2016 UPenn BSN/MSN Applicants

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Hi all,

I couldn't find a thread for the UPenn BSN/MSN 2016 summer applicants, so I decided to start one. I think it will be a great way for us to connect and support each other.

Is anyone else on here currently applying?

Best of luck.

Hi everyone,

There is a Facebook page for ABSN/MSN Penn admitted students, and personally I would prefer to communicate via that portal so we can connect and message each other with questions, etc. I just learned about it today!

Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/770407256426405/

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Hi There,

I have been trolling this forum for awhile now, so thank you to everyone for the helpful information over the past few weeks!

I just wanted to say that I am in the same position as you lrs1227; I applied for the ABSN/CNM track and am wait listed. I have also tried to call and email admissions and haven't received a response. Penn is definitely my first choice as well, so here's to hoping places open up!

If you hear anything, it would be great if you could post it here. I'll be sure to do the same. Thanks everyone!

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is anybody else considering the university of rochester/knows anything about the program? I am having a very hard time deciding because although penn has the ivy league name, rochester is also a great nursing school and is only 12 months long (which could be a good or bad thing). Obviously Philly is a more desirable place to live but I have heard some not so great things about penn and it seems like rochester is loved by most people that attend. any advice or insight at all would be helpful. Thanks!

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Thanks! I agree that I think UPenn's program is stronger--plus I don't think I like the non-specialty, non-NP master's then DNP structure at Columbia. I'd rather get my MSN as a CNM and maybe go back for the DNP later after working some. I only applied to the MDE (not DNP) at Columbia and so that's another stressor of having to apply for the DNP during the MDE. I was told at a Columbia information session that they changed their structure to the DNP due to projected education requirements for NP and also to help with people who maxed our their undergrad federal loans (not my situation). UPenn on the other hand said many, many times that they are a loan-based program, which I guess is most NP schools, but I did get at least some financial aid from Emory. I guess my choice right now is primarily between UPenn and Emory.

Good luck with your decision! What factors are you weighing?

The MSN portion at Columbia is non-speciality? Really? Is that only true for those in the MDE/DNP track or also for those just in the MSN track? If so, I don't know how I feel about that. I would definitely like to focus on my intended specialty (PMHNP) beginning right in the MSN portion of the program rather than waiting all the way until I reach the DNP portion (otherwise, what's the point of a generalist MSN for those of us who know what we want to focus on?). We should probably email Admissions to ensure this is, in fact, true.

I think my top choices right now are UCSF, UPenn, and Columbia. UCSF has been my top choice all along, but UPenn is also incredible. I love how the BSN portion is 18 months - I think this makes it much more manageable. I also love that Penn offers us a BSN so that we can seamlessly find jobs if we wanted to work during the MSN portion. As for Columbia, the biggest reason why I'm even considering it is because of the DNP -- I know this is the future of the NP path (though questionable as to when this will be enforced -- nursing, as a field, appears to move incredibly slow in terms of public policies), and given this, it would be nice to get everything done in one go and wrap it all up in 4 years and be on my merry way. As for UCSF, which is pretty stellar in my book, everything (except the lack of DNP) is telling me to go.

So....I feel like I'm really back at square one. In sum, I think UCSF will make me pretty happy, it's an intimate program with ~60 people, ~8 PMHNP kids, and since I want to live in SF in the future, networking now makes the most sense (also, it's always ranked in the top for everything). UPenn is incredible -- I like how individualized their program is and I think I would walk away with incredible degrees. As for Columbia, I'm not fond of the disorganized nature I hear their program is nor do I like that the class sizes are so huge, but that DNP is really pullin' me in. I also think the ivy pedigree would be beneficial.

Gah, so much to weigh! i need helping parsing these things out haha

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^ I have also been considering both Columbia and Upenn. Although Upenn's class size is smaller, Columbia has been dealing with these large cohorts for years now and know how to handle large class sizes. Don't forget when we break up into clinicals, it'll be about 8:1 ratio, similar to Penn. I was also weary about the large cohort, but I think coming from a large undergrad university, I've learned that if you put in the effort to seek the attention and help that you need, you'll get it. It is hard to think about potentially turning down UPenn which is ranked #1 though. :( But, I think in the future, I wouldn't regret getting all my schooling done at Columbia to obtain the DNP.

