Advice on getting into a BSN program as a Freshman (former military)

[BASEjumper]

I'm currently in the military... in Afghanistan at the moment. As my service commitment winds down I realize I need to prepare myself for success in getting into a good nursing program. I've been doing some research for the last few months, including trolling on this forum and visiting school websites. From everything I've learned I've identified a few points that may cause setbacks, as well as possible solutions.

- My high school GPA is something of a joke. I finished my school's requirements at 16 and my diploma was mailed to me while I was at airborne school in Georgia. During that absence I got 0's in some classes I had no idea I was in. At any rate my high school GPA won't get me into nursing school

-Possible solution: In the year and a half I have left on active duty I can take online or community college classes. Then I'd be admitted based on those grades. As well as possibly reducing my future course load.

Some questions I have.

What sort of online or CC classes/programs would be most helpful? Should I attempt to get into a CC nursing program? I would prefer to be admitted to a 4 year BSN program so I can use my GI bill benefits most effectively. I am also interested in joining the Army Nurse Corps if I can get an ROTC nursing scholarship.

Does anyone have any suggestions on the best course of action to take?

A little about me: I'm a 21 yr/o Male. My current occupation consists of disarming bombs, rendering safe IED's and other Explosive works (EOD, Explosive Ordnance Disposal) I would rate my critical thinking skills as quite excellent. I have developed an uncanny ability to handle stress that I imagine would serve me quite well as a RN. Some experiences over here have led me to believe a career in healthcare would be the most rewarding thing I could do. When I got my purple heart I gained a strong respect for RNs and other health care professionals. I was in another event where we had several wounded/ killed, including the assigned medic and I took over his responsibilities and treated/ prepped for evac 8 or so PTs. That's when I decided I wanted to help / "fix" people full time. I felt a huge sense of pride knowing I had saved people's lives and I want to continue doing that.

Do you think it would be advisable to go to our on base Hospital and talk to RN's/staff there?

What sort of things can I do now to set myself up for future success and admittance. Volunteering, shadowing, becoming a cna?

Some of the programs I want to apply to are: University of Washington, UC Denver, University of Seattle, Bozemon, or the University of Portland. I know these are all highly competitive so any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you.

[RN_Marie]

Hi! My fiancé had the same dilemma. He just got out of the military and was settled on becoming a nurse. Unfortunately, like you said, programs are so competitive nowadays. However, don't let that discourage you because you have a lot of good things available because you are a veteran.

1. Don't worry about your high school GPA. As long as you graduated from high school and received your diploma. Nursing schools have a different entrance exam, Nursing Entrance Test or NET, which will determine if you get into the program. If you are planning to go on a CC, chances are you'll take the NET after you've completed all your prerequisites.

2. Find a school that offers the YELLOW RIBBON PROGRAM. My fiancé and I graduated from a private school. With the GI bill and yellow ribbon program he didn’t have to get private loans as much.

We graduated with our BSN December and are now waiting to take the NCLEX-RN. Hope this helps you a little.

[SummitRN, BSN, RN]

Your HS grades can be addressed with a letter of explanation if the rest of your grades were good.

What do you think of doing your prereq classes at a CC, then applying to a BSN program? That is what happens anyways, you attend two years wherever, then apply for the final two years of the BSN program. If your CC grades are great, they won't even look at your HS grades!

Many of your prereq classes you could probably do online through a CC like English, Psych, etc, then do the stuff you have to do in person when you get back home: Chem, A&P, Bio

[Klamerus2]

Good advise, but beware. Make sure any classes you take will transfer to the nursing program you decide to apply to. I am in the BSN program at Northern Michigan University. There are 2 classes you can't take anywhere else. Which means you HAVE to have at least 1 semester here. Of course, there are loopholes. In this particular program, you can transfer most of your pre-requisites and as long as you get a C or better, they will accept them. The biggest loophole is that if you complete 12 semester hours at Northern, ONLY the Northern GPA is used in deciding your acceptance into the nursing program. My case is an example. I dropped out of college 25 years ago. Decided after following my husband around in the Army for 30 years that I would go back to school. Since partying was my primary goal in college in the late 70's, my GPA was something like a 2.0....not good. I knew from taking a class here and there with the Army that I have changed and am capable of doing much better work. I repeated my Anatomy and Physiology in Tennessee just before we retired. I also applied to NMU and began taking classes online. Needless to say, when all was said and done, I applied with a Northern GPA of 3.89. I had all the prep work done, and just needed to fill in a few liberals. I had 13 hours with Northern when I applied, so that is the GPA they used. It did make a few people mad that I was able to do that, but I am proving myself by consistently carrying at GPA above 3.5. You can do a lot of stuff through the University of Maryland while you are still on active duty....don't give up, you can do it.... and THANK YOU for all your sacrifices for the rest of us!