Considering going through an accelerated RN program

Fireman767 · Apr 15, 2013

Well with your GPA, most (if not all) accelerated BSN programs are way out of your range. Most require a 3.0 cumulative GPA just to be competitive, but really they want around a 3.5-3.7 (ask the admissions officer what the average gpa is of the latest class, it will be around there). Your psychology can not be substituted, since the one they look for is developmental psychology as well as into to psychology, or psychology across the life span. Your volunteer experience is great, but its not recent, or physical hands on you helping people. The volunteer positions colleges look at is CNA, EMT, or any variation where you do hands on and not just patient sit.

To be honest, I would look at an ADN or standard BSN, most ABSN only take top of the top students. I got a 2.9 cum. gpa from a division 1, top tier (77th best college in the USA, Stony Brook University) college. Most schools I applied to denied me because even though I was close to the GPA range they wanted, I wasn't at the competitive level of all the other students (average GPA ranged from 3.4-3.9, lowest being 3.3).

I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news or anything, but nursing school is very competitive now. Your old gpa follows you and haunts your grades sadly.

RunOKC · Apr 15, 2013

Thanks for the input Fireman767.

The program I'm actually looking to get into is at a community college. The GPA requirement is 2.5 and a 70 on the TEAS. They said that they look at your GPA the last 60 hours first, which would be great because my prereq's that I take this summer/fall will help big time!

I have a good friend that had a 2.52 GPA and did his prereq's and got up to 2.94 and he got accepted. He told me that the program is not that competetive. They accept 72 students and in 2012 they only had 70 in the class! He's starting this summer and said there were 92 people that applied, but about 17 of them didn't have a good GPA at all i.e. below a 2.5.

I'm going to talk to the advisor tomorrow to get a better sense of what I can do. I'll keep you guys updated!

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Apr 15, 2013

Since you have not completed your prerequisites yet, your best chance of getting into a program is to do your best to get a very good GPA in those prerequisites. Some programs will look at your prerequisites GPA separately from your overall GPA. After you have taken all of your prerequisite courses, and you have gotten a very good GPA in them, and if your program only looks back 60 units, that would improve your GPA level over those 60 units. That may make you more competitive for any program. Other programs will look at your overall GPA regardless of unit numbers taken, and that would knock your competitiveness down quite a bit. With the number of units that I have taken over my collegiate career, it would take a huge number of 4.0 or 1.0 semesters to make a serious dent in my overall GPA either way, up or down. However, looking back at my last 60 units, I have a very good GPA.

Of course, for me, that is relatively moot, unless I am planning to go to a Masters level program. I am already in nursing school, and therefore, I don't have to worry too much about my GPA if I decide to not further my education. If I decide to move on to something else, then my GPA would be considered again, and therefore, I must work hard at maintaining my GPA at a very high level.

As to whether or not you would be able to complete an accelerated 10 month RN program, only you can answer that. I can, however, say that such a program would be extremely intense and very time limited for other activities, especially work. If memory serves, one of the ABSN programs that I looked at ran approximately 13 – 14 months and I believe that was approximately 8 hours per day, 5 days per week. So as I see it, your accelerated program would be extremely intense and then some.

Irish_Mist, BSN, RN · Apr 16, 2013

I'm not sure what school you looked into so I'll just share my experience with you... I spoke with a nursing admissions counselor at Baylor University. For their ABSN program, they do not care what your GPA was on your previous degree program. All they care about is that you have a minimum of 3.0 for your prerequisite GPA. Same with Texas Woman's University's program for people with a Bachelor's Degree. The admissions counselor told me, again, they do not care about the GPA on your previous degree. The only thing they care about is your prerequsite GPA. Speak to an admissions person at the school of your choice and ask for clarification on this. I know all schools have different criteria on this so you might not have to worry about your previous GPA.

HopefulSRNA1234 · Apr 16, 2013

I had a 2.49 from my BA but spent about a year and a half earning a 4.0 on prereqs and other classes (while working full time). I ended up with a 3.1 and just got accepted into a great ABSN program that has about a 15% acceptance rate. My suggestion to you is get a 4.0 in your prereqs and take as many classes as you can to boost your GPA. When you are ready to apply, look at every single ABSN program out there and determine how they select applicants. I made a spreadsheet that included every school in the US that I can send to you if you want. Then apply to a variety of schools. Choose a safety school, some good schools you think you have a low chance with and then some average schools. Apply to schools that care more about letters of req, essays, and recent academic history than those that just use a point system based off your cumulative GPA. You can definitely get into a good program if you out the effort in. It took me 2 years but I did :)

Lastly, go to a 4-year and get a BSN, not just a community college for an RN. It's the same price almost and takes the same amount if time. Many hospitals no longer hire RNs without BSNs so you may have a tough time finding a job.