can I still become a nurse, though I had bad grades in college?

[janthi]

I am a sophmore in college and to be honest the first two years I didn't really focus on my grades.I am an average C student. In the beginning I declared my major to be psychology, but now I want to become a nurse. But I'm not sure you can get into a nursing program with a psy. degree? Is there still a chance or me to become a nurse even though my first 2 years of college were rocky? Where do I begin? Any advice would help! :) thanks

[R*Star*RN, BSN, RN]

As someone who had bad grades myself, at the beginning of college, I can tell you that it is possible to become a nurse :)

The first step to take is to make an appointment with the counselor for nursing students. The counselor can advise you which classes to take prior to applying to the nursing program, and which classes to re-take for a better grade.

For instance if most of your classes are a B grade but one or two classes brought you down to a C, then you might be advised to retake those classes.

Also, show everyone how interested you are in becoming a nurse and how exciting it would be for you. Become a CNA if you are not already, and work part time or volunteer in a health care setting.

Good luck :)

[NurseKate16]

yes, I would say talk to your advisor. Discuss what classes you can take to bring your GPA up(*cake classes*) and also, when you enroll in your nursing prerequisites(sciences, etc) just do your best to get a decent grade in those classes.

[Student4_life]

2 years of 2.0 + 2 years of 4.0 = 4 years of 3.0

3.0= minimum score to get into most NS (and since you improved from a 2.0 to a 4.0 you app will look nearly as good as a solid 4.0 student at some schools).

Of course if you avg is less than a 2.0, you are going to have a significantly harder time...

[irishrnbsn]

Well it depends, you have to take prerequistes before you can even apply to a nursing program so if you take those, you definately want to try and get an A or B. If you got low grades in some of the basic classes required for any degree like English you MAY want to retake some of those to get your GPA up. Read around on the site to get an idea what nursing is really about, because the schooling isn't easy, and the job is not glamorous. Make sure it is what you really want to do before taking the classes and if you aren't sure what you want to do yet then put college on hold rather than wasting money taking class after class. Trust me, when you find something you want to do you'll do well in the classes for it because you are enjoying them.