CRNA School Application Timeline: Your Step-by-Step Guide

When I *finally* decided ok, now is the time to start looking at applying to CRNA schools, I was more than overwhelmed. Where do I begin?! I started making mental checklists in my head of things I needed to accomplish before sending in any applications: CCRN, Shadowing, and oh I cannot forget to ask for Letters of Recommendation! Not to mention that each school has its own dates and deadlines. I knew I had to take this mental checklist out of my head and put it down on paper (which I recommend everyone do btw). I wanted to provide you all with a little application timeline that highlights when I got serious about applying, and roughly how long everything took me to complete. I’m hoping this will give you all some insight into the process and the amount of time it takes to submit everything for one application cycle. Let’s jump in!

Your CRNA School Application Timeline

April 2020: Start Your Journey

• Started working as a new grad RN in the adult neuro ICU (hellooooo COVID!!)
• Took the first year to really get acclimated to the job, with the goal in mind to apply to CRNA programs ASAP, around 1.5 years of experience 

February 2021: Attend Networking Events

• Attended my state’s Nurse Anesthesiology association virtual event 
• I was able to hear residents from different programs speak about their programs 
• This is one of the things that I feel like helped set my resume and personal statement apart, as I spoke about attending the event in both

June 2021: Prepare for the CCRN

• Started studying for the CCRN, this was about a year out for me not including orientation
  • In order to sit for the CCRN, you need to “Practice as an RN for 1,750 hours in direct care of acutely/critically ill adult patients during the previous two years, with 875 of those hours accrued in the most recent year preceding application” 

September 2021: Take the CCRN Exam

• Actually took the CCRN
  • I definitely could have taken it sooner, but this was a comfortable time for me to take it
• Once I passed, I began seriously thinking about and researching the programs I wanted to apply to
  • Wrote down key dates and deadlines on a physical calendar, color-coding them to specific programs
  • Read anything and everything I could about the programs I wanted to apply to, making a different Word doc for each one that highlighted the key features of that particular program 
  • Look out for the upcoming blog post about “How I chose the schools I wanted to apply to” ☺

October 2021: Begin Shadowing CRNAs

• Began shadowing CRNAs

December 2021: Gather Recommendations

• First application window opened! (Deadline: February 2022)
• Asked for letters of recommendation the first week of December
  • PLAN AHEAD & ASK EARLY
    • What I provided to them:
      • What to expect (ex: email form NursingCAS with link for rating scale and somewhere to upload the letter of rec)
      • What viewpoint I wanted them to write from (ex: I asked someone who was my preceptor when I was a new grad nurse, so I asked her to touch base on how I’ve grown – specifics are super helpful here) 
      • Specific info that I wanted them to touch base on in the letter that was specific to the program/what I felt like the program was looking for (ex: how I started as a nurse’s aid and transitioned into the RN role which highlighted my passion for ICU, what our unit acuity looked like, joining clinical ladder to show leadership, etc)
      • My resume I included in my application 
  • (Can reference how to ask for letters of rec blog post, who to ask, when, etc)
• Started working on my personal statement
  • Had at least 3 other people review separate drafts of my personal statement for feedback and critiques 
  • Finalized my personal statement the last week of December 
• Requested all of my transcripts to be sent to NursingCAS
  • Plan accordingly for this! Some programs will require you to use NursingCAS to submit all of your documents, while other programs will want you to send everything into the school – transcripts take TIME! Especially for me since I was sending everything in around the winter holidays

January 2022: Submit Your First Application

• Submitted my first application!
  • I wanted to make sure to get my application in a few weeks early, especially since this particular program used NursingCAS since processing can take a bit 

February 2022: Practice Mock Interviews

• Started asking others to do mock interviews with me. I started doing this even before I got my interview invitation because I did not want to wait until the last minute to start practicing!

April 2022: Interview Invitations

• Got my interview invitation (yay!)
  • Look out for an upcoming blog post on my personal experiences with virtual vs. in-person interview styles!

May 2022: Receive Waitlist Decision

• Received my decision – waitlisted
  • A waitlist is NOT a no! It’s a yes, but they did not have enough room for you this cycle. Do NOT let this deter you!!

June 2022: Seek Feedback for Improvement

• Spoke with the program administrator to go over how to become a better candidate for the next cycle 

July 2022: Reapply with Enhanced Materials

• Started the process all over again!
  • Now, I’m ready!
    • Re-used some of the same letters of recommendation 
    • Tweaked my personal statement to be specific for the new programs I was applying to 
• This time, I would be applying to multiple schools at the same time
  • Each school has different deadlines, the first one I applied to was the only one during that time frame 
• Switched jobs
  • I transferred to a Level 1 trauma center to help gain higher acuity ICU experience 
  • Looking back, I did not even need to do this, since my applications to this next round of programs did not even have this experience listed 
  • The “you need Level 1 trauma center experience” is a MYTH!

August 2022: Attend CRNA Conferences

• Attended Diversity CRNA conference 
• This not only was an amazing networking event, but it also allowed me to meet program directors for many programs that I was applying to! I really think attending this event helped my application stand out and show that I was serious about pursuing CRNA

September-October 2022: Interview and Celebrate Acceptances

• Interviewed x2
• ACCEPTED x2!!!!

November-December 2022: Take a Break

• Quit my ICU job
• Travelled!!
  • I feel like this was SO important to me, to take one big trip before starting school. School will teach you what you need to know! No sense in stressing before starting the program.

January 2023: Start CRNA School!

• Started CRNA School! 

Conclusion: Embrace the Process and Stay Motivated

All in all, it was about a 2-year process from the very beginning, from starting my research into CRNA programs, to getting accepted. Obviously, everyone’s timeline will vary, but I really wanted to put this information out there to show you all how involved applying to schools is. I hope this gives you a little more insight on how/when to start planning, and also gives you some motivation to get started! Good luck!!

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