what I thought was best at the time. I am considering applying for the accelerated Nursing program at Downstate and had a few questions:

1. Is it possible to work while completing the program? Of course I have to eat, live and pay bills (I am the only person that provides for myself financially and NYC is not cheap to live in). If working is not possible, does the student loans cover living expenses?

2. Does the program only start during the summer, or do they have a Fall admittance? (I have a few pre-reqs to complete that probably wont be done until Summer 2010--I plan to take them at a CUNY school)

Thanks for your help. I know its crazy for me to make a career change after completing a Master's but better late than never!

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Specializes in ICU.

They only start in the Summer.

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Specializes in ICU / PCU / Telemetry / Oncology.

Good luck getting into CUNY courses to complete prereqs, especially if you're not going to be applying to CUNY BSNs. I hear it's easier to get into Harvard Law School!

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If you do a search on here you'll see that most people say it's more than likely impossible to work while in the program. It only starts in the summer. I have read some posts where some people say they were able to work part time, and that's VERY PART-TIME! I hope you have most of their pre-reqs done because they have alot. Just a heads up- they look favorably on healthcare experience and also volunteer experience.

Good Luck!

I plan to apply there also but feel I have somewhat of a leg up on others since I have about 3 years experience working in a hospital and I live in the area (another plus that they look favorably upon)

:wink2:

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It's hard to get into Downstate only because it's cheap. I really am unhappy with the administration here and wouldn't wish this program on my worst enemy. Take a look at the schedule of courses for the summer sessions and think about the workload that will need to be put in. Factor in a faculty that isn't always available (and some incompetent) and an administration that gets very defensive when problems arise.

http://www.downstate.edu/nursing/programs/accelerated.html

The first summer session is 6 weeks long and three courses are covered. The second summer session is 5 weeks long and includes four courses (Mon 9AM-7PM, Tues 9AM-5PM and Wed 9AM-3PM) plus clinicals (two days a week, each 12-hour days).

It's pretty intense the first summer and many people find that they're studying for the tests but aren't retaining much.

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Specializes in ICU.
It's hard to get into Downstate only because it's cheap. I really am unhappy with the administration here and wouldn't wish this program on my worst enemy. Take a look at the schedule of courses for the summer sessions and think about the workload that will need to be put in. Factor in a faculty that isn't always available (and some incompetent) and an administration that gets very defensive when problems arise.

http://www.downstate.edu/nursing/programs/accelerated.html

The first summer session is 6 weeks long and three courses are covered. The second summer session is 5 weeks long and includes four courses (Mon 9AM-7PM, Tues 9AM-5PM and Wed 9AM-3PM) plus clinicals (two days a week, each 12-hour days).

It's pretty intense the first summer and many people find that they're studying for the tests but aren't retaining much.

I have heard very few things about SUNY Downstate which is disappointing because I would like to be in a borough. I can never get a hold of anyone on the telephone there. Would you rather be at Columbia or NYU paying 100k or 7-9k for your entire program

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Would I rather be at NYU or Columbia paying that kind of tuition? Well, I did apply to those schools (amongst other schools of similar reputation) and I got accepted to all of the schools where I applied. I actually did seriously consider Columbia and sent in my deposit, but it really does put a damper on what you do long-term meaning you feel that your life is all about working to pay off that debt.

So at this point, I really wish there was another option for me that was in a similar range for tuition, however, I also hear terrible things about Columbia and NYU so I hesitate to say that I'd rather be there. It's possible it is very similar (and I get that sense from speaking to students from both of those schools) so I don't know if it is just best to stay put at Downstate and finish up the program.

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Specializes in L&D/postpartum.

I second the comments about the administration - I was accepted to an NP program there but had to withdraw before it even started because I experienced huge administrative problems throughout the admission process, and eventually I couldn't stand it any more. I have never experienced such a huge lack of a respect, communication and professionalism in my entire life, and knew I could not continue in a school that was such trouble before I even started.

If you are looking for cheap SUNY prices, please consider someplace like Binghamton if you can manage to leave the city for a year. Very affordable tuition plus super cheap housing will really help you graduate without debt. If you're not able to move to go to school, it is still very hard to justify the higher tuition of private universities when you ultimately come out with the same certification. It's just unfortunate that Downstate remains popular because of price and that popularity doesn't force the administration to change its ways because there's no incentive to do so.

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Specializes in ICU.

Wow thanks, I was considering the family nurse practioner program. Thanks for the headsup.

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Really? Are you really that unhappy at Downstate?

Im applying for 2010 but just keep hearing so many negatives about this program.....the 1 positive that is repeated is the price.....but is that worth it, if you dont learn anything. If there is anyone reading this who has had a good experience at Downstate....please comment.

many thanks.....and good luck

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Penbare, yes, I am really THAT unhappy at Downstate. It's a shame because it's a very competitive program to get into and many of us here turned down other very competitive programs so that we could attend nursing school without incurring a lot of debt. Downstate's price is probably the only thing that's good about this place and even then, I feel like I should be getting a refund since this school is not even worth that cheap tuition.

The students do not get a lot of support from the professors. During the summer sessions, our first semesters, several of the professors who were teaching us were visiting professors, so it is possible they just did not feel obligated to really work with us since they are adjunct faculty. Still, the professors that we have now belong to the college and are not encouraging at all. In fact, we are convinced that some of the professors really don't want to teach and throw videos at us and incorporate many breaks and groupwork into the class so that they don't have to teach.

Additionally, I question whether some professors and clinical instructors are giving us correct information about nursing. There have been countless instances when a professor will say something that is contradictory to the very text we are using. The professors here become very defensive.

Many schools have a class called "Nursing Fundamentals" which is pretty important it seems, but Downstate has no class of the sort or any elective to compensate for it. Makes you wonder...

One thing I despise about the program is that many professors have given us exams, given us our grades, but have NOT given us the right answers to the exam afterwards, nor have they gone over the exam in class. So essentially it is impossible to learn from your mistakes and you can theoretically go straight through the program and to the NCLEX without knowing that you may have learned something incorrectly.

There are many things I am unhappy about, and many things root from a poor and disorganized administration. The classes that have graduated before us had very similar problems, they have tried and we have tried speaking to the administration about many of our concerns but we find the efforts futile as not many things have changed from year to year despite the countless efforts on the students' part to make change.

I hate to throw out all of this information out here in fear that many will just take it as a bitter student who wants to complain. So if anyone has any specific questions, I'd be willing to answer them; I just don't want to go off on a rant and seem like I'm only looking for things to complain about.

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To Tanguera:

Thank you so much for your sincere reply. I do appreciate it.

It seems the more and more I look into Downstate the more and more I hear unbelievable negative comments.

To be fair, I do hear (or read I should say) about all of the programs.....that said, I take everything with a grain of salt. However, its the same comment about Downstate that keeps coming up again and again......"admin/prof. are not providing a learning experience."

And quite frankly....thats a HUGE problem. I want to learn and of course all my friends who are already nurses all agree the real learning starts when you get your first job......but I dont want to be unprepared for that first job.

However, the choices are pretty slim......not that many programs out there (accelerated) in this area.....and moving is not really an option.

By chance, what school would you go to if you did it all over again?

Best to you!

penbare

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