CNA-next steps?

Do you think it might be less expensive to look into the requirements for another nursing program, rather than doing two programs?

I would agree about looking into other nursing programs in your area to see if you fulfill their requirements and if you would be considered competitive. Have you talked to anyone at your current school to see if there is anything you can do to make yourself a more competitive candidate for their program? If you have been wait listed twice than you are very close, are there any classes you could retake that with a higher grade would get you in, do they have you take an entrance exam and if so how did you do on that?

With the other program what I would look at is how much is it going to cost to complete, and when you completed it how likely are you going to be to find a job and what is the pay. If it is going to be difficult to find a job, or the pay is not much more than you are making now I would pass on it. Also if you are using financial aid to help with school you will want to consider how it may effect your available financial aid for completing your nursing degree.

Have you thought about looking into what type of LPN programs might be available in your area? It might cost a little more getting your LPN and than doing a bridge program for your RN, however it may be an option that would allow you to start working towards nursing now.

Thank you for responding!

my problem in getting into the nursing program is my gpa, I'm currently at a 2.8 and would need at least a 3.0 to be competitive. The classes that are holding me back are education classes from 6 years ago that I currently cannot retake. I scored a 29 on the ACT and have met all the other requirements for the program. Advisors have told me to just keep taking classes to boost my gpa but it's so discouraging not to get in!

The MLT program seems interesting, I would have a job waiting for me at the hospital I currently work at and would continue to work as a CNA prn. As an MLT I would be making $10 more an hour than what I currently make. other nursing programs are at least an hour away from and the commute to clinical would be even further!

Thank you all for the advice!!

Is there any room for growth as an MLT?

Somewhat! There's medical lab technician to medical technologist programs and there's always other certifications to get. But I'm using this more as a more lucrative stepping stone to nursing. I wish I could afford to live off a CNA salary, I truly love my job and my patients!

In what way would being a medical technologist be a stepping stone to RN? Do they share a lot of prereqs?

If you haven't already check and see if any of the education courses that you took would be eligible for academic amnesty. Each school has their own requirements of how and what qualifies, but this may be one way to help raise your GPA back up. It is difficult to raise a gpa, especially if you have any classes that you failed. It can be done however, it takes time and a lot of hard work. Before looking at different degree I would definitely check and see if any of the classes that you took would qualify for academic amnesty. Usually for most schools a certain amount of time must have passed and you need to have taken a set number of credit hours since.

Would you consider becoming an LPN first rather than pursue the other degree? I had a similar situation (first year in college stopped going to classes and destroyed my GPA). I ended up doing a one year LPN program through a tech school and afterward I started retaking my failed courses to raise my GPA. I did pre requisites for an LPN-RN bridge program while retaking failed classes (got A's in them the second time around! My GPA flourished!!). I just graduated with an ADN in May and passed the NCLEX-RN this week. From the LPN program to now it took 5 years, however it would have been shorter except that my previous job did not work around my school hours. My last job did so I was able to get it done. Just a consideration to think about maybe. I found my years as an LPN to be very rewarding and I think it really helped me in my RN education. Best of luck to you!