MistyDawnRN06

Oh, and I would recommend establishing residency where you want to go to school. The people paying out-of-state tuition are really up a creek where financial aid is concerned..... I'm also thankful my program is a state school and that I'm not trying to fund private tuition.

My program ranges from 24-48 years old. I started at age 32. Average age in my program is probably upper 20s.

I spent 1 1/2 years paying off all my debt and accumulating savings before I began CRNA school, and boy am I glad I did! Paying off your debt helps get your credit in good standing, which helps get you the best rates on loans. I would also recommend having some savings before entering CRNA school to give yourself a cushion. Plus, I ended up finding living on a shoe-string budget before school to get my debt paid off and have some savings tucked away prepared me better for budgeting while living on loans. I am going through school entirely on loans with no assistance from anyone. I can tell you that the financial aid is SLIM. They aren't exactly realistic, IMHO, about living expenses in a large city setting. I'm thankful I paid off my car and had no revolving debt, because the amount of financial aid I was awarded for living expenses certainly would not allow me to make car payments or credit card payments. As my program credit hours decrease in semesters to come (yet my clinical hours continue to increase....) I will be awarded less money. At that point, I am going to have to supplement my financial aid loans. When you need supplementation because you've used all your federal aid, you either dip into your savings cushion, or you are forced to take out private loans at higher interest rates. I'm finding that you absolutely CANNOT work while in CRNA school. Also, financial aid does not account for life's small emergencies such as a sick pet or kid, car repairs, or an illness. My program doesn't technically require health insurance, so I can't get financial aid to help cover that expense, so it has to come out of pocket. The little inanities of life still occur even when you are on a tight budget!! Oh, and P.S., at every interview I attended, they asked me what my financial plan was to pay for school. I'm glad I did my homework because I was able to have a realistic answer to that question. I was able to answer that while I would have to depend on loans for school, I understood the discipline and maturity required to pay off a sizable amount of debt as I had already demonstrated prior to entering my CRNA program.

CRNA school is physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting. There will be days when you wonder why you did this to yourself. And then there will be days when you find it rewarding and remember why you're doing it :). I can only tell you about my personal experiences. In my program, we are not front-loaded, so we start clinicals semester one. Semester one, you carry 14 credit hours. That equals 7 graduate level classes. One of those classes is technically your clinicals one day a week. Semester two, you carry 14 credit hours. That again equals 7 graduate level classes, one of which is your clinicals two days a week. And class isn't just a few hours. This semester I'm in class from 7a-6p one day a week, Sim Lab 8hrs one day a week, and clinicals 24 hrs over two days. So, you're thinking that there are 3 free days a week - those days are devoted to reading and assimilating knowledge, writing care plans, memorizing, etc. For clinicals, I'm up at 4am and at the hospital by 5:15am. You will cover a ton of material each week. Your lectures are only a framework, and you are required to fill in the meat-and-potatoes around that framework. It will require a lot of self discipline and a lot of studying, concept understanding, and memorization. There are some things you need to be able to immediately answer from memory if you are woken from a sound sleep at 2am to provide anesthesia. This week's reading alone is 14 chapters in my various texts. These are not small chapters. You are responsible for all of the information in lecture and in reading for the exams. That can translate into 300-700 pages per week to read, assimilate, and be able to regurgitate both for exams and for oral boards in the clinical setting. You will be responsible for formulation of anesthesia care plans. Each night before my clinical days, I am expected to get the OR schedule, and read about each case that I will be providing anesthesia for. I have to prepare a care plan based on each surgery. Also, I have to be prepared to be "pimped" on information related to anesthesia, the surgical procedure, patient position, and patient co-morbidities (etc.). My program adds more clinical days per week each semester to a maximum of 5 clinical days per week with classes scheduled after your clinical day. By the end, you will do 50-60 hours a week in clinicals and then have classes on top of that. Some people find the material very difficult to understand, especially those without chemistry/physics/pharmacology backgrounds. So far, I haven't faced information that I find hard to understand, but I have been grossly overwhelmed by the volume of the information. Oh, and I forgot to mention that anything below a B is considered failing. You can't even make a B-. ** Having said all that, I've always found schooling pretty easy. I have a BS in Biology with a minor in Chemistry, then went to an ASN program, then did a BSN online. I rarely had to study for any of that stuff. CRNA school is a whole different ball game!! I have had to develop major study skills. I find I have very little down time. It is impossible to work. There are weeks when I only average 4 hours of sleep a night. Plus, you're broke and probably in more debt than you've ever been in in your entire life. There is also the inevitable drama with family &/or friends, and drama in the clinical setting to deal with. All-in-all, you get out of your education what you invest in it. If you work hard, you will become a well-rounded anesthetist. And P.S. If you're cocky, or a know-it-all, they will eat you alive.

This is tough to answer not knowing the whole story or having witnessed any of the issues.... My program will interview applicants that were dismissed from other programs, but you need to have a letter from your previous program saying you are eligible for re-entry. Also, you need to be prepared to discuss why you were dismissed in depth. The best answer you can give, in order to get a chance at entry, is to be honest about your skills and your part in the dismissal and your plan to change the qualities/attributes/skills that got you dismissed. Plan to be an open book about the situation. If you are fully honest and seem sincere, have truly evaluated yourself, your skills, and your part in the dismissal, they will consider your application. If the admissions committee just hears that you were picked on, you have no chance of getting in. From what I've heard from admissions committees here though, it would probably be better if you went back to the program you were in that has offered you re-entry.

There's no need to be rude about it Wolf. I was looking for advice from anyone with experience taking out personal loans for school. I figured out how to Google a long time ago.... I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has tried WellsFargo, SallieMae, or elsewhere. Thanks!

