Kiss My Nursing Dream Goodbye?

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Hi everyone, I am an 18 year old college freshman in NY. I started off my freshman year terribly. I had no idea what I wanted to do and just randomly picked accounting. I unofficially withdrew from my English class because I didn't know any better (long story) which basically gave me a F, failed my accounting class and I passed my speech class

with a B+. So technically I have no GPA and I'm currently on academic probation. At the ending of my fall semester I decided that nursing IS what I wanted to do and no matter how hard it will be, I KNOW it will be rewarding at the end. However I intend on just taking my perquisites at my current community college and then transferring to a four year school by Fall 2018 for a bsn program. After tons of research I feel like it's impossible to get into a four year nursing program with my first semester grades. I am looking at SUNY Farmingdale, Medgar Evers, and SUNY Brockport What am i suppose to do? I feel so lost and losing hope.

I'll say this, I'm on my 3rd career going into nursing at 34. I wrenched on cars, then joined the military, and now working on the nursing gig. If I had tried to get into nursing fresh out of high school, no way would I have even gotten accepted to my program. There's a certain maturity level required to do this, and at 18, I'll admit that I didn't have it. You have to put the time in. You have to dedicate yourself. I'm sure you've heard the saying that for every credit hour, you need to study 3 hours at home. That's no joke. 12 credit hours + 36 hours of home study... per week.. it's a full time job. You may be able to get past your gen ed stuff by showing up and hacking a few assignments 3 hours before the deadline; nursing school is not that forgiving. You honestly need A's and B's for biology. If you don't, you'll never get past microbiology. Then Anatomy and Physiology. Then pathophysiology. Then pharmacology... it all ties together, and you better be on your game or you'll get left behind real quick.

Ok so, soul searching and my military motivational speech aside, you can totally do this. Community college means a whole lot of nothing honestly. At least as far as accounting goes. You mentioned 2 classes, and if that's all you've taken so far, you've got a lot of time to make up for it. I took algebra 3 times. I took chemistry twice. I had to take extra humanities, philosophy, and literature classes, because I always seemed to be missing some course specific credit because 1 school accepted my grade and another didn't. I felt like the BS classes would never end. But boy when it did, it ended quick. Speech is required, accounting is not. Chalk up your F to the college Gods. You GPA means nothing right now, and it wont for the next 2 years until you actually apply to a nursing program. By that time, you'll be rocking a 3.5 because you're smart and that's generally what you need for most programs. You haven't lost anything yet, so go forth and learn.

Put in the time, get the good grades. If you fail a class because you didn't understand the material, figure out a different way to learn. Me personally, I can't study at home. I have to go to the library, or some other room at school, and I need people to study with. If you fail because you didn't do the assignments, perhaps you should find another line of work. We're professionals here, and if you're going to be one of us, we expect you to be responsible and professional as well. That starts now. Not doing your work at school = not doing your work with patients. Don't be that person that cuts corners. There's no shortcut for this.

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I'm not going to lie, it can be very hard to get into nursing school with a low GPA. I also had a really tough first semester of college. I decided the best thing for me to do was to become an LVN (LPN in NY?) first and then do a bridge program later. Everyone makes mistakes, unfortunately it's very competitive out there, best of luck to you!

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I agree with the previous comments.I am also about to enter a nursing program straight out of highschool.I have been told countless times that I am very young to be making a life decision like this.It may be that my family was there to support me,but in the end,the desicion is up to you.Dreams must be brought to life with hard work and determination.

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

I agree with other users that at age 18 it is way too soon to say that you have to "kiss your dream [of being a nurse] goodbye".

With that being said, you need to take a moment to pause and come up with a plan on how you wish to move forward. I would start by asking yourself: (a) Why do I want to be a nurse? (b) What is my educational goal (ADN? BSN? Graduate degree?) © How do I plan to pay for my education? (d) Am I willing to wait if it takes me longer to complete the degree than originally planned? (e) Am I willing to put in the extra work to prove that my previous academic record (failing a course and withdrawing from a program) is not reflective of who I am as a student?

As a nursing instructor with a graduate degree, I can tell you that failing a class is not the kiss of death but you have to work your butt off to make up for it (I failed Anatomy in my undergrad and never failed a class again). If you were one of my students, I would give you the following advice...

1. Begin looking at nursing programs in your area (based on if you are looking to get your ADN or BSN) and compare the cost, program acceptance rates, NCLEX pass rates etc.

2. Get in touch with academic advisors from the schools (in the undergraduate admissions department and the nursing department itself) and schedule a meeting to talk with someone to get their recommendation based on your situation.

3. My personal recommendation would be to find a 4 year program (if your ultimate goal is to obtain a BSN) and sign up as a non-matriculating student to take a few of the prerequisite courses (English, General Psych. Chemestry etc.) for their nursing program. Once you have taken a few of the prerequisite courses and aced them then you can apply to the college/university as a undergrad student and declare your major as nursing. Once you're accepted as a matriculating undergraduate student by the college/university AND completed all of the prerequisite courses for the nursing program you can apply directly to the nursing program to begin your core/clinical nursing classes.

