Quiet1

Hey out there! I have just started at Aspen, too (Module 4 of class #1). So far it is everything I expected. Glad to meet you!

UC's website is sometimes hard to navigate. If you go to the "OneStop" page or navigate there through prospective student, you can find the info you are looking for. Make sure you look at graduate costs. As far as financial aid goes, they set a budget for the year that includes tuition and supplies as well as a sum for living expenses. It seems as though you then are eligible for a combination of loans to meet that budget. They do have a Graduate Scholarship available that is based on your GRE score. It has ranged from 60-85% of your tuition. They are pretty strict on the budget, though. I have not met anyone who has successfully increased it. Their program is good. Good luck in your endeavors!

You will need a Verizon phone. You will be calling your CRNA the night before clinical and they are all on Verizon. I've been told that they get a bit upset if you use their minutes (if you aren't Verizon, you will)... Some people have gotten together with classmates and gotten a family plan and split the cost. It is a cheap way to get Verizon. Then keep the ATT phone for everyday use. You won't absolutely need Verizon until winter quarter. You could wait and see. Use the ATT phone in the OR and see what it does, then make your decision. Good luck!

You will make friends in CRNA school. Your class will become your family. You will need the support you get from your classmates, and they will need yours. The money always comes once you are accepted to school. I will advise that you will probably want more than one year of ICU experience before embarking on the CRNA journey. I am not saying it can not be done with one year, but most people I know have more than one. Go ahead and apply the first time you are able. The worst thing that can happen is that you don't get in (and you have spent a lot of money trying). It will be a chance to find out what it is like. Or, perhaps, you will get accepted right off the bat and you will move on quickly. I would highly suggest shadowing a CRNA (a lot) to find out if you will really really like the job. It would be unfortunate for you to get into school and quit your job etc only to find out that you don't like it. In order to succeed in school, you have to really really want it. In order to be good at it, you have to really really like it. I am not trying to sound mean, harsh, or condescending. Research the CRNA forums and you will fond TONS of useful info. It sure helped me! Happy Day!

I just realized that I did not answer some of the questions people asked that I do know the answers to. So here goes. I hope what I have to say is helpful. You will get to observe in the OR a couple of times during Fall. Some people participate more than others. This is dependent on you and the RNSA/CRNA you are with. Either way, you learn from the experience. I don't remember how many times you go to observe in Fall, but you will be spending time in the OR on Saturdays and Sundays with your new friends learning the machine inside and out. I suggest doing this a lot! The last week of Fall was mostly in the OR. Winter brings a lot more experience in the OR. Fall is mostly getting you to a point where you can be safe on the OR as a RNSA (RNSA is UC's term for SRNA). Classes are pretty much every day, all day. Anesthesia class will be 8 hours a day for the first three weeks or so, until the college of nursing classes start. It seems like there is a tiny bit of a reprieve at this point. You will get the occasional day off (college holidays), and sometimes your classes will get done early (sometimes even an hour seems like a vacation!). Sometimes you might have a weekday off because you have class on Saturday. Plan on spending a couple of hours on Saturday or Sunday in the OR (every weekend is a good plan) learning the machine. The weekend stuff was news to me! The CON classes are once a week, and Assessment has a lab. You will not usually have anesthesia class on these days. This is not always true, but it seems to me that the days were a tiny bit shorter on Assessment and Physio days. Of course things can always change from year to year. You will want to think about study groups. I was never a group study person, but I never would have made it successfully through Fall without my study group! You will have tests every couple of days for a while, and the support you get from your group is incredibly valuable! You may be able to do it alone, but I do suggest giving the group thing a try. I hope I have been helpful. If tyhere are any more questions that I can answer, I will surely try. Happy Day!!

Hey there! Congrats on being accepted. You WILL NOT regret your decision. UC is an excellent program and you will be very glad you chose this program. The mentor thing is wonderful. You can ask any questions you might have and a student who was in your very shoes not too long ago can answer them, or at least point you in the right direction. I know it seems like there is (or should be) something that you could be doing right now. There probably isn't. Enjoy your family, take time for yourself, and relax. Things do fall into place. When school starts, you will not have much time for things outside of school. Enjoy these things now. You have made a very good choice in your life (though come October you may not still think so). You will make it through, but I can't stress enough the need for you to take extra time now and spend it with those that matter to you. In September, you might not see too much of them. You will be spending A LOT of time with your newly found friends in anesthesia class (and you will find friends!). Happy day to all of you!

Check out Mayo in Rochester. I was a new grad there many years ao and I felt well prepared. It is a good place to work.

Can a person use more than one of these sources? What happens if they do alert the school to the funding?

Sooo... I have read and re-read the thread about sudent loans and it has been very helpful. I am wondering what people are really doing. I have to maintain two houses, so the school budget just is not going to work. How does a person go abut finding loans above the COA? I want to stay a "free agent" so hospital stipends are not really my first choice. With the housing market the way it is (not good) I do not really want to tap into the home equity... Too old for the military... I am sure there must be other people in similar situations. What are you doing to make it all work out? Any ideas?

If I were you, I would take the loan out now and work some overtime to pay it off early (before you start school). That way you have a good and reliable car and no payment. I would love it if I were going to CRNA school without a car loan!

All things at UC have gone very smoothly for me (I will be starting in the Fall with Beedog). I did mail all of my stuff overnight with receipt confirmation... In adition, I called to make sure everything was in order. I would (and did) do this at each school I applied to. The faculty and admimistration at this school seem to be VERY attentive. I e-mailed the head of the department a couple of times and have always gotten a response within the next 24 hour period (usually within a couple of hours). They have assigned new students in the anesthesia program mentors (upper class students in the anesthesia program) who are able to answer questions about how it really is in the program...and this is before we have even started! This has been a great help to me. Good luck to you!

It looks like you are ready. You have good experience and stats. I would say start your application early and get good references.

Congrats to all who have passed since my last check-in, and good luck to all who are studying! Just wondering if anyone has the Gasparis DVD's and would be willing to lend them to a perfect stranger... It is a long shot, but it can't hurt to ask. Thanks!! Quiet1

Congrats to all who have passed since my last check-in, and good luck to all who are studying! Just wondering if anyone has the Gasparis DVD's and would be willing to lend them to a perfect stranger... It is a long shot, but it can't hurt to ask. Thanks!! Quiet1

I was accepted last year and was unable to attend. I did not realize that I could defer, so I had to reapply to get accepted again for this year. I have to say that the e-mail this year was just as exciting as it was last year!