Friday, August 25, 2017

Downstate: Some of the Pros and Cons

I finished summer session 1 and 2 in the accelerated program at Downstate and man was I exhausted! I thought I would use my time off (1 week) to clean and play catch up but I mostly rested, watched TV and spend time with the family. I really needed the time off because I swear since I started this program I have had more gray hairs on my head and my blood pressure continues to rise! I will say that my family adjusted relatively well to the changes that have occurred over the past few months; in fact, my kids and husband probably adjusted better than I did!

A few readers have contacted me regarding the program and since I have a little free time, I will discuss the pros, cons, and everything that I have experienced or have plans for up to this point.

Pros

Tuition- I estimate that my total loans for the program will be roughly $16, 000, which is quite manageable as long as I get full-time employment after graduation. My total loan will be higher since I still have a balance from the MSW program but even combined my entire loan balance will be no more than $25,000, which is still doable.

Cohorts- My cohorts, for the most part, are genuinely nice people. Some of them are really smart too! Seriously I would not know a lot of things going on if it wasn't for them. Not sure if it's because many (probably most) of them are younger than I am or what but they are definitely on top of their work! My cohorts look out for each other which may change once graduation approaches and there is competition for jobs but it isn't the cut throat environment I was told it might be.

Distance- Even though my first choice initially was Lehman, Lehman is actually farther than Downstate and rush hour traffic to the Bronx as opposed to Brooklyn would be worst; actually a lot worst (Cross Bronx Expressway any morning other than Sunday is a nightmare). Let's not talk about Stonybrook. I can't even imagine commuting 85- 90 miles per day to Stonybrook.

Failing a rarity - Most of professors are not out to fail students, even the ones whose teaching style I don't particularly care for or who I feel are inadequate instructors. As someone mentioned, the best students were already accepted so it isn't necessary to wean students out. Most students, also pass NCLEX the first time taken. So far only 1 student dropped out of the program to my knowledge and unless there is some extraordinary circumstance to cause another student to drop out, I feel confident that most of us will graduate.

Cons

Disorganization- This is probably the most annoying thing about Downstate. Keep in mind that I graduated from a CUNY school so I am no stranger to disorganization but I have never experienced this type of disorganization from any school I have attended, ever. This program has been around for sometime so I can't understand why it's not more organized (to be fair I hear this about other nursing programs, not sure why). I will not go into details but there were things that irked the hell out of me, and I am normally not a person that is easily frazzled. I honestly feel like these issues make the program harder than it needs to be.

"Hidden fees"- Another nuisance. I feel like every time I turn around, there is something that must be purchased, whether its a $300 book that I barely read or scrubs that I wore once but actually didn't need. OK I am exaggerating a bit but it would be nice to know the cost up front for everything so that I am not surprised. Sure I still won't want to pay but at least I get a heads up and can plan ahead. I am unemployed after all.

Parking- Parking in Brooklyn is @#$*y for lack of a better term.  There is a parking lot for students and employees which charges a reasonable fee but in order to get the parking passes I literally have to get up at the crack of dawn in another country and wait on line for almost 2 hours to purchase a pass at the school's bookstore since spots are limited. Did I mention that the waiting list for ongoing parking is 3 years long? I am not a fan of public transportation but I sometimes envy students who are only a 30 minute train ride away.

Overall I still feel like I don't know a whole lot more than when I started. I am a somewhat visual and hands on learner so sitting in a lecture hall for hours freezing while my knees get stiff is not conducive to effective learning or retention for me. I enjoy clinicals so far but wish there was more that students were allowed to do. I am now applying for per-diem jobs and even had a couple of interviews lined up but hubby doesn't think I should work as he feel I need to put my energy into school. I am restless with school however and want to get some much needed hospital exposure but not sure if I can balance work, school, and family and maintain decent grades or avoid having a breakdown. I am not a straight A student (nor do I care) but I am doing better than expected and feel that as long as my grades are at least where they are at currently (my guess would be above 3.0?), I can go to graduate school ASAP since I want my masters within 5 years. Fall classes start in a few days and I am already thinking of ways on how I am going to maintain. The summer semesters handed my a$% to me and I do not want the Fall semester to do the same.