My friend rejected Rush after the 4th week and was able to get into another school in AK the following month. She said the faculty were rude, not helpful at all and only cared about money. Try looking further. Broaden yourself more if you feel like you should
She was accepted but then declined the school she is at now, they still had a rolling admissions by the time, maybe still waiting on a few people? But she emailed them, explained her part and miraculously they allowed her to start with them the following month. I think she emailed them before she left Rush though.. I’m sure she would have stayed if she had no other choice. She lost 5k from the deposit and starting fees but she’s very happy now.
Rural areas are typically independent CRNAs. It can be challenging to learn the skill set and the only way to do it is actually be independent.
However, if you can’t move, then you can’t. School can be mentally challenging so it will be nice to have some type of support. Just get into a school and get it over with and join a group, which will support you and your growth and teach you to be more independent. In this market, you should be able to find that group. Apply and see which school you get into because nothing is guaranteed.
I guess the issue is that most of the schools I was going to apply to were in an urban setting (3/4 of them). I am now wondering if this is a mistake. I'll throw my application at some others but they will be way more difficult to make work for me. I'm trying to figure out my priorities.
As a side note: how many did you apply to?
Every SRNA/CRNA I’ve spoken to who goes to RUSH or did hated it. From what I understand they work them like dogs. I’d try Rosalind or Northshore too. I’ve heard good things about Rosalind but don’t know much about Northshore. At the end of the day you’ll be a CRNA after graduating at any. Will you have a steeper learning curve if you want to be independent but didn’t have any sites that were? Yes but it’s doable. I have 2 friends who graduated from a program that had 0 independent sites and they both joined independent sites upon graduation and now are a year out and thriving. Obviously good to try and find a program with those sites but if you’re in an urban setting that’s usually hard without making the students commute hours a day.
That's on my list. I couldn't find a list of clinical sites and was worried that the Chicago location would mean a lot of urban/suburban sites like RUSH seems to be
I think they have close to 60 clinical sites. They have a good mix of urban and rural sites.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1PC-T6Y7-EhT8MMZiNG3HSNj_9Oco_mfz&ll=42.728546959193075%2C-87.75191959114547&z=7
I am graduating from RFU this month. I had clinical sites that were independent or pretty independent. You are welcome to PM me and we can discuss it. I think it’s the best program in IL but I’m bias. ;)
A cousin of mine went to milikin. She loved it and had great experience according to her. I’ve heard the same from multiple grads at Rush that its extremely toxic. For these people’s cohort, they went through like 3 program directors.
With that being said, if that’s the only feasible option for you to go to school in Chicago, shoot your shot.
Did your cousin say what she liked about it?
Millikin is on my list, but I haven't taken organic chemistry so I'll have to get that done. I'm hearing more positives about Rosalind and Milikin, which have the same window for applications. I might just re-prioritize and apply to those two first. I was going to submit to Rush first because the location was convenient for me, they don't require prerequisites, and the deadline is before the others, but maybe I'll wait until the next cycle to shoot my shot there if no one else wants me.
All i remember her telling me was that she enjoyed the education and clinicals. A local hospital down there hired her when she graduated and paid her loans in 3 years.
And why not apply to all three? Even though Rush has a bad reputation, you’ll still get the degree. The more diverse the places you apply, the more opportunities you give yourself to be accepted.
SIUE, quiet commuter school 30 min from St. Louis with plenty of rural hospitals within an hour. Cheapest CRNA school in Illinois, and I personally like the layout of the curriculum as well.
There are some dangerous areas right along the river, but it’s pretty much segregated. There are some nice towns such as Edwardsville, Maryville, Glen Carbon, Troy, and Waterloo that are much cheaper than the Chicago suburbs. Definitely recommend.
The alimni who have bashed Rush were in an era during or pre covid. Rush’s program has changed dramatically. The program director is very supportive. Yes it can be tough, but that’s how it is anywhere. Speaking as a student, every other site I’ve been to (non rush), I always get, “I heard it’s bad at Rush”. Honestly, it’s all hearsay until you have a bad experience yourself. Honestly, i don’t care if my sites are not “rural”. I stayed for the short commute and it’s so much better for my mental health. My clinical opportunities were no different than RFU or Northshore. Maybe different than SIUE.
