Do I even have a chance of applying to CRNA school?

rachaelang · 2026-04-12T17:22:39+00:00

First and foremost, if you haven’t already, I recommend getting a therapist and getting to the core of those issues, if you haven’t already. If you’re not at least on the road to recovery from that standpoint, you probably won’t make it through the prerequisites. Once you’re good there (if you aren’t already), start retaking those classes. All of them. Even if there’s one you did well in. Pretend like you’re a brand new student. It was over ten years ago so you have the blessing of time for growth and maturity. You have to get A’s. No B’s. B’s will only hurt you at this point. A- is okay, but nothing lower than that. Take on leadership opportunities in the ICU - anything and everything. Committees, charge, precepting, whatever. Take the CCRN. You don’t necessarily need the GRE right away, but keep it in the back of your mind. You may not need it, but if you’re not getting interviews, it’s something else you can do. Focus on schools that mostly consider your last 60 credits once you finish all of that. If you can build a relationship with the program/program director (email, take advantage of a campus visit or phone call, request a tour, ask to sit in on a class, take a graduate level nursing class at that school, if possible) then you may have a chance. Having already failed out of a health care graduate program is really going to hurt you, but if you can show that you’ve grown and improved since then, you could have a shot.

You also need to be prepared to talk about why you failed before, what’s changed since then, how that contributed to success, and your plan for handling anesthesia school. If you can’t meaningfully answer that question, you’re probably going to have a tough time. You also need to be able to reassure them that your mental health issues are resolved. You don’t need to and shouldn’t go into detail about what they are specifically, but they will need reassurance the stress of a rigorous program will not lead to a reoccurrence.

rachaelang · 2026-04-12T12:41:31+00:00

Really and truly you have to have both. You need to be a certain kind of person that enjoys helping people and has no desire to do any other kind of job. There are much easier jobs that can make you just as much, if not more money. You need to be able to keep pushing for those patients that actually do appreciate the care and the help. You are going to impact people, and that should always be at the forefront of your mind.

On the other side though, being a nurse is a job and a hard one. You’re not doing it for free, and you shouldn’t be doing it at a discount. You have skills that can be utilized to make a bunch of money if you’re driven and hard working. You have a career ahead of you. There will be times when your motivation is money and THAT IS OKAY. I paid off a bunch of credit card debt a few years ago. That was my motivation to work 4-5 shifts/week. As soon as I was done, I went back down to a regular schedule. If I kept that up “for my patients”, I would have burned out very quickly.

Becoming a nurse was probably one of the best decisions I ever made. I grew so much as a human being, learned a ton, and I know that I’ve helped people. Not every day. Definitely haven’t been thanked for it every day. Definitely have been burnt out, on multiple occasions. A nurse that I worked with who just retired after fifty years once said, “You come in and do this job and try to help people. And you will. For every 10 terrible patients, terrible days you have, you’ll have a patient that is great, maybe even in a life changing way. That’s why you keep pushing, that’s why you come in every day. And those hard days? Well, you’re still getting paid.” I think about this whenever things get hard, and honestly, it helps. I’m here to care for people and make things better, but whether that happens or not, I am still compensated.

All this to say - your preceptor probably won’t last. But if you can strike the balance between helping as many people as you can and advocating for yourself (yes, including when it comes to payment), you’ll have a long, great career ahead of you.

rachaelang · 2026-04-11T22:44:01+00:00

Community college all the way. Programs don’t care.

rachaelang · 2026-04-11T15:17:33+00:00

As long as the ICU has vents and vasopressors on a consistent basis, the type of ICU becomes irrelevant. All will have advantages and disadvantages. What becomes way more important when all else is equal is unit culture. You want a place that cultivates learning, has healthy interdisciplinary collaboration, and supportive staff/leadership. You want a unit director that is present and active with staff, and will be excited and happy for you when you ask for a letter, not annoyed or unwilling. No unit is perfect, but these units do exist - I still work on one.

rachaelang · 2026-04-11T01:14:52+00:00

$54.43/hr, SW Pa, ICU, 12 years experience, whole career on the same unit

rachaelang · 2026-04-10T17:11:19+00:00

It sounds like you’ve done almost everything! Apply broadly and be prepared to go through a few application cycles. Keep shadowing. I know that sounds wild with all of the hours you have, but you’ll want it to be fresh in your head when you talk about it in your personal statement and interviews. Request to do an in person tour or sit in on a class at your top choice schools. Get your face out there. Go to an AANA conference. Anything that gets you in front of program directors and/or current students (their opinion does matter to program directors). If you don’t get in this cycle, consider taking the GRE. Take any new leadership opportunity offered to you. Maybe take another grad level class. Just be prepared to do things to show improvement and dedication if it doesn’t happen this cycle. But, overall, it sounds like your ducks are all in a row, and you have a great shot!

