Are A's really not practical in nursing school?

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I am wondering if it is really not practical to expect to continue getting A's once I start the NS program in 2 months? As someone who received an A in all prereqs including intro to bio, both A&P, chem x2, psy intro, psy (human dev), humanities, nurse aid & tech, etc... I kinda find it hard to believe.

I have 2 kids, who are in elementary school/ preschool... but I do not have to work.

So I would like to hear from A students who either continued getting A's or those who were A students and now find themselves as B/C students.

Specializes in Telemetry.

Making all A's in nursing school is absolutely an achievable goal! If you want it then you can make it happen :) good luck!

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Specializes in NICU Level III.

I had all A's in my prereqs but had a few B's in nursing school but still graduated magna cum laude. It really doesn't matter in the long run.

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I know some students that have maintained an A average in nursing school. I have had to deal with getting a few B+s after being an A student. Just be aware that what gets you an A in your sciences will not necessarily work for the nursing classes. The nursing test questions are application of knowledge as well as wording. There are some good books out there to help you study for NCLEX style tests.

The thing is, halfway through nursing school you don;t care as much about your GPA as you do about actually applying your knowledge in the clinical setting. I hate to say it, because this always annoyed me before but your grades really do not correlate with your patient care. I know some students who are excellent clinically and great students and I also know C students who are excellent clinically. The tests really do not test your knowledge, they prepare you to take the NCLEX which is as much about test taking skills as it is about actual nursing knowledge.

That the attitude I see most students take, at least. But getting an A is still possible, if you work hard!

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While getting A's in nursing school may not be an easy matter, that does not mean that one cannot or should not strive for that grade.

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Specializes in New Grad in Cardiac.

Don't get all caught up in the hype of making A's. It will only stress you out! I was an A/B student all through nursing school. I took tests that I barely passed or failed with a 74...don't beat yourself up if this happens!! IT IS OKAY! I find that how you are in clinical, in a real setting, far outweighs how you do on paper! I was always more comfortable in the actual hospital than when I took a test.

I'm going to leave you with a quote from one of my instructors:

"I would rather have a C student who is great in clinical over an A student who is terrible on clinical any day!"

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Specializes in Med/Surg, APU/PACU, Peds, Flight.

i graduated 4th in high school. i graduated cumme laude (you needed at least a 3.6 GPA) from college. i never had less than a B in any of my classes from day 1, with significanly more AB's and A's than Bs. it is possible. just study and you will be fine.

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wow someone cut out the rest of my post...interesting. I'll have to see if I can edit it

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It is possible to get all A's, to have a full time job, and kids...etc---it all depends on you.

Yeah, it sure does depend on you. It depends on you NOT having a full time job.

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I have 2 kids, who are in elementary school/ preschool... but I do not have to work.

If you are not working at all, you should be able to get straight As.

But if you don't, there is no shame in Bs and Cs. The only shame would be not trying your best.

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Specializes in ICU, Step-down, CCU.

Practical versus realistic.

Are A's practical? it depends on what you put into it to be honest. While the program does have SOME impact it comes down to the student.

Realistic, now that is different. Some programs or grading schemes make the A difficult to obtain. Now that can be material, quantity, quality of instruction and the list can go on and on.

I have a bunch of kids, my DW works and I focus on class. Straight A's prior, previous degree, currently B's in the nursing program (A's in non nursing) and I put in close to 20+ hours a week on study/class work for nursing. I am also what I consider to be a crappy program. Low quality instruction, little direction and a grading system that makes an A impractical.

I think A's are possible, I will try next semester again, then again after that one. One of these days I will get that A!

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I think A's are completely practical. I'm a straight A student myself.

I have no kids though and I do work part time.

One thing that is having me struggle through mental health nursing this term is the fact that it's far less interesting than this website :p

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

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I'm just gonna sum up the post that I made, that somehow disappeared. A's are very practical...and you don't even have to study hours, days, and weeks for a test. Some people may have to re-write the entire book, or use an entire pack of highlighters for 5 pages, or do whatever... but just do what has worked for you. I studied the same way for pre-reqs that I did in nursing school, and came out with A's and B's. Some people just memorized the same way you hear about people on here memorizing for A&P, and they failed out of our program. Of the 100 who started with me, only half of them finished. It's about how you think. And sorry if this offends anyone...but that C=RN???? C does NOT equal RN, or continue, or whatever you wanna say. C= a C amount of competency. And yes many people do try their hardest and can only come out with a C, and yes some C students are AWESOME nurses. And you hear several people say "i knew the WHOLE book front to back, and made a C". Just because you can re-draw a pretty colorful picture, or have 500 colors of cards, highlighters, etc...does that mean if your pt. had certain labs, or signs and symptoms, that you would know what to do first? Or what the priority is? Or how to stop the cause of whatever it is? Nope. Bottom line...don't aim for the "I just wanna pass" level.

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