Grad school hunting

There are basically four schools and two degrees that I'm interested in. A master's degree (aka nurse practitioner license) and a PhD (aka license to do lots of research and teach). So I narrowed down my list of schools by finding ones that would a)be in places I'm willing to live b)have some way for me to work on both degrees at the same time and c)help me pay for those degrees. The list ended up being University of Rochester, Boston College, University of Pennsylvania, and OHSU. OHSU is sort of an honorable mention for reasons I'll explain later. Let's go through the pros and cons of each:

1. University of Rochester
Pros: I'm already here. MS/PhD dual degree program. Fully paid tuition for said program. Associated with a really high quality teaching hospital.
Cons: Staying in Rochester for 5 more years.

2. Boston College
Pros: 4 year MS/PhD program. Boston looks cool.
Cons: Boston's expensive. Not sure about the funding for this one. Reputation of not liking people from outside the area. Jesuit school, which may or may not matter.

3. University of Pennsylvania
Pros: Ivy league. Associated with nationally recognized hospital. Fully funded for PhD portion of program, plus $20K stipend. Philadelphia looks cool.
Cons: Have to fund the Master's degree myself (only one year). Moving to a new city.

4. OHSU
Pros: Portland! Faculty with my exact research interests. Associated with really good hospital. But mostly, Portland!
Cons: No dual degree program. No Adult Nurse Practitioner program (only Family). Bureaucracy.

So, based on this list Penn and UR are looking pretty good. But then I have to take into account what I actually want to do, which changes frequently. Right now I'm kinda liking the idea of bedside nursing, which I give up if I get my NP. But, I could still do if I just got my PhD. In which case, OHSU jumps to the top of the list. So, I think my plan right now is to apply for all of these things and then decide based on what I want to do when the decision has to be made. Usually there's an option to defer admission for a year, or start out part-time, which I could do while working a full-time job as an RN. Although I'm open to any suggestions for alternatives or additions to this plan.

Recruitment

We're being seriously recruited. It's time to start thinking about where I'm going to apply for jobs and what kind of jobs those are going to be. Of course, my first choice of job would be to work on the BMT floor at OHSU. Since that is unlikely to mesh with my graduate school plans, I need to expand my search a little. Like, to the BMT floor at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester. Which, by the way, offers full tuition reimbursement for any classes at UofR for anyone that has a) worked at SMH for a year or b) worked in a university setting for a year. I believe I fall into category b. Pretty sweet deal, huh?

Then again, if I get into the MSN/PhD program, tuition is covered anyway. But, this would be a good backup in case I don't get accepted and end up doing just the MSN or something. Speaking of MSN/PhD programs, I've requested more information about the program at University of Pennsylvania (Ivy League, on my!) in Philadelphia. I hear good things about Philly from my housemates (they've both lived there) and Sarah and Ronen might consider following me there if I go, since they have an exceptional nurse midwifery program as well. Haven't discussed the whole moving thing much with Paul yet, I need to have a talk with him soon though.

I've been missing Portland a lot this week. Maybe because the weather has been so quintessentially Portland-like. About 65 degrees and misting rain. I love it, but it makes me homesick. Rochester is an okay place, but I would never choose to stay here because of the city itself, it would take something like getting into a fully-funded dual degree program to keep me here. I don't know if I would like Philadelphia any better, but I could at least visit there before moving. One definite perk of Philadelphia would be more access to the things I love to do, like cycling and dancing. There is no such thing as a women's cycling team in Rochester, the city is just too small to support it. And dancing is extremely limited and doesn't seem worth the effort to get out on a weeknight. Then again, if none of my friends came with me to Philadelphia, I'd have to start all over again.

Basically, I'm back to the waiting game, not sure if I'm hoping for my decision to be made for me by admissions committees or if I'd rather have all my options open and have to choose myself. So far my decision to come out here has proven to be a good one, but right now I"m really unsure if I want to stay for 5 more years.

Quick update

I met with the director of the Ms/PhD program here last week. She talked me through the whole program, and how to pay for it, and how to apply. It was extremely helpful, and I've now decided that I will be applying. The program lasts 4-5 years and they only take 2-3 students each year, so I'm not sure if I'll get in but I can at least apply. I'm also looking at schools in Boston, Philadelphia, and San Fransisco. And I contacted OHSU to see if I could do their Master's and PhD programs simultaneously. Unfortunately, it sounds like I'll need to get an Adult Nurse Practitioner license, which OHSU does not offer.

In other news, I've been having a great time with my housemates. Jess continues to bake cookies every night (coincidentally, I started going to the gym again) and Jordan is rarely around but when he is we generally geek out together about health stuff or gadgets like my new iPod. I've settled in well and I really love living here.

Things are still going well with Paul and I. His parents will be in town for a little while at the end of the week, so I'll probably be meeting them. Since my schedule is completely wacky and his is completely normal we have difficulty getting a lot of time together, but that'll be changing as soon as I'm done with Psych.

Speaking of psych, I hate it. I don't really feel the need to elaborate, except to say that mental health care is an oxymoron and I'm spending my clinical time angry and frustrated. I will be very glad when it's over.

We had the tail end of Hurricane Ike come through Rochester last night. Wind was gusting up to 60mph and blew down many trees and knocked our power out for about 18 hours (midnight until I got home this evening). Luckily I was in class almost all day, so it didn't really affect me too much, still very annoying and by far the longest power outage I can remember. The only casualty was our ice cream.

Sarah and I have a plan to go to the gym together three times every week starting on Monday. We'll see if it works, but I think it'll help me a lot to be responsible to someone. Ideally I'd like to be 15-20 pounds lighter by the beginning of the collegiate cycling season next spring. That should be doable, as long as I work hard at it and Jess's cookie production slows down.