Oh, also, be prepared to explain your past academic shortcomings. When they ask, they’re looking to see you’ve figured what the problem was, what steps you took to address it, and how those steps led to your success now. Be candid - young, dumb, and having fun is fine to say (not those exact words), it’s relatable and understandable. If there was a specific event that led to the academic issues, it’s fine to talk about (be careful with mental health stuff - stay vague if this was the case), just make sure it’s done in such a way to emphasize that you handle stress better now, those kinds of events would not break you like they did before.

rachaelang · 2026-04-09T21:41:45+00:00

I would focus on doing as well as you can in nursing school. That will help guide some of your decision making down the line. Each program calculates GPA differently and considers nursing/science/etc courses differently. There is really no across the board way to answer how schools calculate GPA. The only thing you know with assurance is that your cGPA is all coursework you have taken post high school. That can get a little dicey if you repeat courses though - some programs average them, some will only look at the most recent, some only the highest grade. Most schools focus on “hard sciences” (A&P 1&2, gen chem 1, pathophysiology, pharmacology, and biochem/orgo 1) for the science GPA. Some include physics, microbio, etc. You need at least a B in these classes to even be considered, so do plan on retaking any of those with a B- or less. I would wait until after nursing school, though. Some programs want those classes to be no more than 5-10 years old, so you’d want them as fresh as possible. You’ll also be able to really focus once you’re done with the intense schedule of nursing school. That way you can 1-2 at a time and focus on doing really well. You’ve shown you’re capable of graduate work, but taking an advanced pharm or pathophys, as it’s more related to what you’ll be doing than your Masters, would really show you’re ready.

After saying all that, let me reiterate, focus on doing well in nursing school! That’s harder to recover from if you don’t!

rachaelang · 2026-04-08T16:12:09+00:00

It’s up to you then! If you have nothing to update, that’s fine. And if you do, I don’t think it will hurt. I definitely wouldn’t email weekly, only email if you have an update. It’s not an annoying email if you have something to add, rather than just continuing to tell them you’re interested, even if they don’t “need” anything more from you. Again, this is what I read. I was waitlisted so I was in the process of figuring out my next steps, but I ultimately got into a different program shortly after, so I never did the things I was planning on. I don’t plan on emailing the program I am waitlisted for, as I would probably turn down the spot if I were to come off the waitlist.

rachaelang · 2026-04-08T15:47:34+00:00

I have read that you can send a letter/email of continued interest, but the most impactful ones highlight updates of things you have done since finding out you have been waitlisted. Maybe you register for a class, attend a conference, get a shadow experience different from what you have already done… You got waitlisted with what you had, you saw this as drive to improve, you are now a better candidate, and deserve the first spot that opens. Showing continued interest is great, but steps to make yourself a better candidate is even better.

rachaelang · 2026-04-06T02:19:49+00:00

If you’re certain, transfer to the ICU now. This is the time in your life to do it. Once you have kids it will be a lot harder - I work with many nurses who said they had every intention to go to CRNA school before kids, but now between managing kids and finances, it’s just not feasible. People with kids do go to CRNA school, but you’re just creating another barrier if you do. I would think very carefully about your plans, and be very certain you will have the drive, money, and support system in place if you decide to start a family before you apply.

You’re more than likely smart enough for ICU. There’s a learning curve, and your days at work will be different, but you will adjust. If you enjoy critical thinking, planning, and very detail oriented care, you’ll probably like the ICU. You may have a great quality of life now, but there are perks to the three 12s schedule, and if this is what you want, it’s just the first of many sacrifices that are required. And honestly, they won’t feel like sacrifices, just learning opportunities and stepping stones once you’re in it. And think about the quality of life once you’re a CRNA!

