Trying to get Accepted!!

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I have been trying to apply to nursing programs in Washington State, I applied during my final quarter of my first BA. At the time i was finishing my internship, while taking Microbiology and Organic Chem. Upon not receiving an interview, I withdrew from Micro in an attempt to get a better grade in Organic and to complete graduation. I am now working to reapply, My GPA for a BA was a 3.4, but they are now saying my true nursing GPA is only a 2.9, is this true for other states? Also i am looking at retaking my Teas test to get a better score to raise my chances at acceptance. Does anyone have any other suggestions of getting into nursing school? I am taking both Micro and Medical Terminology (not required) trying to be over qualified, But I'm worried it still will not be enough.

Specializes in Med/Surg, Oncology.

You're definitely on the right track with retaking Micro and taking the terminology class to bump up your GPA. Is 2.9 cumulative or your pre-req GPA?

Thats the GPA for the "Nursing GPA" so i would venture to say yes.

Specializes in Med/Surg, Oncology.

Yes for cumulative or for pre-req? My school's "nursing GPA" is cumulative.

Ok and it looks like you are in Florida... hmm thats way better in my opinion, because your strong classes help with your weak ones... Thanks for the insight!

Specializes in Gastroenterology, PACU.
Yes for cumulative or for pre-req? My school's "nursing GPA" is cumulative.

Sounds like pre-req. If you're doing a BA, chances are you took some fluffy classes like art appreciation that nursing schools could not care less about. And when you took out the fluff, your GPA suddenly wasn't so hot. You might want to retake some of the relevant science classes in which you got Cs or Ds.

My BA is in Clinical Physiology, D's were not accepted, which I had one and with retaking the course moved it up to a C+. I have debated retaking classes, but I have heard that programs do not take the better grade,or average the classes which may not increase your GPA very much, so it's time/money wasted. Does already having a BA of Science help at all, or will the application committee still only look at my low GPA, and solely decide off the numbers, you think?

Specializes in Med/Surg, Oncology.
My BA is in Clinical Physiology, D's were not accepted, which I had one and with retaking the course moved it up to a C+. I have debated retaking classes, but I have heard that programs do not take the better grade,or average the classes which may not increase your GPA very much, so it's time/money wasted. Does already having a BA of Science help at all, or will the application committee still only look at my low GPA, and solely decide off the numbers, you think?

With my program, they didn't care too much if you had a previous bachelor's degree, although having a psych degree will certainly help when learning mental health. Honestly, if I were you though, I would contact advisors at the school(s) you're interested in and ask them these questions. The best we can do on this forum is just guesswork.

Specializes in Gastroenterology, PACU.
My BA is in Clinical Physiology, D's were not accepted, which I had one and with retaking the course moved it up to a C+. I have debated retaking classes, but I have heard that programs do not take the better grade,or average the classes which may not increase your GPA very much, so it's time/money wasted. Does already having a BA of Science help at all, or will the application committee still only look at my low GPA, and solely decide off the numbers, you think?

At the end of the day, you need primarily As with the occasional B to get into nursing school. A B is a 3.0, and an A is a 4.0. My program, on average, admitted something like a 3.85 student. You can do the math there. And most half-decent programs are like that or close. Thousands apply to nursing school and only a handful get in. Do your best to replace grades. Nursing programs aren't going to look at the, "well, she doesn't want to do it, because it may not pay off that much" approach, because who would want a nurse like that? That's like saying you wouldn't do physical therapy with an amputee, because, well, he might not be able to walk anyway, so why bother?

Hi, I'm from Washington state. What programs were you looking into? ADN or BSN? Any particular schools? For almost ALL the school in the Seattle area you need at least a 3.0 in prerequisite GPA.

Don't blindly believe all the advisors tell you. I did all the work myself since they don't know what they are talking about half the time.

Check each schools individual requirements. In some programs they calculate your GPA From only 4-5 classes, others want all your prerequisites factored in.

Check what the prerequisites are for each program and what their minimum grade accepted for each class is. For example, Seattle central requires at least a 2.5 However their grading scale for their credits is different from other schools so you need at least a 2.7. It's confusing but you need to familiarize yourself with the standards and specifics. Don't rely on others to guide you.

Specializes in Emergency Department.
With my program, they didn't care too much if you had a previous bachelor's degree, although having a psych degree will certainly help when learning mental health. Honestly, if I were you though, I would contact advisors at the school(s) you're interested in and ask them these questions. The best we can do on this forum is just guesswork.

The degree appears to be in Clinical physiology, not psych. The Clinical Physiology degree would help tremendously when considering a patient's pathophysiology. An exercise science or sports med degree helps in this area too. I initially read "physiology" the same way you appear to have - psychology - until I re-read it.

To the OP: I pretty much echo what the other posters above me have stated. You need to contact each school you wish to attend and find out exactly how they determine "Nursing GPA" and what minimum NGPA they require for entry to the program. They may or may not consider your Bachelors, but if they do, they may evaluate it for equivalency to their own Bachelors graduation requirements and that may (on its own) reduce the number of units you may need to take prior to graduation. That last part will be at the Admissions/Records level, not the Program level.

My school in California only required me to complete the nursing education so that I could earn my ADN because I already had earned a Bachelors. If I'd attended a 4 year (still would have been a 2 year RN program) I would have only needed to take an additional 10 units or so to meet that University's requirements beyond their BSN requirements. Check with the Washington Colleges and Universities to see if they have something similar that you might qualify for so you don't have to repeat another 4 years of school.

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