Worried about my past, what should I do?

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Hello, and thank you for viewing. I am 27, and I have no degree. It took me a long time to figure out what I want to do. I want to pursue nursing. I take my last prerequisite this fall. My GPA is 3.2, and should be higher after my bio121 class is finished. It's 5 credit hours, and a prereq so it should help me if I can squeeze the A out of it I am oh so close. I am incredibly worried my past will haunt me to this day. I failed out of a university because of health issues, and being young, and dumb I never appealed based on health reasons. Most of my academic success has been fairly recent, and that is why my GPA is as high as it is instead of lower. I honestly used my health as an excuse for years instead of actually doing something about it. I am fortunate that I still have the support structure necessary to go to school full time, and work part time at my age so if I can manage to get in motivation, and time constraints should not be a problem. I will need to work part time, but I have worked jobs before with long hours. I was a prem tech at ATT so I have some experience with 12 hour shifts. I was counseled to go straight for the RN program, instead of LPN. I would love to do this, and I have very little debt, and some financial aid remaining so I can find a way to pay for it if I get in. The prerequisites for application into the program I want into is a 2.75 GPA and passing grades on all prereqs, but I have heard they take only those who get As in the prereqs. In which I have a C in one from my days at a university. I got an A in English 102, but a C in 101 from years back. I know it's my own fault, but I am looking for ways to make up for it should I retake English101, or wait and see what I get in my last prereq, and on the Tease test? Also should I go straight for the RN program, or start at LPN. Of course I suppose this will depend on what I get on the Tease test what do you think I would need to score to get in?

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I would advise you to speak to a nursing advisor at the school you plan to attend and act based upon their recommendations. Also keep in mind that different schools may have different policies about the repeat of courses. Some schools will not allow repeat of any course where at least a C was earned previously. Others treat the repeat differently in the calculation of the GPA and/or consideration for nursing program admittance. You will want to follow the policies of the schools you are considering in the order of your preference/applications.

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Nursing school can be very competitive. Many have a set score for their entry exam that they require to get into their program and the type of exam varies from school to school. I'm not sure how your program is set up but from your post it looks like they go by the GPA of prerequisite courses. Do they use your overall GPA on all courses that are going toward your degree, or just the science and/or math courses? I have seen many where those are the only ones they are focusing on as far as seat placement, so if you have a 'C' in English Comp it's really not an issue, as long as you have the other grades to have the overall GPA (such as an A in Statistics, A+P, and microbiology).

I wouldn't say that your doomed because of your past. Your current GPA isn't bad, it may not be high enough for that particular school (since many are 3.8 or higher because of the number of qualified applicants), but there are ways around it. Consider your options as far as programs. Some will let you retake a course for a better grade (or if too much time has passed since you originally took it may actually require you to take it again even if you aced it). I wouldn't recommend getting your LPN first if you want an RN in the end...it usually ends up taking up a lot more time to reach the end result (the RN) and most of the programs give very little transfer credit for having the LPN prior. If your science and math courses are coming up on the five year mark, I would definitely do the RN because if you exceed that time frame you will either be 1) taking them over regardless of your grade because they expired (many schools have this guideline) or 2) searching for a needle in a haystack that is still accredited and willing to accept them (but will probably cost you an are and a leg because they will most likely be a private school).

There are a lot of things to consider. My advice would be to check out all of the schools in your area, weigh out the pros and cons, figure out which one would be the best match for you, and do what it takes to get accepted. Your still young and have plenty of time to accomplish your goals. Good luck!

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Nursing school can be very competitive. Many have a set score for their entry exam that they require to get into their program and the type of exam varies from school to school. I'm not sure how your program is set up but from your post it looks like they go by the GPA of prerequisite courses. Do they use your overall GPA on all courses that are going toward your degree, or just the science and/or math courses? I have seen many where those are the only ones they are focusing on as far as seat placement, so if you have a 'C' in English Comp it's really not an issue, as long as you have the other grades to have the overall GPA (such as an A in Statistics, A+P, and microbiology).

I wouldn't say that your doomed because of your past. Your current GPA isn't bad, it may not be high enough for that particular school (since many are 3.8 or higher because of the number of qualified applicants), but there are ways around it. Consider your options as far as programs. Some will let you retake a course for a better grade (or if too much time has passed since you originally took it may actually require you to take it again even if you aced it). I wouldn't recommend getting your LPN first if you want an RN in the end...it usually ends up taking up a lot more time to reach the end result (the RN) and most of the programs give very little transfer credit for having the LPN prior. If your science and math courses are coming up on the five year mark, I would definitely do the RN because if you exceed that time frame you will either be 1) taking them over regardless of your grade because they expired (many schools have this guideline) or 2) searching for a needle in a haystack that is still accredited and willing to accept them (but will probably cost you an are and a leg because they will most likely be a private school).

There are a lot of things to consider. My advice would be to check out all of the schools in your area, weigh out the pros and cons, figure out which one would be the best match for you, and do what it takes to get accepted. Your still young and have plenty of time to accomplish your goals. Good luck!

Thank you very much. I got a 87.5 in stats. I missed the last two weeks I was in the hospital. The Irony of it is I now tutor the subject because I loved it so much. If anything the English comp is what they might not take because it was so long ago I may need to retake it anyways. The math, and science has all been pretty recent fortunately. Just chem, and the ATI left to go. It's a point system I have just found out. Thank god for my OCD about getting in not only does it keep me motivated in prereqs, but I found out you get a point for attending an information seminar. Now I just have to chase down some one who can tell me when the next one is!

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Only science courses, depending upon the school, have a recency requirement. Once you pass English 101 with at least a C, you never have to take it again unless you want to raise the C for your overall GPA.

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Thank you for the posts. I am going to make the trek to the school I am most interested in tomorrow. See if I can't track somebody down to talk to me. I have been getting great advice from the city college of chicago advisors, but I would like a clear list of things I can do to show I am ready for this.

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I would check out the websites of all the programs you are considering first. You may be able to save yourself some trouble by getting most of the info beforehand, then you can make better use of phone or face time with an advisor.

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I have I know all the prereqs, and coreqs. I have met with an advisor at my school on multiple occasions, but more info is always good. I developed an academic outline with my counselor, but it was the first I have heard of this information seminar getting you a point, so I figure I could do more information hunting to help my case. Another trip to the old internet before I go is probably a good idea though thanks!

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I just have to work harder to make up for it that is all. I should be able to drag my GPA up to 3.3/3.4 by the end of this summer school session. Wish I did not have that C in earth science dragging it down. Any ways I got excited when I went back, and thought I had a shot at this. I am under no illusions I am the best candidate, but I am determined to continue down this course. I have been given some spot on advice in all my posts. So what can you do, but leave it all on the table, and not look back.

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