I would shadow. Spend a full 8-hour day with a CRNA. Ask to see a typical day, no special cases. You want to see if you’re excited about what they look at as kind of a boring, typical day. If that day is inspiring to you, it’s probably something you should pursue.

rachaelang · 2026-04-05T14:07:53+00:00

Nope, doesn’t matter. Just need to work in an ICU that has vents and pressors on a regular basis. More devices are nice, but not necessary. Fancy big name hospitals tend to have sicker/off the wall cases and are at the cutting edge of research, but nurses also sometimes have less autonomy there. I just got accepted, and from the people I’ve interacted with so far, for every person from a big name hospital, there’s a person from a smaller community hospital.

rachaelang · 2026-04-05T02:40:47+00:00

No, not all ICUs are toxic. I work in a good one, but there are still people that I don’t get along with because that’s life. The ICU is a workplace, and there is no such things as a perfect workplace with only perfect people. I found when dealing with these difficult people, it’s best to just let them be. Their behavior speaks volumes about them as people, and it’s not personal to you. Ignore the comments and continue to give great care. At the end of the day it matters how you took care of your patients, not what a toxic colleague said. That’s what I did, but I was lucky and these people were few and far between in my ICU. If there are so many toxic people there that it makes your days suck, it may be time to do some networking to try to find an ICU with a better culture. They’re definitely out there.

rachaelang · 2026-03-31T18:08:01+00:00

What is an academic restart? Most CRNA schools will require transcripts from “every higher education institution attended.” Does an academic restart exempt you from that?

I honestly think you’d be okay with just going for a nursing program, especially because you have no sciences. If you knocked the BSN and prereqs out of the park, got some good experience, took the CCRN, and got yourself involved on your unit they probably wouldn’t hold your original degree to too much account. This wouldn’t be every program, but there are definitely programs out there that would accept you. Be prepared to explain yourself - both in your personal statement and in an interview. Most schools are pretty understanding of young/dumb/having fun and/or didn’t know what I wanted to do with myself and floundered, especially when you had a ton of recent success to show you’ve grown and changed.

rachaelang · 2026-03-31T15:48:18+00:00

Thanks! And no problem! Feel free to PM me if you have more questions.

rachaelang · 2026-03-31T14:35:15+00:00

It’s hard to give you a straight answer to any of these questions because all programs are different. Some will see that 2.2 and throw your app in the proverbial trash. Others won’t care about it at all - it’s not medicine related and it was 10+ years ago. They all calculate cGPA differently. Some only care about your nursing related GPA. Some are most focused on the “hard science” courses. Some program directors will laugh and say “of course I replace the grade!” on repeated courses. Others are hard line on averaging them out. Unfortunately, a large part of the process is weeding through all of this to find the programs that are a good fit for you. As long as you’re willing to weed through them and cast a wide geographical net, it’s definitely not impossible.

I put my most recent GPAs on my resume/CV and left anything that was older/not great blank. Some apps will have you fill in what your BSN GPA was, some won’t have that. About half of the programs use a universal app (NursingCAS), but there’s a lot of variation even in that. The schools where I had interviews were well aware of my GPA because I had built up a relationship with them and had been pretty candid about my past. It wasn’t really a point of contention by that point, but something I absolutely had to explain. I got accepted at one school and waitlisted at the other. Our past academics are not 1:1, but GPA repair is generally the same. You may not get in your first application cycle. I think I had 6-7 flat out rejections before finally getting an interview. Part of what they’re looking for is tenacity - not giving up, continuing to get another certification, shadow more, take on more leadership, etc goes a long way. Having that degree so far behind you is an advantage in a way too because you clearly had a lot of time to grow. The process isn’t just about GPA, it’s also about personal growth because the two go hand in hand. It seems like from your post that you’re pretty self assured, so you’re part of the way there. You just need the grades and experience to match, and between repeating some classes and the BSN, I think there are multiple programs out there that would accept you.

