Are B's good grades in nursing school?

Published

I always hear people saying, as long as you pass nursing school you're doing awesome. But are we really? When I did my pre-reqs I aced everything. Now I'm in my first semester of nursing school and I did well on my first round exams but I had midterms this week and I got B's. I still have A's in the classes but I'm worried I'm gonna end up with B's. It's just so hard to study when there's a test or two every week. I don't mean to make excuses I'm trying as hard as I can but I feel like there's not enough time and I'm getting tired. So in your opinion, is making B's good in nursing school? Will grad schools still accept you an A/B average, 3.5?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

B's are just fine! :) In my BSN class, there are only a few left that still have straight A's. Many of us aced our pre-req's, but nursing school is a lot different. One of my teachers reassured us that you can get into grad school with an A/B average.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in mental health / psychiatic nursing.

I did well in my pre-reqs and did well in nursing school, but I did accept that I was going to get a few B's along the way. Most grad school programs want a min 3.0 GPA, so a few B's won't kill your chances of getting in down the road. I think only one or two people in my program had straight As all the way through.

I think the first term is also hard for many students because nursing is a new way of thinking for many, and as you noted there just isn't time to get down all the information to the application level and not sacrifice sleep or other necessities. I found that in many ways the program became easier for me once I accepted "B"s as okay grades - I spent a bit more time on self-care, a bit less on studying, and my grades stayed the same or slightly improved, and I actually made it through with an A- average at the end of it all.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Better to get a few B's than to be one of the poor souls who get kicked out of the program over a .01 failure to meet the minimum requirement. Relax.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

In many schools, mine included, the only options are A, B, or F. For example, on our exams, those are the only grades possible. They're not even number grades, and there's no wiggle room; it's pretty much pass or fail. Our professors tell us to be happy with a B. We passed; now keep moving along. It's very different from pre-reqs, which is very hard for some of us to accept!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in MICU RN.

Really only matters if you ever want to go back for a further degree... Do you plan on it? If so I'd aim for minimum 3.0 GPA, or even better at least a 3.3 or so. I've seen some programs even require that high. Like said before it's quite different than pre-reqs. If you're getting some B's, but also some A's as well it averages out not bad at all.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Neonatal Nurse Practitioner.

Bs are fine. Grad schools will accept much lower than a 3.5, even the good ones, especially with a good GRE.

My cum GPA is lower than 3.0. (But my nursing coursework and last 60 are Ok). I have a very high GRE. When I was applying to FNP programs, I was admitted to 3 different schools. All were big state schools with good, long-standing reputations with online/hybrid FNP programs. I didn't apply to any for-profits or degree mills. Those are ridiculously easy to get into. Now, I'm transferring into an NNP program at the flagship university in my state (highly regarded). They say that the minimum is 3.0, but I was able to compensate with other factors. Most admissions committees will look at applicants as a whole.

So, don't stress those Bs. Your career path will be fine.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency.

I'm in my last semester and my advice to you would be to make certain you are genuinely learning the material, not just memorizing it. Taking what you learn and applying it forward, and then revisiting it as you advance into the next semesters is important. A lot of folks in the last couple semesters struggle because they didn't truly understand the earlier material.

Best of luck to you!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

This is what I'm most concerned about, HarleyGrandma - especially as I just started electrolytes. This is the most technical and challenging aspect that we have covered in my first semester, and hoo boy...

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Better to get a few B's than to be one of the poor souls who get kicked out of the program over a .01 failure to meet the minimum requirement. Relax.

I agree with this .

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency.
This is what I'm most concerned about, HarleyGrandma - especially as I just started electrolytes. This is the most technical and challenging aspect that we have covered in my first semester, and hoo boy...

Those F & E will be with you for the rest of nursing school, you just keep adding layers to that knowledge. For each subject area ask yourself:

What a patient with this condition would look like?

Signs and symptoms of early disease, late disease?

What is happening with their labs?

What are the nursing priorities?

Interventions?

What would the nurse teach?

What care can the nurse delegate?

And then make a case study of a patient with this disease, compare and contrast w/others.

You got this!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Those F & E will be with you for the rest of nursing school, you just keep adding layers to that knowledge. For each subject area ask yourself:

What a patient with this condition would look like?

Signs and symptoms of early disease, late disease?

What is happening with their labs?

What are the nursing priorities?

Interventions?

What would the nurse teach?

What care can the nurse delegate?

And then make a case study of a patient with this disease, compare and contrast w/others.

You got this!

Thank you! Your advice and encouragement mean so much to me. I like the layers analogy, and that's what I keep reminding myself - layer new information onto the old.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion