UMDNJ vs. Thomas Jefferson University

[neuronRN]

Hello again allnurses Community!

I have applied to the Family Nurse Practitioner programs at The University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ and Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. I'm just interested in receiving some preliminary opinions/information about the two programs. I've created a little comparison of the two schools with some information I came across online. Which university would you choose? Which program sounds better? And I would also appreciate any other information about the programs.

Thank you!

UMDNJ:

47 credits, 810 clinical hours

$587 per credit, that's about $27,589 but including required books and fees the total price of education is $30,000+

If I go to UMDNJ, I will have to attend classes on-campus and have the option to complete it part-time. UMDNJ is about 15 minutes away from my house.

Thomas Jefferson University:

36 credits, 16 clinical hours per week in each clinical course

$1013 per credit, including additional fees, the total price is around $40,000+

At TJU, I have the option to complete the program part-time (max of 6 years) and I can also complete the entire program online. TJU advertises there 95% MSN passing rate on certification exams and 100% job placement rate. TJU also ranks in the top 100 on the nation's best online nursing programs list. For nursing in general it ranks #124 compared to UMDNJs #234.

[LynnMcFarlane]

hello neuronrn:

i commend you for doing such great research as part of your decision process on where to advance your nursing education. in response to your post.....

[color=#a52a2a]preceptors

umdnj recognizes that finding preceptors certainly can be a challenging process for our students and most other nursing schools. to address this, we are in the process of hiring a clinical placement coordinator to help secure clinical sites and enhance the working relationships among all parties. we also have a student-run advanced practice mentoring group where more experienced students (mentors) are matched with incoming graduate students according to specialty. finding and working with preceptors is one of the topics consistently addressed by this group.

[color=#a52a2a]merger

regarding our planned merger with rutgers university, the overriding goal is that student issues come first and that students are never impacted in a negative way. we are in the process of creating merger-related faqs and welcome your specific questions related to the merger. feel free to message me offline with your questions, or post them here.

best wishes in your educational journey.

lynn mcfarlane, director of marketing and communications, umdnj-school of nursing

[SICU_Murse]

Lynn -- I think its a great idea for the SON to have someone on these boards to help answer questions, as many pre-NP students turn to these boards when looking for information from their fellow nurses.

I will be starting the acute / critical care NP program this fall and will begin my clinical / specialty courses next fall. I believe that a clinical placement coordinator will help alleviate alot of unnecessary stress on us students! What is the timeframe for when this position will be filled?

neuronRN -- I am less than 5 minutes from the Stratford campus and know several people who have graduated from their acute / critical care NP program. All of which spoke very highly about the program. Location, cost, and reputation made UMDNJ my school of choice.

[neuronRN]

Thank you SICU_Murse for adding to the thread. Your same reasons for UMDNJ are also my reasons for applying. I'm patiently waiting to here of receipt of my application. I think its a great idea for UMDNJ to have a clinical placement specialist.

[np2017]

I am currently in TJU's FNP program and can honestly say that I am beyond disappointed in the quality of the faculty and education I am receiving. Sadly, I have yet to speak with an alum who does not agree with me. These programs sound so wonderful on paper and I believe rankings are not necessarily a great indicator of the quality of the program. My advice when looking for a program is to speak with current students about their experience. Personally, I would recommend just about any MSN program over Jefferson!

[tponyiri]

hello! thanks for your honest post. I just got accepted to TJU and Georgetown University what's your advice?

[np2017]

Georgetown! No question! Best of luck :)

[NovaFNP22]

np2017, I was thinking of applying there this summer. What about the program are you disappointed with? I would love some insight.

[np2017]

Hi PHLpnpHopefully, to be honest, I was very disappointed with the entire program. In my opinion, the program does not adequately prepare NPs for practice and the quality of education and faculty is, sadly, extremely low. This may be true for other programs as well, but with the TJU program, in order to receive the information and knowledge required to pass boards and be a confident, skilled practitioner, one needs to do a lot of "self-learning," for e.g., I was learning much more new material studying for boards than friends of mine at other programs who received the information as part of the curriculum. I hope this helps, feel free to reach out with any other specific questions and best of luck!

[NovaFNP22]

MissT19, although this was posted awhile ago, what are you thoughts on TJU now?

[NovaFNP22]

That's upsetting to hear. I'm sorry you had a bad experience. If you had to choose a program in the area again, which school do you think you would go with?

[np2017]

I don't really know much about other programs in the area. I know people who went to Penn and Drexel and have heard mixed reviews about those programs. Best advice I can give is to see if you can connect with previous or current students from programs you are considering through this site or through the admissions office of those schools.

[nursecarlyp]

could I talk to you a bit more about tju program?