TWU v. TCU

traumarnftw · Jan 18, 2009

I personally chose TCU.

Factors influencing decision:

1) Board pass rate- excellent at both schools. I'm confident that I would be successful either way.

2) Facilities- Visit both schools. The CRNA building at Wesleyan is nice, but the campus location and general campus emenities did not match what I saw at TCU. The simulation lab at TCU is awesome, and the CRNA class room felt comfortable and technologically modern (I observed a class there last semester). That said, I think that deciding purely on the basis of superficial qualities such as the aesthetics of a school is a mistake.

3) Staff- I found the staff and interviewers at both schools to be friendly and easy to deal with. The staff at TCU really impressed me with their personal knowledge of their students. For instance, as I observed personell in the office, they knew each student that came in. Their warmth and friendliness really struck me. I also spoke with students from both schools and heard very positive things about the admin at TCU. I don't mean that as a slight to TWU, it's just that TCU took it to another level.

4) Clinical assignment- Obviously your clinical assignment would be a big factor. Staying local or near your base of support (family, etc) is an important factor in your school success. (IMHO)

5) Program size- Not a huge factor in my decision, but the TWU class size is approximately twice the size of TCU.

I guess the bottom line is this- choosing between these two schools is hard. I have friends that lean towards TWU and others that really want TCU. I think it comes down to your own personal gut feelings in the end. I would be thrilled to attend either school, however, I chose TCU because of their success with board pass rates (check their web site for the stats- averaging well over the national score rates each year), the obvious attention to detail payed by the staff, and that intangible gut "this feels right" feeling I got every time I visited the school- from tours of the facilities to my interview.

Good luck making your decision, I don't think there is a wrong answer-

gasmaster · Jan 20, 2009

Last year I chose TCU over TWU because of the facilities, the staff, and the availability to access all lectures online anytime. I interviewed w/ the program director and was very impressed w/ the sense that TCU really cares about you as a person. Then, I found out this summer that I have 2 pancreases. After a procedure I developed pancreatitis that prevented me from entering class in Aug. The director was awesome! She held a position for me for this year, checked on me frequently, and was genuinely concerned about my welfare. In January I was invited to attend the interviews to meet-n-greet just like the rest of the class I should have been in. I have felt so included and supported by TCU. I'm VERY glad I chose them!

Outdoor1 · Jan 22, 2009

Last year I chose TCU over TWU because of the facilities, the staff, and the availability to access all lectures online anytime. I interviewed w/ the program director and was very impressed w/ the sense that TCU really cares about you as a person. Then, I found out this summer that I have 2 pancreases. After a procedure I developed pancreatitis that prevented me from entering class in Aug. The director was awesome! She held a position for me for this year, checked on me frequently, and was genuinely concerned about my welfare. In January I was invited to attend the interviews to meet-n-greet just like the rest of the class I should have been in. I have felt so included and supported by TCU. I'm VERY glad I chose them!

As a graduate of TCU this is what I experienced as a student there...Personal care and concern. I can't tell you how many students from Texas Wesleyan said to me personally that they were disappointed in their treatment and felt like just a number. Good luck with the decision. I was like the other posters here....there was no choice. TCU hands down is superior. By the way....TCU's board pass rate is better than TWU. There is a big difference even between 97% and 100%, especially if you are in that 3%.