How to Get Admission Into Anesthesia School
So… here is the million dollar question, “How to get admissions into CRNA school?” Most people are afraid to apply to CRNA school because they don’t think they have a chance of getting accepted. Yes its true, there are a lot of applicants competing for a spot in a top nurse anesthesia program… and yes there are a lot of requirements that must be met in order to apply. But… here is the good news! It’s really not as difficult as you might think. Most of the time people have to learn from trial and error before they finally get a CRNA school interview, and ultimately a spot in the program. When you apply to a nurse anesthesia program, and don’t get accepted, they send you a letter informing you why you were not chosen. So, you learn from your mistakes and make changes for next years application.
CRNA School Admissions: The Cold Hard Facts
The bad part is you have to wait another whole year before applying to nurse anesthetist school, which nobody wants to do. The trick is to avoid this all together, and get your application right the first time. The best way to do this is to learn from other people’s mistakes. Our eBook program, CRNA School Admissions: The Cold Hard Facts, uses tips and strategies that current students and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist used to get accepted into anesthesia school. It will help guide you through the entire application process, and show you ways to save money, create a professional application, outshine other applicants, and get accepted into CRNA school.
To Get Into CRNA School You Have to Standout
The biggest truth about gaining admission into CRNA school is you MUST do something to standout. Most applicants will have great GRE scores, a solid GPA, strong work experiences, and important certifications such as the CCRN. So… if everyone looks the same on paper how do they choose between applicants? Nurse anesthesia programs look for student who stand out. Here are two great ways to do that. First, take a graduate level course and mention it in your personal essay. This shows CRNA schools that you have a great ambition to learn, and have recent college experience under your belt. Being out of school for too long does not look good to schools. They are afraid you have forgotten how to study or prepare for tests.
CRNA School Admissions: The Cold Hard Facts
A good college course to take is Statistics. It isn’t too hard of a class, and you can make an “A” pretty easily. Some schools even require this course before you can apply to their program. The next thing you need to do is get involved in the healthcare community. Join organizations and become active. Schools LOVE applicants that are well rounded and have a passion for their profession. Getting into CRNA school is more than just making good grades and writing personal essays. Everyone focuses too much on the academic part of their application and forget to show the school who they are as a person.
Researching Top Nurse Anesthesia Programs
The biggest mistake people make when choosing schools is they decide to do the “Shotgun” approach. They apply to 10 or more schools with the hope of getting accepted to one of them. Because they have so many deadlines to meet, they are forced to spend less time on each application.
What ends up happening is they send out 10 below average applications that never even stood a chance. If you multiple the $50.00 (average application fee) x 10 schools, that means you have spent $500.00 dollars on wasted applications. I recommend applying to no more than 5 schools at a time. This is an easier number to manage, and will allow you to put more effort into each one.
“I had offers from 3 top CRNA schools, Minneapolis School of Anesthesia, Samford University, and Webster University. I am 100% certain that this eBook was what made the difference.” (W. Collins RRNA)
When you are researching top nurse anesthesia schools, use our CRNA School Search Page. We have organized all of the 113 accredited CRNA programs by state, cost, application deadline, and ranking. You can easily compare schools and find the ones that work best for you. Knowing the requirements for each school is very important, and is often overlooked by applicants. I have actually seen people fail to get into CRNA school, because of something as simple as sending 2 reference letters instead of 3. I have even seen someone make the check out to the wrong school while paying their application fee. Don’t let this happen to you, because you were in a hurry and wanted to apply to as many schools as possible. Take your time and do each application right.
Job Shadowing CRNAs The RIGHT Way
There is a “RIGHT” way and a “WRONG” way to job shadow CRNAs. This may sound funny, but following the school’s job shadowing instructions is the “WRONG” way, and here is why. Most schools say that you have to job shadow a CRNA one time before applying to their program. You will learn very little from just one experience with a CRNA. There is way to much information that can be used in your application to just shadow them one time. Following a CRNA multiple times in various clinical settings is the “RIGHT” way to job shadow a nurse anesthetist. Included in our CRNA School Admissions: The Cold Hard Facts is a Job Shadowing Checklist that provides you with all the important questions that you need to ask the CRNA. It also has spaces for you fill in information about your experience, which can be used later on in your personal essay. This simple tip actually can have a big impact on your application.
CRNA School Interview Tips
Your CRNA school interview is your time to really impress the anesthesia program and secure your spot in their school. You need to view the interview the same way as you would a college test, and really prepare. Each of the other applicants will be doing the same I promise. It is interesting to know that there are 7 qualified CRNA school applicants for every 1 position in school. If you work hard enough then you will be that one person. Also, you must know everything there is to know about the interview process, before ever stepping foot in the building. This includes, who will be interviewing you (CRNAs, Anesthesiologists, professors, students, etc.).
CRNA School Interview: Bonus Pack
Also, find out what type of questions you will be expected to answers. Does the school typically ask you in-depth clinical based questions, such as “Tell me the difference between SaO2 and PaO2.” or are they simple “meet and greet” type questions like, “Why do you want to be a CRNA?” These are two different types of interviews with a totally different level of stress. Hardcore clinical based interviews, like seen at Texas Wesleyan University, require a lot more time preparing, and are usually are the deciding factor on whether or not you get accepted. Knowing what to expect is probably one of the best CRNA school interview tips that I can give you. If you know what is going to happen you will be far less anxious on your big day.
CRNA School Interview: Bonus Pack
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These are just a few tips for getting into nurse anesthesia school. Feel free to look through our student blog sections for additional tips and strategies. If you have any questions please feel free to contact one of our CRNAs though our website. We wish you the best of luck in your journey!
John Keith | CRNA Career Pro
Chief CRNA
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