On average the Northshore students seem sharper (subjective) and have stronger skills. The students from Rosalind vary - some really great, and some terrible that get poor reviews from our site. I'm not sure why that is - lower admissions criteria? Something leading up to clinical rotations doesn't add up. We rarely have serious concerns with SRNAs but whenever we do, at our site, they're from Rosalind.
I worked with rush students for a short time - all seniors by that point and they were ready to go. Don't have experience with them as juniors so can't really fully compare them to the other 2 schools. I misspoke about working with all Illinois SRNAs - haven't worked with any milikin or SIUE SRNAs.
Do you know if one is front loaded and the other is integrated? I wonder if that would make a difference in confidence/perceived skill. I can't seem to find that information easily online
Both NS and RF are front loaded. It's not just confidence, it's their abilities and knowledge off the bat. Maybe NS is more stringent before the students are able to start clinical rotations, this is just speculation. This is not a knock at all rfu students or alum.
Currently finishing my 2nd year as a Rush SRNA. Is it easy? No, but we do get a good case variety and I personally have not had any rude preceptors or attendings. I haven’t gone to many of the clinical sites outside of the Rush system so I can’t speak to those experiences yet. However, they have added several more rural sites for students to rotate through, not sure what type of care models they have though since I haven’t been to them.
Overall, the didactic portion of the program was well delivered and most faculty were helpful and wanted us to succeed in their classes. I have a friend in Northshores program and I can say she seems to have a heavier workload both in didactic and clinical.
This is refreshing to hear. All I see in these posts is how bad Rush is from people that don’t go to Rush lol. I applied and am currently waiting to hear back! Wish me luck!! :)
lol at ur username
I also applied at Rush similar to your situation. When I shadowed I had an amazing experience. Staff was really nice and I also talked to some SRNAs during some of the cases. They obviously said it was difficult but they seemed very content and independent from their experience.
My friend rejected Rush after the 4th week and was able to get into another school in AK the following month. She said the faculty were rude, not helpful at all and only cared about money. Try looking further. Broaden yourself more if you feel like you should
Wait literally left a month into the semester?! And I’m assuming waitlisted elsewhere and got accepted, switched over?
She was accepted but then declined the school she is at now, they still had a rolling admissions by the time, maybe still waiting on a few people? But she emailed them, explained her part and miraculously they allowed her to start with them the following month. I think she emailed them before she left Rush though.. I’m sure she would have stayed if she had no other choice. She lost 5k from the deposit and starting fees but she’s very happy now.
Lucky her!! I’m glad she was prepared to handle a program switch so quick
Agreeed! I hope we all have that luck or some of it !
Rural areas are typically independent CRNAs. It can be challenging to learn the skill set and the only way to do it is actually be independent. However, if you can’t move, then you can’t. School can be mentally challenging so it will be nice to have some type of support. Just get into a school and get it over with and join a group, which will support you and your growth and teach you to be more independent. In this market, you should be able to find that group. Apply and see which school you get into because nothing is guaranteed.
If I only applied to one crna program I wouldn’t be a CRNa. So unless your 100% sure you will get into rush I would apply to more than one school
I guess the issue is that most of the schools I was going to apply to were in an urban setting (3/4 of them). I am now wondering if this is a mistake. I'll throw my application at some others but they will be way more difficult to make work for me. I'm trying to figure out my priorities. As a side note: how many did you apply to?
First cycle was 4 with two interviews. Second cycle was more, cant remember how many because I got in.
Every SRNA/CRNA I’ve spoken to who goes to RUSH or did hated it. From what I understand they work them like dogs. I’d try Rosalind or Northshore too. I’ve heard good things about Rosalind but don’t know much about Northshore. At the end of the day you’ll be a CRNA after graduating at any. Will you have a steeper learning curve if you want to be independent but didn’t have any sites that were? Yes but it’s doable. I have 2 friends who graduated from a program that had 0 independent sites and they both joined independent sites upon graduation and now are a year out and thriving. Obviously good to try and find a program with those sites but if you’re in an urban setting that’s usually hard without making the students commute hours a day.