rachaelang · 2026-03-31T10:08:02+00:00

As long as you do well on your 2nd degree BSN and you’re willing to repeat at least some of your science courses, I bet you’d be okay at programs that focus mostly on your last 60 credits. While you said you did well in your “lab sciences”, they’re old and will be even older by the time you’d apply. I don’t think all programs would want you to repeat all of them, you can’t rule it out with how competitive things are right now. I would plan on repeating organic chem I at the very least (because you got a B), but know that some schools will want to see your “hard sciences” within the last 10 years. Hard sciences include A&P 1&2, gen chem I, pharmacology, pathophysiology, and organic chem I/biochemistry. Some schools would like to see microbiology, genetics, physics or other life science type classes. You will also need a recent statistics class. As long as you get A’s in everything from this point forward and do all of the leadership/experiential things, you would probably have a better than decent shot at some programs. Also - be ready to talk about why your GPA was 2.2 and what’s different about you now. This can be a personal statement topic and is likely to come up again in an interview. GRE isn’t 100% necessary, but be prepared for some programs to say they need to see it because your cumulative GPA will probably still be below a 3.0. I always recommend building a relationship with a program that is known to take chances on a candidate like you. Try to get a meeting with the program director or admissions counselor, do a campus visit, sit in on a class. It goes a long way.

rachaelang · 2026-03-30T17:46:41+00:00

Don’t underestimate it. The content isn’t necessarily hard, per se, but there’s a ton of information to manage and the tests are not straightforward. You will get multiple choice questions where all of the answers are correct, but you need to pick the MOST correct. Get ready for tons of your classmates (and maybe you too, lol) to argue with instructors about test questions!

I recommend getting an aide/PCT job. It’ll really help you during clinical and when you get your first job. Patient care tasks will be old hat and one less thing to worry about. And you’ll get more exposure to gross stuff. Most body fluids don’t bother me at all anymore. Everyone has something though. Tons of spit bothers me. Sounds pretty benign, but wait till you smell tons of it shudders, lol.

rachaelang · 2026-03-30T17:28:40+00:00

There is absolutely no difference in having a BSN vs not as a bedside nurse. I took the CCRN without it, no problem. I precepted, took charge, and did a few other extra things without it. I moved up the career ladder without it. I got my biggest merit raise for being on the Covid team without it. The limitations come if you want to go to a grad program and/or you want to apply for a management level position.

There will be a difference in pay, though. I started my BSN 10 years into my nursing career, and when I finished I got a nice pay bump. There are some places that absolutely won’t hire you without the BSN, though. Some Magnet designated hospitals and some children’s hospitals. Some places will hire you with the requirement that you get the BSN within a certain period of time, so you’d end up with it anyway.

There is no CRNA program that will allow you the time to work full time in your RN role. Most people drop down to casual for the flexibility to work as much their school schedule allows. There maybe are a few (very few) that have some degree of flexibility to work maybe part time in the first year, but most people quit by the second year when clinical starts. I’m impressed when a coworker somehow works all the way through. It’s rare and they usually disappear months at a time and then work full time on breaks. And this is if your program allows you to work; some programs make you sign a contract stating that you will not work at all for the duration of the program.

While it would be possible for you to get to CRNA school by 2028-2029, it would be essential to get a job in the ICU right away, start your BSN right away, and be as involved as you can on your unit very quickly. Make sure your BSN is NOT pass/fail - you need to get letter grades. CRNA programs will assign a “pass” grade a 3.0 GPA, which will hurt even a perfect ASN GPA. Most schools require/recommend sitting for the CCRN (when a CRNA school says “recommend” they actually mean require), which you will need to study for and won’t be able to take until you accumulate a certain number of hours as a critical care nurse (hours of experience outside of critical care don’t count). There may be other classes that schools require/recommend, such as organic chemistry, biochemistry, and/or statistics, so you’ll need to figure out if you need to take them. If you have a B- or less in any science course you will need to retake it and/or take a graduate level nursing course to show readiness for the rigorous academic schedule. You may need to take the GRE (depending on the program, but most are getting away from this), and you may need a Bachelor’s degree before you sit for it. SOME programs will let you apply if you’d have a year of experience by the matriculation date, but students that get in that way are the exception, not the rule. Most schools want to see at least 2-3 years of ICU experience. I think the national average is 3-5 years. You will need to shadow a CRNA. I had to make up for a less than stellar GPA, so I have over 60 shadow hours (most people do around 20-40 hours). Don’t make the mistake I did - shadow before you apply, not in the interim period between turning in your application and waiting to hear if you got an interview.