I am suggesting this plan because the admission requirements at most colleges/universities aren't usually strict for a non-matriculating student and this gives you a chance to get in and reestablish yourself as a student. The downside to this is that you have no guarantees of admission to their nursing program (because you're non-matriculating) and you would probably have to pay the cost for classes out of pocket (grants usually aren't available for non-matriculating students). But by being a non-matriculating student you don't have to worry about trying to transfer credits or getting fully admitted as a transfer student (your current transcript wouldn't likely support it). At this point, I wouldn't bother to try to transfer the speech/debate class that you got a B in because it probably won't meet any kind of major requirement anyway and you want the program to focus on who you are as a student at their school. If the school requires you to disclose what you took for classes at the community college then be upfront about it but if you start as a non-matriculating student and not trying to get transfer credit there is a good chance that you won't have to list the community college courses.

I will be the first to tell you that this will require a bit of work to get back on track but it certainly isn't impossible. Just make sure that before you start this you realize that nursing isn't an easy major/program of study and will require a significant amount of time to study and prepare for your classes.

!Chris :specs:

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Specializes in Psych, Peds, Education, Infection Control.
If the plan is to get the ADN first, then work while in school for BSN, that's a great plan. But be careful that your plan also includes how to pay for it, as it is becoming increasingly rare to find employers that will pay more than a few bucks toward a higher degree, if they pay anything at all. And on top of that they will oftentimes have a requirement that if they hire you as an ADN you must get the BSN within a specific timeframe (and they aren't paying for it).

Only saying this as a cautionary note, you should make financial plans that allow YOU to pay for continuing education if/when your employer decides not to.

Absolutely agree with this. My hospital cut out tuition reimbursement awhile back - and even when they had it, you had to pay for your classes upfront and then get your money back after you passed them. Don't plan on an employer paying for it. That's why it took me so long to go back to school, but I found a school that helped me with great financial aid resources and was willing to make a payment plan in the event that financial aid was declined.

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Specializes in Psych, Peds, Education, Infection Control.
I agree with the previous comments.I am also about to enter a nursing program straight out of highschool.I have been told countless times that I am very young to be making a life decision like this.It may be that my family was there to support me,but in the end,the desicion is up to you.Dreams must be brought to life with hard work and determination.

I went to nursing school straight out of high school. I was with a lot of second-career students at my community college, but I feel like it was the right choice for me, so I would never discourage someone else from doing the same.

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I did the exact same thing right out of high school. I took two semesters of classes and basically failed every single one. I took two semesters off to re enter and figure everything out. I went back slowly by only taking a math class and got an A! I then figured out during that semester that I wanted to do nursing. I went to a program information session for the University of Utah which is a really competitive program here in Utah and then I started doing all my prerequisites to apply. There were ten prerequisites plus your generals. I did really well in all of those and I got all A's and 3 B's. I met with an academic advisor there and he said if you retake the classes you failed, that previously grade essentially drops off and they don't see it in the application process. I got in my first time applying and am currently in the program! This program gets about 300 applicants and only lets in 64 so it's quite the accomplishment to get it. My point is, A lot of people get poor grades the first semester or two of college. It doesn't have to define you. If you want to go to nursing school, work hard and make it happen! Check with the academic advisor of the school you want to apply for and explain your situation. I'm sure they can tell you something similar!

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Specializes in Early Intervention, Nsg. Education.

My son had a similar experience. He took ASL1 and didn't study or do the work. His lack of effort earned him an F. (I'm Deaf and we sign at home, so he really had to work hard to fail that class!) We now refer to it as his "therapeutic F." Honestly, it was the best thing that could have happened to him. He retook the class on his own dime and earned an A. All of that "you're responsible for your own education" lecturing that went in one ear and out the other finally stuck! He'll be earning an AS in Computer Engineering after the Fall 2018 semester and plans to transfer to one of the big geeky schools full of students just like him.

Your path to a nursing degree is nowhere near over. In fact, I'd say that you're much closer than you were before you had that "therapeutic F" semester. Consider it a learning experience, retake the classes, and move forward. ;)

mm

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I did the same thing!

in 2005 when I graduated high school I went to a community college. I had no idea what I wanted to do and just picked basic classes. I gave up after the drop date and quit going to class. I got 3 F's and was placed on academic probation. Shortly after I started a family. I went back and was told I just needed to retake them. I did and got A's. I made A's in all other classes and was even part of the honor society. Don't get down on yourself, just pick up and head on. YOU can do this! I am not in nursing school yet but that little hiccup won't stop me. I know it won't prevent me from getting in. They can see I fell and got back up and got serious. Please don't give it up.

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100% agree. If you already failed out of your first semester at a University, it'd make much more sense to try to earn an associates degree in Nursing first which does allow you to gain experience in actually working as an RN. Just don't get too ahead of yourself, you're only 18!!! I think its great that you already have a clear idea of what you want to do so just focus on the 2 year degree and if you excel in it, then focus on the BSN down the road! One step at a time

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Specializes in Stepdown . Telemetry.

This inspired me to look at my old BA undergrad transcript, which was way back when i was a flaky 18 yearold (34 now). I Didnt even consider nsg until 2 years after i graduated. So i was basically stuck with tons of mediocre grades that i got back when i didnt care about grades much. 2 Fs (both were courses i dropped, repeated one, but one was an official F. Way more Bs and B- than As, and a number of Cs. Clearly nothing to be proud of. But It was what it was. In the end i managed to earn a 3.04 gpa.

Basically the point i make is that 120 is alot of credits and a few screwups (alot in my case) are not going to ruin your future.

With my 3.0 i was able to get into an accelerated bsn (As in my prerequisites) and start my career in nursing. 3.8 gpa BSN.

So remember that grades or any blemish in your past doesnt define who you are and especially doesnt define who you will become.

So just keep moving forward, Fs and all!

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