Which schools are "hard" to get into

Specialties CRNA

Published

Just curious. Also which schools are easier to get into. I guess what Im asking is which schools receive more applications than others? I was told the Cali schools are competitive, anywhere else?

Medic14

If you want to find out which programs are competitive then simply apply and you will find out, if your looking for a short cut, it's not there, don't waste your time. Meet with a program director and find out what you need to do to make your packet an acceptable one. There is no easy way out, may be nurse anesthesia is not for you.

I am not looking for an easy way out. I have called a school that Im interested in and thats why I asked this question. Why should I go through all the stress of applying and paying to submit an app when I can be more efficient on this board. Im just being realistic.

I am willing to move ANYWHERE for anesthesia, Im not going to waste my time applying to schools where the probability of acceptance is lower.

If you want to find out the easiest schools to get into, call each one ask if they are the easiest one to get into. Wanna guess what they are going to tell you?

Medic14

I am not looking for an easy way out. I have called a school that Im interested in and thats why I asked this question. Why should I go through all the stress of applying and paying to submit an app when I can be more efficient on this board. Im just being realistic.

I am willing to move ANYWHERE for anesthesia, Im not going to waste my time applying to schools where the probability of acceptance is lower.

Personally, I would think that the number per school is pretty consistent, but the number of people reapplying to the same school the second time may be low. I would look at board pass rates, and apply to those schools that have a high pass rate, along with a clinical site you could see yourself at for the length of clinical time. I applied to two schools that are local to me, but would have considered moving had I not been accepted. Luckily I did not need to make that decision.

Good luck!

My thoughts on acceptance into anesthesthesia is that you should take the time to apply even to schools that you may be worried are competitive. I don't think that you would be "wasting" an application as many schools like to hear that you apply to multiple schools. The fact that you are willing to attend any school is substantiated by your applications to multiple schools. If you look at a previous thread about people who are starting school this year (including myself ) you will see that the vast majority of people apply to multiple schools. As far as competetiveness, I think every program is difficult to get into, and that no program is looking to accept candidates that do not appreciate, or attempt to appreciate the sacrifice necessary to enter this field. I suggest bite the bullet apply even to schools you may be thinking you won't get accepted into, you may be surprised. Good luck!

i'm still curious about this list of "easy" or "less competitive" schools to get in to. please share.

Coug et al.,

I found that list! Here it is:

Okay, I know your question was tongue-in-cheek, as was my answer. Questions like the OP's really tick me off. For the uninitiated: there is no such thing as some stupid list of easy or hard schools to get into, for this reason...

Each school has a unique program, and the ideal student for that program is similarly unique. Programs seem to know who will be a good fit for their curriculum. A student who is a shoe-in for one program may get denied everywhere else. That's the way nurse anesthesia programs work. It's their program, and they can admit who they want!

I guess you could theorize that there are some programs in which competition may be more intense. For example, the Kaiser program in CA always has many, many qualified applicants, and the Gonzaga program only accepts a half-dozen students per year. Could you translate that to mean that they are harder to get into? I suppose the answer lies in what you bring to the table as an applicant.

What concerns me is the potential student's attitude that there must be some secret shortcut to getting in, and that the "smart" student will find this shortcut so as not to "waste her time". I can tell you that if there are any magical shortcuts, I haven't heard of them, and neither have any of my classmates, all of whom are taking the long, hard road to reach this goal, just like every other SRNA in their respective programs.

That is all.

as for kaiser i was on the interview committee the last 2 years and if i recall the numbers correctly there were 700-800 "inquiries" which meant packets sent out. then the packets that were returned were pared down to about 130 applications that were met the minimum requirements. then that list was pared down to 80 interviews for 35 positions.

to try and answer your question. there are only 4 programs on the west coast, gonzaga, kaiser, usc, sam merrit. now one in arizona. conversly i think there are 6 or 8 in pennsylvania alone. now i'm not saying it's easier to get in on the east coast but there are a greater number of schools in the area. your odds of getting in may be easier if you blanket app the east coast.

my suggestion now would be find out something about yourself, how you learn best, what skills do you want to learn in school, front loaded vs integreated and pick the schools that best fit your style of learning. there are no shortcuts for learning anesthesia, i would encourage you to get the mindset of doing what it takes to get in where you want to go, then doing what it takes to succeed in that program. i hope after you get accepted you would not look for the easy way out.

justmyhumbleopinion

d

This doesn't have anything to do with the "ease" of getting into any particular school, but can anyone explain why there is apparently a disparity between the number of schools on the east vs. west coast? I wasnt even aware of the difference before reading this thread. I am in NC and there are 5 schools in the state.

I can tell you that if there are any magical shortcuts, I haven't heard of them, and neither have any of my classmates, all of whom are taking the long, hard road to reach this goal, just like every other SRNA in their respective programs.

That is all.

Could not have said it better myself!!!

Personally, I think everyone here needs to relax and ease up on the poster. Its not like he was asking which school could he/she skate through. He/she just asked which schools are easier to get in, which is not an unreasonable question. Some schools are easier to get in than others. That's just the truth. The thing is, if you know your school is not as competitive as another, nobody is going to say so for fear of making their school look bad. That's just being real. Getting in CRNA school is hard no matter what school you applied to but there are some schools that are less competitive than others. Period

I guess nsg is like any other school . Take Harvard for example. Very hard to get in there ! :chuckle

Z

I stand by my original comments.

So, Sigma, it looks like you are the one with the magical list. Let's have it, then!

I also see that you haven't even started school yet. Perhaps in a couple of years, when you have put your time in walking down that long, hard road, you will appreciate and understand those senior SRNAs - myself included - on this board who reacted strongly to the OP's request for an easier way into school.

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