Please help! CRNA school for Post-Master student

Savin'Em · Jan 17, 2010

Webster in St Louis did not previously require the GRE...but you'd have to check and see if this is still their policy. I'm not sure why you wouldn't just take it so you can pick a school that is a good fit for you, not just because they have no GRE requirement. I'm not sure what your situation is however. Good luck to you.

Gennaver, MSN · Jan 17, 2010

Hi everyone,
Please help with the names of the schools that waive GRE for Post-Master students.
Is any particular schools that accept more applicants then others.?

Hello,

It isn't clear why it is that you want to waive the GRE, (cost, time to schedule, the intimidation factor of a computer generated test that measures vocab and basic math, basic geometry and writing.)

To me, the GRE seemed to test just the basics BUT, was a stressful test. One which has aged out at five years for me so, of all things, I need to re-take it for my new application!! I took it the first time for my Masters program.

I think the GRE website says that if you have an undergraduate degree, (maybe I read it somewhere else) that you'd likely average 500, 500 v+q. Anyway, it is a stress and a cost.

I'm not sure if the GRE will waive any costs or if there are any agencies that would help with the cost.

FWIW I think if you can take the CAT NCLEX then you will do well on the GRE. There are GRE Study guides and preps that you can check out at libraries as well and...well, this may all be a waste of time because I do not know your reasons for desiring to waive the GRE.

Gen/Jen

gluck · Jan 17, 2010

Lots of schools may waive the requirement if you already have a masters degree or they may accept old (and therefore unofficial) GRE scores. You have to ask.

I too wouldn't want to take the exam if I didn't have to. It's expensive and time consuming because you need to study.

elkpark · Jan 17, 2010

What's the big deal about taking the GRE?

olderthandirt2 · Jan 18, 2010

Hi everyone,
Please help with the names of the schools that waive GRE for Post-Master students.
Is any particular schools that accept more applicants then others.?

Sorry, I'm not sure of any schools that waive GRE scores, nor do I think I would attend one that did.

Your prior Graduate degree is important, but it might not be in a hard science and/or many yrs may have passed since you obtained that degree......so the GRE gives a school current information to gauge your application from others.

Studying for the GRE is a hassle, but once you are in CRNA school, almost weekly you'll take a test that is equivalent to a GRE in difficulty & length (if your program is like mine)!

Lets just say, the GRE will be a nice warm-up :)

current student with 2 MS prior to CRNA school,

c.

allnurses Guide · Jan 19, 2010

Just FYI: The GRE has shown to be a poor indicator on how well you do (pass/fail) in nurse anesthesia school or how you will do on boards. It is just another statistic to make you more or less competitive with other applicants. I would recommend just taking the GRE, if you have taken it already and didn't do so well study some more and take it again. I think there are a couple of NA schools that don't require the GRE, but I don't know the names off the top of my head.

olderthandirt2 · Jan 20, 2010

Just FYI: The GRE has shown to be a poor indicator on how well you do (pass/fail) in nurse anesthesia school or how you will do on boards. It is just another statistic to make you more or less competitive with other applicants. I would recommend just taking the GRE, if you have taken it already and didn't do so well study some more and take it again. I think there are a couple of NA schools that don't require the GRE, but I don't know the names off the top of my head.

Yeah, I read that article.....but I would like to see another study comparing students who attrited and GRE scores with number of attempts and confounding factors. i.e., more variables defined.

Bottom line, you may not like the GRE, I may not like the GRE.......but the major of GRADUATE SCHOOLS have used this tool for decades and it looks like the trend is continuing.

So, the options are:

1. Go to the best school that is right for you and take the GRE,......or

2. Just go to "a" school that doesn't require the GRE and take the consequences of a "possible" poor didactic or clinical experience......just for the record, the amount of $$$$ you are paying, go for the best school possible.

My 2 cents:rckn::rckn:,

Former "terrible GRE-taker" who finallly WHOPPED it's a@@@@@! and I "got into the best program in the country" USAGPAN,

HOOAH!!

