Fastest, cheapest program that will allow the lowest GPA

Let's talk. You don't have time or money. Your GPA sucks. But, you've found your passion - NURSING! Nurses Announcements Archive Article

Updated:  

Fastest, cheapest program that will allow the lowest GPA

Dear Soon to be Applicant to Nursing School,

So here you are on allnurses, looking for the best option for you. After all, you're a kind and caring person. You're good looking, and gosh darn it, people like you. You want this. You're committed to it.

How committed to it are you? Let's look at this, point by point.

You want....

Cheap

You can't afford this. For whatever reason, you can't get much in aid or loans, and you don't make much money. So you're looking for cheap.

Here's the deal - everyone wants cheap, and that means more competition. Also, cheap may decrease value. Does the cheapest option have a decent reputation? Or does the cheapest option terrify HR departments everywhere? Unless Dr. Kervorkian is getting out anytime soon (hmmm.... Maybe he is already out? Anyone know?) cheaper may be a terrible idea. Research. Don't just sign the dotted line.

Fast!

You can't walk away from life for years. You have responsibilities. You also can't fathom spending years in school.

Dude. Step back for a second. Let's say you've had an embarrassing accident involving a skyscraper, a rusty nail and a poorly placed eyelid. You go to the ER and you get the dynamic duo!!!!! The MD and RN both landed the fastest programs they could find just to get licensed and come care for YOU!!!!

Wonder twin powers! ACTIVATE!!!!!

Wait ...

Do you want a nurse who did a 3-4 year educational process in 10 months? Would you want a doc who crammed 8 years of school into 2, and 4 years of residency into 10 months? Maybe it feels okay to get your educational as quickly as possible, but would you want to be cared for by the nurse who picked the fastest program possible?

(The answer to that is "no". You do not want that nurse or that doctor. I took the longest possible option for my degree and I won't even start to admit how much (little???) I was actually able to remember from it two weeks after graduation. Faster means less time to actually lean LIFE SAVING INFORMATION.)

Low GPA!!!

Look, I'll be the first to say you probably don't need an amazing grade in world history to be a good nurse. It's nice to be smart, knowledgeable, and all that fun stuff, but not all of it is vital.

But....... A lot of it is, in ways you haven't figured out yet. Additionally, programs use your GPA as a prediction of how you will commit yourself and subsequently perform at their program. Their accreditation actually is weighed in part by their students' successes.

Maybe you don't test well, maybe you never applied yourself because you didn't know what you wanted to do when you grew up. (God knows I didn't.) Even if the truth is that you don't need straight As to be successful in nursing school, those who have them will be accepted first. You HAVE to accept that. You'll find programs that will have a cohort whose average is lower than 3.5 sometimes, but to look for it and expect to find it is not necessarily realistic.

Another thing to consider with this, though, is, again, reputation of your school. Is your school known for accepting low GPAs? You might not be very valued as an applicant with that school's name on your degree. Go retake those classes. Get better grades.

If you are a person who genuinely struggles with school, take advantage of campus resources. But even before that, go talk to nurses. Talk to nurses who will be honest with you, and bring your thick skin. The sad truth is that some people, no matter how badly they want it, aren't meant for nursing. The good news is there are other avenues in healthcare that don't require the same education or skill set. Research!

Online!!!!!!

Okay, really?

No, REALLY?!

How are you going to learn patient care without caring for patients? Look, even after a nursing program, you're going to be awful at doing everything, but at least you've had basic instruction, face to face, on actual PEOPLE. Nursing school, at the LPN or RN level, cannot be done online. Stop looking.

I offer my support as you get started on this journey. There may be times when my answers aren't sweet and loving. Nursing school will teach you that direct and clear communication (as off-putting as it may be) is required sometimes. I will, however, promise to be honest. I promise to be thorough. I promise I will try to always be patient. I will take responsibility when I misjudge or misspeak. And I will always expect the same of you.

