low gpa options

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Hi! Okay, I'm really considering going to nursing school, but my problem is my GPA! I graduated in 2008 with a 2.8GPA and a B.S. in Health and I haven't seen any schools (well ABSN or direct entry MSN) that allow applicants with low GPAs. Can you guys help me out? I currently live in SC, but I'm willing to do a little relocating, as long as its in the Southeast. Any suggestions are welcome..thanks in advance.

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Hi! Okay, I'm really considering going to nursing school, but my problem is my GPA! I graduated in 2008 with a 2.8GPA and a B.S. in Health and I haven't seen any schools (well ABSN or direct entry MSN) that allow applicants with low GPAs. Can you guys help me out? I currently live in SC, but I'm willing to do a little relocating, as long as its in the Southeast. Any suggestions are welcome..thanks in advance.

I'd suggest doing an ADN and then an MSN here's why. A aBSN requires that you apply as is. In other words, your 2.8 GPA. Well, if you apply to an ADN, it's likely that the school you are hoping to attend will only bring in classes that count in the program. For example, you will have a lot of credit from your BS program that won't be relevant to the ADN- in fact, they won't even put it on your ADN transcript.

If they are only taking 15 of your gen eds, then the ratio of completed credit vs credit left to earn is in your favor. So, even if you had a B average in your gen eds that you brought in, if you can pull A's in anything new, your GPA will go up easily.

Google GPA calculator to see what I am saying. In other words, if you have 120 credits at a C average, adding 1 A won't amount to anything more than a tiny fraction of an increase. On the other hand, if you are only calculating 15ish credits, adding an A will make a significant increase. This way, your ADN degree GPA will take priority over (or at least be balanced against) your old BS GPA when applying to grad school.

Hope that helps!

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I'm in the same boat as you. I have 2.8 gpa and my pre-req gpa is 3.1.

I realize that my chances at accelerated BSN are very low so I applied to couple of in-state school to wait and see if I get lucky.

I have a back up plan though. Since you are a health major, I don't know how much science classes you took (microbio, organic and inorganic chem, etc). For me, I have a bachelor's in biology so I took all the pre-req courses. What I'm doing now is applying to traditional BSN. Since I have already completed the pre-reqs, it will take me 2 years (I only need the nursing courses) to get my BSN. As you can see, the time difference between aBSN and traditional BSN is between 3 to 6 months. Personally, I'm willing to go 22 months instead of 15-18 months instead of spending a year doing ASN and then appying to get into BSN which may take longer.

Once again, I don't know your situation when it comes to pre-requisites but you should look into doing a traditional BSN if you can spare 3-6 extra months.

E-mail me if you have any questions.

Good luck.

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I would suggest you go back and retake the prereq courses. And find school that don't require a high overall gpa.

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Specializes in Float Pool, acute care, management/leadership.

I've seen people post that they've been accepted into 's ACE program in Philadelphia with their previous degree under a 3.0. Granted, these applicants probably did very well in their pre-reqs. The only thing is Drexel is extremely intense (2nd BSN in 11 months) and you must pass their exit HESI to get your degree with a fairly high score (I think a 90). I got accepted and my previous B.A. was exactly at a 3.0 at the time of graduation (although the last 60 credits were much higher), and I had only half of my prereqs done.

Their application doesn't require a personal statement, letters of rec, and is there is no fee if done online. Give it a go if you're up for it :)

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I would suggest you go back and retake the prereq courses. And find school that don't require a high overall gpa.

If the prereqs are inside her degree, then they will be independent of the first GPA. If the prereqs are outside her degree at another school, then it will be fine. Once a degree is conferred, that transcript is "closed" to new classes. So, without knowing where the prereqs were done, it's hard to make a solid suggestion.

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Hello everyone:

I am in the same page too. I have a 2.9 undergrad BS in business and 3.3 MBA. I am very interested in j450n message because I am interested in relocating to any area in the NE. and Philly is one of my options. How do you find the program at ? I am thinking of applying for Spring or Fall 2011. Thank you so much for your advice it really helped me see my options.

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Depending on your situation and if you are planning on going to the same school you previously attained your BA at you could check to see if they have an "academic forgiveness" or "academic reprieve" application. At the school I am attending you can get "forgiveness" on 4 low pre requ grades so long as you retake the course your GPA would reflect the new grade vs the old one. My GPA went from 2.73 to 3.88 by utilizing this application process and spending an additional 1 semester retaking 4 classes. I don't know your individual circumstance or how it all works but this has helped me tremendously!! Just an idea!

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I would suggest you go back and retake the prereq courses. And find school that don't require a high overall gpa.

You can't do this in CA. They have this insane system and every time you repeat a class it counts against you. So if you got a C at one school and then an A at another school they take the first grade which is the C and take away points for retaking it. Any Ws count as Fs and the new system makes NO sense.

So for one school I had B, B, B, C, C and a W in the science prereqs. My last 60 units had a GPA of 3.5. I was told with B, B, B, C, C, W and if I had a 4.0 in my last 60 units I would have a 68% in this strange system where the formula is incomprehensible. You need 75% before you can even apply to the program.

Someone please explain to me how 60 units at a 4.0 plus 3 Bs, 2 Cs, and a W equate to 68%.

THIS IS INSANE.

By the way the W was from dropping Micro after 4 weeks when it was my first class after receiving my Bachelors 8 years ago. We had not had any exams and I had no grade in the class but I couldn't get help as there were no tutors so I dropped the class. Why would that count as an F.

I community colleges here have over 500 applicants after they weed out people like me and since the budget cuts schools are accepting 20 students.

Sorry for the rant but I feel like I have just wasted the past 3 years. I am beyond frustrated right now.

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Depending on your situation and if you are planning on going to the same school you previously attained your BA at you could check to see if they have an "academic forgiveness" or "academic reprieve" application. At the school I am attending you can get "forgiveness" on 4 low pre requ grades so long as you retake the course your GPA would reflect the new grade vs the old one. My GPA went from 2.73 to 3.88 by utilizing this application process and spending an additional 1 semester retaking 4 classes. I don't know your individual circumstance or how it all works but this has helped me tremendously!! Just an idea!

I CA your GPA would decrease if you did this. Even if the classes were 20 years ago.

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I would say just get all A's on your pre-reqs and don't worry about your current GPA. Learn from your mistakes and do better. Retake classes and add classes that are a bit challenging to make you shine!

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I would say just get all A's on your pre-reqs and don't worry about your current GPA. Learn from your mistakes and do better. Retake classes and add classes that are a bit challenging to make you shine!

That's good advice but it's not that easy. I'm taking prereqs right now and even If I get straight A's in all 18 hours, it will barely make a dent in my cumulative GPA of 130 hours. Sure it will increase my pre-req GPA but most school now a days have a clear "warning" before you apply: It usually says the applicant MUST have CUMULATIVE GPA of 3.0 or above to be considered for the accelerated BSN program.

There are some schools that don't require 3.0 but as you can imagine, they'll be lots of over-achievers applying. So when schools can get an applicant who's got a cum GPA of 3.1, why would they even look at a person with sub 3.0 gpa. They'd rather accept someone who has proven to be successful academically in the past and are capable of excelling. That is emphasized especially when one applies to accelerated BSN program because it is very intensive.

Of course if you have some health care experience, such as CNA, EMT, medical assistant, etc. then you stand a good chance with 2.8 undergrad GPA.

I may be wrong but logically speaking, I think my "theory" holds true.

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