Good Luck

allnurses Guide · Jan 20, 2010

Yeah, I read that article.....but I would like to see another study comparing students who attrited and GRE scores with number of attempts and confounding factors. i.e., more variables defined.
Bottom line, you may not like the GRE, I may not like the GRE.......but the major of GRADUATE SCHOOLS have used this tool for decades and it looks like the trend is continuing.
So, the options are:
1. Go to the best school that is right for you and take the GRE,......or
2. Just go to "a" school that doesn't require the GRE and take the consequences of a "possible" poor didactic or clinical experience......just for the record, the amount of $$$$ you are paying, go for the best school possible.
My 2 cents:rckn::rckn:,
Former "terrible GRE-taker" who finallly WHOPPED it's a@@@@@! and I "got into the best program in the country" USAGPAN,
HOOAH!!
Good Luck

As you are going to find out SRNAs are a bunch of guinea pigs. All of our information (pass rates/GRE scores/clinical cases/demographics etc.) have been collected by AANA for years and there are numerous studies showing the same things.

My classmates won 1st place for their category at the last AANA poster presentation looking at the different variables that affected SRNA outcomes (pass rates/attrition at USUHS) over several years. Some of the things that they found out were that in our program older (can't remember the exact cutoff age to considered an older student) students and women had a higher attrition rate (which both I think are consistent with other studies). They also found that the GRE was a poor indicator of success, but overall science GPA seemed to be the best indicator (even that wasn't that great). I think they have already submitted their study for publication in the AANA journal so it should be out sometime this year.

Still if you look at the studies there is no magic number that will predict how well you will do in school. I have come to the same opinion as one of my instructors that the student's motivation is the biggest predictor of success in NA school.

elkpark · Jan 20, 2010

Yeah, I read that article.....but I would like to see another study comparing students who attrited and GRE scores with number of attempts and confounding factors. i.e., more variables defined.
Bottom line, you may not like the GRE, I may not like the GRE.......but the major of GRADUATE SCHOOLS have used this tool for decades and it looks like the trend is continuing.
So, the options are:
1. Go to the best school that is right for you and take the GRE,......or
2. Just go to "a" school that doesn't require the GRE and take the consequences of a "possible" poor didactic or clinical experience......just for the record, the amount of $$$$ you are paying, go for the best school possible.
My 2 cents:rckn::rckn:,
Former "terrible GRE-taker" who finallly WHOPPED it's a@@@@@! and I "got into the best program in the country" USAGPAN,
HOOAH!!
Good Luck

I agree. I've heard lots of nurses over the years making arguments about why they (we) shouldn't have to take the GRE to go to grad school, but the fact remains that people in all the serious academic disciplines expect to have to take the GRE and I think it just adds to the common perception that nursing doesn't really "count" as a academic/professional discipline if we want a lower standard for ourselves than everyone else abides by.

I keep telling people that we (nurses) should just thank our lucky stars that there isn't a separate "nursing" GRE -- lots of people (in other disciplines) have to take the generic GRE PLUS a separate, comparable exam that measures their knowledge/ability in their specific discipline. I hear from my friends in other disciplines that those exams are real, um, female dogs.

lyela · Jan 20, 2010

My experience;

I have an MSN and applied to 6 NA programs this year, some very good programs and all waived the GRE requirement. It is best to write the program director to find out for sure.

I wrote to other programs that I didn't apply to and they all waived the requirement.

olderthandirt2 · Jan 21, 2010

As you are going to find out SRNAs are a bunch of guinea pigs. All of our information (pass rates/GRE scores/clinical cases/demographics etc.) have been collected by AANA for years and there are numerous studies showing the same things.
My classmates won 1st place for their category at the last AANA poster presentation looking at the different variables that affected SRNA outcomes (pass rates/attrition at USUHS) over several years. Some of the things that they found out were that in our program older (can't remember the exact cutoff age to considered an older student) students and women had a higher attrition rate (which both I think are consistent with other studies). They also found that the GRE was a poor indicator of success, but overall science GPA seemed to be the best indicator (even that wasn't that great). I think they have already submitted their study for publication in the AANA journal so it should be out sometime this year.
Still if you look at the studies there is no magic number that will predict how well you will do in school. I have come to the same opinion as one of my instructors that the student's motivation is the biggest predictor of success in NA school.

I read recently one study from USUHS stating that older women had a higher attrition rate.....then I looked at the sample population which was .....um, small (~70, albeit over several years). Considering that women are a minority in the CRNA field, especially in the military services I think this study needs repeating with larger populations (more years) AND comparing to NON-military CRNA programs to military programs (regarding gender).

You can tell, I am fairly biased in my view on this study (which was posted in the AANA....).

That being said, I commend USUHS on their work, now I believe the study lays the ground for further research.......As my PhD husband always says, "how many times has the study been repeated?...."