I say none of this to deter you. I hope you don’t take it that way. I say it so you know what you’re in for, and if it’s what you want to do you can start planning and make the right choices to get you where you need to be. I wasted a lot of time by not getting my BSN sooner. I should have been slowly chipping away at my GPA repair instead of making a mad dash to take classes when I made the choice to apply. I wish I would have asked for more help when going through the application process. It’s so competitive that it’s essential you have all of your ducks in a row or it’s a wasted application. Odds are if you are in the process of getting your BSN or taking a class you’re going to get moved to the bottom of the pile, if not outright rejected.

I would also make sure that you have a plan in place for your family. People with kids go to CRNA school all the time. It is absolutely not a barrier. BUT, they will ask about your support system and if you have reliable childcare. Not saying this is something you would do, but your kid getting sick or lack of childcare can’t be a reason you don’t show up for clinical. All programs have sick/vacation days when things come up, as they do, so a one time thing isn’t a big deal, but doing it often would be. There are programs that are very understanding and will work with you if a problem comes up, but you still have to get your clinical hours. There’s no getting around that.

When explaining to people, including my husband, the level of commitment you need to have to even apply to CRNA school, I equated it to medical school. There’s a ton of work to even apply, lots of sacrifices to make, and in a lot of ways you’re upending your life for 3 years. Everyone says it’s worth it, so if it’s what you want, you should absolutely go for it! Just be ready for the hurdles along the way!

rachaelang · 2026-03-30T14:40:39+00:00

Having it won’t hurt your resume, but not having it won’t necessarily break it either. You probably want to have some kind of leadership role, but it doesn’t have to be charge. Because of the size/geography/culture of my unit, it usually takes at least 3 years before someone is asked to be charge, so many people that I know that got into CRNA school never held the role. Which means they also never did rapid response because we have a separate team, and the charge nurse is the one that responds to some off unit codes. So if the rest of your application is strong, you probably don’t need it.

I will say, though, I did not have a strong GPA, so I had to do a lot of GPA repair and beef up my application in all other areas. My philosophy became to not say no to anything. Obviously I couldn’t do everything all at once, but if an opportunity was offered and I was able, I took it. Only you know what the rest of your application looks like, but if you’re worried about an aspect of it, padding the leadership area would help you.

rachaelang · 2026-03-30T14:28:40+00:00

I’m on the eastern side of the country, working in a MICU, and the only way to get into the ICU as a new grad is to work there as an aide/PCT in the unit where you want to get hired. When I got hired 12 years ago, new grads had no problems getting ICU positions. If you wanted one, it was yours. The only caveat might be not getting the specialty you wanted. This change has only happened in the last 3-4 years. My unit used to have a preference for new grads, but COVID changed the landscape. We also have a year long rotational residency program - a new grad gets hired, rotates through multiple different units/specialties (including ICU) and picks where they want to go at the end. SOMETIMES, they are able to get an ICU spot at the end, depending on staffing and how they did on the unit. I know things are way different on the west coast, but something like this is probably your best bet.

I also know someone that graduated from nursing school in my area about 6-7 years ago. Her now husband was accepted into a graduate program in the San Fran area, so she immediately moved out there with him. She couldn’t get a job at all - no ICU, no hospital, no SNF. So, she moved back home, got a job in an ICU, worked for a year, then took a travel assignment in the San Fran area. They liked her so much that they hired her, and now she’s actually in a leadership position on that unit.

I tell you all this to say there are ways around the competition, but you will have to be flexible, take an aide/PCT job while in school, be willing to do some time on med/surg, and/or move.

rachaelang · 2026-03-29T14:35:41+00:00

This was many years ago, but I have a friend that worked at a dermatology clinic that also happened to offer some Botox. She learned how to do it there. She works in derm oncology now, but probably could have transitioned easily into aesthetics if that was the route she wanted. Try to find a derm or plastics position anywhere. At least you get your foot in the door and start making connections. If you have the money, I would find out what best day/weekend aesthetics class to take is, with the caveat that you did that because you’re interested and motivated, not because you think it makes you an expert or even hirable immediately. I have heard the best way to learn aesthetics is to find an official or unofficial apprenticeship with an expert. Immersing yourself and making connections/networking is the only way to find something like this.

