Yale GEPN 2014 Applicants

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It's probably too soon to start this thread- anyone else out there?

Emily

@balletary, I was accepted to Columbia but I have more positive feelings about Yale, for a number of reasons. On interview day, I felt like Yale put a lot of effort into making everyone feel welcome and helping us determine whether a Yale is the right "fit." Columbia has felt impersonal to me. Maybe I would feel differently after Columbia's visiting day--I'm not sure I will go though because I'm in CA. I went to an info session @ Columbia last year but I didn't feel like I got a good sense of what it would like to be a student there. Columbia is also significantly more expensive and that's a factor for me. Anyway, I'd love to hear your and everyone else's impressions on the two programs.

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I want to confirm that we were supposed to indicate Graduate/Professional Student for question number 29 in the FAFSA due to Yale on Feb 1. Is this what everyone else selected?

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@kelseanne88 that is correct! There is also a special box you check to indicate you are working towards a grad or professional degree. If anyone applied to Columbia, they sent very detailed FAFSA instructions today.

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Specializes in Mental Health.

Just curious how you are supposed to pay for Columbia's first year since you are not considered a graduate student? Is it undergrad loans? Will they even cover the whole cost?

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@mgh26: I totally agree with everything you said about Yale. I calculated the total cost for Columbia's entire program (including 9 extra credits for a sub-specialty) and it came out to $170,000, including health insurance and other fees. The total cost of Yale's program is $121,000, which is a heck of a lot cheaper. Now, Columbia supposedly gives larger scholarships than Yale and Columbia also allows you to work as an RN and go part time during the masters specialty years. Some hospitals will pay for some of the tuition fees too. I have a friend who is in her first specialty year at Columbia; she took one year off after the ETP year and started working at Beth Israel hospital; after one year of work, she went back to school at Columbia, and is working toward her FNP while working as an RN, and the hospital is helping her pay for it. I don't know how easy it is to get that kind of set up, but it's something to keep in mind. But, finances aside, I still get the sense that Yale is much more personal and seems to care more about their students' progress. My Columbia friends have also said that many of the professors at CU are mediocre, whereas I didn't get that sense at Yale. Good teaching is important to me, especially since we're going to pay so much money. Anyway, those are some of my thoughts.

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I have a friend of a friend in the second year of the Columbia program (just finished ETP portion and now studying FNP). She's met Yale students at conferences and from talking with them and comparing notes, Yale is more academically rigorous and you get more clinical hours at Yale. One of the reasons she chose Columbia over Yale was that you had greater work options during your 2nd-3rd years at Columbia so that would help keep the cost down (even though it's astronomically high).

When I went to interview day at Yale, I did ask the current students about working. The 2 current students in their specialty year did work. One was a research nurse, the other was a per diem nurse I think. So it seems it's possible at both schools, probably just more common at Columbia.

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I can't speak for other specialties, but it seemed like working during years 2 and 3 is fairly common for psych at Yale. The director gave us a bunch of examples during the orientation of job possibilities, and when I asked about it during my interview she said that some people simply have to work to put themselves through the course, and that they're very understanding if you need to go down to part-time after the pre-speciality year. Then again, I know psych nursing is a bit more "in demand" than some of the other specialties, so this may lend itself to more work opportunities.

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I can't remember is Feb 24 the day we find out? Or was it March 1? I have a few programs in my head now.

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March 1st officially, but MP said most likely Feb 28th, which I believe is a Friday.

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Thank you droux. Lets hope it's Feb 28 or earlier!! I'm heading to an Open House at Vanderbilt on the 28th so it will be an eventful week. Anyone else here apply to UCSF or Vandy?

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@mentalhealthadvocate yes I applied to UCSF, but not Vandy. I was in Nashville for a wedding this summer so I informally visited Vandy... I was not a fan. The hospital is great, top notch. But, I did not like Nashville and I learned FOR SURE I could never live there. Everyone has different preferences though... you might enjoy the small city and southern charm. I will def say everyone was very nice :)

$121K total tuition/fees for Yale, if we add living expenses...?

Columbia is just over $200K for tuition+Living.

Just as a frame of reference... Borrowing $150K, at 6% interest, would be $1100/month for 20 years.

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I would agree with the above comments about how welcoming and personable the staff and faculty were at Yale. I also love the program, and the opportunities available there (clinical and academic). The info sessions were better than any other school I went to, and I had an overall positive experience.

My interviewer was friendly, and I was not asked intentionally challenging questions. It was more of a conversation about my understanding of the field, and my career goals.

My only hesitation about Yale is the cold New Haven weather! I'm not very good at cold.

Otherwise I'm so excited and really hope I get the chance to be a part of it all!

Good Luck and Don't Give Up ;)

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