Question about applying to Accelerated BS/MSN programs

[Dubcee]

I graduated from UCLA almost 3 years ago with a Bachelor's degree in Neuroscience. I did really well my last years at UCLA and my upper division courses but didn't do so great the first few years. I was dealing with depression. I am now a Research Associate at Johnson and Johnson (the pharmaceutical entity of JNJ companies, and I'm doing very well there), but have decided to apply to accelerated Nurse Practitioner programs, particularly Columbia, Penn, and Yale. With all that said, my undergraduate GPA falls below a 3.0 but I have passed my prerequisite courses with a B or higher, and I took Anatomy, Physiology and Microbiolgy after college at junior colleges and received A+ in all those classes. I did really well on my GREs (1450), and have a very impressive resume with lots of employment and extracurricular activities both during and after college. Do you think I still have a chance getting into these programs? I am really scared that my GPA will prevent me from getting in anywhere. I've seen so many programs that require a 3.0 GPA just to apply. Please help? I will not start applying until summer 2011 for entry in summer 2012. Also i'm reading that in 2015 new nurse practitioners will need a DNP? How will that affect me? Am I coming in early enough so that I won't need a DNP to be a nurse practitioner? Well first I have to get in...soo scared!

[flyersfan88]

well i've definitely looked at many schools to apply to and plan on applying to many schools given my situation, however columbia and penn are my top choices because they offer the neonatal nurse practioner specialty without prior rn experience and without specifically stating anywhere on their websites that a 3.0 gpa is required to apply to their program.

Not to sound any sort of way....but they dont state it because theyre Ivy League...and it's assumed that they're competitive and top notch. If you're looking at those kinds of schools, its important to keep in mind everyone else has a resune just as impressive as yours. Tons of schools have a minimum gpa of 3.0...but most people that apply don't have a 3.0.