UC Davis MEPN 2021

Charlotteee, MSN, RN · Feb 8, 2021

On 2/3/2021 at 11:18 PM, nursecap said:

Hello@RN0928,

Do you recall if any people from your cohort were accepted off of the waitlist? It seems as thought there are huge number of people waitlisted every year and very few (if any) ever get off of the list.

I'm in the current cohort and know at least 3 people who were accepted off the waitlist but I don't know if that number is bigger than normal because of Covid, some people didn't want to do nursing school remotely. I don't know the exact number though, sorry!

Charlotteee, MSN, RN · Feb 8, 2021

Also some people are working/worked full time in the program and I have two jobs and end up working ~20 hours a week between the two them. I think working during the program is totally doable but I know that's not for everyone. I don't really get any days off but I like to keep busy so it works for me.

LAD · Feb 12, 2021

On 2/8/2021 at 1:08 PM, Charlotteee said:

Also some people are working/worked full time in the program and I have two jobs and end up working ~20 hours a week between the two them. I think working during the program is totally doable but I know that's not for everyone. I don't really get any days off but I like to keep busy so it works for me.

Thank you! I've talked to others who have said to not work for the first 6 months so I was wondering when might be the best time to pick up a part-time job if needed.

LAD · Feb 12, 2021

For those applying for FAFSA, are you applying for 2020-2021 (because the program starts at the "end of June") or are you applying for 2021-2022?

(They have not stated the actual date when the program/orientation will start)

Te751 · Feb 12, 2021

30 minutes ago, LAD said:

For those applying for FAFSA, are you applying for 2020-2021 (because the program starts at the "end of June") or are you applying for 2021-2022?

(They have not stated the actual date when the program/orientation will start)

They should've emailed you with a link to the Canvas page! It has the academic calendar for the 2021-2022 year. Orientation is the week of June 21, first day is June 28.

For FAFSA, it should be for the 2021-2022 year. Hope this helps!

LAD · Feb 12, 2021

1 hour ago, Te751 said:

They should've emailed you with a link to the Canvas page! It has the academic calendar for the 2021-2022 year. Orientation is the week of June 21, first day is June 28.

For FAFSA, it should be for the 2021-2022 year. Hope this helps!

Hey Te,

Thanks! I completely missed the "modules" section under "Home" and I was clicking on the sidebars which I thought prevented me from looking into the actual "assignments".

Charlotteee, MSN, RN · Feb 13, 2021

20 hours ago, LAD said:

Thank you! I've talked to others who have said to not work for the first 6 months so I was wondering when might be the best time to pick up a part-time job if needed.

Oh interesting! The first quarter is 7 classes so it's a lot to handle but I was able to squeeze in 2-3 shifts a week but I didn't do that until I was a couple weeks into the program just to get a sense of what I could handle. I think it all depends! I also work as a nursing assistant so it's relevant to the education so that helps that I can learn on the job. I know of a couple students who were working 30-40 hours a week during the whole quarter so it's possible

ctrl · Feb 18, 2021

Hi @Charlotteee OR any current students and alumni,

Could you provide some honest insight into / opinions about / perspective on the program and tuition? I’m having a hard time justifying the cost. $119K+ (tuition + mandatory health insurance) is, imo, a steeeeeeeep price to pay for an entry MSN/RN program. Is it worth the $119K+ price? Did you take out loans? How are you paying for this program?

Charlotteee, MSN, RN · Feb 19, 2021

7 hours ago, ctrl said:

Hi @Charlotteee OR any current students and alumni,

Could you provide some honest insight into / opinions about / perspective on the program and tuition? I’m having a hard time justifying the cost. $119K+ (tuition + mandatory health insurance) is, imo, a steeeeeeeep price to pay for an entry MSN/RN program. Is it worth the $119K+ price? Did you take out loans? How are you paying for this program?

