Virginia Commonwealth :)

lovegasRN, BSN, RN · Oct 8, 2008

Hi EMRNCRNA,
I'll be with you at VCU in August 2008! I'll be moving across the country from Utah and it will be hard to relocate, especially since I'll be moving with my young family (one husband, and four kids ages 6 and under).
Do you live in VA now?
Jen

Hey Jen,

I am from Utah also and interviewing at VCU at the end of the month. How are you liking VCU? Any pointers on the interview? Where did you and Adonai end up finding housing? I also have small kids and want to end up somewhere with good schools and safe neighborhoods. If I am lucky enough to get accepted!

Thanks in advance!

NurseLay · Oct 8, 2008

Wow, congratulations to you all!!!! I am a new grad, and I have already spoken with the director for the program at VCU. I currently work at MCV/VCU. Do any of you have any advice for a prospective applicant and student? I would like to apply for Fall 2010.

Oh and by the way, I live in the West End, Glen Allen. I have a two bedroom two bath apt and I pay 1045/month and that was on a special, they usually run around 1230 and to me the houses around here are expensive, upper 300,000s lower 400,000s

Good luck to you all and I hope all of you make it through the program!

JenniferCCRN · Oct 8, 2008

Hi!

Yes, I'm at VCU right now enjoying all the wonders of the first semester. It really is a good school, although it is very challenging.

What makes school extra difficult for me is that I am 7 months pregnant right now.

I'd be happy to fill you in on the interview process and what to expect. Please send a private message.

What part of utah are you in? Are you applying anywhere else?

JenniferCCRN · Oct 9, 2008

I have been unnable to reply to my PMs for some reason... but here is some information regarding the VCU interviews (remember that this all happened last year and things might have changed)...

By the time I interviewed with them, I had already interviewed and been accepted to two other schools. For this reason, my confidence was high, and I thought that I would give it a shot at the #1 school in the nation. The interviews were more formal than what I had experienced at other schools. Here was my experience...

I arrived in the morning about 15 minutes early, and was surprised that two others were already there. As everyone showed up, there was a total of 5 interviewees. They started us off by offering us coffee and muffins, then they showed us a short powerpoint presentation. The presentation consisted of VCU fun facts including their ranking and systematic education. Dr. Fallacaro, the program director, spoke with us for a few minutes and then we toured the simulation lab. I got so excited when I saw it. It was really high tech and cool. After this tour, we went back into our break room, and they called us out one at a time for the interview portion. The interviews were split up into four sections. Each section consisted of 1-2 faculty in a small room asking their set of questions. They were each interested in different aspects. For instance, one interview session was with 2 faculty asking questions about financial and social support systems. Another session asked questions regarding conflict management, etc. Some of the questions that I remember include the following;

- why do you want to be a CRNA?

- what did you do before being a nurse?

- what does your spouse think of you returning to school?

- Tell me of a conflict you had with an MD and how did you resolve it?

- Tell me of a time when you made a mistake and what did you learn?

- tell me of a time when you saved someone's life.

- What would your nursing supervisor say about you?

- What have you done to prepare yourself for school?

- Why should we choose you over other candidates?

- How do you plan to manage financially?

They asked some pretty basic questions. No really tough clinical questions or medications stuff. I had a list of questions to ask them regarding their clinical sites and educational philosophies. I think it was a good idea to ask these questions because it showed them that I care about the quality of education I receive.

We were instructed that the acceptance is based on a scoring system developed by Dr. Hartland, the director of education. All things are put together in a complex formula that calculates you chances of success in the program. These calculations include your GPA, GRE score, #years experience, CCRN, etc. Each section of the interviews also rates you on a scale of 1-10 and these numbers are also included in the calculation. Once your score is determined, you are compared with others within the applicant pool. It was explained to us that each interviewee will be informed of their acceptance or rejection within a couple of months, but if you are clearly in the top percentile, they will offer you a position sooner.

Just so you have a reference, here is where I stood as an applicant... Nursing GPA: 3.7, GRE score 1300 with 6.0 AWA, CCRN, 1.5 years CVICU experience, shadowed CRNAs totalling 25 hours. I'm not sure how I scored during the interview process, but it must have been ok since I received a phone call the next day from Dr. Hartland offering me a position.

Anyway, I'm sorry that this is so long. I would have loved for someone to have filled me in on all of this stuff before my interview.

Jen

Editorial Team / Admin · Oct 9, 2008

As part of our bb redesign effective July 5th, general members must have 15 meaningful public board posts prior to sending private messages and/or sending emails from the allnurses.com profiles.

Please see this announcement: Private Messages available after 15 post

You now have 15 posts, so you will be able to send private messages.

NurseLay · Oct 10, 2008

Thanks, you gave some really helpful information, especially at the end! What did you use to study for the GRE? I wish you the best of luck in the program and I hope that within the next two years I can be/ will be in your shoes!

I have been unnable to reply to my PMs for some reason... but here is some information regarding the VCU interviews (remember that this all happened last year and things might have changed)...
By the time I interviewed with them, I had already interviewed and been accepted to two other schools. For this reason, my confidence was high, and I thought that I would give it a shot at the #1 school in the nation. The interviews were more formal than what I had experienced at other schools. Here was my experience...
I arrived in the morning about 15 minutes early, and was surprised that two others were already there. As everyone showed up, there was a total of 5 interviewees. They started us off by offering us coffee and muffins, then they showed us a short powerpoint presentation. The presentation consisted of VCU fun facts including their ranking and systematic education. Dr. Fallacaro, the program director, spoke with us for a few minutes and then we toured the simulation lab. I got so excited when I saw it. It was really high tech and cool. After this tour, we went back into our break room, and they called us out one at a time for the interview portion. The interviews were split up into four sections. Each section consisted of 1-2 faculty in a small room asking their set of questions. They were each interested in different aspects. For instance, one interview session was with 2 faculty asking questions about financial and social support systems. Another session asked questions regarding conflict management, etc. Some of the questions that I remember include the following;
- why do you want to be a CRNA?
- what did you do before being a nurse?
- what does your spouse think of you returning to school?
- Tell me of a conflict you had with an MD and how did you resolve it?
- Tell me of a time when you made a mistake and what did you learn?
- tell me of a time when you saved someone's life.
- What would your nursing supervisor say about you?
- What have you done to prepare yourself for school?
- Why should we choose you over other candidates?
- How do you plan to manage financially?
They asked some pretty basic questions. No really tough clinical questions or medications stuff. I had a list of questions to ask them regarding their clinical sites and educational philosophies. I think it was a good idea to ask these questions because it showed them that I care about the quality of education I receive.
We were instructed that the acceptance is based on a scoring system developed by Dr. Hartland, the director of education. All things are put together in a complex formula that calculates you chances of success in the program. These calculations include your GPA, GRE score, #years experience, CCRN, etc. Each section of the interviews also rates you on a scale of 1-10 and these numbers are also included in the calculation. Once your score is determined, you are compared with others within the applicant pool. It was explained to us that each interviewee will be informed of their acceptance or rejection within a couple of months, but if you are clearly in the top percentile, they will offer you a position sooner.
Just so you have a reference, here is where I stood as an applicant... Nursing GPA: 3.7, GRE score 1300 with 6.0 AWA, CCRN, 1.5 years CVICU experience, shadowed CRNAs totalling 25 hours. I'm not sure how I scored during the interview process, but it must have been ok since I received a phone call the next day from Dr. Hartland offering me a position.
Anyway, I'm sorry that this is so long. I would have loved for someone to have filled me in on all of this stuff before my interview.
Jen