Could I enter RN school wth poor high school gpa?

casi, ASN, RN · May 2, 2010

My high school GPA was a 1.something. I'm now a registered nurse. A lot of school will look at your pre-requisite grades before they look at your high shcool grades.

I would suggest meeting up with a couple of community colleges that offer nursing and see what program would be the best fit for you and start getting your generals out of the way.

ky_grl82 · May 2, 2010

Yes, you can get in. You would start taking your pre-req classes so you can start building your GPA. I assume it is the same everywhere but the colleges here never take your high school GPA into calculation once you start classes at that college. I was in your situation... graduated HS with a 2.?? (low!). I started community college shortly after but still didn't give a crud about school so I only made a 2.5... heck I didn't even show up for the finals! Anywho, fastforward to 2009 and I start taking classes again and have made only As (mostly) and Bs since re-entering school. If you are truly ready to take school seriously (like most people are at 30) then go ahead and start school but if you don't think you are ready or don't have the time, don't screw with yourself down the road by blowing your GPA. With any thing less than a 3.3 (that I have seen) you won't get into an RN program unless it is a $50K private program.

NC Girl BSN · May 2, 2010

I had a 1.6 GPA graduating from highschool and got accepted into a university. Any community college will accept you. You have to take prerequites first before you can get into a nursing program. Start there and build your GPA. I am a RN working in a hospital. I went back to school at age 33. Good Luck!

dandk1997RN, MSN, RN · May 2, 2010

Gonna' agree that you can- depends on the school. The school I got into just started testing everyone in, so if you can do well on the TEAS (and have whatever they consider pre-reqs) you can get in no prob. I'm sure there are other schools out there doing the same thing.

HeartsOpenWide, RN · May 2, 2010

Are you asking if you think you could do well in your pre-reqs or are you asking if they look at your High-School GPA? They do not look at your High School GPA. I graduated high school a year early so I was rushing through it and had a GPA of only 2.0 something. I entered nursing school with a 3.5 and graduated with a 3.6; I know not much higher but higher, but many people drop their GPA in nursing school...

Its easier to get a good GPA when you are passionate about the subject. I hate high school and love college.

ParkerBC,MSN,RN, PhD, RN · May 2, 2010

I conquer with everyone else. It depends on where you want to go. If you are looking at Harvard, then your chances are slim. However, community colleges will take anyone so as long as the student has a high school diploma or GED. The determining factors of you getting into any nursing program will be your pre-requisite course work (Anatomy & Physiology, English Comp, Psychology-many of these courses differ depending on where you decide to go) and the school's entrance exam (TEAS test or something similar). Generally there is a point distribution for each grade earned and your entrance test score. For example, the program you are interested in may award 5 points for A’s in your pre-requisites, 4 points for B’s, and so on. All of the points are added together and the top scoring students get into the program (this depends on how many students are accepted into the program each semester).

So, your high school GPA doesn’t matter. Regardless of where you decide to go, you get to start with a clean slate. I would make sure to work really hard to maintain an excellent GPA in college. Good luck to you!

Faeriewand, ASN, RN · May 2, 2010

I was 2. something in high school but when I got to a community college it was a different story. Much better grades and better study habits :) Anyone can do it! Good luck

cheska_rn, ASN, RN · May 2, 2010

I agree with everyone else! I had a 1.7, or something ridiculous like that, in high school, and I am in an RN (ASN) program. Do well w/your prereqs! That is what they will look at! Good luck!

ItsTheDude · May 2, 2010

your hs grades don't really matter, it's your college grades that matter, unless you're a graduating hs student applying directly to a nursing program out of hs, some nursing programs have slots reserved for recent hs grads and use their hs grades for competitive admissions.

whichone'spink, BSN, RN · May 2, 2010

Hey, as long as you kick butt on your pre-requisites, you should be okay.

Junebugfairy · May 2, 2010

i am not sure which state you live in, but in my experience you do not enter nursing school, lpn or rn, until you have taken your college pre requisites.

my school required a&p 1&2, chem, microbiology, algebra, sociology, 2 psychology classes, etc, before you could even apply! i believe this is the case for many, if not most, schools.

you should enter your local comunity college and talk to a counselor and begin your coursework. :)