UPENN BSN MSN 2021

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 I'm repplying for the PMHNP speciality and did not see a thread created so I figured I'd do it again! With the deadline passed, good luck to everyone who applied!

14 hours ago, ampeanut said:

Admitted to the accelerated BSN/MSN for the WHNP specialty! SO excited! If anyone creates a facebook group for admitted students please let me know! Unsure of how to navigate housing etc.

I was admitted to the WHNP specialty as well! Are you waiting to hear back from any other programs? 

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Specializes in prospective ABSN/MSN student.

Fortunately, I was accepted into the BSN/MSN AG Primary Care Specialty. Any other primary care people out there? Also, definitely looking to join any FB group that might be created for this incoming class, so if someone could post that in here that would be awesome!

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5 hours ago, hopefulwhnp said:

I was admitted to the WHNP specialty as well! Are you waiting to hear back from any other programs? 

Congrats!! I am waiting to hear back from Vanderbilt still. Penn was my top choice though so I’m pretty set unless Vanderbilt offered me some scholarship or something!! What about you? 

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Hey everyone! I went ahead and made a facebook group for ABSN/MSN admitted students. I'm not too familiar with making these groups, so let me know if there's any problems and if anyone else would like to be an Admin ?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/246410783637461

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On 2/7/2021 at 10:07 PM, ampeanut said:

Admitted to the accelerated BSN/MSN for the WHNP specialty! SO excited! If anyone creates a facebook group for admitted students please let me know! Unsure of how to navigate housing etc.

I just rejoined allnurses and I thought I'd pop in and see how the newest cohort is doing. ☺️  I did ABSN to WHNP/CNM and graduated in 2014, 2016. I moved from California to Philly. I'm happy to try to answer any questions. 

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Specializes in prospective ABSN/MSN student.
17 minutes ago, NursingMentorPRN said:

I just rejoined allnurses and I thought I'd pop in and see how the newest cohort is doing. ☺️  I did ABSN to WHNP/CNM and graduated in 2014, 2016. I moved from California to Philly. I'm happy to try to answer any questions. 

Hey there! I'm sure all the academic questions will come flooding in at some point, but right now I'm pretty preoccupied by the financial burden of this program. I received federal loans and some merit scholarships, but I'm still left with a balance of over $100k (just for the BSN portion) that Penn somehow thinks I can cover on my own....  I have to imagine I'm not the only one who was shell shocked by the financial aid, or lack thereof. Feel free to disregard if this is too personal, but I'm just wondering if you were also left with an intimidating balance when you got your financial aid report, and if so, how you dealt with that (Private loans, Outside Scholarships, etc...?). Did you feel that your experience at Penn and subsequent career opportunities were worth the cost? Let me know whenever you get a chance, thanks! 

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30 minutes ago, ncat97 said:

Hey there! I'm sure all the academic questions will come flooding in at some point, but right now I'm pretty preoccupied by the financial burden of this program. I received federal loans and some merit scholarships, but I'm still left with a balance of over $100k (just for the BSN portion) that Penn somehow thinks I can cover on my own....  I have to imagine I'm not the only one who was shell shocked by the financial aid, or lack thereof. Feel free to disregard if this is too personal, but I'm just wondering if you were also left with an intimidating balance when you got your financial aid report, and if so, how you dealt with that (Private loans, Outside Scholarships, etc...?). Did you feel that your experience at Penn and subsequent career opportunities were worth the cost? Let me know whenever you get a chance, thanks! 

This is a totally legit question and one I've thought a lot about. I have a ton of loans and mixed feelings. It's really hard to say because I'm pretty sure graduating from Penn got me my first job. Aside from it being well respected, my interviewer brought up that she used to serve on a board with one of my Penn professors and how much she respected her. However, the amount of debt I have is a huge stressor in my life now. A good part of that is self-imposed, I could have chosen jobs that would have qualified for HRSA loan repayment. I have friends from the program who are already debt free because of the jobs they went for after graduation. I was also really happy with the education I received from Penn and felt well supported by faculty. The main reason I chose Penn was actually the feeling I got about the culture there during interview day. It just felt like the current cohort really looked out for each other and the cohorts below them.  I was right. Both cohorts (ABSN and MSN) were super supportive and not competitive with each other at all. We had study groups and get togethers and took care of each other. I made friends and curbside consults for life. Would I have gotten that elsewhere? Who knows. 
Now that I'm typing this I'm realizing I actually have a ton to say about the issue. haha. For now I will say this: if you like the idea of working with a underserved population, look at the HRSA scholarship. My friends that did it are all really happy with it. And different merit based scholarships will become available each semester and Penn financial aid will email everyone about it for a chance to apply. And... I hope admissions doesn't kill me for saying this. I got accepted and offered a better scholarship at Hopkins, but Penn was my first choice. So I told Penn that I really wanted to accept, but Hopkins was offering me X. They didn't match it, but it did help. ?

ETA: I had to apply for a Wells Fargo private loan to cover the first semester. After that, I was able to show proof that I was now a broke student and then I qualified for more federal loans. (eyeroll). Talk to Financial Aid and ask about it. 

