Hi friends! Thanks so much in advance if you can help me to figure all of this out. Sorry in advance for a long post.
I graduated in August from UCF with a degree in Biology but my end goal is to be a Nurse Practitioner. I think I want to do FNP, but am not positive yet, and am open-minded to other fields. I also see myself teaching some way in the future. My younger sister had an NP who worked in the practice a few days a week and taught a few days a week which I thought was pretty cool. I also FOR SURE want to work abroad and do volunteer work. In undergrad, I helped do research and run a clinic out of Haiti and loved it. It's what inspired me to decide I wanted to pursue Nursing.
The main schools I applied to (direct entry programs) were Johns Hopkins, UNC Chapel Hill, and Vanderbilt. I toured Vanderbilt and Chapel Hill, but not Johns Hopkins because I honestly didn't even think I would get accepted. I got an email last week that I got accepted to Johns Hopkins with a 15k scholarship, and was so shocked. I haven't even been to Baltimore, and they want a decision by the 25th of November. I made plans to visit next weekend, but the program starts Jan 13th, and it all just seems so fast and a little overwhelming. I also know this doesn't truly matter in comparison to the education I would be getting from Johns Hopkins, but I can't really see myself loving Baltimore, whereas I LOVED Chapel Hill and Nashville.
I am not supposed to find out until December if I got into Chapel Hill, because their program starts Summer, and I'm not supposed to find out from Vanderbilt until February because their program starts Fall.
Also important to note that Chapel Hill is only an accelerated BSN, so I would have to then apply again for Masters programs. Vanderbilt is a direct entry Masters program. Johns Hopkins is a general MSN program and then I would need to go through their DNP program to actually become a Nurse Practioner.
Does anyone have ANY advice they could give me?? I am SO SO conflicted, and honestly so overwhelmed.
Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
46 minutes ago, taylorhopelyn said:
Hi! I actually have one more question since you mentioned you went through to become an NP. Did you do the DNP program at JHU? I just talk to someone from admissions and they said its an additional 4 years on top of the MSN program. I am surprised by this because Vanderbilt for example has only a few year program to get an MSN and automatically be able to practice as an NP. But since JHU requires a doctorate to practice as an NP, it just seems like so much extra money and time. I am leaning on loans 100% for all school and living expenses, so I am scared of digging myself into a debt hole that I won't be able to get out of as an NP. Any thoughts on this?
I was in one of the last ABSN programs (16 month) then I went into the MSN NP program (2 years), which they no longer have.
If you did an ABSN elsewhere, it's going to take 13 mos to 2 years.
The Hopkins DNP NP program can be done in 3 years or in 4 years. However, it is really the equivalent of the old MSN + a DNP, so that's not an unreasonable time.
You may want to work for awhile as an RN, anyway, after graduating.
I wouldn't worry about the cost of the NP studies right now. Hopkins has some very good scholarships. You need to network and talk to your professors, too. For example, when I was in the NP program, it turned out one professor had $25,000 scholarships that Fin Aid didn't know about.
You will also have a good chance of winning scholarships like the Nurse Corps scholarship. (Some states have the same, so check with your state). It is full ride, plus a living stiped. I won one for 18 mos of my NP program. Pretty much everyone from Hopkins who applied got one.
There are also a lot of loan repayment programs if you work with underserved populations after graduating.
I was in one of the last ABSN programs (16 month) then I went into the MSN NP program (2 years), which they no longer have.
If you did an ABSN elsewhere, it's going to take 13 mos to 2 years.
The Hopkins DNP NP program can be done in 3 years or in 4 years. However, it is really the equivalent of the old MSN + a DNP, so that's not an unreasonable time.
You may want to work for awhile as an RN, anyway, after graduating.
I wouldn't worry about the cost of the NP studies right now. Hopkins has some very good scholarships. You need to network and talk to your professors, too. For example, when I was in the NP program, it turned out one professor had $25,000 scholarships that Fin Aid didn't know about.
You will also have a good chance of winning scholarships like the Nurse Corps scholarship. (Some states have the same, so check with your state). It is full ride, plus a living stiped. I won one for 18 mos of my NP program. Pretty much everyone from Hopkins who applied got one.
There are also a lot of loan repayment programs if you work with underserved populations after graduating.
