CRNA School Interviews 2026-27: Formats, Dates, Questions

Panel and committee interviews

This is the most common format. Expect several faculty members, sometimes with CRNAs and students in the room.

• Duke: An on-campus interview day with a personal interview with members of the Nurse Anesthesia Admissions Committee.
• Mayo Clinic: A personal behavioral interview with the admissions committee on the Rochester campus.
• Iowa: Interviews with members of the admissions subcommittee, plus time with current students, faculty and staff CRNAs.
• Rush, VCU and Wake Forest: Interviews with faculty (Rush) or with members of the admissions committee (VCU, Wake Forest).

Critical care knowledge

Texas Wesleyan describes a professional interview in which you show your critical care knowledge and professional development. Most programs do not publish their clinical questions, so be ready to explain the drips, devices and patients on your own unit.

Quizzes, writing and video

Some programs add a task you do alone, on the day or with your application.

• Baylor College of Medicine: A 30-minute writing assessment in the morning, then individual interviews with five interviewers spread across the day.
• St. John Fisher: About 90 minutes with the nurse anesthesia faculty, including a short quiz.
• Vanderbilt: An online interview of about 60 minutes that mixes video and written response questions.
• With the application: Columbia records a video essay question in its application, Samford asks for a video response, UT Health San Antonio a writing sample on Kira Talent, and Wake Forest the Casper test.

The national minimum

• COA admission standard: A bachelor's or graduate degree in nursing or an appropriate major, an unencumbered US RN or APRN license, and at least 1 year of full-time critical care experience (or its part-time equivalent) as a registered nurse in a critical care setting.
• A doctoral degree: Students accepted on or after January 1, 2022 must graduate with a doctorate, a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) or Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice (DNAP).
• Program length: AANA says programs run 36 to 51 months, and lists 155 accredited programs in the US and Puerto Rico.

Critical care experience

One year is the floor, but many programs prefer two, and the units that count differ.

• Two years required: Georgetown (full time, before you start) and Mayo Clinic (by program start, at 0.6 FTE or more).
• Two years preferred: Duke, Rush, Baylor and Northeastern. Columbia highly encourages 2 to 2.5 years.
• Recent experience: Cincinnati wants the year within the past two years, Texas Wesleyan within three years of your start and Vanderbilt within five. St. John Fisher wants you currently working in an accepted ICU.
• NICU is split: Duke lists Level III NICU among its preferred units and Baylor and Northeastern accept Level III or IV, but Cincinnati and St. John Fisher do not accept NICU.
• ER and PACU rarely count: Baylor, Cincinnati, St. John Fisher, Texas Wesleyan and Vanderbilt do not count them. Columbia reviews NICU, ICU float pool, PACU and ER experience case by case.

CCRN, grades and the GRE

• CCRN required: Mayo Clinic, Texas Wesleyan and VCU. Cincinnati and Northeastern also want the score report, and Wake Forest asks for a CCRN numerical score report.
• CCRN encouraged, not required: Duke, Columbia, Rush, Vanderbilt, Baylor, St. John Fisher and Samford.
• GPA minimums: Duke 3.0 overall and 3.2 in science, Georgetown 3.0 and 3.0, Mayo 3.25 and 3.25, Cincinnati 3.4, and Rush and Baylor 3.0. Baylor's BSN-entry students average a 3.59.
• GRE required: Baylor, Texas Wesleyan, Wake Forest, Samford, UT Health San Antonio and Cincinnati.
• GRE not required: Duke, Columbia, Rush, Vanderbilt and VCU. Georgetown asks for it only if your cumulative GPA is under 3.5, and Northeastern waives it at a 3.6 or higher.

Shadowing and how you apply

• Shadowing: Northeastern wants at least 20 hours with a CRNA, and Cincinnati and UT Health San Antonio ask for a shadowing form. Vanderbilt strongly recommends it and Mayo recommends it.
• NursingCAS: Rush (with a supplemental application), Mayo Clinic, Cincinnati, Northeastern, UT Health San Antonio and VCU use it.
• The program's own portal: Duke and Baylor use their own application portals, Samford uses Slate and Iowa the Graduate College application.