How did you decide which schools to apply to?

Just curious as to what criteria others have used when deciding which schools to apply to. Any input would be greatly appreciated!!

There was only one in my city, and it had a fantastic reputation. I also worked at the facility that administers it. I applied to that one only, with the intention on applying to others the next year if I was not admitted.

Some things to consider:

1. Location

2. Reputation (NOT US News and World Report rankings, but how much line experience you get, regional experience, independence as a student, etc)

3. Length of program

Things I think you should ignore:

1. Cost of program. Many people will argue with me on this, but whether you choose public vs. private, you are going to join a great profession with more than ample compensation in the future, and paying off student loans will not be a problem. Apply to the programs that fit your needs, regardless of whether they are public or private, and if you get in and it happens to be a private program, so be it. I attend a private school, and many people will not apply because it is approx $1200 per credit hour. Yes, that's a lot of money. I will be approx $50,000 in the hole when I am done with school. But I was careful with my money during school and saved a lot. It's liveable. And I can pay off my student debt in 1-2 years if I choose.

2. Whether you get a MSN, or MNA, or whatever. Doesn't matter. Yes, there will be a few classes that will not be particularly relevant to everyday activities, but the nursing research courses are relevant to what we do - anesthesia research is done every day by CRNAs - and whether you choose to do research in your career or not, you should still be exposed to methods, how to evaluate it, etc. Plus, at least in my experience, there courses were a nice break from the extreme mental stimulation of anesthesia courses. But that's just my two cents.

There is seven or eight programs in my area, so I based my choices on the following:

1. What current students say about the program. What's more important than that?

2. The reputation of the affiliated university.

3. The clinical sites. Was there just one? Were you going to get all of your numbers?

4. The cost. My #1 school costs 1/3 of my last choice school. Seems the cheaper the program, the better the school.

Stuff I didn't consider:

1. Length of the program. Who cares?

2. Driving involved to all of the various clinical sites. Some people find this very important.

Basically, wherever you get accepted. It's a matter of economics. Apply to the schools in your area, and go to who accepts you. It would be stupid not to go just to wait for the golden school to accept you. Anesthesia school is anesthesia school. Most places have you rotate to many clinical sites, so you'll get diverse experience whether your program is known not to give good regional or line experience. No matter what school you go to, study hard and try your best to learn as much as you can in clinical. All CRNAs have a lot to teach, you won't be short changed because all anesthesia schools are hard.