I have a BA degree in an unrelated field and a 2.99 overall GPA and have been working to bring it up - all my nursing/science prerequisites are post-bacc and have high marks (As and Bs). I have a story behind my GPA and I do plan on explaining it to schools. After this next semester, assuming I get As and Bs, it should be 3.01, but this GPA change will occur after many application deadlines...They'd see I have courses in progress but my GPA will still be 2.99.
Should I still apply to programs that want 3.0? Or will they see 2.99 and automatically reject it?
I have clinical experience and I'm making a big effort. It's so close I can almost taste it....Does that have any merit?
@ShelbyaStar is it like a direct entry ADN to BSN program?
I don't have any nursing programs in my area either - most of the schools on my list are mid-west and east coast. The one I'm interviewing for is in NY and I'm in CA. I'm willing to go anywhere! Actually, I want to relocate! lol
I honestly do not know if this helps, but I had a friend that applied to nursing school with myself and when he was seeking assistance with GPA they wiped grades off his transcript that were non related to his major such as an F in Video Broadcasting and a D in Into to Radio. It was from an old major that he attempted when he first got out of high school. Maybe a visit with the Dean can eliminate non necessary classes from the transcript that are non needed credits. Just a thought. Hope it helps.
My GPA from my Bachelors degree is even lower than yours. I've applied at a private school for a BSN program that will let you write a letter asking for "academic forgiveness" and then they will use the last 48 credit hours to calculate your overall GPA. So there are are schools out there that will accept the low GPA if you have improved your grades.
I've got a big ol' list of schools that I'm planning on applying to and after searching most of my day yesterday (I had the day off) I've found there's quite a few that will either accept an academic statement of purpose to talk about your academic history, or they have different GPA requirements than just a cumulative 3.0+ baseline. So after having my ego crushed, it's been restored. There's hope! lol It sounds like while GPA is definitely an important factor, there are also schools that take many other things into consideration as well.
I just finished up applying to two nursing schools. I have a BA, but went back to community college after the fact to do chem and bio. When I applied, all either school cared about was my most recent cumulative GPA...actually they said my BA meant nothing, pretty much. Both GPAs were between 3.5 and 3.6, so it wasn't a benefit or a hindrance in my case. I asked the adviser at one program whether she thought I was competitive and she said that even though it says "minimum GPA of 2.7", she had never seen anyone get in below a 3.2-3.3. I think it is probably one of the most important things they go by--the two I applied to, anyways.
I was accepted to one program (the one I mention talking to the adviser), waitlisted at the other (my first choice and longshot.)
At least in my area, ADN programs go off "pre requisite GPA" meaning that the only grades that mattered were the ones they wanted you to have to get it. My problem was the reverse, I did really well in a lot of the classes leading up to the pre reqs and a few classes I took as fun fillers that would look good on a resume or application to a program, and so it actually dropped my GPA a bit to only have the hard core A&P and Mirco type classes. I did get in though. Perhaps look for programs that just look at pre req GPA though.
To the OP, my biggest advice to you would be : do not give up and look at the SPECIFIC PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.
I had a gpa even lower than yours. Less than a 2.5...I'm not even sure what it was at this point. Twas a long time ago lol. I went to college when I was young and stupid and didn't take school seriousely at all.
Finally grew up, got my head on straight and figured out that I wanted to be a nurse.
The ADN program that I am in now at the time I applied looked at my GPA only in 11 classes- and it was 11 specific classes. They did not care how many times a person repeated the class, they took the person's "best grade." If you took the class at their specific community college it "counted more" than if it was at another school. They came up with a composite number from your grades in the class and ranked all applicants based on this number from top to bottom and offerred spots until the cut off for number of seats available at that cohort. If someone had a a 4.0 gpa, but had a 3.0 average of those 11 classes they weren't getting in. If somebody had a 2.8 gpa but had excellent grades just in those 11 classes, they were getting in. If someone had taken those 11 classes and got a 2.0, repeated all of them and got a 4.0, they were getting in.
It was hard for me because of my previous lackluster preformance in college courses. Some of the classes I had taken and done badly in were included in those 11 classes but I was able to repeat the ones that mattered in those 11 and took the rest of them and did well. That being said, by the time I applied to the program for the 11 classes that they looked at I had a 3.880....and did not get it in. I repeated two courses again and ended up with a 3.977....and did get in.
I am on track to graduate from this program in one month!
Previous, poor academic preformance will hinder the number of programs that are available as options to you as a future nursing student. It will NOT, however, keep you from being a nurse unless you let it.
That being said, it is very important to assess why you did badly before. Were you immature? didn't study? working too many hours? whatever the situation is, you must resolve it because while your previous lackluster academic preformance may not keep you from getting into nursing school, my understanding is that nursing programs themselves are not at all forgiving of poor academic preformance.
So what I am saying is research your options and figure out exactly what each program looks at and if programs are options to you or not. You may have to move.
You need to do a lot of research. Call around/dig around to specific nursing programs in your area.
And, most importantly- fix the issues that were causing you to get poor grades. While you may get into nursing school, you cannot become a nurse unless you fix your academic issues.
Most of my mistakes were made when I was a teenager - I started college when I was 14 years old! It's not so much "mistakes" either, I just got a lot of Cs back then. I wish my college would let me retake some of the C courses but you had to have gotten a D or F to retake.
Most of my mistakes were made when I was a teenager - I started college when I was 14 years old! It's not so much "mistakes" either, I just got a lot of Cs back then. I wish my college would let me retake some of the C courses but you had to have gotten a D or F to retake.
Who doesn't make mistakes? I seldom to find one. I wasn't stupid when I was a teenager. Later in my life, I had an ugly attitude. I'd get upset why do I have to take classes such as world literature, arts, and others that were irrelevant in my major. I did poorly in classes I hated. I enjoy learning on something I find interesting. Okay, I have a better attitude nowadays. For some reason, I fixed it. I had a little girl living inside my body.
I suggest saving the time and money that it would take you to apply. No school that will accept a 2.9GPA is any kind of school you want to attend. Don't feel bad though, there are many other careers you can select that do not require as high of a GPA and you will most likely be happier in the end anyway. You may mourn the nursing career you dreamt about but fantasy and reality are two different things and nursing is *not* all it is cracked up to be.
I mean only to be honest, not to harm your morale in any way. Bad schools are REALLY BAD. And believe me, they will hurt a lot more than your morale.
I truly hope that you find an answer that brings you satisfaction and joy. Be open minded and explore all options, consider using a career coach to help you. Don't look back, look forward. It's a bright new day, you don't have to be a nurse. I WISH my grades had not been so good, then I could have never been accepted into nursing school and I would have avoided massive, overwhelming, all-consuming suffering.
I would contact the schools you are looking at. They can tell you if they will accept your GPA or not. Then you can decide what your next step is. Many of us have been in your position. I wish you luck.
KayGee
85 Posts
@ShelbyaStar is it like a direct entry ADN to BSN program?
I don't have any nursing programs in my area either - most of the schools on my list are mid-west and east coast. The one I'm interviewing for is in NY and I'm in CA. I'm willing to go anywhere! Actually, I want to relocate! lol