How do I get accepted into Texas CRNA school?

sunnycalifRN · Jan 8, 2010

this question would be better suited to the pre-crna inquiry group

itsmejuli · Jan 8, 2010

Have you contacted an academic adviser at the school you're interested in attending?

foreverLaur · Jan 9, 2010

The more ICU experience the better. A 1000 GRE score is the minimum.

Oh and I hope you are a Texas resident! Your chances will be greatly decreased if you aren't.

Which schools are you primarily looking at?

jbull86 · Jan 9, 2010

1.University of Texas - Houston (This is where I am getting my BSN, graduate May 7, 2010)

2.Texas Wesleyan University

3.Texas Christian University

4.Baylor College of Medicine (Chances of going to Baylor or not likely to happen, because it is very competitive and my GPA and GRE probably will not be high enough)

5.U.S. Army Graduate Program in Anesthesia Nursing (Really don't want to enlist.)

foreverLaur · Jan 9, 2010

You will need BCLS, ACLS, and PALS.

I would work 2 full years in an ICU. Most schools only require 1 year, but 2 years is recommended and school is very competitive. No other type of experience will count. It has to be adult ICU. It can be ICU, CCU, SICU, etc, but it cannot be PICU, NICU, ER, PACU, OR, step-down, ER, trauma, etc. Keep in mind you will most likely need 1 year as a nurse in another area before you can land an ICU job and you won't be ready to be an ICU nurse as a new grad anyway.

Make sure you also have a statistics course and an organic chemistry or biochemistry course. You will need this knowledge for the curriculum in CRNA school.

Start studying for the GRE. You need a minimum 500 in each the verbal and math sections and at least a 3.5 in the writing section. Your combined scores in the verbal and math must be at least an 1100.

Get to know people in your field well. You will need 3 people who can attest to both your academic abilities and your ability as a nurse.

Get your CCRN. Your #2 choice strongly recommends it and your #3 choice requires it. It will show your proficiency in critical care. Don't worry about it until you have your first year into an ICU though.

It will be at least 3 years post graduation until you can think about applying to CRNA school so focus on being the best nurse you can be and learning as much as possible and worry more about applying to CRNA school later.

Oh and make sure the critical care area you get your experience in as an emphasis placed on invasive hemodynamic monitoring, ventilatory care and pharmacologic management. That is a must!! Some schools accept pediatric ICUs and such, but not all so I would stick to an adult ICU to cover all your bases.

in2bate71, BSN, RN · Jan 11, 2010

1.University of Texas - Houston (This is where I am getting my BSN, graduate May 7, 2010)
2.Texas Wesleyan University
3.Texas Christian University
4.Baylor College of Medicine (Chances of going to Baylor or not likely to happen, because it is very competitive and my GPA and GRE probably will not be high enough)
5.U.S. Army Graduate Program in Anesthesia Nursing (Really don't want to enlist.)

Then don't even consider that program...

My_brain_hurts · Jan 12, 2010

I don't know that your chances will be decreased if you are not a texas resident, but your tuition at a state school will be much more expensive if you are not a resident. At Baylor, TCU, or Wesleyan, they are all private and I don't think residency matters for cost.

Don't say you can't get in somewhere because it's too competitive. I applied to Baylor and UTHSCH. I thought I didn't stand a chance of even interviewing at Baylor. I interviewed at both, UT turned me down, and Baylor accepted me. Baylor was my first choice, but I thought it was impossible.

I honestly don't know if the particular ICU where you work makes a difference. Surgical/Surgical-trauma ICU makes sense because, um, it's surgery :) A lot of people have CVICU experience. I'm from a mixed medical/cardiac ICU, we have a couple from Peds mixed ICUs, and one from a neuroICU. I think --and this is just my opinion-- that you need to look at pt accuity and what kinds of opportunities the unit offers for you to learn stuff. My MICU had lots of vents, sedation, vasoactive drips, invasive monitoring, organ failures of all types and combinations, MI, stroke, renal, liver, EtOH withdrawal. . . ah, what fun. . . So if it's a medical ICU with lots of sick people and stuff then go for it. You can also call the schools you are interested in and ask if they have a preference. Some will say on their info page that they don't, some will list the "preferred" units in a certain order.

GPA looks ballpark. It's great by 'normal' standards, but everybody applying will have nice GPAs, so therefore otherwise great GPAs become 'average'. Do good on GRE, get CCRN, PALS, ACLS for sure. I think the big picture, complete package is more important than any one element. Write a good, honest personal essay. Answer the prompts. Some will be similar among schools and some won't. Modify your essays to what each school is asking. BE HONEST, have it proof read by somebody who writes better than you :), even if it's just for grammar. I know I can overlook my own mistakes like nobody's business!

Good luck to you! don't let competition or 'numbers' get to you. Just apply! worst thing that happens is you don't get an interview, but you won't know unless you try it.

foreverLaur · Jan 12, 2010

I said the resident thing before I know which schools the OP was interested in. All Texas state schools give preference to Texas residents. I'm moving there down the road to get residency so I can attend PA school there :)

i-njoy-being-a-nurse · Jan 12, 2010

Your degree in biology should help, take the GRE, you need >500 on verbal for UT houston and an overall score >1000 for all the schools in TX. Try to work in a CVICU or Trauma ICU (level 1 preferrably)

bmeRN · Jan 12, 2010

1.University of Texas - Houston (This is where I am getting my BSN, graduate May 7, 2010)
2.Texas Wesleyan University
3.Texas Christian University
4.Baylor College of Medicine (Chances of going to Baylor or not likely to happen, because it is very competitive and my GPA and GRE probably will not be high enough)
5.U.S. Army Graduate Program in Anesthesia Nursing (Really don't want to enlist.)

I just was accepted into Texas Wesleyan and LSU for 2010. I graduated nursing school May2008 my GPA was

AnesthesiaSlider · May 17, 2012

Look, a lot of these issues are non-issues! CCRN, which ICU you work in: things like that matter NOTHING to a practicing CRNA, and that's who will make the decision to accept or not accept you. The truth is, your GPA, your certifications, your experience will bore the hell out of the people reading your application (of course minimums matter). You need to make sure you have a solid application, and then write a killer essay. Then you get invited to interview, and THAT'S where you get accepted! I broke all the rules these people have given you. My GPA and GED were just good enough. No PALS. No CCRN. Went straight out of school into ICU. My application went out after only having my RN license for six months. And 3 years later I graduated from Baylor College of Medicine's nurse anesthesia program. You know why I got in? Because they liked me at the interview. It wasn't because I had amazing clinical knowledge - one faculty member made fun of me for the whole 3 years for my clinical answers! But that faculty was the one who recommended they accept me. He said it was because I was "motivated, capable of completing the program," and didn't seem like I was "going to be a pain in the @ss for the next three years!" You see how it works? Hope this helps.