The biggest mistake that I see CRNA school applicants making? It’s not starting sooner. You can't come to us 3 months before your application deadline and ask, “What do I need to do to be more competitive?” And expect to be able to deliver. That's not going to give you enough time to retake one or two science classes, attend events, do projects, get involved in the things you need to get involved in. Sure, we can give you some suggestions, but submitting an application for CRNA school is a lot of work. You are asking for letters of recommendation from multiple people, you are spending time writing a personal essay, it's an emotional investment. You need time to get this all done strategically.
So what does that realistically look like from a timeline perspective?
Let’s break down each piece of the application process and how long each part takes.
- GRE - 12 weeks
- CCRN - 6 weeks
- Additional Certifications- 6 weeks
- Prerequisites- 12 weeks per course
- Resume - 4 weeks
- Personal Essay- 8 weeks (we suggest starting 12 weeks prior to your deadline)
- Resume Boosters - 12 weeks
= 60 weeks or 15 months.
Granted, some of this stuff is going to overlap, but if you are really going to be competitive you need to get A's in that science class you are retaking. You don't want to be simultaneously studying for the GRE or the CCRN, you know?
So what's my point? Get started at least a year in advance. Truuuuust me, the time is going to fly by. You are going to be working and tired, and you're not going to want to sit down and spend four hours working on your resume. you're going to work on it over the course of a couple of weeks.
And if you get started sooner than later? You'll be able to schedule a call with us early enough so you’re not so stressed out when we tell you some of the things that you need to do to become a more competitive applicant.
We know you have a lot on your plate, so we created some tools you won't want to miss to help turbo-boost your application journey.
The application process is hard, but we’re here to support you. You got this!
