How's this looking?

Garrett1987 · Oct 7, 2014

If your first degree is from 10 years ago, and you made A's in micro/A&P's, I would apply. I believe you have a good chance at getting in. You should at least get an interview at a few schools. Some programs only go off of your most recent degree. It's worth checking into and it might save you a year of waiting. Good luck!

IndiCRNA · Oct 7, 2014

You appear to be an outstanding candidate. I wish everybody would realize that getting into NA school is EASY! The standards are low for getting in. If you apply to 3-5 schools you are sure to get into 3 or 4 of them.

Some of the nurses I see who get accepted I wouldn't trust to take care of a stable DKA patient, much less post op hearts. On the good news side some of the worst nurses who I have seen get accepted didn't make it through.

Don't sweat your previous degree.

CaptCrunch · Oct 7, 2014

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I still think I need to take some kind of chemistry class before I apply so I can show them I'm not inept at chemistry. The tough part is finding one.

heatherisbetter, BSN · Sep 23, 2015

Other than the experience (I am about to graduate with a 4.0), I am in the same boat. I have a previous degree where some of my science classes I absolutely bombed, I think my GPA was 3.2 but that was not my sciences, and it was years ago. I am highly considering retaking classes. Do you think you could have someone review your transcripts at perspective schools and advise you? I still have a few years to go but I am constantly following posts like this and would love some insight.

Da_Milk_of_Amnesia, MSN · Sep 24, 2015

And herein lies the problem. The admission requirements should be increased and made harder. I've seen too many people come in and fail and on the other side there are schools pumping out new grads and it's all driving our wages lower.

CaptCrunch · Feb 10, 2016

Been a while, sorry. I remember seeing the reply several months ago and am just now getting back to this.

So here's the update for those curious:

I ended up taking my GRE - scored 310 - then applied to about 8 schools all over the country. I had my own personal requirements for schools, and then chose a spread of schools based on the rank (which is subjective, you have to decide for yourself). Programs ranged from "CRNA mills" to highly regarded, low acceptance programs.

I was interviewed and accepted at all but one school.

So as others have said, the previous degree didn't play a huge part. Will it come up in an interview? Some places yes, others no. I will say, if you're worried about it, go back and fix it. I re-took my old chemistry classes and got A's. Not only does it make your app better, but honestly, it made me feel better. This could apply to every weak part of your application. Some are definitely easier to fix then others. Is your experience weak? Find another job. Recommendations weak? Find better ones. Grades weak? Re-take them. Is it easy to just drop everything and fixate on your app? No, not at all. Really depends on how bad you want it.

Don't let me downplay the interview, either. That is where you can really make or break your acceptance.

As far as too easy to get into school, I can't really comment much on that. My GPA was pretty high along with solid exp, rec's, and test scores. If there are tons of applicants for the number of available spots, then schools can be more strict on requirements. It seems like there are, but again, I don't have anything to offer other then subjective anecdotes.

Best of luck in your endeavors!

buspar · Feb 11, 2016

Been a while, sorry. I remember seeing the reply several months ago and am just now getting back to this.
So here's the update for those curious:
I ended up taking my GRE - scored 310 - then applied to about 8 schools all over the country. I had my own personal requirements for schools, and then chose a spread of schools based on the rank (which is subjective, you have to decide for yourself). Programs ranged from "CRNA mills" to highly regarded, low acceptance programs.
I was interviewed and accepted at all but one school.
So as others have said, the previous degree didn't play a huge part. Will it come up in an interview? Some places yes, others no. I will say, if you're worried about it, go back and fix it. I re-took my old chemistry classes and got A's. Not only does it make your app better, but honestly, it made me feel better. This could apply to every weak part of your application. Some are definitely easier to fix then others. Is your experience weak? Find another job. Recommendations weak? Find better ones. Grades weak? Re-take them. Is it easy to just drop everything and fixate on your app? No, not at all. Really depends on how bad you want it.
Don't let me downplay the interview, either. That is where you can really make or break your acceptance.
As far as too easy to get into school, I can't really comment much on that. My GPA was pretty high along with solid exp, rec's, and test scores. If there are tons of applicants for the number of available spots, then schools can be more strict on requirements. It seems like there are, but again, I don't have anything to offer other then subjective anecdotes.
Best of luck in your endeavors!

Congrats on getting accepted into CRNA School. Work hard pays off ! Good luck in school.