Anyone make it into nursing school with a C in Anatomy?

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I've been lurking on this website for a couple years now and have finally joined now that I'm getting closer to applying to nursing school. I've had doubts about whether I'll be able to make it in. My GPA is not the greatest and I've had to retake classes. When I'm able to really focus in on school I can get A's but I've been spread really thin these past few years, with work (as a home health CNA), having two small children and needing to help quite a lot with them plus housework due to my wife having PPD (I'm not complaining, just the way it is), moving three times, tons of home repair projects, etc. Anyway, you get the point. Life has been busy and my grades have suffered. I just finished Anatomy and passed with a C. I'm confident that had I studied more I could have done better but that didn't happen! I'm worried about not getting into nursing school. If my overall GPA was better I wouldn't worry so much, but as it is.... Has anyone on here made it into nursing school with a C in Anatomy? If so, what was your overall GPA?

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Specializes in Prior military RN/current ICU RN..

Pretty much everyone is "spread thin" and you are still expected to earn excellent grades. The reason is if you become a nurse you are expected to provide "A" level care even if you are "spread thin" at home etc. Is it possible you could get in? Sure it is possible. However a C in nursing school is a NO GO and you will be removed from the program. Make your life easier by earning the grades upfront. Good luck.

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I would recommended take Anatomy and bringing that grade up. A lot of it depends on your area but where I live, a C in anatomy won't get you in. At some schools, a B wouldn't get you into the nursing program.

Everyone has stuff going on at home. Everyone. And your Nuraing instructors aren't going to let you use that as an excuse. In some programs, you have to make an 80 or higher to stay in the program.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

To answer the question-I did, sort of.

I made it with a C in A&P when I got accepted in a Practical Nursing program; I was able to audit the course and showed up for days and tests that had information that I felt I needed to review.

When I began my BSN journey, I had to challenge the grade on a CLEP exam and receive an A in order to get into the program-granted by that time it was 5 years old anyway

To be clear, I was able to get into nursing school with a C in one program, however, an A is expected due to the foundation of your nursing courses goes back to the sciences such as A&P.

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There was one student in my cohort that made it into the program with a C in A/P, and she only made it in because three students dropped the program before it started. She did not make it past the first seven weeks. A/P is something that you really want to have a solid understanding of. Everything else is built on it, and in nursing school, instructors don't have time to go over all of that physiology again. You just need to know it.

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To be clear, this wasn't an A/P class. It was just Anatomy and I will be taking Physiology in the fall. The school I'm attending separates them, so I do have a chance to get a better grade in physiology. I understand that everyone is "spread thin," I just don't understand how in the world I am supposed to study more when there are only 24 hours in the day. I can't cut my work hours any more than I already have. Does anyone have any great advice on how to still get excellent grades when it seems like everything else keeps eating up your time to study?

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I understand the idea of needing to provide "A" level care even when you are spread thin at home. My problem isn't not being able to do work well because of everything at home. When I am at work, I am 100% at work and I do a great job. My issue is that homework is outside of class time and I don't have a ton of study time. I do feel like I got a great basis in knowledge in Anatomy, despite my C. I did test corrections for every test, and although my grade doesn't reflect it, I did learn the information very well- just not in time for the tests, unfortunately.

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I did. That doesn't mean it will work for most programs or any in your area, but I did get in with a C and a killer TEAS score. So it can happen. But anatomy is nothing compared to NS. Imagine all your hardest classes stacked on top of eachother. If you say anatomy takes up too much time outside of class, nursing school is even more. Really think about if you're ready to tackle (outside of class) homework, studying, clinicals, lab time, papers, care plans, group projects, reading, etc. attending lectures isn't gonna get you through nursing school. Figure out how you're going to add hours in the day, it's the only way to survive.

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Specializes in PACU.
cjens27 said:
To be clear, this wasn't an A/P class. It was just Anatomy and I will be taking Physiology in the fall. The school I'm attending separates them, so I do have a chance to get a better grade in physiology. I understand that everyone is "spread thin," I just don't understand how in the world I am supposed to study more when there are only 24 hours in the day. I can't cut my work hours any more than I already have. Does anyone have any great advice on how to still get excellent grades when it seems like everything else keeps eating up your time to study?

It's not about studying more. It's about studying smarter.

Are you studying stuff you already know? Chuck it. You need to study the stuff you don't know or understand and find ways to use your time wisely.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
BeachyRN2Be said:
It's not about studying more. It's about studying smarter.

Are you studying stuff you already know? Chuck it. You need to study the stuff you don't know or understand and find ways to use your time wisely.

Agree.

Nursing school will be a WHOLE lot more challenging; there will be ton of information thrown at you, clinicians, writing care plans, projects, papers, etc. You need time to study and understand the material that will be thrown to you and it will be best to find a plan that will be conductive for you to understand the material in order to pass and get the right grades.

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Here in California there are some programs who choose based on a lottery system. So if you meet the minimum requirements you have the same chance as someone who got all A's. I also happen to know of a few students who got C's and low TEAS scores and still got into nursing school so the answer to your question is yes.

That being said students who get lower grades might not be adequately prepared for nursing school for multiple reasons ranging from study habits, time management, difficulty understanding material etc...Out of the 4 people I knew who got in with C's only 1 has stayed in the program so far.

Since you said you were confident that if you had studied more you could have done better in anatomy, I would use the last few pre reqs you take (phyio and micro) to develop good study habits, learn time management, and figure out your own support system because these will be vital to you in nursing school. Get A's in those last few classes before you apply and take it very seriously. I can tell you have a lot on your plate, but all that stuff won't go away when your in the program so it is vital you develop ways to deal with everything you are juggling. You don't want to make it into nursing school only able to do the bare minimum and then end up getting kicked out because the bare minimum won't cut it in the program.

Again, I can see you have a lot on your plate and I know it can get overwhelming, so I wish you the best of luck and hope to see another post in the future with you asking tips for prepping for nursing school! :)

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cjens27 said:
I understand the idea of needing to provide "A" level care even when you are spread thin at home. My problem isn't not being able to do work well because of everything at home. When I am at work, I am 100% at work and I do a great job. My issue is that homework is outside of class time and I don't have a ton of study time. I do feel like I got a great basis in knowledge in Anatomy, despite my C. I did test corrections for every test, and although my grade doesn't reflect it, I did learn the information very well- just not in time for the tests, unfortunately.

Hi cjens early in my prereq work, I had a C in straight anatomy then repeated it during the summer and had anA+++. It gave me the chance to dig into it. I formed a study group and we gathered around the big white board every day after lecture. We took turns filling in pictures - what worked for us was we all 'watched, did it, taught it. We all got As. A An idea for you, Learn anatomy backwards and fwds and then move onto physio, then take all the other nursing-support classes like pharm, medical calculations, and then pathophys while you're waiting for your app to be processed. You have work hours so you're set w that. Buy an ATI practice book or buy a practice test online for the teas6

I'm assuming you had bio, chem, biochem, micro, etc already.

Keep us posted.

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