Published Mar 13, 2012
Damask
36 Posts
I recently graduated with a BSN at the same school where I got a previous, and VERY unrelated, degree (art). All of the students in my class had previous degrees, and each of them had a clean slate because they came in from other schools. Their GPAs were determined only by their nursing courses.
However, the school averaged all of my courses together. I ended up with a nursing course degree that was 0.32 higher than my overall GPA (it included all courses I took when achieving the BSN). I called up the advisor and asked him how I could view my nursing school degree away from my art degree. He told me how to do this and I explained that I wanted to put just that on my resume because it seemed more relevant anyway. I mean, why would an nurse manager want to know how I did in an art class I took a decade ago? I did list each degree separately and put the separated out BSN GPA under my BSN degree. I only wrote "3.x GPA."
I turned in the resume to a professor for grading in a professionalism course and she said it looked good.
I have been applying for jobs and landing interviews. I recently had a VERY good interview and feel that I'm a great fit for the floor and the floor is a great fit for me. I believe, in the application, I became worried and added the words "in nursing courses" after my GPA, then added my cumulative after that. However, I can't remember exactly. I tried to go back and look at the application, but I can't view it and put my mind at ease.
When the hospital sees my transcripts, I am not sure if they will be able to view my BSN GPA as a separate entity. Will they? Will they call me if they have questions? It's rather complicated and I am kicking myself for not rereading my application a fourth time.
I called the advisor from school but he has not yet responded.
I went to yet another interview with this hospital and gave a group of managers my resume with my different GPA's clearly delineated. They didn't seem to care, but the more I think of it, the more I remember looking up my cumulative GPA,adding it to the application, and thinking "Huh, it's fine, too. Why not?" I was very thorough. (Wish that it I could have printed it up! The way the boxes were I couldn't.)
I'm just the kind of person that triple checks that my door is locked at night. I take notes on everything but never trust them 100%. :) I just hope that, if they see any problem, they call me!
Amanda.RN
199 Posts
I don't think I've ever had to put my GPA on a resume or application. Did they specifically request it? If so and they ask about it, just tell them that the previous art degree courses you took brought down your GPA but that you did well in the nursing courses. If they don't ask, I wouldn't even bring it up. GPA generally isn't taken into consideration when selecting a candidate for a position -- usually it's based on experience, critical thinking skills while answering their hypothetical questions in the interview, and your personality/behavior during the interview.
Good luck! :)
Oh, good. Thank you, Amanda. They didn't specifically request it. I just had it in there from the class I took where we wrote our resumes. Everyone I spoke to thinks I am being a worry-wort.
I'm starting to like the hypothetical questions and telling stories from clinicals! It's getting to be...fun. :) I've met so many wonderful people in my job search. This week has been especially great. Thank you for your answer!
nursegirl75
121 Posts
There are so many other things to worry about than your GPA. Let me tell you from experiences, they rarely look at your GPA. Your clinical experience and what you learned from your mistakes is what is most important.
Thank you, nursegirl!