how important is GPA?

Jael11 · Dec 9, 2011

Personally I wouldn't concentrate on the "GPA" goal you think is required or not. But rather on focusing all your energy on your courses, and doing the best you can. If you study hard, have faith, your hard work will determine your grades and you will succeed.

Good Luck!!

Snowbird17 · Dec 9, 2011

All they care about is that you graduated and have a license. If you have a good GPA, put it on your resume. It will paint you in a nice light, but it's not going to get you the job.

Better to work as a CNA while in school, or get experience some way. Get your foot in the door of the hospital/unit you want. Some of the best nurses did not excel in school.

foreverLaur · Dec 9, 2011

Grades certainly can't hurt. And my biggest thing is - why are people essentially asking if it is OK to slack off in nursing school?! I'm proud of my 3.8 GPA.

But, like others have said, GPA is only one aspect. I too would pick the new RN with a ton of CNA experience vs the new grad with the perfect GPA but no experience. However, I don't think that's an excuse to slack off academically.

PA_Male_BSN · Dec 9, 2011

GPA is only important if you want to go to Grad school, other than that its useless. I graduated from Villanova with a 3.0 GPA and most of the students with the 4.0 GPA were horrible in clinical.

CVmursenary · Dec 9, 2011

GPA only shows that you are able to put time into learning mostly useless material. Work experience, and clinical performance during school is more predictive of a good nurse.

fltnrse2, ASN, RN · Dec 9, 2011

In a teaching hospital there is an abundence of post graduate nurses. The nurse manager if concerned with having enough warm bodies to "care" if that is what you wish t call it. My opinion is you are a worker bee, while acedemic attend meeting, conferences and lunchs making policy tha we must implement and may I say without our inout into the process as if a graduate nurse is so special that mear mortals could not possiably have any input. FLTNRES@

Dr.Naija_Glam · Dec 9, 2011

Having a high GPA never hurt anyone :). I've always been one to love school and graduated with a 4.0. Others may be satisfied with a B and some just want to pass. You should always strive to comprehend what is being taught in your classes and the grade you get is what you earn. I would add that in the future you may want to attend graduate school, and sometimes GPA can be a deciding factor. Also, some schools will wave the GRE for students with a high GPA (>3.2 or >3.5 etc). But then again some schools don't even require you to take the GRE! It would also be a good idea to work as a patient tech or volunteer to be a well rounded candidate as a new grad. :twocents:

brandy1017, ASN, RN · Dec 9, 2011

Well in many public universities the competition is fierce just to get into the nursing program so your GPA counts for that. For your first nursing job your GPA can certainly help give you an edge if you have a good one or on the deans list so keep that in mind. College is a time for fun and exploration and for kids out of high school their first time of indepence. Don't let your fun and games get in the way of a good GPA. Study first and remember the science and math classes you need to get into nursing require serious study.

A bad GPA can hurt you in many ways, getting into nursing school, getting into medical, pharmaceutical or law school, and getting into professional grad programs so do your best from the very beginning it will pay off in more opportunities for your future and even scholarships!

And if your in a BS program, take electives of classes you are personally interested in ie art, history, literature. Enjoy yourself a little, just keep the student loans done to an absolute minimum and use only govt loans, not private. Agressively seek out scholarships and internship opportunities as well. Take a class in personal finance and use credit unions over banks.

RNewbie · Dec 9, 2011

Most hospitals want experience and a license. The only time I see GPAs considered is when applying to some the the new grad residency programs; they usually ask for a copy of your transcript. I have never applied for a position in which GPA was considered, just experience and having a license. I think the major deciding factors these days are experience, ADN vs. BSN for some hospitals, and how well you present yourself in an interview. Also, I'm in CA and I'm finding that being bilingual is a determining factor for a lot of jobs that I've seen. GPA is super important if you plan to go to grad school tho. Just do your best to keep your grades up and get some type of hospital experience as a tech, CNA, or sitter. If you can't find a paid job, definitely volunteer. It's not always about what you know (GPA), but who you know, so network, network, network! Good luck with school.

quackerDUC · Dec 9, 2011

ive been told, by managers directly "gpa has to do with what you learn in school in your books, and as we all know, books don't have anything to do with nursing!" its all about hands-on, not what grades you got for reading those books!! experience over anything else!!

strawberryluv, BSN, RN · Dec 9, 2011

GPA is important for grad school and for landing the job. I mean, if there are a stack of resumes with similar credentials and are all new grads how you do you think the HR person is going to separate the ones that get an interview and the ones that don't?

Also, working towards a good GPA will motivate you to study harder in nursing school. Seriously, when the assignments and readings are tough as nails you're going to want to find a reason to go on doing them.

Having good grades and making the dean's list consistently will make you eligible for the nursing honor society which you will want to be a member in so that you can better network with others who are also members. This will come in handy when you can't find a job or one day get laid off or get fired. Networking is good, no?

So get that GPA!