Congratulations on embarking on this tumultuous journey, and remember to always keep your expectations realistic.

4,547 Posts

Share this post


brandiep1982

236 Posts

Specializes in Neuro/ ENT.

Good stuff

Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.

Not direct and clear communication.

ixchel

4,547 Posts

Specializes in critical care.
lnvitale said:
Not direct and clear communication.

Irony?

ready2baRN

118 Posts

I'm lost to what "applicant" you are addressing. If you are addressing all nursing school applicants then this post is a bit pointless as everyone cannot take the same path to becoming an RN as each individuals walk in life is different from someone else. For example:

Time as a facotor: If you are addressing a 18 year old recent high school graduate then time may not be a factor for them. If you are a single mom/dad with kids then they may need to take the quickest route possible so they can continue to provide for their families. Time may be a issue with this population.

Cheap: I would prefer if you used the term more "affordale" as we know the cost of a college education has skyrocketed in recent years. Again some people probably maxed out their student loans, received prior degrees before returning to school which makes them ineligible for additional aid, and some people may already have a lot of debt and wish not to take on additional debt therefore funding their nursing school education out of pocket is their only viable option.

GPA: Grades clearly don't give a good prediction on who will make a competent nurse or get out of nursing school for that matter. Just by reading some of the post on these boards and hearing of cohorts starting with 60 students and only 20-30 making it to graduation. I would also like to see a good statistical analysis done by a research group that quantifies GPA and nursing compentency. I'm sure we would be shocked of the results. Besides most nursing schools require you to maintain a high GPA while enrolled in the program and applicants going in with 4.0 don't make it out so GPA shouldn't be weighed so heavily in getting into nursing school that's just my opinion.

Online: Well most state boards of nursing don't allow for "general track" RN OR LPN programs to be online any longer. Most states BON you have to have a certain amount of clinical and lab hours and you definitely can't do those at home in your living room. However, MANY RN-BSN, RN-MSN programs are online, even the programs that are offered by public colleges, the reason is you are already licensed as a professional nurse and those programs cater to the working professional so I don't see anything wrong with RN-BSN, MSN bridge programs being online,

but that's just my two cents

Red Kryptonite

2,212 Posts

Specializes in hospice.
ready2baRN said:
I'm lost to what "applicant" you are addressing.

Oh, just the 5 or 6 that show up EVERY DAY asking all these same questions.

Seriously, unwad your panties. If this doesn't describe you, it wasn't meant for you.

Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

Getting popcorn now...

Seriously, ready2baRN, there are posters that do want what the OP is discussing; and it's NOT going to happen...

Debatable or not, most of the well-regarded programs are going to have standards-which is needed; there are many that want instant results and that is unrealistic.

This post is applicable and appropriate for those who are so desperate to become a nurse that they lose sight and may potentially devalue themselves by trying to get through any fly-by-night place to become a nurse, putting themselves down a potential path of difficulty that may take more time or have their "dreeeeeammm" deferred because they choose the wrong program or will spend more for trying to "short cut" and end up not being able to pass the NCLEX, or even get a job because of the program they chose.

ixchel

4,547 Posts

Specializes in critical care.
ready2baRN said:
I'm lost to what "applicant" you are addressing. If you are addressing all nursing school applicants then this post is a bit pointless as everyone cannot take the same path to becoming an RN as each individuals walk in life is different from someone else. For example:

Time as a facotor: If you are addressing a 18 year old recent high school graduate then time may not be a factor for them. If you are a single mom/dad with kids then they may need to take the quickest route possible so they can continue to provide for their families. Time may be a issue with this population.

Cheap: I would prefer if you used the term more "affordale" as we know the cost of a college education has skyrocketed in recent years. Again some people probably maxed out their student loans, received prior degrees before returning to school which makes them ineligible for additional aid, and some people may already have a lot of debt and wish not to take on additional debt therefore funding their nursing school education out of pocket is their only viable option.