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Specializes in prospective ABSN/MSN student.
5 minutes ago, NursingMentorPRN said:

This is a totally legit question and one I've thought a lot about. I have a ton of loans and mixed feelings. It's really hard to say because I'm pretty sure graduating from Penn got me my first job. Aside from it being well respected, my interviewer brought up that she used to serve on a board with one of my Penn professors and how much she respected her. However, the amount of debt I have is a huge stressor in my life now. A good part of that is self-imposed, I could have chosen jobs that would have qualified for HRSA loan repayment. I have friends from the program who are already debt free because of the jobs they went for after graduation. I was also really happy with the education I received from Penn and felt well supported by faculty. The main reason I chose Penn was actually the feeling I got about the culture there during interview day. It just felt like the current cohort really looked out for each other and the cohorts below them.  I was right. Both cohorts (ABSN and MSN) were super supportive and not competitive with each other at all. We had study groups and get togethers and took care of each other. I made friends and curbside consults for life. Would I have gotten that elsewhere? Who knows. 
Now that I'm typing this I'm realizing I actually have a ton to say about the issue. haha. For now I will say this: if you like the idea of working with a underserved population, look at the HRSA scholarship. My friends that did it are all really happy with it. And different merit based scholarships will become available each semester and Penn financial aid will email everyone about it for a chance to apply. And... I hope admissions doesn't kill me for saying this. I got accepted and offered a better scholarship at Hopkins, but Penn was my first choice. So I told Penn that I really wanted to accept, but Hopkins was offering me X. They didn't match it, but it did help. ?

Thank you so much for your insight! I definitely need to do some more research about HRSA loan repayment options. Just to clarify, did these friends of yours that are now already debt-free achieve that through repayment plans secured after graduation? Or did they apply for scholarships requiring a 2+ year service term ahead of starting the program? Anyways, I'm definitely happy to hear that you felt the overall environment and the faculty at Penn were top-notch ?

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Specializes in NP interview mentor and medical english tutor.
13 minutes ago, ncat97 said:

Thank you so much for your insight! I definitely need to do some more research about HRSA loan repayment options. Just to clarify, did these friends of yours that are now already debt-free achieve that through repayment plans secured after graduation? Or did they apply for scholarships requiring a 2+ year service term ahead of starting the program? Anyways, I'm definitely happy to hear that you felt the overall environment and the faculty at Penn were top-notch ?

Both. Two applied for and were awarded the scholarships as students with the obligation to fulfill the requirements after graduation, and one applied to the loan repayment after her started a job at a place that qualified. 

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On 2/13/2021 at 6:24 PM, NursingMentorPRN said:

I just rejoined allnurses and I thought I'd pop in and see how the newest cohort is doing. ☺️  I did ABSN to WHNP/CNM and graduated in 2014, 2016. I moved from California to Philly. I'm happy to try to answer any questions. 

Thank you for offering to answer people's questions! I am actually lurking on this thread as I am planning on applying to Penn next year as an ABSN/MSN student. Something I am trying to figure out right now is how much more selective the ABSN to MSN program is vs just going ABSN. I know for certain (as much as I can with the knowledge I have) that I eventually want to do a NP Program, so it would make sense to apply for ABSN to MSN but I am a little concerned that if I don't get selected for the MSN piece I am hurting my chances for even getting my RN! Do you have any thoughts on this or the particular advantage of doing the ABSN to MSN program vs going for only ABSN and then after some work experience applying to the MSN separately? As well as what Penn might be looking for in a ABSN to MSN candidate vs ABSN only? 

 

Also - did anyone who got into the program do the GRE waiver exemption based off their undergrad GPA? I want to make sure that doesn't hurt someone's chances of admission but would love to not have to study for the GRE on top of finishing pre-reqs, work, and volunteering LOL.

 

Thanks to all for any help/advice and congrats to those who got in here as well as other programs!

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38 minutes ago, lilyrose212 said:

Thank you for offering to answer people's questions! I am actually lurking on this thread as I am planning on applying to Penn next year as an ABSN/MSN student. Something I am trying to figure out right now is how much more selective the ABSN to MSN program is vs just going ABSN. I know for certain (as much as I can with the knowledge I have) that I eventually want to do a NP Program, so it would make sense to apply for ABSN to MSN but I am a little concerned that if I don't get selected for the MSN piece I am hurting my chances for even getting my RN! Do you have any thoughts on this or the particular advantage of doing the ABSN to MSN program vs going for only ABSN and then after some work experience applying to the MSN separately? As well as what Penn might be looking for in a ABSN to MSN candidate vs ABSN only? 

 

Also - did anyone who got into the program do the GRE waiver exemption based off their undergrad GPA? I want to make sure that doesn't hurt someone's chances of admission but would love to not have to study for the GRE on top of finishing pre-reqs, work, and volunteering LOL.

 

Thanks to all for any help/advice and congrats to those who got in here as well as other programs!

I waived my GRE because of the GPA exemption and was admitted, I don’t think it affects your odds of admission at all

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On 2/13/2021 at 7:24 PM, NursingMentorPRN said:

I just rejoined allnurses and I thought I'd pop in and see how the newest cohort is doing. ☺️  I did ABSN to WHNP/CNM and graduated in 2014, 2016. I moved from California to Philly. I'm happy to try to answer any questions. 

Hi! Thanks so much for answering questions! I was wondering if you went straight through to the MSN program or worked in between the BSN and MSN. From the website it looks like graduation from the BSN is in December but the full time MSN programs start in the Summer - what do people do for those 6 months? Or is it a different start date for BSN/MSN students? Do they group students together in the ABSN portion that are pursing the same MSN specialty? Is there anything you would recommend for getting the most out of the program and managing the work load? Also, did you stay in Philadelphia after graduating or relocate? If you relocated to a different area did you find it hard to get a job out of the state? Thanks!

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