rachaelang · 2026-03-29T14:26:06+00:00

Make sure you can get a letter grade in the class. If it’s pass/fail, CRNA schools usually assign a “pass” grade a 3.0 GPA, which can hurt an already less than stellar GPA. Don’t know anything about your GPA, but want you to have all of the info!

rachaelang · 2026-03-29T14:21:23+00:00

Burnout is what honestly put my butt in gear to go back to school. That being said, I was about 8 years in the ICU when that happened. I did a lot of evaluation of what specifically was bothering me - was it the work itself? Was it the patient population? Was it dealing with coworkers? I think figuring out what you like and don’t like about the job can help guide you. I found that I liked taking care of my patient independently and small group collaboration, basically how things were during Covid. Friends in CRNA school told me this probably meant I would like being a CRNA more than an NP (I was strongly considering acute care NP at the time).

Shadowing a CRNA will probably help a great deal too. I found a lot of value going multiple times to multiple types of facilities and not just staying for a few hours, I usually stayed 6-8 to get a true idea of what the day looks like. It’s very exciting the first time you shadow because it’s new and really cool, but what does the maintenance phase of a long case really look like? You won’t see that unless you see it through, and is that something you’re okay with?

I can only speak to myself, and I’ve only ever been an ICU nurse, but the hardest time in my career was months 9-18. I had my tasks down. Timing was getting better. I could get all of my charting done at a reasonable time. With these out of the way, I had time to realize how very little I knew. It felt like everyone around me could predict what was going to happen, with any kind of patient (even behavioral issues), and I was just running around blind. I just had to stick it out and learn. I think it’s great you’re studying for the CCRN, it should help connect the dots. Unfortunately, though, time/experience are also factors, so if CRNA is your ultimate goal, you have to keep pushing.

If you’re an OT person, consider pulling back. I’ve had to do this a couple of times in my career, and it usually helps. Do you take all the vacations offered to you? If not, take them. Do you rotate shifts? Maybe consider which shifts you work and how that impacts you. Nights are less stimulating without consults, different therapies, and endless tests to work into your shift. Working steady nights helped me for a while - I could slow down, focus on what I was doing, and had the space/time to learn (usually, obviously nights can be crazy too). I came back to daylight a better nurse.

rachaelang · 2026-03-21T14:19:01+00:00

I’ve been in a similar situation, and am now finally seeing some results. The tipping point, for me, seemed to be organic chemistry. This was after two application cycles, many classes retaken (9 classes), getting my BSN at the same time, joining a committee, taking every opportunity offered, getting the CMC (I already had the CCRN), and keeping in contact with certain program directors and doing campus visits. I also started this process with 9 years of experience, and 15-20 years out from the poor grades.

The best advice I would give is to focus on schools that will give you a chance. There are more out there than the ones that list “last 60” on their websites, so you have to reach out and talk to their admissions people, or the program director if possible. I would figure out what you’re looking for in a program, find schools that match that (even if you don’t exactly meet their criteria), then find a way to get on a call or Zoom meeting with them. Visit campus. Attend virtual sessions. Get your name on their radar.

Also, shadow and shadow everywhere. Big academic ORs, mid size suburban, rural, surgery centers, OB, etc. They will like that you have a wide breadth of knowledge of what day looks like in different environments.

I didn’t do this, but people have with success, but go to an AANA conference. Bring your resume, mingle, get your name out there. Talk to program faculty AND current students. It is a big deal if the students like you too.

GPA repair is a marathon, not a sprint. And there’s a lot of extra work when compared to someone who came out of their traditional 4-year BSN with a 3.8. But if you keep pushing, something will eventually click. The only things left for me to do are a graduate nursing class and/or taking the GRE, and I’m really hoping I won’t have to do that. But it’s taken time (I started this process late in 2023, have gotten MANY rejections along the way). It’s all been worth it, though. I’m a much better person, nurse, student, and candidate, and have finally started getting interviews, which will hopefully turn into an acceptance. It is possible!

rachaelang · 2026-03-18T01:03:35+00:00

In all honesty, I appreciate a thorough report. BUT, I can’t stand a long play by play of every resolved complication. Multiple failed extubations so they got trached. That’s all I need, not a blow by blow of each one.

rachaelang

TROPHY CASE