I remember around this time 3 years ago, I had just finished my first week of CRNA school. Time has FLOWN by! I really wanted to make a post for anyone applying for CRNA school or preparing for SEE/boards, and answer any questions. Firstly, for anyone applying, I failed nursing school the first time around making a D in pharmacology, C in health assessment, and C in Pathophysiology. Flash forward to a year later, retook pharm and got an A and moving forward I made A's and B's and ended up with a nursing GPA of 3.2 and overall 3.5. Worked my butt off for the next few years to get certifications and experience and applied to CRNA school 2.5 years later and got accepted. It may be harder getting accepted with the low grades that I had, but it also showed that failure doesn't stop me. And just wanted to say that it is possible to get accepted with a lower GPA, but it is definitely more difficult.
I had a hard time with the didactic portion of CRNA school, but with good study habits and determination it was enough. Never once failed a class. The program I was in required a benchmark of a 440 on the SEE exam to graduate. I ended up having to take the SEE exam 4 times to make that benchmark. It is said that the more you have to take that exam, the less likely you are to pass boards on the first attempt. But I went in to my board exam knowing I did everything I could to prepare and I did pass on my first attempt. Something about the NCE that I feel like could've influenced me not passing, is losing confidence after 100 questions. If your exam keeps going after 100, that means you're still in the game to pass. Don't let that get into your head!
If anyone has any questions on how to prepare for SEE/NCE, don't hesitate to ask! I had to put in some WORK, but it just goes to show that hard work does pay off. Whether you're just applying, going through didactic, or studying for SEE/NCE, YOU GOT THIS!
Hi! It's so nice that you created a thread like this. I'm in the application process and it's so stressful. I'm applying to a school that opens its application mid-July and is a rolling admission process. I went to the open house yesterday and they basically said to have your app in in the first week to have the best chance.
My question is, for references, it says we can submit our application without waiting for our references to submit their referrals. Is this normal? It almost sounds like they aren't expecting all references to be in within a week. I'm just making sure that people do this and it isn't making my app look less complete/competitive by not having all referrals in before submission. Waiting seems like a bad idea... IDK I just need guidance on this.
Thank you so much
Hey! So yes, I think a lot of schools do it like this. That's how my application process was. They usually send your references some sort of survey for them to fill out and it can be done fairly quickly. But yes, I believe this is a normal way that they do it!
Thank you for creating this thread. I also got accepted to MTSA 2027 and wanted to connect and ask a few questions. For some reason it doesn't allow me to PM you.
Hi! Thanks for opening yourself up to answering questions! I am looking to apply to CRNA schools Spring of 2025. I started off working in neuro ICU for 1.5 years then went to a high acuity IR at a level 1 trauma center for 5 years. I did some PRN work in the ED for 2 years during that time as well. Following my time in IR I went back FT to a CVICU and worked there for a year before transferring to a community hospital that takes all ICU (excluding traumas). My plan is to stay there until school (if I get in). All in all I will have about 8 years of RN experience and about half of that will be ICU by the time I apply. I have my CCRN and my cum GPA is 3.65, science GPA is 3.5. All I've heard is how hard it is to get an interview for school. Any recommendations on how I can make myself stand out more on paper?
Hi! Thanks for opening yourself up to answering questions! I am looking to apply to CRNA schools Spring of 2025. I started off working in neuro ICU for 1.5 years then went to a high acuity IR at a level 1 trauma center for 5 years. I did some PRN work in the ED for 2 years during that time as well. Following my time in IR I went back FT to a CVICU and worked there for a year before transferring to a community hospital that takes all ICU (excluding traumas). My plan is to stay there until school (if I get in). All in all I will have about 8 years of RN experience and about half of that will be ICU by the time I apply. I have my CCRN and my cum GPA is 3.65, science GPA is 3.5. All I've heard is how hard it is to get an interview for school. Any recommendations on how I can make myself stand out more on paper?
It is very hard to get an interview unfortunately. I'd suggest maybe get some charge nurse experience and leadership experience. I had my ccrn, tcrn, and took the tncc course. And if you have the time, maybe a graduate level pharmacology or patho course. I got extremely lucky and my overall GPA was a 3.5 and my nursing GPA was a 3.2 so I think that maybe the certifications and tncc maybe made my application look a little better.
Junior Sangare said:
How is a day in the life of a CRNA?
It is wonderful! Every single day I am humbled and learn something new. I would do it all over again if I had the chance. I use my skills daily and I get a lot of autonomy with this position. I didn't expect the level of critical thinking I have to do every single day, but I love it!
Hi! I'm not the fastest at reading and studying. Did you have to pull some 'all nighters' to get studying/assignments done? If so, how often? Also, how much reading is involved—daily— ie are you regularly assigned ~200 pages of daily reading? Thank you for answering all of the previous questions! Soooo insightful! 🙂
Shanneliz SRNA, DNP
291 Posts
Hey! So yes, I think a lot of schools do it like this. That's how my application process was. They usually send your references some sort of survey for them to fill out and it can be done fairly quickly. But yes, I believe this is a normal way that they do it!