CRNA School Personal Statement: How Old is Too Old?

Mar 134 min read

Updated: 6 days ago

By Dr. Robert Edinger at CRNAPersonalStatement.com, drrobertedinger@gmail.com

Diverse group of people in a library setting, sitting and smiling around a table with laptops and books, evoking a warm, collaborative mood. — A diverse group of enthusiastic, non-traditional applicants to CRNA School, highlighting the rich tapestry of experience and backgrounds ready to enter the field of nurse anesthesia.

The average age of applicants accepted to CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist) school tends to be around 27-30 years old. Thirty somethings are often accepted, as well as some forty somethings whose experiences result in their getting the nod, especially those applicants whose professional efforts have been beneficial to the underserved.

Above 50 years old, selection is rare and happens only in the case of those applicants who have demonstrated that they have creative ideas for contributing to the profession and especially the underserved that truly make them stand out from the pack of applicants. CRNA school is extremely competitive, and all things being equal, level of experience, exam scores, creative ideas expressed in the Personal Statement, the younger the applicant the better the chances of selection. Nevertheless, many programs do place a high value on diverse experiences and the maturity that older applicants bring to the table.

Am I too old for CRNA School?

Many older nurses bring a wealth of professional and personal experience that can enrich their own education and the educational experiences of their classmates. They often have strong motivation along with maturity, and a clear sense of purpose, which are highly valued in the Nurse Anesthesia field. If you're considering applying, it would be helpful to highlight how your life experiences will make you a strong candidate for CRNA school in your personal statement—despite age. In other words, you must turn your age into an asset, what many dental schools are looking for in their program, maturity, experience, and diversity.

Diverse group of smiling people sitting indoors, all ages represented. They're in a bright room with large windows and notebooks on tables. — A diverse group of non-traditional CRNA school applicants gathered in a classroom, representing varied ages and backgrounds, ready to embark on a new educational journey.

Older applicants to CRNA school, even those in their fifties, can sometimes be accepted if they meet certain criteria. These criteria include demonstrating creativity in their personal statement, having ideas that contribute significantly to the profession, especially in serving underserved populations, and highlighting extensive professional experience.

The most crucial factor that older applicants have going for them is the profound appreciation that academia has for diversity, not just according to race, background, and cultural factors such as religion, but also age. In the same way that CRNA schools do not want an all-white classroom, preferring at least some representation of people of color, immigrants, and multilingual applicants in particular, they also do not want the classroom to be entirely students under 30 years old. If the older applicant does all they can to explain how they could make valuable contributions to diversity and the underserve in their personal statement, their chances of being selected are heightened.

Best Age for CRNA School: is thirty too old?

Being multilingual is an especially powerful asset. Many healthcare settings value bilingual professionals, as they can communicate effectively with a broader range of patients. This skill can enhance your application by demonstrating your ability to provide culturally competent care. The more widely spoken the non-English languages that you can communicate in, the more valuable it is to help you to get selected to CRNA school. Thus, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese are clearly numbers one and two respectively, which have the greatest value to the admission committee. Not only are they the most widely spoken among non-English languages in North America, but they are also of critical important for communication with the underserved, especially Spanish.

A day in the life of a student in CRNA School

Doctor with stethoscope sitting with three smiling adults in casual attire in a bright room with bookshelves. Warm, friendly atmosphere. — "Group of diverse, non-traditional applicants gather for a discussion about pursuing careers as Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA), reflecting a broadened path to medical education."

One of the few advantages that applicants in Nurse Anesthesia, and all applicants in Nursing, have over applicants in other fields is that nursing does not yet have a widely used application service where one can apply to all nursing programs at once with the same, often called ‘generic’, personal statement, statement of purpose, or letter of intent. Thus, since all applicants in Nursing apply directly to the university program that they especially hope to attend, the applicant has the chance to grab the attention of the program with reasons why they hope to attend that program instead of somewhere else. I sometimes tell applicants that admissions committees are like young people who are looking for love, marriage, or just a soul mate, they are most impressed by reasons why they are seen as special, the applicant's first choice. The admissions committees are not looking for anyone who is qualified and wants to attend CRNA school. Rather, they are looking for applicants who see their program as special for the right reasons. These reasons vary, ranging from living only a few minutes’ drive from the university to intense admiration of the new simulation machines that are in use, to site two of many reasons for a preference.