Advice for non-nursing student with low G.P.A

**NICU Guy, BSN, RN** · Sep 2, 2015

From Drexel's website "For your application to be considered, we require an overall undergraduate GPA of 3.0 from your previous degree (or 3.0 in last 60 credits completed; this can include prerequisite courses taken after you received your other bachelor's degree)."

You would need to considerably improve your GPA to be considered. Minimum application GPA is 3.0, but most programs (traditional and ABSN) have an acceptance GPA of above 3.5.

You will need to retake any prerequisite courses below a B to raise your GPA up regardless of the path you take.

gottagetouttahere93 · Sep 2, 2015

Thank you! So far, I only looked into Jefferson University, Drexel University, and Community College of Philadelphia. The pre-requisites that I've took are General Chem 1&2, and Anatomy/Physiology 1&2. I know that I'm not a competitive candidate at all and I will definitely retake/complete the pre-requisites. I guess what I should really ask is are there an alternative path that I should consider looking into besides the ones I've listed above, since my GPA is so low?

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Sep 2, 2015

I guess what I should really ask is are there an alternative path that I should consider looking into besides the ones I've listed above, since my GPA is so low?

1. Complete an LPN program, preferably at a private school that does not pay attention to GPA or previous credits earned.

2. After you graduate from the LPN program, enroll in an LPN-to-ASN or LPN-to-BSN program. There are several of these programs in your area of Philly/Central NJ.

3. If you opt for the LPN-to-ASN, you can complete an online BSN program with virtually no entrance requirements since several hundred of these programs exist.

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Sep 2, 2015

Please take this as helpful, because that's how I mean it: Consider remedial work in English. Your writing, grammar, and spelling will hold you back in whatever you do, including applications.

At at this point I think I'd recommend ditching anthropology and going directly to a nursing program, ANY nursing program, that would accept you, regardless of level or length of time to completion. Figure out how to complete the BSN later. Cast a very wide net-- community college, state college or university, NO for-profit or commercial online schools. This wide approach rec is because I think it might be hard to find a legitimate program that would accept you with your current academic history.

You could also consider taking some upper-level science courses you'd need for prerequisites (physiology, pathophysiology, organic chem-- I assume you've already taken anatomy for the physical anthro program) and acing them as evidence of your new-found dedication to a meaningful direction in life. That might help with admissions.

KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN · Sep 2, 2015

If the OP now has 72 credits with so low GPA, then even if he gets all As this current year, his total at 87 credits will be below 3.0. Which effectively puts pretty much any accelerated BSN right out of consideration.

The two remaining options are community college ASN and non-competitive private colleges. The latter option is less competitive but more expensive, so it would make sense to transition there ASAP and before current degree completion, so not to lose chances to loans/scholarships for which second degree seekers are not eligible.

I, though, would think hard and research local markets to exhaustion before getting into LPN program. With the kind of money private schools charging and prospects of LPN earnings, the move to that direction would make sense only if there are plenty of LPN jobs around there.

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Sep 2, 2015

Agree c KatieMI. I ought to have specified I meant an RN program, i.e., ADN or BSN, not LPN, when I said regardless of level, for the reasons she notes-- lousy job prospects for LPNs these days.

NurseGirl525, ASN, RN · Sep 2, 2015

OP, your options are limited. I also suggest that you take a step back and evaluate why you have done so poorly up until now with your schooling. What I see are a bunch of excuses. You did not have proper support and were discouraged at your college. This is college, not high school. You are an adult and need to take responsibility for your shortcomings at school. You and only you are responsible for your grades, not your dissatisfaction with your college experience. Nurses are strong, confident people, who need to be able to make quick decisions in the best interest of their patient at the moment. What I see is someone who is easily swayed by other people and has a hard time thinking on their own, and does not take responsibility for the decisions they do make. These are some qualities you need to fix.

Most schools have a min GPA to apply. To be frank, your GPA does not even hit the min, much less high enough to be competitive, at any school that is reputable. The min GPA is just that, the min, not what applicants are turning in. Most programs are extremely competitive. Especially in an ABSN program. And you need to realize those are accelerated programs. You had a difficult time with your traditional schedule in another major, how would you fare in an accelerated program. Every program is competitive whether it's an ABSN, BSN, or ASN program. I'm in an ASN program, there were 20 spots for over 100 applicants. Another thing you have to think about is cost. You will already have one degree, so don't count on federal grants for financial aid. You may be able to get a federal loan and you will have to look at private loans. ABSN programs are extremely expensive.

I'm going to suggest what some PP have suggested. Look at LPN programs only because they do not have as many applicants. But you will need to realize it's going to be a lot of content in a short period of time and your study habits are going to have to change. At my school my RN cohort started at the same time as the LPN cohort. I had twenty in mine, and there were 20 in LPN. The LPNs just graduated last month and they lost a little less than half of their cohort along the way. Many people were not prepared for the amount of work involved and thought it was like the prereqs and it's not. My two closest friends were in that cohort and they just passed their NCLEX on the first try. But they were like me in the study habits and worked their butts off the whole program. And while our instructors are great, I love them to death, they do not hold our hands. They are there if we need them, but there are expectations of us. If you fail a test, you fail a test.

I just think you need a little bit of a wake up call and a dose of reality. You are going to find out when you start looking at these other programs, that you are in a heap of trouble with that GPA. And you have a boatload of credits already in, retaking a bunch of classes may help a little, but not a whole lot. Do a lot of careful research, talk to nursing advisors at different schools and weigh your options and see what you will need to do. Those retakes won't be free and that will go into financial aid also.