I didn't see a post for Texas Wesleyan University CRNA cycle. I'm looking forward to meet and talk to y'all.
Let's support each other! Would love to hear from others regarding application and interview process (and beyond).
IMPORTANT INFO added by Staff
Texas Wesleyan University Doctorate of Nurse Anesthesia Practice Program
Apply now to the entry-level Doctorate of Nurse Anesthesia Practice program and go from RN to CRNA in just 36 months! This program will prepare you to become a CRNA ready to take on any operating room in any hospital in the nation.
Texas Wesleyan University's mission is to develop and elevate each and every student to their potential in their studies as an individual and as a member of their community.
Is it normal for them to give advice on how to prepare for school, do not stress about reading CRNA text books, make sure to refresh your chemistry knowledge before school start after the interview ended?
sorry this is kind of off topic but did anyone use the CRNA prep academy? Feeling super defeated because I didn't get in this round and I thought my GPA and application was pretty solid. If anyone wants to do a good deed and give me advice I would appreciate it so so so much!! Especially my denver location peeps ◡̈ my number is (512) 955-2658 (LOL I promise I won't blow up your phone, just a few questions!!)
Are you saying you used CRNA prep academy, and still didn't get an interview? Or you're considering using it going forward because you didn't get an interview?
I have not used it, but as with most schools, try to take an objective look at your application (or have someone else) and see if there are any areas you might be able to boost.
For GPA, unless you're retaking classes or taking any post-grad classes to bolster, that's pretty set in stone (and you said you feel that's decent already). Is writing a strong skill for you? Did you have anyone else review your application essay for content and errors? Do you feel like you adequately answered the prompt and gave a convincing argument for your spot in the program?
For experience, are there aspects that you can strengthen? Have you exclusively worked in ICU's, or did you switch specialties? How long have you worked in ICU's? Even if you have only worked in ICU's, have you ever worked at large Level 1 and/or teaching facilities? While most acute care hospitals will have some level of critical care capacity, I've seen many times that RN's who have worked in ICU's at small rural hospital sometimes don't have the strong critical care skills they are looking for...and that's not at all a slight to those RN's, truly. It's just that often in those small rural hospitals where there "ICU" is sometimes only 2 or 4 or 8 beds, the extent of what they can handle and manage is limited, and by consequence some of the most critical type of patients are often (not always) CareFlighted or transferred out to larger facilities who have the resources, physician specialists, and trained staff to handle ancillary therapies--think CRRT/Impella/IABP/ECMO/SLED, pts needing specially trained RN's like for burns or acute transplant, or pts requiring other certain physician or surgeon specialties. I experienced that when I used to work at Parkland Memorial in Dallas...there was a travel RN during early COVID from a small rural tertiary hospital that was considered "ICU", but they were at times overwhelmed because they had never managed extremely high-acuity patients like we were receiving (which only increased during early COVID). Even before COVID, it wasn't out of the question to sometimes have a pt in our MICU there that was on 6-8 gtts, on CRRT, and maybe other therapies, and the RN was managing all of it themselves. That was a normal day for the MICU at Parkland, whereas a small tertiary hospital may only see ICU pts that might be on 1 pressor and a 2nd other drip. Again, that's not a slight or a fault of the facility or RN's there, it's just a product of "can our facility support the needs of 'x' pt". If you don't feel like you've worked in super high-acuity ICU's, are you in a position to apply for and try to get a job at a larger, higher acuity ICU which can give you more well-rounded critical care experience?
There's also other experience such at being a charge RN, leading committees, being super-user's on therapies or processes that can help boost your application. I lean towards thinking those might be a touch lower on weight for application, but it does show initiative and leadership.
Also take a look at your GRE score. If your GPA is OK but not super competitive, check your GRE scores and see how they fall on a relative scale. IIRC, Wesleyan strongly recommends at least a 300, but I would strive to get higher. Assuming an equal 150 on both verbal and quantitative, that's only the 43rd and 33rd percentiles respectively for this year, so even though 300 (or even lower) might get you an interview, it's arguably not a super strong or competitive score, so you'd want other areas of your application to be really strong if that's what you scored. For anecdotal transparency, I got a 155 and 158 on verbal and quantitative respectively for a 313 total when I tested (65th and 55th percentile) which I was decently happy with given the minimal time I studied. If I had to guess, the writing is probably one of the lowest/least weighted components when evaluating who gets an interview, but I scored a 5.0 on the analytical writing which was 91st percentile. One of my interviewers even brought it up at the beginning of my interview on Tuesday and asked if I remembered what my prompt was, noting the very strong writing score that they don't often see. I honestly didn't remember the prompt as I took it 18 months ago, but writing has always been one of my stronger skills, so I remember being very pleased but not super surprised when I saw what I scored on writing. Why I bring that up though is look at what your analytical writing score was on your GRE, as well as doing your own self-assessment on what your overall writing skills are. If you don't feel like writing is your strongest area and/or your analytical writing score on your GRE wasn't super strong, consider investing in coaching or some feedback/editing tips from family/friends/resources like CRNA prep academy to look at your application essay and see if you can improve there. If need be, can always retake the GRE too. I know nobody enjoys those exams, but I saw they shortened the GRE to only being a 2 hour exam this past fall, so if you need to improve your GRE to be more competitive, having the exam only take 2 hour vs. the previous 4 might mean it's less daunting.
The was way more than I intended to write, haha, but hopefully there was something in there that may prove helpful to you while evaluating your full application. Don't get discouraged that you didn't get an interview this round. My recommendation would be to see what areas you can most easily improve: essay, retaking chem or college algebra for an 'A', and/or retaking GRE for a more competitive score. Changing hospitals for higher acuity experience may be more difficult/take more investment, but that may also prove valuable to your application, regardless if for Wesleyan or other schools you'd like to apply to. Good luck!!
sorry this is kind of off topic but did anyone use the CRNA prep academy? Feeling super defeated because I didn't get in this round and I thought my GPA and application was pretty solid. If anyone wants to do a good deed and give me advice I would appreciate it so so so much!! Especially my denver location peeps ◡̈ my number is (512) 955-2658 (LOL I promise I won't blow up your phone, just a few questions!!)
sorry this is kind of off topic but did anyone use the CRNA prep academy? Feeling super defeated because I didn't get in this round and I thought my GPA and application was pretty solid. If anyone wants to do a good deed and give me advice I would appreciate it so so so much!! Especially my denver location peeps ◡̈ my number is (512) 955-2658 (LOL I promise I won't blow up your phone, just a few questions!!)
When you say "you didn't get in this round," do you mean that you didn't get an interview?
@MICUBSNRN wow great advice thank you thank you thank you!! Scores are very impressive! I think retaking GRE and switching to a higher acuity ICU will definitely help!!
Didn't mean to scare anyone, I didn't get an interview I was talking about moving forward!! I definitely should've posted this after the interviews my apologies!!
RNtoCRNA2024
216 Posts
They said the same to me.