Hey, Does anyone have any experience with private loans for school? If so, which would you suggest and which would you avoid? Thanks!

Haven't started my program yet, but will be attending FIU in Miami. Projected program cost about $45K, Health insurance $2 to 4K a year depending on the plan selected through the school, plus cost of living for 28 months in Miami. All in all, looking at about $90 to 100K. Doing it all on loans at average of 6.5 to 7% interest. I think we need to talk about finances and not keep it a mystery! We all need to know what we're getting in to! It is difficult to be prepared for the financial undertaking.

Hey all, I'm starting my CRNA program next month. After crunching the numbers, it doesn't seem like we were awarded enough financial aid to live on. I've never used aid before, so this is a first and a bit scary. Anyone have any advice about financial aid? Anyone take out or explore private loans? Anyone else feel like it's not enough to live on? My program is in Miami, and it seems as though we are only allotted about $1600 a month to live on in Miami. With rent costing about $1000/month, how does the remaining $600 cover food, health insurance, phone, transportation, gas, electric, etc. Anyone else's aid package more generous? Any insight or advice is appreciated! Thanks!

Required: Nurse Anesthesia by John J Nagelhout and Karen L Plaus Basics of Anesthesia by Robert K Stoelting and Ronald D Miller Pharmacology & Physiology in Anesthetic Practice by Robert K Stoelting and Simon C Hiller Anesthesiology: Problem-Oriented Patient Management by Fun-Sun Yau, Vinod malhotra, and Manuel Fontes Chemistry and Physics for Nurse Anesthesia by David Shubert and John Leyba A Professional Study and Resource Guide for the CRNA by Scot Foster and Margaret Faut-Callahan Watchful Care: A History of Americas Nurse Anesthetists by Marianne Bankert Mosby's Guide to Physical Examination Pathophysiology: The Biologic Basis for Disease in Adults and Children by K. L. McCance and S.E. Huether Recommended: Clinical Anesthesia by Paul G Barash, Bruce F Cullen, Robert K Stoelting, Michael Cahalan, and M. Christine Stock Miller's Anesthesia: Expert Consult Premium Edition - Online Features and Print - 2 volume set by Ronald D Miller, Ericksson, Fleisher, Wiener, Young Textbook of Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain management by Admir Hadzic A Practice of Anesthesia for Infants and Children: expert consult: online and print by Chales Cote, Jerrold Lerman, and David Todres Chesnut's Obstetric Anesthesia: Principles and Practice: Expert Consult Online and Print by David Chestnut, Polley Tsen, and Wong Clinical Anesthesia Procedures of the Massachusetts General Hospial by Wilton Levine, Allain, Alston, Dunn, Kwo Anesthesiologist's Manual of surgical procedures by Richard A Jaffe Stoelting's Anesthesia and Co-Existing Disease: Expert Consult by Roberta Hines and Katherine Marschall Clinical Anesthesiology by G. Edward Morgan, Maged S Mikhail Understanding Anesthesia Equipment by JA Dorsch and SE Dorsch

P.S. Make sure you shadow some CRNAs! It would be good to get a letter of recommendation from one when it is time! Good luck! I got accepted :)

I can only speak for the CRNA programs in Florida. First, all CRNA programs require a bachelors degree either in nursing or in another science. I would suggest getting a BSN and working hard to improve your grades. Second, take some sciences and kick butt at them - ex. physical chemistry, organic chemistry, pathophysiology, pharmacology. You'll need at least a full year of ICU experience under your belt before your application will be considered for CRNA school. I would also suggest completing your CCRN certification after you've finished your first year in the ICU. As for the GRE, scores are good for 5 years and the minimum score most schools will accept is 1000 - (500 reading, 500 math). There are a wide variety of applicants for CRNA school that I've run in to. Some students have 4.0 GPAs, others have a 3.1 GPA. Most applicants have their CCRN. GRE scores range from 1000 to 1200. Experience levels range from 1.5 years to 16 years in an ICU. Your interview for a CRNA program counts for a lot. But be prepared to explain why you made the grades you made. Some programs understand "immaturity" or life happening or whatever so long as you show a definite improvement once you started planning to go to CRNA school. So, study hard, show the admissions committee that this is what you want, and speak from the heart in an interview and you may secure yourself a spot! Look around these boards, several people have posted their stats.

I too was disappointed with NTI 2010 in DC. It was my first NTI and I've been an ICU nurse for 4.5 years. While it was fun and empowering to see so many nurses that share my profession, I didn't glean much from the classes. I am a self-driven studier, so I was hoping to learn more than I've already taught myself and what I've learned working in an aggressive, high acuity level one trauma teaching facility ICU. I was disappointed with the classes overall. The general assemblies were good, I enjoyed the speakers and the motivators. I'm not entirely sure I'll go again based on the expense involved. If I do, I think I'll focus more on the advance pratitioner classes hoping to learn something more. The best class I attended was actually the last class on the last day taught by a CRNA. It was awesome! I did really love the fact that the AACN was able to get the Smithsonian museums to open up for the nurses after hours. That was truly amazing!

Depends completely upon the program you are applying to. Most recommend having science courses in the last 5 years, but not all require it. Some require an assessment or physiology course within the last 5 years. One school here in Florida requires a chemistry course within the last 5 years. You may need to re-take a course or two depending on which program you apply to. Most programs have a website that spell out the requirements. Good luck!

Each school has a different application deadline. Start exploring the programs of the schools that you are interested in. They will tell you when to submit by. They all have different submission dates, so watch the calendar. You can get your GRE out of the way - scores are good for 5 years. Applications are extensive, expensive, and time consuming, so I suggest starting early. Keep copies of everything. More than likely something will get lost and you will have to resubmit.