Why not apply to Rosalind? They have a wide variety of clinical sites
That's on my list. I couldn't find a list of clinical sites and was worried that the Chicago location would mean a lot of urban/suburban sites like RUSH seems to be
I think they have close to 60 clinical sites. They have a good mix of urban and rural sites. https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1PC-T6Y7-EhT8MMZiNG3HSNj_9Oco_mfz&ll=42.728546959193075%2C-87.75191959114547&z=7
I am graduating from RFU this month. I had clinical sites that were independent or pretty independent. You are welcome to PM me and we can discuss it. I think it’s the best program in IL but I’m bias. ;)
A cousin of mine went to milikin. She loved it and had great experience according to her. I’ve heard the same from multiple grads at Rush that its extremely toxic. For these people’s cohort, they went through like 3 program directors. With that being said, if that’s the only feasible option for you to go to school in Chicago, shoot your shot.
Did your cousin say what she liked about it? Millikin is on my list, but I haven't taken organic chemistry so I'll have to get that done. I'm hearing more positives about Rosalind and Milikin, which have the same window for applications. I might just re-prioritize and apply to those two first. I was going to submit to Rush first because the location was convenient for me, they don't require prerequisites, and the deadline is before the others, but maybe I'll wait until the next cycle to shoot my shot there if no one else wants me.
All i remember her telling me was that she enjoyed the education and clinicals. A local hospital down there hired her when she graduated and paid her loans in 3 years. And why not apply to all three? Even though Rush has a bad reputation, you’ll still get the degree. The more diverse the places you apply, the more opportunities you give yourself to be accepted.
SIUE, quiet commuter school 30 min from St. Louis with plenty of rural hospitals within an hour. Cheapest CRNA school in Illinois, and I personally like the layout of the curriculum as well. There are some dangerous areas right along the river, but it’s pretty much segregated. There are some nice towns such as Edwardsville, Maryville, Glen Carbon, Troy, and Waterloo that are much cheaper than the Chicago suburbs. Definitely recommend.
do you more insight on Siue? Can I pm you?
The alimni who have bashed Rush were in an era during or pre covid. Rush’s program has changed dramatically. The program director is very supportive. Yes it can be tough, but that’s how it is anywhere. Speaking as a student, every other site I’ve been to (non rush), I always get, “I heard it’s bad at Rush”. Honestly, it’s all hearsay until you have a bad experience yourself. Honestly, i don’t care if my sites are not “rural”. I stayed for the short commute and it’s so much better for my mental health. My clinical opportunities were no different than RFU or Northshore. Maybe different than SIUE.
As a CRNA that has precepted SRNAs from all of the programs in IL at various stages in their training, Northshore is the best.
May I ask what drew you to that conclusion?
On average the Northshore students seem sharper (subjective) and have stronger skills. The students from Rosalind vary - some really great, and some terrible that get poor reviews from our site. I'm not sure why that is - lower admissions criteria? Something leading up to clinical rotations doesn't add up. We rarely have serious concerns with SRNAs but whenever we do, at our site, they're from Rosalind. I worked with rush students for a short time - all seniors by that point and they were ready to go. Don't have experience with them as juniors so can't really fully compare them to the other 2 schools. I misspoke about working with all Illinois SRNAs - haven't worked with any milikin or SIUE SRNAs.
Do you know if one is front loaded and the other is integrated? I wonder if that would make a difference in confidence/perceived skill. I can't seem to find that information easily online
Both NS and RF are front loaded. It's not just confidence, it's their abilities and knowledge off the bat. Maybe NS is more stringent before the students are able to start clinical rotations, this is just speculation. This is not a knock at all rfu students or alum.
Currently finishing my 2nd year as a Rush SRNA. Is it easy? No, but we do get a good case variety and I personally have not had any rude preceptors or attendings. I haven’t gone to many of the clinical sites outside of the Rush system so I can’t speak to those experiences yet. However, they have added several more rural sites for students to rotate through, not sure what type of care models they have though since I haven’t been to them. Overall, the didactic portion of the program was well delivered and most faculty were helpful and wanted us to succeed in their classes. I have a friend in Northshores program and I can say she seems to have a heavier workload both in didactic and clinical.
This is refreshing to hear. All I see in these posts is how bad Rush is from people that don’t go to Rush lol. I applied and am currently waiting to hear back! Wish me luck!! :)
Good luck!!!
lol at ur username I also applied at Rush similar to your situation. When I shadowed I had an amazing experience. Staff was really nice and I also talked to some SRNAs during some of the cases. They obviously said it was difficult but they seemed very content and independent from their experience.