Oh wow, I wish they still had those programs. I don't think I totally understood their program until now. They have you do a general Masters now which only gets you to an RN, which doesn't really make sense for what I want to do in the end. So in total, I would be going for 6-7 years to become an NP whereas I could do it in 3-4 years with other programs.
I wonder why they stopped offering the MSN NP program ? I thought that is what it was when I applied.
Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
1 hour ago, taylorhopelyn said:
Oh wow, I wish they still had those programs. I don't think I totally understood their program until now. They have you do a general Masters now which only gets you to an RN, which doesn't really make sense for what I want to do in the end. So in total, I would be going for 6-7 years to become an NP whereas I could do it in 3-4 years with other programs.
I wonder why they stopped offering the MSN NP program ? I thought that is what it was when I applied.
I'm assuming you already have a bachelor's degree in a nonnursing field. Normally for someone like you, the BSN is 2 years if it is not accelerated. Then, you have to do another 2 years at the MSN level to become an NP. That is 4 years, no matter where you go.
I don't know why JHUSON moved to only MSN and above. At any rate, the MSN RN is 5 semesters, which might be 2 years, as they usually run a summer program. You have to ask them. Then it is 3 years to get your DNP to become an NP. That is 5 years. So one more year to have a DNP, which is quite reasonable.
There is a movement to make the DNP mandatory for NPs. When that will actually happen, who knows. But it probably will happen at some point, so a lot of NPs do get the DNP eventually and that is what I plan to do.
Hi! I actually have one more question since you mentioned you went through to become an NP. Did you do the DNP program at JHU? I just talk to someone from admissions and they said its an additional 4 years on top of the MSN program. I am surprised by this because Vanderbilt for example has only a few year program to get an MSN and automatically be able to practice as an NP. But since JHU requires a doctorate to practice as an NP, it just seems like so much extra money and time. I am leaning on loans 100% for all school and living expenses, so I am scared of digging myself into a debt hole that I won't be able to get out of as an NP. Any thoughts on this?
Hi. I know your question wasn't directed toward me but I felt the need to say something. I view these direct-entry master's programs to be a bit like an accelerated BSN program, except without earning a BSN, especially from what I've heard from friends who went through direct-entry masters programs. Five years to finish a master's and doctoral is not unreasonable either. If I would have stayed in the trajectory that I was on, it would have taken me six.
My personal opinion about why Hopkins got rid of the BSN and the "regular" MSN program is because of money and resources. I was in the last "traditional" BSN program and I couldn't help but think that they were just subscribing to the NP puppy mill-type of education and trying to crank out the NPs/DNPs. I asked one of my Hopkins professors who was involved with creating the direct-entry MSN curriculum about it but she never told me the real reason.
Your decision to get a DNP is your own. I was in a DNP program but dropped out because I had to admit to myself that I really didn't care about things like organizational concepts in nursing or knowledge management in nursing. I interviewed several DNPs at my hospital about what a DNP had done for them and they all told me while it didn't give them any one-up clinically, it made them more respected and "heard" at the table, so to speak, and opened different doors. Therefore, if you are really driven and want to go deep into something beyond clinical, then it's probably for you. But it is not required to practice as an NP, anywhere.
And just to remind everyone, "they" have been talking about making DNP mandatory for almost a decade, while they've been talking about getting rid of ADNs for like, three decades.
FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP
2 Articles; 1,942 Posts
I was in one of the last ABSN programs (16 month) then I went into the MSN NP program (2 years), which they no longer have.
If you did an ABSN elsewhere, it's going to take 13 mos to 2 years.
The Hopkins DNP NP program can be done in 3 years or in 4 years. However, it is really the equivalent of the old MSN + a DNP, so that's not an unreasonable time.
You may want to work for awhile as an RN, anyway, after graduating.
I wouldn't worry about the cost of the NP studies right now. Hopkins has some very good scholarships. You need to network and talk to your professors, too. For example, when I was in the NP program, it turned out one professor had $25,000 scholarships that Fin Aid didn't know about.
You will also have a good chance of winning scholarships like the Nurse Corps scholarship. (Some states have the same, so check with your state). It is full ride, plus a living stiped. I won one for 18 mos of my NP program. Pretty much everyone from Hopkins who applied got one.
There are also a lot of loan repayment programs if you work with underserved populations after graduating.