2016 UPenn BSN/MSN Applicants

MakeMeAMidwife · Feb 15, 2016

Did anyone receive financial info?

mec22 · Feb 15, 2016

I haven't heard financial info from Penn or Columbia yet. I did hear back from MGH last week though. Anyone know when we should expect to hear from Penn about it?

hummingbirdheartbeat · Feb 16, 2016

For anyone who is debating between Penn and Columbia, I created a new thread to discuss this topic, and hopefully those in this situation can help share your thoughts! If you already have stated your opinion about the programs, and wouldn't mind copying and pasting it to this thread, that would be great!!! THANK YOU! :) https://allnurses.com/post-graduate-nursing/columbia-university-mde-1036879.html#post8906707

jacksalt · Feb 16, 2016

I guess it shouldn't be so surprising but I'm amazed at how many folks are deciding between UPenn and Columbia. I got into ABSN/MSN for FNP at penn and the MDE (only applied to MDE) track at CU. I guess for me my thought process is that the ABSN to MSN feels more versatile - like what if I get sick of school after the bachelor's and wanna just work for a while and take a break? I worry that it would be harder to get masters level jobs without masters level experience but maybe I'm wrong? I have a friend in the UPenn program who just completed the bachelor's and is taking the break between bsn and msn to start his new job and is going to do the msn part time. it just seems most cost/mental health effective.

the other thing about columbia is that all my friends and family are in brooklyn and CU is way the hell up there in washington heights. either I live with people I know 1.5 hrs away on the train or I live in washington heights or inwood or the south bronx and don't know anyone. at that point I feel like I might as well live in philly where everyone I know lives within a 10 min bike ride of the school and go see my friends and family for the weekend on a $10 bus ride.

cyaos · Feb 16, 2016

Hi,

I'm a Penn ABSN graduate (dec 2015) and just wanted to help clarify some questions. The 109,100 tuition is only for the BSN. MSN is separate.

cyaos · Feb 16, 2016

Also, for the BSN portion you cannot go part-time. It is an 18 month full time program. For the MSN portion, you can go part time and some MSN specialties require you to work in between the BSN and MSN portion.

Financial aid - you can receive different types of loans, federal sub and unsub loans, perkins loans, nursing school loans. There are also grants that penn gives you (free money) depending on your financial status.

It's pretty cheap to live in Penn (if you're comparing penn vs columbia) -i live in a 1 bedroom apt 10 min walking distance from school and it's 975$/month. You can live in a 1 bedroom for as little as 700 (if you live a bit farther) and you can live in center city (like "downtown") for around 900-1300+ (depending on how fancy you want it).

Hope this helps!

cyaos · Feb 16, 2016

The class size average is about 90 students. Everyone, whether or not you are submatriculated into an MSN program, is in the same BSN program. From what I recall, about half of the students were BSN only students and half were BSN/MSN students. There's really no difference during the BSN portion. You go through the program together, then if you want to take a few MSN courses you can take them as electives during your BSN. You can take up to 3 MSN courses in your BSN program.

You can also apply to be submatriculated to an MSN program during school after two semesters. You don't need to take the GRE if your gpa is higher than 3.2 i think.

There's also Fast-track which is a 1 year MSN program for FNP, PNP. These two specialties don't require you to work in between, so you could apply for it sometime in the fall of your first year and then you would take a few more classes, but basically you would finish the BSN/MSN program in 2.5 years (1.5 for BSN, 1 for MSN).

ring1137 · Feb 16, 2016

Hi, everyone. I am a current student in the ABSN (sub matriculated into the Midwifery program) if anyone has questions :)

lrs1227 · Feb 16, 2016

Does anyone have any info about the waitlist? I was waitlisted for the CNM/WHNP program, and I've been trying to get in touch with the admissions office with no luck. I'm curious, specifically, about how many people are on the waitlist (a few? many? Is it really just a glorified rejection?) and an average how many people get off the waitlist each year. This is my first choice program, and I want to know if I still have a shot!

blueandgold1919 · Feb 16, 2016

I really would love to know about the waitlist- we are pretty in the dark here

Nbssr18 · Feb 16, 2016

Does anyone know how many applicants there are in total?

js11 · Feb 17, 2016

I am debating between Penn and Vandy. The biggest difference is definitely Penn's BSN portion and RN experience vs Vandy that goes straight through in 24 months. Can anyone elaborate on this dilemma? Would I run into employment issues in the future if I did not have my BSN?