UT-Houston: Generic or Accelerated Program?

[ncemt]

I'm hoping for some advice here. I'm currently finishing up my degree at a school in North Carolina (I'm originally from Austin), and am planning to graduate in December (a semester early). Originally, I started looking at UT-Houston because it offered an accelerated program, which I figured would work best for me because I will already have another degree and I thought it would get me finished more quickly. However, last summer I took an online course as a prerequisite, and I found that I really didn't like taking classes online- I feel like I learn better attending lectures and actually getting to see the professor and the visual aids (powerpoints, etc.) as the professor talks. The school I'm attending now is considered a fairly tough school to get into/survive at, and I've taken all of the pre-med classes (physics, organic chemistry, etc.) because my major is sort of a "pre-health" major, so I'm hoping that I would be able to handle the coursework for the accelerated program. However, if I do the generic program I will be done at the same time (start in January 2010, graduate in May 2011 vs. start in May 2010, graduate in May 2011), and I might learn the information better. The final wrinkle is that I'm ultimately planning on doing a CRNA program- will they be significantly more impressed by the accelerated program? Anyway, I'd love to hear any suggestions/thoughts about what you guys think would be a better program choice for me. THANK YOU!!!

[mahatma]

Go with the generic, especially with your learning preferences. You will receive a better education and a whole lot less stress. You would think that due to the competiveness of the program that it would be a plus for CRNA, but I was told by admissions that this is not the case. It is more important to have a good gpa in nursing school which is probably easier to achieve in the generic. One final thought, you could always tell which students were in the generic program...they were the ones with smiles on their faces.

One last thing, before you decide to go the CRNA route, shadow at least two for a day. It would be best to have a good idea before you start looking for your first job. You will most likely be obligated to work for 12 to 18 months to the first unit you are assigned or pay a financial penalty to leave early. If you learn that you do not want to do CRNA, in advance, then it would not be necessary for you to start in ICU, unless you want to.

[ncemt]

Thanks so much for your advice, mahatma! That was the direction I was leaning towards as well. If I can finish in nearly the same amount of time with a better GPA and a smile on my face, it's probably worth any tiny sort of edge an accelerated program would give me during the CRNA school admissions process. I've actually spent more than 50 hours shadowing CRNAs and LOVED every minute of it, but I'm definitely still keeping my options open in case I learn about something else I want to do more- and that's very good to know about the usual amount of time you're expected to stay on a unit. Thank you!