Classmates stuck in the mud????

justme1972 · Mar 13, 2007

I have learned, be careful of the rumor mill, because it proves not to be true most of the time.

When they said, "I had a friend that had a 4.0 GPA"...they either heard it from someone else, or their friend lied about their GPA.

I would go ahead and apply, but be very active on campus, offer to do tutoring for nursing students in pre-req classes if you can, anything to get someone to remember your name. That way they know you are serious.

iHeartNICU · Mar 13, 2007

Well, all schools are different but I'll tell you about mine. When I applied they went only on GPA. When I say only I seriously mean it didn't matter if you were some big hot shot or knew someone. My GPA was a 3.8 and I got in. Our class took the top 100 people so the lowest GPA that got accepted was a 3.6 ish. Now, after I got in, the very next semester they looked at GPA and they also started doing interviews, math test, & essay. I would say that if you talked to people at your school and they said GPA then that is what they meant. Nobody at my school knew me at all except what my application said. No pictures, no interviews, not anything other than GPA. Wow, that was kinda long, sorry. If you have any questions feel free to PM me and I'll try to help. Best of luck.

Amy

AirforceRN, RN · Mar 13, 2007

I'll give you my own experience, but living in Canada it may be different, I don't really know. We no longer offer college diplomas for nursing, only university degrees, but most colleges are affliliated with a uni so many students still attend there. When I applied there were some schools that just looked at grades, others that required an interview or a written test to get in. In my opinion, an interview doesn't tell anybody anything about you except how you look. People can easily BS their way through an interview. Unfortunately, you often don't know (and your profs don't either) whether nursing is right for you until after you do a couple of rotations in the hospital. I know people that are very book smart but will make horrible nurses. On the other hand I know people who aren't so book smart but are interested and will make great nurses...as far as I'm concerned, its not the smarts, its the drive to get there.

As for the schmoozing...would you really want to attend a school where you have to brown-nose your way into the program? It doesn't say much about the school and even less about the program. Just a thought.

Damien

CiCigirl · Mar 13, 2007

thanks hopefull and 1na!!

since the ns progam has told me several times that they only look at gpa that has been what i've strictly been focusing on.

(so much so that my husband and i have agreed that i shouldn't work while i'm taking pre-req's, so that my only job is studying, studying and studying to get good grades. and i've been really happy with my grades so far (high a's). so i'm hoping that's going to help me a great deal.)

i don't want to be a *pest* to the ns program but i think i might just try to ask a couple more probing questions to see if there's anything else i need to be doing. b/c i'm willing to do what ever else they require so they'll know i'm really serious.

geez louise!! i don't remember being this worried about getting in the first time i went to college. i guess it just means so much more now--at age 34--than it meant to me when i was 18.

and i totally agree with you, hopefull, about the rumor mill. i know it's not good to listen to and let those things get to me. i need to find a better way to shield myself from all the chicken littles!! :trout:

HeartsOpenWide, RN · Mar 13, 2007

A guy in our class who's son played sport with our Physiology teacher got in. Every one suspected that this is why he got in, plus he had some of the worst grades in class and ended up dropping out after the first few weeks of the program.

A gal I had micro with told me she was bummed because her friend was a teacher at the college and said that she could "pull some strings" and get her in, but then transferred to the sister campus that only has an LVN program and is 2 hours away....

They always say, "It who you know, not what you know." They can not accept only ass kissers and people who know people, the math does not add up.

shoegalRN, RN · Mar 13, 2007

I would much rather attend a school based on my GPA. I know some schools like to see if you have had some experience in the medical field such as being a CNA so they can use that as a determining factor when it came down to selecting two students with the same GPA. I don't believe in brown-nosing or ass-kissing to get to the top (I know you didnt say that, but I'm just saying). If a school can't recongize me for my academic accomplishments but rather who I know, I would not want to attend that school anyway. That's just not fair to the other students who really do have good GPA's but don't have a fair chance in getting accepted because they don't "know someone in higher places."

If you really want to make yourself stand out, take a CNA course or do some volunteer work at a hospital, request an interview with the admissions office (if one is not required) or write an essay expressing your desire to be accepted to their program.

DesertRain · Mar 13, 2007

I agree with AirforceRN regardless of being in Canada, the politics with nursing school seem pretty universal. Also I really agree with Hopefull.....rumors can hold you back! I posted about this a while back and from my experience with listening to classmates is this: I take what they're saying and place it in a mental filing cabinet. If I choose to believe it I must first do my own research on what they are saying and will only believe it if I personally have discovered what was said to be fact. I also mentioned in that post that listening to people has provided me with false terror. For example classmates telling me that this class was soooooooooo hard and nobody will do better than this grade or that grade. So what happened? I went into the class scared to death and ended up getting an A---but had several sleepless nights wondering if I was going to get an F, If I should withdraw ahead of time before the F hit my transcript, cases of nausea and anxiety which I really could have spared and focused the spared energy on something more productive.... Of course there could be some value to the rumors but always get the facts yourself. Remember that not everyone you go to school with is "nice" and they are competition and some people do not play fair. Worry about yourself more than anybody else. I hope that helps!

CiCigirl · Mar 14, 2007

remember that not everyone you go to school with is "nice" and they are competition and some people do not play fair. worry about yourself more than anybody else. i hope that helps!

thanks for that, desert rain...

it was kind of in the back of my mind that some of what you mentioned above could possibly be the case.

kind of shocking to me though, i guess. but i always think of nursing as being a profession where you get to "give" so much to your patients and really make a difference in their care. i guess it still surprises me that there are people who want to get into it and at the same time would try to poison others with their negativity. i guess competition brings out the worst in some people.

i try to devote all of my energies to studying so i can make really good grades. i think if those people did that instead of spending so much energy trying to discourage others then they wouldn't have any "competition" to worry about.

thanks for the encouraging words everybody. you all have made me feel a lot better.:balloons: :balloons: :balloons: