I have an issue that has been bothering me since I began my first semester of nursing school this fall, and I would really appreciate some insight on this.
Currently I am wrapping up my first semester of school at Prince Georges Community College. My program has been challenging but definitely doable if you study hard. My only issue with the program is the absolutely absurd grading scale that they have in affect. The grading scale is as follows: A= 94-100%, B= 87-93%, and C= 80-86%. Anything below that is a failing grade.
I am completely frustrated with this, because I study my behind off each and every day and my current score in the course is an 85.55 or a C. Depending on how my final exam goes I will get a C or a B.
I am trying to get into the University of Maryland school of nursing for my BSN. Their GPA requirement is a 3.0. I am really afraid that my nursing school grades will drop my GPA below a 3.0. (I currently have a 3.0 GPA).
My question is.. if my gpa is (God forbid) below a 3.0, is there a way I can explain my previous schools grade scale to admissions??
I really feel PGCC's grading scale is completely unfair to students, especially in comparison to other nursing schools. It denies students from earning the grades they deserve, and can ultimately shuts them out from any potential future educational endeavors.
Some schools allow for you to submit an additional document in which you could explain grades. I believe transcripts show grading criteria also. Talk to the schools you want to apply to.
Actually I've never seen grading scale that strict. Literally it's possible you could get 90-93 average on all courses and end up with a 3.0 while other students would end up with a 3.7 or higher. There's something wrong with this picture.
I like the idea of taking fluff courses to raise your GPA. Also, I would recommend that you go to the school in person and talk to the admission staff. Talk about the program and mention this to them or even give them an averaged-weight-adjusted numeric grade for the nursing courses.
Keep in mind though, there are tons of RN-BSN programs out there and the name recognition isn't really a big deal in nursing especially for RN-BSN program. Don't get too hung up on one specific program.
I was recently accepted to umson for the rn to bsn program. i attended an adn program in md and your grading system is different from mines, it was lower. But since you accepted to go there , you just have to deal with it.
Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
That's very interesting because compared to most schools in the state where I am from (I researched many) its high.
But my focus is not about the grading scale. There's nothing I can do about that.
Say for instance my final GPA is a 2.9. Will the schools that I apply to for my BSN consider my previous school's grade scale as a factor, or can I exaplain it to them?
Are your grade reports on a numerical OT on a 4point scale? My school had similar grading but our grade reports and transcripts were 92.8% not B+
Some schools allow for you to submit an additional document in which you could explain grades. I believe transcripts show grading criteria also. Talk to the schools you want to apply to.
Actually I've never seen grading scale that strict. Literally it's possible you could get 90-93 average on all courses and end up with a 3.0 while other students would end up with a 3.7 or higher. There's something wrong with this picture.
I like the idea of taking fluff courses to raise your GPA. Also, I would recommend that you go to the school in person and talk to the admission staff. Talk about the program and mention this to them or even give them an averaged-weight-adjusted numeric grade for the nursing courses.
Keep in mind though, there are tons of RN-BSN programs out there and the name recognition isn't really a big deal in nursing especially for RN-BSN program. Don't get too hung up on one specific program.
I agree that the scaling grade is too strict and the school nclex pass rate is not good. I just looked it up on mbon and the pass rate is around 59 percent which puts the school at risk. It also says that this is the second year that the school has not met the minimum pass rate for nclex.
Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
I agree that the scaling grade is too strict and the school nclex pass rate is not good. I just looked it up on mbon and the pass rate is around 59 percent which puts the school at risk. It also says that this is the second year that the school has not met the minimum pass rate for nclex.
That is going to hurt your chances for admission than a 2.9
Trust me, all the schools in an area are well-aware of both their competitions' grading curves, their NCLEX passing rates, and their risk of losing accreditation. Having had students that spent more time calculating their GPAs to the 4th decimal point (so they could figure out exactly how many questions that they got wrong should be "thrown out" of an exam that was psychometrically valid to begin with) than studying actual course material, I agree with the above poster. Stop wasting your time obsessing about this and get to studying to get your GPA up. In your nursing courses and prereqs. Because many schools you'd like to go to don't care as much about your gut course grades as they do about your prerequisites and nursing course grades (though these last will not likely transfer anyway).
Specializes in Cardiac (adult), CC, Peds, MH/Substance.
My advice is to discuss with someone who will not make admission decisions. They are known as recruiters or admission counselors. They may be able to give valuable advice. Or not. But it's worth asking. Next, realize that there are a billion RN to BSN programs. You have other options, as others have mentioned.
Wait what? Ew! Ours was the standard A=90-100 B=80-89, etc. I was fortunate to get mostly As and Bs but I know a lot of really competent and smart classmates that would've failed on this grading scale. Good luck to you and anyone else who is subjected to that scale!
Specializes in Cardiac (adult), CC, Peds, MH/Substance.
Keep in mind that your 90 to 100 grade may have been more difficult to obtain then on even a 98 - 100 a grading scale at some schools. That this school has a poor NCLEX pass rate indicates that they may be training on and testing the incorrect material to ensure success. Additionally it does not bode well as an indication that it is testing a material difficult enough to ensure knowledge of standard practices procedures pathophysiology excetera. At some schools you may have a much more difficult time for example obtaining an 82% then you would at other schools of obtaining a 95%
umbdude, MSN, APRN
1,228 Posts
Some schools allow for you to submit an additional document in which you could explain grades. I believe transcripts show grading criteria also. Talk to the schools you want to apply to.
Actually I've never seen grading scale that strict. Literally it's possible you could get 90-93 average on all courses and end up with a 3.0 while other students would end up with a 3.7 or higher. There's something wrong with this picture.
I like the idea of taking fluff courses to raise your GPA. Also, I would recommend that you go to the school in person and talk to the admission staff. Talk about the program and mention this to them or even give them an averaged-weight-adjusted numeric grade for the nursing courses.
Keep in mind though, there are tons of RN-BSN programs out there and the name recognition isn't really a big deal in nursing especially for RN-BSN program. Don't get too hung up on one specific program.