Which is the competitive GPA for Columbia CRNA program?

[TurtleLittle, BSN, MSN, DNP, RN, CRNA]

Hello everyone,

I hope that I could get the answer from current students or alumni of Columbia University's CRNA program.

I'm currently in the BRN program right now from the West Coast: CSU Chico, California. I did really well on my pre-regs before ( As I recall I got all A's for all the science courses and other misc. required classes). The thing is every since I got in the BN program, I didn't do that well anymore. I haven't gotten any C's yet, but it's still not that impressive anymore: mostly Bs and some A minuses. I'm getting a little worried that this will reduce my chance to get accepted into some Master programs.

I heard someone told me before that as long as my GPA is above 3.5, it is still competitive? Is it really good enough? My current cumulative GPA is 3.8 right now. However, if they only consider on the grade while I'm in nursing school, the best shot I could get is 3.4 GPA so far. I'm wondering how much this would effect my chance with CRNA from Columbia?

Would the other factors like GRE, recommendations, experiences, & how good I will do on the entrance interview compensate for my low GPA?

Please, if anyone know something, give my some 2cents. Of course I will try to get better grade for the rest of my program, but I hope I could have some reassurance first and even motivate myself more.

Thank you.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

Have you gone online to the school's website? Their catalog might help. Or call the department.

[CVmursenary]

I think as long as you are able to get an interview, gpa is really not that important. There are some dumb BSN's out there with 4.0 gpa's.

[srna28]

Hi there. I'm a current student at the crna program at Columbia now. My gpa was 3.8, and I would say everyone had a 3.5 or higher. They don't do interviews anymore. They either accept or deny your based on your gpa, gre, recommendations, and most importantly your personal statement. A 3.4 is generally a good gpa, but if you want to be more competitive you should try and get it up at least to the 3.5 range. Check their website for more info. It would also be smart to get your ccrna after you have enough qualifying critical care experience. Hope this helps!

[TurtleLittle, BSN, MSN, DNP, RN, CRNA]

So by that u mean they only check on the GPA while u r in nursing program? But not the cumulative GPA?? AWWW. that would suck for me!-.-

[srna28]

I think they would probably look at both ban and cumulative gpa, but may care more about your nursing gpa. They would put more emphasis on your nursing gpa for 2 reasons: 1) it's the most recent academic record they have of your academic abilities, and 2) they would be more interested in the bsn gpa because that is what applies most (since the crna is an advanced nursing specialty). Don't worry too much about how much they're going to weigh the gpa right now. Do your absolute best. Remember: the gpa is not the ONLY thing they look at when accepting a student. Just do your best for now and the rest will fall into place when you're ready to make it happen. I hope this helps- please don't get discouraged or down on yourself. I did that for far too long and it made me delay applying for 2 years. Good luck!