Am I a competitive applicant for second entry programs?

[carlyhylton]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone could give me any feedback as to whether I stand a chance in getting accepted into any second entry, or bachelors level nursing programs in Canada.

I am a fourth year psychology student and I have taken my humanities prerequisites, statistics, and I have many psychology courses.

I am concerned because my overall GPA is just under 3.0 (2.95). Due to health reasons my GPA suffered in my second and third years (second year gpa was 2.832 and third year gpa was 2.189). My GPA in my last 30 credits is just under a 3.6 (3.55).

I am currently taking Anatomy, Physiology and another psychology course and plan to take microbiology, an english composition course (TBD), a woman's studies course, and my honours thesis courses in the fall, and possible a nutrition course in the winter semester... so I would have 36 credits to work reallllllyyyyy hard to pull my GPA up.

Can anyone advise whether I have a shot, and schools that I would be a competitive applicant at? Is there anyone who has gotten into a program with a similar GPA? Any other advice? Again, I am looking to apply to schools in Canada : )

Thanks in advance for your help!!!!

-Carly

[pmabraham, BSN, RN]

Good day, Carly:

Every school is different; so I recommend contacting the schools for which you are interested in applying and checking in with them. Do let them know the foundation for why your GPA is lower than 3 as you shared here.

Thank you.

[carlyhylton]

Thanks for the response! I've contacted a couple of schools and I keep hearing that a 3.0 in the last 30 to 60 credits is required, but successful applicants have around a 3.5 in the last 30 to 60 credits. However I'm worried that because of my overall GPA, I won't be a competitive applicant. Can anyone speak to whether this will be problematic? Again looking to apply to Canadian programs so canadian perspectives would be greatly appreciated : )

[BusyBee91]

Since you really want Canada-specific responses, you might have more luck moving this to World>Canada.

[carlyhylton]

Thank you so much! I apologize, I am new to the forum. I will post this there!

Cheers!

[windsurfer8, BSN, RN]

Carly..you need to look at schools and see what the minimums are. When I did my ABSN in 2006 pretty much the lowest GPA I saw accepted on first degree was 3.0. There were a few that went as low as 2.8. You need to research this because they really don't care about the reasons for the low GPA they just care about the number. Most schools are firm on that minimum, but you can always ask the school. If you apply to a school with a minimum 2.8 on first degree then you will have a shot. However I always say talk with the school..speak with an advisor. You are going to have to put in some real work to make it happen. Meet people...get an appointment. Explain the situation. Good Luck!

[dhart17]

Several minimums below a 3.00 but it may be difficult. I'd recommend taking some more classes to raise your chances or be able some form of higher experience level to the table. It's not impossible to get in, but you're going to need a very strong application (other than the gpa) you also may wish to address your lower than usual scores in your essay or addendum.