Advice: Current undergrad, low gpa, accel-BSN program?

sunray12 · Dec 14, 2008

Nursing schools look mainly at your science gpa and your grades in their prereq courses. If your science grades aren't wonderful now you can always retake them (especially the ones required by the nursing schools you're applying to) at community college.

liquidblue · Dec 14, 2008

Have you taken any of the science prerequisites for the nursing program? If you already have, and scored lower than you like, I would encourage you to re-take some those. If not, I would say just plan on doing very well when you do take the sciences (biology, anatomy and physiology, microbiology, and chemistry.)

Personally, I would not repeat classes such as english, history, or psychology.

Does the program you want to enter focus solely on GPA, or is there a "points" system in place?

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Dec 14, 2008

Some schools will weigh your undergraduate GPA heavily, so it might be worth it to extend graduation and take your nursing prerequisites- and do really well in them- before graduating. The end effect would be the same- better grades in your more recent classes, but you'd also have a higher GPA for your BA.

Plus, you'd qualify for financial aid for your prerequisites that you don't once you have a BA.

HoneyOats · Dec 14, 2008

I don't have a particular nursing program that I'm eyeing. I live in California, but I'd really like to go to nursing school out of state just for a change of scenery.

NewGoalRN · Dec 14, 2008

What is your major? If you haven't taken any science classes yet, you can still 'fix' or help your chances of getting in to an ABSN by starting to take them now. It sounds that you are both older and wiser and will do much better in your future classes.

If you don't get into an ABSN, it is not the end of the world, you can go the ASN route and work towards getting your RN designation from a community college. There they don't weigh cummulative gpa, just the prereqs which are ususally, AP1 and 2 and lab, Micro, Eng, Sociology and or Psych, and some schools also require growth and Nutrition and or Dev Psych.

I would strong encourage you to do your research on the Cc or University that you are interested in and find out th eir requirements.

Good bye

AtomicWoman · Dec 14, 2008

The ABSN programs I am familiar with would not accept a 2.5 GPA. If you are determined to go the ABSN route, you might want to consider staying in your school, not applying for graduation yet, and taking a few more courses to get your GPA up to at least a 3.0. Also, it is crucial that you receive excellent grades in your science prerequisites.

Don't kick yourself for your past errors; just pick yourself up and do the best you can from now on! :)

Good luck!

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Dec 14, 2008

If you don't get into an ABSN, it is not the end of the world, you can go the ASN route and work towards getting your RN designation from a community college. There they don't weigh cummulative gpa, just the prereqs which are ususally, AP1 and 2 and lab, Micro, Eng, Sociology and or Psych, and some schools also require growth and Nutrition and or Dev Psych.

Well, some community colleges do look at cumulative grades. And in my neck of the woods they are merit based, not wait list based (where if you meet minimum requirements you are placed on a list until its your turn).

I think its important to be realistic- nursing school is competitive to get in to, and program you look at. That doesn't mean you (OP) can't get in to a good nursing school- it just means that you need to build up evidence that you are a better and more committed student now than you were in the past. Last 2 years/60 credits is a pretty common period of time for admissions committees to look at, so whether you do it pre or post grad you need to rack up a couple of semesters of excellent grades.

How are your more recent grades? Your GPA for the last 60 credits?

Don't feel hopeless- it is a fixable situation, but it's a fix that will take more than 1 semester IMO.

NewGoalRN · Dec 15, 2008

It was not my intention to suggest that nursing schools aren't merit based. My suggestion to her was not to get too caught up with getting into an ABN program as you rightfully suggested, they are very, very competitive and most are based on cummulative gpa.

I was suggesting to her that there are other avenues to getting a RN desgination besides ABSN. Many of the community college RN programs, in my experienced are based on pre-requisite GPA and not cummulative gpa as it is an associate degree program and many wouldn't not have completed a full degree hence it being an ASN program

I also suggested that she research the particular schools in her area so she can be more familiar with what they required. However, again, many of the CC programs admission is based on pre-requisite gpa and it is entirely possible to have a low BS gpa but a higher pre-requisite gpa. I have seen it all the time.

Good luck to the op.

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Dec 15, 2008

It was not my intention to suggest that nursing schools aren't merit based.

My apologies, I didn't mean to sound critical of what you posted. I just wanted to point out that community colleges vary in their admissions criteria, and some will look at your cumulative GPA. Some won't, some will weigh more recent classes more heavily, some place a lot of importance in entrance tests, some place you on a waitlist once you meet minimum requirements....etc.

I definitely agree that the OP should be open to different paths to becoming a nurse if her A plan doesn't work out. I was in a similar situation regarding GPA, and had B and C plans all worked out. Luckily for me, and the OP, and everyone else with a checkered educational past, there are nursing schools at all levels that will place more importance on doing well in prerequisite courses.

**CalicoKitty, BSN, MSN, RN** · Dec 15, 2008

I'd also recommend staying in school. Some schools may consider the "last 60 credits", if they're better than the overall GPA. It shows learning and improvement. And yes, good grades in science courses, and other prereqs's are important.

NewGoalRN · Dec 15, 2008

I agree with everything that you said above. I, myself have an A, B and C plan and at different times of the month, their places tend to shift as to which one I prefer, lol.