GPA: Grades clearly don't give a good prediction on who will make a competent nurse or get out of nursing school for that matter. Just by reading some of the post on these boards and hearing of cohorts starting with 60 students and only 20-30 making it to graduation. I would also like to see a good statistical analysis done by a research group that quantifies GPA and nursing compentency. I'm sure we would be shocked of the results. Besides most nursing schools require you to maintain a high GPA while enrolled in the program and applicants going in with 4.0 don't make it out so GPA shouldn't be weighed so heavily in getting into nursing school that's just my opinion.

Online: Well most state boards of nursing don't allow for "general track" RN OR LPN programs to be online any longer. Most states BON you have to have a certain amount of clinical and lab hours and you definitely can't do those at home in your living room. However, MANY RN-BSN, RN-MSN programs are online, even the programs that are offered by public colleges, the reason is you are already licensed as a professional nurse and those programs cater to the working professional so I don't see anything wrong with RN-BSN, MSN bridge programs being online,

but that's just my two cents

I'm addressing all nursing school applicants in a general sense, although I do use the word "applicant" once without clarifying that I mean job applicant.

Much of what you write I am not going to directly respond to because you're taking a lot of what I said a bit more seriously than it was intended. What I will say is that the fuel for this post, as another commenter mentioned, is the multiple threads that pop up all the time asking for cheap, fast, online, and low GPA programs. If that exact program existed,would you want the graduates of it staffing the hospitals you trust with your life? Really consider the outcome. When posters come on here asking for this combination of nursing program qualities, it is quite clear they have not thought through what this ultimately means.

And yes, I mean the word cheap. In my opinion, cheap has a different meaning than affordable. I think affordable is something a responsible person looks for.

ixchel

4,547 Posts

Specializes in critical care.

Never mind, I like LadyFree's response better. ?

IHeartPeds87

542 Posts

To add something to what the OP said :

Dear Soon to Be Applicant to Nursing School:

Programs and program requirements differ across the board. In my home state, I was "at the top of the list" for being admitted into one program and wasn't even elligible to apply at another program (due to me having repeated courses....some program appreciated it because my grades were higher and other programs did not let you apply if you took one of their pre-reqs more than one time). So coming on a website like this saying "what are my chances of getting it" are useless because it isn't program specific information.

Do your research on SPECIFIC PROGRAMS IN THE AREA YOU LIVE IN/ARE WILLING TO MOVE TO. And then don't get mad if you ignore said advice, come on this website and ask "I have a 1.48 gpa, do you think I will get in?" and then get mad when people tell you probably not.

Specializes in ICU.

I agree 100%. I often don't think people are very realistic when it comes to nursing school or the NCLEX. If you can't make it through the prereqs, how on earth do you think you can make it in nursing school? I also happen to be one of those people who think you do need to do decent in nursing school. When instructors tell you C=Nurse it's usually because a C in any other class is failing in nursing school. You need to know your stuff to be a competent nurse. Plus, time management skills are needed, yadda, yadda, yadda. Are your grades going to be as good as the prereq grades? No. But this is important stuff people!!!

I wonder if people forget what nursing is and what it entails. Sometimes, I think the envogue thing is to go to nursing school. It wasn't when I started in 98-99. They were begging for people to sign up in my area. I honestly wish I could have finished back then, but then again crap happens.

And we all have a special story or circumstance in our lives. We all have personal crap that comes along. Don't count on your "special" life circumstance to excuse your poor grades. Plenty of people have had rough things happen and still manage good grades. I'm sorry but it's true.

There is no fast track in the medical field despite what these for profit degree mills, tell you. To learn this stuff appropriately you need to be able to practice. It's not going to happen overnight.

ixchel

4,547 Posts

Specializes in critical care.
Heathermaizey said:

And we all have a special story or circumstance in our lives. We all have personal crap that comes along. Don't count on your "special" life circumstance to excuse your poor grades. Plenty of people have had rough things happen and still manage good grades. I'm sorry but it's true.

God, isn't that the truth.

This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.