Do I have a shot in nursing?

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I am a 24 year old male currently attending my local community college with the goal of transferring out to a 4 year university.

I graduated high school back in 2011 and went to University of California - Santa Cruz as a biology major.

Because of my immaturity and irresponsibility, I had done terribly there for the 2.5 quarters that I attended school (C in Calculus 1A and Gen Chem 1A, D in Calc 1B and 2 W's for Chem 1B and 1C) so I withdrew from the school altogether during the spring quarter of my freshman year and switched to psychology at my local community college.

I haven't had much change in my attitude after moving to the community college so my GPA for my psychology and GE classes is a 3.47.

I recently folded my plans with psychology because I only career path interest was in healthcare and as great of a major it is, I realized that I was pursuing psychology because I was running away from the hardship I faced that resulted because of my shortcomings.

Given this, I changed my my academic course back to the biological sciences and have taken Chem 1A, Physics 1A and Developmental Psychology last quarter and have received 2 A's and 1 A-. I am currently taking Chem 1B, Anatomy/Physiology 1A and Speech for this quarter.

Since it's been 5 years since I last took any science classes so I am able to retake all the sciences classes again. I know it is a long shot but if I continue on like this and complete all the prerequisite classes required with at least all A-'s, do I have a chance of getting into a nursing school like the University of Washington or Case Western Reserve University?

I've contacted the schools that I am interested in transferring to and they haven't given me a concrete answer on whether it is realistic for me in successfully transferring in or not and would like to get more solid answers.

I've also spoken with RN's that I know and they've all mentioned that for your first employment, your school name/ranking and connections play a big role and I also would like to strive to do my best and go as far as I can possible.

I have also wanted to join the military since I was little and I thought why not get two birds with one stone by pursue nursing while in the military? Does anyone have any experience/word of wisdom they want to share as a military nurse?

Any realistic feedback would be greatly appreciated!

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Specializes in ICU.

The only time the name of your college comes into play is with accreditation. As long as your school is nationally accredited, you should be good.

The reason these schools can't really give you a concrete answer is it depends on how many people apply and what their grades and test scores are. That changes every semester. Every cohort is different. One semester a 3.0 can get in, the next it may not. If there are more people with better grades, you will be out.

You may also want to check if you have to submit all transcripts. Those classes may no longer be good info wise, but I bet their grades still stick. You will need to look into that.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

PP is totally accurate. Nursing school is not Law school. Ranking & school prestige are not that important for new grads as we all take the same NCLEX. However, if you attend a nursing school with "good" clinical rotations, it may give you an advantage when looking for that first job.

The reason that schools cannot give you more specific information about your chances? Because it will depend upon your application cohort. If you are applying at the same time as a lot of "high flyers" with >4.0 GPAs & stellar admission test results, it will be a hard slog.... but if you're lucky enough to be in a group of mere mortals, your odds are better. The schools cannot predict exactly who is going to apply, or how many. That's why we always advise prospective students to cast a wide net & have many Plan Bs.

If you want better information about military nursing, it would be a good idea to visit their forum here on AN.

Wishing you the best of luck on your nursing education journey.

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Thank you both for your inputs! I really appreciate it.

I'm really grateful for having this nursing community available as it not only provides me with countless information but also inspiration and hope.

Though I understand that nursing is very competitive, I am very relieved to hear that it is not impossible and that I do have a chance.

Thank you both again!

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