Can I still get into nursing school with an F on my transcript?

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I am transferring to a school that has an accredited nursing program. I have and above average GPA for my required courses for nursing school, but recently have gotten an F in organic chemistry this past semester. Organic chem is not required for this nursing program but will still show up on my transcript. Will this hurt my chances of getting in even if my pre-requisite GPA is high and my accumulative is still above what it needs to be to get in?

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You don't know unless you try. And if it isn't a required pre req then you should be fine. good luck! Chemistry is definitely not one of my favorites.

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I hope so bc I have an entire semester of Fs when i didn't withdraw properly due to personal time in my life. I'm a member of phi theta kappa honors society with no grade lower than a B.

I hope to get all A's in my science pre reqs to offset that along with my doctor (whom I work for) letter of recommendation to Loyola Chicago where he worked for 33 years as a doctor/professor.

So I would say never know unless you try!

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Thanks for the encouragement! I have worked extremely hard and just let this class slip away from me!

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I had 3 D's on mine, really depends on the school. My issue was the class school of my last degree (one class had 200 people another had 300).

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Definitely depends. You need to check with your school. The school I want to get my RN at only goes by your last 24 credit hours which should include your prereqs. Another school I looked at goes by GPA for all schools attended. I think the best thing to do is just apply, expect the worst, and pray for the best.

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I agree with Tflowers. It definitely depends on the school you are applying to. I just finished my second semester of "actual" nursing classes. I am in a traditional BSN program. The school I go to (fortunately) calculates admission GPA based only on the courses that you have taken that will count towards your nursing degree. Anything that you have taken that will not apply to your nursing degree doesn't count in the calculation of GPA. Some schools DO count everything on your transcript to calculate GPA though. I would check with the school you are transferring to and find out exactly how they calculate admission GPA. I have a previous BS in Biology. I had quite a few bad grades...a few C's, D's, and even two F's from my first degree (Was young and didn't take school seriously.. but that's another story). Fortunately, all the bad grades I had were from Organic Chem, Biochem, and other advanced biology and chemistry classes that do not apply to a BSN. Since none of those classes count towards the nursing degree I am pursuing, none of those grades were used to calculate my GPA. There is hope! I was able to get in.. and I will graduate in May 2014. Best of luck!

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Specializes in Neonatal Nurse Practitioner.

My school is much like shorty's. They only calculate your GPA with classes that are part of the degree. I've been accepted and I have several F's on my transcript. They can see my F's but they don't consider them.

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Specializes in Oncology/hematology.

My school calculates all grades, not just the required prereqs. It would hurt you in that case.

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I just don't think ONE F will kill you. We all make mistakes. I do agree it depends in the school you apply to 100%.

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My school calculates all grades, not just the required prereqs. It would hurt you in that case.
My school did this too, but word on the street is that they're going to look at pre-requisite GPA ONLY so that it will be fair. Too many people were taking random everybody-gets-a-trophy-for-participating courses like "Introduction to Yoga" to raise their GPA.

It would really depend on your school, but I don't think one F will hurt you THAT much... especially if all your other grades are great! :)

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The schools I applied to only care about prereq gpa. Overall gpa does not factor into your acceptance to the university. Also, the program I got accepted to is highly rated (7th in the nation) so they are still good programs. Do a google search for nursing schools that only factor in your prereq gpa. Many programs do require ochem, but mine did not. Ochem is really helpful, so if you have the time, I would retake it. Also, it overwrites your bad grade. The F will still show on the transcript I believe, but your overall gpa will be fixed and factor in the new grade, not the F. I have a couple of bad grades in my record, including a F in inorganic chem from when I was 18. However, I retook inorganic chem last year and got a 99% and the highest grade in my class! (I'm now 27)

So don't worry, you can definitely still get into a great school even with a F on your record :). Good luck!

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