How hard is it to get in?

Getting in is a very difficult and competive process for most people. After all, you don't want just anyone putting you to sleep or sticking needles in your back do you? I don't know of any schools with such dismal odds as 70/980 though. Congrats on that. I'd say it is usually about 1 spot for every 5-7 applicants. What makes it tough is that most of the applicants are highly qualified as opposed to nursing school where it is usally pretty easy to sort through and throw away half of the apps right of the bat.

Sorry, for the silly question. I bet this question has been asked in the past, but I just wanted to know how hard is it to get accepted into a Nurse Anesthetist program? I certainly know that the program is very intensive and demanding, but what I really want to know is how competitive it is to get in? We all know that Nursing programs (ADN and BSN) are becoming harder and harder to get into. I just got accepted to begin in August of 2005 and it wasn't easy to get in. At my school, there were 980 applications and only 70 vacancies, I was very fourtunate.

Thanks!!

A friend of mine went through four rounds of interviews and got booted in the very last round. Apparently, she was competing with something like 300-400 applicants.

So, I would say it's extremely hard to get into a nurse anesthetist program.

This may sound a little Zen and unuseful, but it is not necessarily "hard" to get in. You either have what the program is looking for, or you don't. You are fortunate in that you may already plan on going for CRNA. You will be able to concentrate on keeping your GPA as high as possible. I also think that alot of programs have a personality type that they look for, ie, how you come off to them. In my experience good applicants seem to be quick minded and internally strong willed. By the time you are preparing for the application process, you pretty much have everything in place for them to look at. Preparation for the interview may be intense. If you were talking about just the competition to get in then, thne yes. It is very competetive.

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, I lie awake at night wondering whether I'll get in to anesthesia school, and what "else" admissions committees are looking for.

A few words of advice. Don't try to BS your way through answers during an interview for grad school....if you don't know the answer to a questions, admit it. They will not expect you to know everything.

Good luck!

What ARE programs looking for? I'm finishing my BSN in August, have survived 20 credits/semester with 3 kids, commute of 75+ miles each way, and managed to keep my 4.0 GPA. I've located a (nearby) hospital that will hire new grads into the SICU. What else should I do to position myself? I'm quick-minded, I don't know about the strong-willed part. I intend to really concentrate on learning as much as I can in (and out of) the ICU. I also have 14 yrs experience as a masters-prepared chemical engineer. I think nurse anesthesia is a fabulous fit with my background, in addition to offering the meaningful work that I found lacking in engineering. I know I can handle any course work that's thrown at me, but, because this is so important to me, I lie awake at night wondering whether I'll get in to anesthesia school, and what "else" admissions committees are looking for.

WOW! UtahLiz, way to go with your 4.0! I think that you are doing exactly what you need to in order to achieve your goal. Did you get hired into the SICU? If not, that is definitely where you want to end up. Learn all you can as a practicing RN in SICU, soak it all up. If you have already graduated and taken your NCLEX exam, start researching Nurse Anesthetist programs and write to schools to send you their information. Go to http://www.aana.com/coa/accreditedprograms.asp in order to look up the accredited programs through the AANA, this site will give you contact names, phone numbers, and other valuable information for you to start planning with. Best of luck!

What ARE programs looking for? I'm finishing my BSN in August, have survived 20 credits/semester with 3 kids, commute of 75+ miles each way, and managed to keep my 4.0 GPA. I've located a (nearby) hospital that will hire new grads into the SICU. What else should I do to position myself? I'm quick-minded, I don't know about the strong-willed part. I intend to really concentrate on learning as much as I can in (and out of) the ICU. I also have 14 yrs experience as a masters-prepared chemical engineer. I think nurse anesthesia is a fabulous fit with my background, in addition to offering the meaningful work that I found lacking in engineering. I know I can handle any course work that's thrown at me, but, because this is so important to me, I lie awake at night wondering whether I'll get in to anesthesia school, and what "else" admissions committees are looking for.

Wow! If I had a program I'd let you in.

You already appear to have alot of what they look for. In my experience they seem to like alot of ancillary qualities. Family people are less likely to goof off in school. If you screw up, your family pays.Your commute shows dedication. The entire story you just told is probably your strongest point. Alot of people in my class are 28-35 years old. Who knows exactly what other things get you recognized. I don't think you have alot to worry about in terms of admission though.

Alot of people in my class are 28-35 years old.

Is this the norm as far as age in CRNA programs? Do these programs generally prefer taking in the "older" applicants (I'm in my early twenties).

Is this the norm as far as age in CRNA programs? Do these programs generally prefer taking in the "older" applicants (I'm in my early twenties).

I really don't think it's a question of age. Experience must be a big part of the decision I imagine, and saying this... 25-35 must be a good number. I'm 25 and just starting the Nursing program, I have alot to learn, and talking about CRNA program seems useless right now to the eyes of the more experienced, but thats what I'm going after. I know that someday I'll reach my goal. I am very goal oriented and like to think nothing will stand on my way. As mentioned in previous post on this thread, competition for getting into the nursing program in the area where I live without having to get on a huge Community College waiting list was fierce. 980 applicants and 70 vacancies, this made me at times have doubts, but I knew if I did my best and put my heart into it 100% I would be one of those 70.

So many people in the world reach goals not even imaginable to some of us, why won't I reach mine. I can honestly say that in my 25 years of life there has been nothing I gave my honest effort and not acheived. And that is what keeps me ticking!!

ADN 2007

BSN 2008

CRNA 2010-2011

If GOD permits

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I'm curious, for any of you in CRNA school now (or recently), how much experience does it really take to be considered a competitive candidate? I know it's extremely rare, at least in Michigan, to get accepted with only 1 year of experience. What's average? What's a realistic minimum?

The average for my class is about 5-6 years. The class below us is a little lower, maybe 4 years. Good luck, it is completely worth whatever effort it takes on your part to get in. It took me 3 years to get accepted, but I finish in 5 months!

my class average is around 3-4 years. i had one when i was accepted and a little less than two when we started. it can be done. try looking outside michigan too. there are lots of great schools in OH and IL.