Bachelors in Biology. Now what?

Published

I have a friend who just got his Bachelor's in Biology from a 4-year university. He wanted to be a doctor but his GPA is too low (2.66). Now he is considering being an RN, and possibly Nurse Practitioner. I think he's already taken all the prereq's for nursing school (Microbiology, Anatomy, Physio, etc). What route would you suggest for him now? Get a second bachelor's in Nursing? Thanks.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

He can apply to nursing school, hopefully his GPA in the prerequisite courses will be good enough to get him admitted.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

If it's something he is interested in, I say go for it! I have a BS in microbiology and am in an ADN program right now, and will start my BSN concurrently next fall. What I've found is that all my courses and stuff I learned with my BS really makes a lot of the science stuff go easy in class because I have to learn the harder aspects of it already.

Worse that'll happen is he'll apply and not get in. I'm not sure how competitive schools are based on GPA, so I can't give you advice on that. I know my school gives applicants points based on their pre-req GPAs, not necessarily overall college GPA. So if his pre-req grades are good (basic bio, micro, etc) and he just did poorly in classes they don't count like organic chemistry, that might help him out. For example, I have an overall 3.64 GPA from my BS, but since they only counted my pre-reqs, I went in with a 4.0.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

He could also apply for entry level MSN programs too, if he's interested.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Well after reading this thread a question came to mind for anyone reading this. What if you have a GPA of say 2.66 or whatever and you got your diploma (Bachelor's). You need a certain GPA for med school so how do you boost your GPA? Are you able to go back to your old university and retake classes or what do you do?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care, Postpartum.

OP: Your friend can look into Accelerated BSN programs, with the goal to be an NP. Some students in my class are taking that route, because they too didn't make into med school. OR, your friend can look into Entry-level MSN degrees if he chooses to skip the BSN. After MSN, he can do a post-graduate and specialize. If he is interested in ABSN programs he can start here: Accelerated BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) Programs

thenameismac: Just to answer some of your questions, once you graduate with a certain GPA, that GPA will remain on your transcript as the GPA you graduated with. Retaking classes he/she did poorly in won't change that GPA. If some of the classes retaken were prerequisites, nursing schools will calculate your perquisite GPA and weigh that for acceptance. In regards to ABSN programs, most look at your graduating GPA and weigh heavily on that (most requiring a minimum 3.0GPA). It really boils down to the school's requirements.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
OP: Your friend can look into Accelerated BSN programs, with the goal to be an NP. Some students in my class are taking that route, because they too didn't make into med school. OR, your friend can look into Entry-level MSN degrees if he chooses to skip the BSN. After MSN, he can do a post-graduate and specialize. If he is interested in ABSN programs he can start here: Accelerated BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) Programs

thenameismac: Just to answer some of your questions, once you graduate with a certain GPA, that GPA will remain on your transcript as the GPA you graduated with. Retaking classes he/she did poorly in won't change that GPA. If some of the classes retaken were prerequisites, nursing schools will calculate your perquisite GPA and weigh that for acceptance. In regards to ABSN programs, most look at your graduating GPA and weigh heavily on that (most requiring a minimum 3.0GPA). It really boils down to the school's requirements.

I'm not really familiar with the competitive-ness of nursing admissions, so I was wondering if you could give me some insight? Like, how hard would it be for him to get into an entry-level MSN program? An ABSN program? Are there certain programs that are more forgiving in regards to GPA? I'm going to school in Arizona right now so I'd like for him to study in either Arizona or California. Sorry if I'm asking too many questions, and thanks for the reply.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Well after reading this thread a question came to mind for anyone reading this. What if you have a GPA of say 2.66 or whatever and you got your diploma (Bachelor's). You need a certain GPA for med school so how do you boost your GPA? Are you able to go back to your old university and retake classes or what do you do?

It depends on which type of med school you're looking at. For Allopathic schools (M.D.'s), your best bet is probably to start over and do a completely new bachelor's. The other option is to do a few years of post-bacc work to show that you can handle graduate coursework. And of course, slay the MCAT.

Osteopathic schools (D.O.'s) are more forgiving. You can retake any of your classes and then only the Newer Grade will be calculated into your GPA. You can do this at your university or a community college.

You can find more information at SDN: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care, Postpartum.
I'm not really familiar with the competitive-ness of nursing admissions, so I was wondering if you could give me some insight? Like, how hard would it be for him to get into an entry-level MSN program? An ABSN program? Are there certain programs that are more forgiving in regards to GPA? I'm going to school in Arizona right now so I'd like for him to study in either Arizona or California. Sorry if I'm asking too many questions, and thanks for the reply.

I don't know much about the EL MSN programs, just the Accelerated BSN. It's best for him to look through the list of ABSN programs in Arizona or California in the link I provided in my previous post. Go through the schools to see what they require, especially regarding GPAs. The programs in my area want a minimum of 3.0 GPA to even apply. However, there are programs that take less than that, but do the search to find them.

In my experience, I found that the ADN programs were more competitive than the ABSN programs. A few reasons why is ADNs are less expensive and not everyone graduated with a 3.0 GPA from their first degree so more are applying to the ADN programs over the ABSNs.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

My local MSN program for people with a four yr degree is so competitive that they are taking any overall GPAs lower then 3.8 even though their posted requirement is only 3.0.

Check out the private schools in your area...they don't usually care that much about GPAs, just your money.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion