r/FutureCRNA

27M, 4 years ICU. 3.372 Cumulative GPA.

Hello all. Just like everyone else, I am trying to escape bedside and make money and retire and live comfortably before I die. I would like to go back to school, but am single and cannot simply afford to do school without working for 3ish years of an anesthesia program.

An option I was exploring is joining the military either part or full time, as a nurse, and having them pay for my schooling. I also heard there are some programs specifically for people pursuing this career in the military, I think the Air Force.

Give me the absolute pros and cons. Has anyone else done this before? Also, feel free to explain your CRNA journey and tips and tricks.

All information is appreciated! I love you all.

Brief glance my stats are:

3.0 nursing school GPA

3.2 GPA last 60 hours

9 Years of OR experience as a Surgical Tech/Assistant
1.5 years in a General Rural ICU (Mostly DKA, Resp failure, Post cath, some devices with the cath patients) not a true rural rural ICU but not a Trauma Center for sure.

CCRN (studying)
Nurse Leadership at my facility

So basically I have been encouraged by most of the Anesthesia providers at my hospital to just apply and see what feedback I get and or acceptance (they seem decently confident about me idk though) that I could get. Threw my first cast out and am excited but realistic. My science GPA is a meager 3.1 (Probably my biggest regret with having to work over time most of school and going through a nasty divorce in nursing school oooof).

Anyways, I feel that my application is not anything to be bragging about for sure and welcoming all recommendations! Thanks in advance. =)

Hi everyone,

I wanted to post on here because I am starting CRNA school this summer and I remember constantly searching through this reddit forum back when I was in the application process. I applied to 4 schools, got interviews for 2, rejected for 1 and accepted to my last interview.

I remember how stressful the application process for me. Working full time, studying for the CCRN and other certifications, doing leadership activities, balancing volunteer work and then on top of all that studying all the clinical and emotional intelligence questions for the interview.

It can be a lot. And I remember when I got my first rejection. It felt heavy. But, I learned a lot from the first interview. And what I learned from the first interview is actually what got me my acceptance in the second interview. So I just wanted to share on here my 2 cents that once you get that interview invite, focus all your energy on just interview prep (all the way from clinical questions to emotional interview questions).

A tip for clinical questions that really helped me is to say the bare minimum (to avoid getting yourself in a deep hole) and always know the "why" and "how" behind everything. And a great way to do that, is to practice in your daily life what you're doing and why you're doing it mentally. You're going into the patient's room, you ask them their name and date of birth. Why are you doing that? What information are you trying to get? Why do you pre oxygenate the patient? Why do you titrate this medication up or down? Why do you watch out for bradycardia with precedex? How does it effect your heart rate?

Because a lot of the information is in your head already but there is some sort of mental block that people have that prevents them from getting that information out of their head and out.

Anyways, I just wanted to write this post to say what helped me and if anyone has any questions please reach out to me!! You all got this!!!

I just turned 22 and am about to begin nursing school in a few months. I am considering CRNA schooling after obtaining a BSN. Realistically I will be able to enter CRNA school in my late 20’s. My biggest fear is missing out on life while pursuing a CRNA degree, because I know that the curriculum is full time and some even require you to not work. Many people say that it is worth it and some sacrifices are made, but I would like to know if anyone has felt like they missed out life in their 20’s. I want to be able to travel during breaks, work as a RN, experience life with friends and family before we all get too busy, and continue hobbies that make me happy. Does CRNA schooling inhibit that experience? What was the main drive that got you through ICU and schooling? Does it really feel “worth” the moments you missed out on?

I am also considering the NP route, but many are saying they regret not becoming a CRNA due to the work pay not being worth what they do daily.

So basically, my husband (23M) has been in the reserves for 6 years. His contract is coming to an end and he is planning to go active duty in the army. I (26F) have been a critical care nurse for 5 years.

Our original plan was for him to go active duty, then eventually transfer his GI bill benefits to me so that I can go to CRNA school. Once I finished school, he would get out of the army, and we would live off of my CRNA salary while he transitioned to a federal law enforcement career. Ideally he would get CID in the army (he has police background and bachelors), attend the FBI academy, and then use that experience to move into a federal job after leaving the military.

Now we are also considering another option: me joining the army as well. The idea would be that I could attend CRNA through the army/Baylor program, earn an officer salary while serving, use my own military benefits to pay for school, and possibly make it easier for us to stay stationed together instead of us being separated while he is active duty.

I’m not looking at this lightly. I know joining the military is a major commitment, and I’m trying to understand whether this route would actually help us reach our long-term goals or if it would create more complications than benefits.

For anyone who has gone through Army-Baylor/USAGPAN, joined as an RN, or navigated this as a dual-military couple: what do you wish you knew before starting? Did you talk to a recruiter before applying, or did you apply first and then start the military side of the process?

Summary:

We are trying to figure out which path makes the most sense long-term: him going active while I stay a civilian and use his GI Bill later, or me joining the army now to pursue CRNA through the military while we both build toward our careers.

As a recent graduate of the program, I would absolutely avoid this program. Well known and respected faculty have left the program and the current program director is known to not respond to e-mails, does not follow up on issues, and is completely not supportive of students. She is toxic to say the least. And the Dean’s office does not listen to our concerns. Lots of gaslighting happens.

In addition to lawsuits by former students, the program has been reported to the COA multiple times. The program is on their fourth Assistant Program Director in less than 4 years and only has 3 faculty members for 40 students per class. The program does not have enough faculty and is full of interims and adjunct faculty.

You will not be supported by the current faculty and you will be forced to travel a lot for clinical because MUSC is so terrible to SRNAs. Do yourself a favor and find other schools to apply to that will have enough faculty to support you. Three students were not allowed to graduate because they did not meet the program SEE benchmark.

Sad to see a terrible program director destroy the legacy of this program.

BSN gpa is 3.8
With the classes I took at previous school during covid years ago my gpa was 2.0 then
Total gpa 3.0
I had many c’s and bs and 1 F from failing English as I was new to school during covid and struggled a lot. Got it together after that.

Should I retake courses ? Or will my bsn gpa be enough?

Hi everyone, I’m trying to plan my CRNA application timeline and wanted honest feedback.

My stats/background:
- BSN GPA: ~3.8
- Last 60 GPA: ~3.8
- Science GPA: estimated ~3.37–3.52 depending on school calculation
- MSN in Leadership, with A’s in grad pathophysiology and pharmacology
- Tele RN experience + Tele preceptor experience (1 year)
- Started MICU by in March 2026 at a Level 3 trauma center
- Planning to take fresh chemistry/organic chem/biochem at the end of 2026
- Planning CCRN in spring 2027
- Planning CRNA shadowing in summer 2027
- Will take GRE late 2027/early 2028 if needed ( also want to know if you guys thing I should try to get this done earlier and shoot for a a fall 2027 application?)
- No CN, no volunteer yet but I can try to get some.

My goal is Texas CRNA schools, ideally starting in 2028 or early 2029.

My question: would applying in the 2027 cycle be too early if I’d have around 1.5 years MICU at application, but closer to 2+ years by program start? Or would it be smarter to wait and apply in 2028 with a stronger application?

Any advice on whether an early application is worth it or if I should focus on building more ICU experience first? I feel like I already wasted so much time on the floor that doesn’t count for anything. General advice needed plzzz! Anything and everything you can tell me.

I graduated 15 years ago with a cGPA of 2.7 (I know, I know, it’s too low for CRNA) I’ve been thinking of getting MSN AGACNP to prove I can do graduate program and retake science classes. I already have a MSN from outside USA, idk if it matters but my thought process is, if I really wont be accepted in CRNA school, at least I have the AGACNP to fall back on. Any thoughts?

Help! Has anyone had to complete classes to meet CA BRN deficiency? My son is graduating with his BSN in OR but apparently his program is one of the many that doesn’t meet pediatrics requirements for CA

I figured out that my nursing cas is not excluding my science course retakes and it is not correctly classifying my science course. Do any of you have experience with this and what did you do to fix it? I worry that it is interfering with my applications.