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^ I have also been considering both Columbia and Upenn. Although Upenn's class size is smaller, Columbia has been dealing with these large cohorts for years now and know how to handle large class sizes. Don't forget when we break up into clinicals, it'll be about 8:1 ratio, similar to Penn. I was also weary about the large cohort, but I think coming from a large undergrad university, I've learned that if you put in the effort to seek the attention and help that you need, you'll get it. It is hard to think about potentially turning down UPenn which is ranked #1 though. :( But, I think in the future, I wouldn't regret getting all my schooling done at Columbia to obtain the DNP.

I definitely share similar sentiments about what future me may potentially want, which is the DNP. Have you already committed to Columbia? Do you know if the MSN is generalist or if we get to start focusing on our speciality after the first year?

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is anybody else considering the university of rochester/knows anything about the program? I am having a very hard time deciding because although penn has the ivy league name, rochester is also a great nursing school and is only 12 months long (which could be a good or bad thing). Obviously Philly is a more desirable place to live but I have heard some not so great things about penn and it seems like rochester is loved by most people that attend. any advice or insight at all would be helpful. Thanks!

i am wondering what are the not so great things you've heard about penn?

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I definitely share similar sentiments about what future me may potentially want, which is the DNP. Have you already committed to Columbia? Do you know if the MSN is generalist or if we get to start focusing on our speciality after the first year?

I haven't committed to a school yet, and am definitely planning to visit both and ask questions. I believe the MSN is just generalist, and after that degree, you'll sit for NCLEX and can begin working as an RN. I think the future push as a whole is to not eliminate the MSN, and keep it for those who would like to become a Clincal Nursing Leader (CNL). I'm not too clear on this as this isn't my main goal. For Columbia, you can only specialize during your DNP education. But it's to my knowledge that the DNP course load is manageable and you can work as a part time RN during that time to gain experience. And then the last year of DNP is a paid residency to really help you gain experience in the role of a NP.

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Hi everyone,

I think I'm choosing Penn, unless I get into Yale. I really liked that they incorporate the arts in training their future RN/NPs. Does Penn do anything like this? I am very much drawn to Penn as well. I want to pursue the ASD minor and I got a great vibe from the campus and Philly in general.

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I haven't committed to a school yet, and am definitely planning to visit both and ask questions. I believe the MSN is just generalist, and after that degree, you'll sit for NCLEX and can begin working as an RN. I think the future push as a whole is to not eliminate the MSN, and keep it for those who would like to become a Clincal Nursing Leader (CNL). I'm not too clear on this as this isn't my main goal. For Columbia, you can only specialize during your DNP education. But it's to my knowledge that the DNP course load is manageable and you can work as a part time RN during that time to gain experience. And then the last year of DNP is a paid residency to really help you gain experience in the role of a NP.

That's really helpful -- thank you so much for sharing this information! If Columbia's MSN portion is generalist, then I don't think this would be a good fit for me. I would want to start focusing on my intended speciality as soon as possible (I fear that I would get bored, and my morale would weaken, if I was doing a generalist education when I already know what I want to pursue). I still definitely want to get that DNP, but I wouldn't want to wait 3 years until I finally get to start focusing on the demographic that I want. I think both Vanderbilt and OHSU offer their students the option to continue with the DNP their fourth year if they so choose, which is another nice option to consider if those are in the mix for you.

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In the original comment stating that Columbia's masters is generalist, is that just referring to the first 15 months which is a masters (Masters direct entry)? I'm pretty sure the remaining 3 years of the DNP are all within the specialty chosen, but please correct me if I'm wrong! I am curious to hear.

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How long is the Columbia residency and if it's paid about how much do they pay?

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