How important are grades when joining an RN program?

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Hello everyone:nurse: Well I just began my first semester at a local community college. I am taking my prerequisites to join the registered nursing program. I recently completed 11 units-math I got a B, English 101 I got an A, and psychology were I got an A and a 90 in my final. However my GPA for the semester was only a 3.45 and my overall GPA was a 2.8?.(and I was hoping for a higher GPA) Well it turns out my GPA was fairly low because when I was in high school I took about four courses for credits I received two B's an F and a W. I know how important grades are to get into the nursing program so I am only attending part time now in order to get an A in the rest of the classes. So my question is will this affect my chances of getting into an RN Program? Btw I am planning on making up that F two semesters from now. But until then will it still lower my gpa? Is there any way I can get my GPA up to at least a 3.7 if I only get A's in the other classes?

Specializes in Hospice, Palliative Care.

Good day, Damianmyjoy:

It really depends on the nursing school. At the community college I'm attending, they use a point system for whether or not someone gets into their RN program. For example, an "A" in Microbiology is worth 24 points, an "A" in Anatomy and Physiology II worth 16 points, and so on. Almost every prerequisite has a point value. In addition, you can earn up to 4 times your GPA at time of application; that's 16 points if you have a 4.0 GPA. Even if a school doesn't use points, they typically do consider one's GPA especially in the core sciences - AP1, AP2, and Microbiology.

I've found https://allnurses.com/pre-nursing-student/how-get-any-846733.html to be helpful for every class I've taken to date.

In terms of getting your GPA up, have you met with your school advisor to help them calculate how many classes you would have to take, getting an "A" in each one to get your GPA to a 3.7?

Thank you.

Specializes in ICU.

My cc also goes on a points system. They take into account 4 classes plus your Teas score. You must have a minimum 2.5 GPA to apply. Your best bet is to talk to your advisor as we have no idea what your school requires.

Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.

Most programs really look at your overall GPA and your grades in the sciences and other prereqs. The best thing you can do is figure out what hasn't worked in the past and how you can improve it. How can you improve in math? Is there a tutoring center on campus? Can you take a slightly lighter course load so that you can really focus on the classes you're taking for one semester and really hammer out your study and test-taking strategies? These sorts of things can really help improve your GPA. I took a break when I got married and had my son, and I started back up with one class, then two, building back up to full time. In that time, I received all As and one B, because I was able to work out the kinks a bit and strategize my time and sort out what worked best for me.

Take a look at the programs to which you're applying (I say programS because you really should apply to more than one) and what they require, and do whatever it takes to ensure that you're getting primarily As moving forward.

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