Oof yeah it was a hard decision to make, it is SO expensive. I work with nurses who got their ADN from community college and make the same I'll be making when I start. I picked it cause my husband is older and our timeline for having kids is kinda rushed and getting into this program was the fastest way for me to get my RN! I also really wanted my masters because I felt a little silly getting a second bachelor's. But 100k is a lot to pay to avoid being silly so IDK if that's the best advice haaa. I think if I'd had more time I would have gone a longer route and gotten my BSN and an MSN later on, but time was important for me personally.

RN0928 · Feb 19, 2021

8 hours ago, ctrl said:

Hi @Charlotteee OR any current students and alumni,

Could you provide some honest insight into / opinions about / perspective on the program and tuition? I’m having a hard time justifying the cost. $119K+ (tuition + mandatory health insurance) is, imo, a steeeeeeeep price to pay for an entry MSN/RN program. Is it worth the $119K+ price? Did you take out loans? How are you paying for this program?

The $100,000 price tag is pretty steep and it definitely gave me pause, but when I compared to accelerated BSN programs such as Samuel Merritt , it seemed that if I was going to take on the debt, it would be better to walk away with a MSN vs BSN. In the short term, the MSN won’t necessarily lead to a higher salary but it does give you more options down the line. I worked full time during undergrad and decided that if I was going to do an accelerated masters program with a $100,000 price tag, I wanted to be commit 100% and get every penny’s worth out of those 18 months! Fortunately, I was in a financial position where my living expenses were covered (partner, savings, family support) and I paid off all my debts prior to starting the program but I still had to take out $100,000 in GradPlus loans. I justified it by considering that the starting annual salaries for new grad nurses at local hospitals would be approximately the same amount that I borrowed for the program, which made it seem not so bad . I only know of 1 person who was able to get through the program without taking out loans, and I think they were in a unique position and had planned for years in advance. As far as health insurance, if you have other medical coverage (parent, spouse, Medi-cal) you can get a waiver and save some $! It’s a big commitment, and everyone’s situation will be a little different but for me, I felt like the program was a good fit for me in terms of my goals, but also my areas of interest and so it was worth it.

Te751 · Feb 19, 2021

13 hours ago, RN0928 said:

The $100,000 price tag is pretty steep and it definitely gave me pause, but when I compared to accelerated BSN programs such as Samuel Merritt , it seemed that if I was going to take on the debt, it would be better to walk away with a MSN vs BSN. In the short term, the MSN won’t necessarily lead to a higher salary but it does give you more options down the line. I worked full time during undergrad and decided that if I was going to do an accelerated masters program with a $100,000 price tag, I wanted to be commit 100% and get every penny’s worth out of those 18 months! Fortunately, I was in a financial position where my living expenses were covered (partner, savings, family support) and I paid off all my debts prior to starting the program but I still had to take out $100,000 in GradPlus loans. I justified it by considering that the starting annual salaries for new grad nurses at local hospitals would be approximately the same amount that I borrowed for the program, which made it seem not so bad . I only know of 1 person who was able to get through the program without taking out loans, and I think they were in a unique position and had planned for years in advance. As far as health insurance, if you have other medical coverage (parent, spouse, Medi-cal) you can get a waiver and save some $! It’s a big commitment, and everyone’s situation will be a little different but for me, I felt like the program was a good fit for me in terms of my goals, but also my areas of interest and so it was worth it.

@Charlotteee @RN0928 Thank you for your guys' responses! I definitely agree - everyone's situation is different, so it's nice to hear various perspectives. As for myself, I am able to justify the price tag with it being UC Davis. The school is definitely well-known and renown in the medical field. Samuel Merritt, UCSF, and other ABSN programs may be cheaper in tuition, but housing in the Bay Area is crazy expensive.

Charlotteee, MSN, RN · Feb 19, 2021

@RN0928 Yeah the fact that this program will get me out there working as an RN earlier vs taking longer in a school with cheaper tuition was a factor for me as well! And the accelerated BSNs were like 70k I think so paying an extra 30k (well... borrowing an extra 30k...) was worth it for me for the degree difference.