CUNY Lehman Admittance Help

PurpleLover · Dec 20, 2013

My advice is to not let the what ifs get to you. I understand your feelings on how long it takes to get pre reqs done, it is insane. In life you gotta take a gamble sometimes, go ahead and roll the dice!

Destin293 · Jan 25, 2014

It's extremely unlikely you will be admitted to Lehman with those grades. The lowest GPA they accepted for fall 2013 was a 3.5 for the generic program and a 3.78 for the accelerated program. It is my understanding they don't accept second attempts within reason. I was admitted to the accelerated program with a repeat of A&P 1 only because I took A&P 1 in 2001 and received a D (I was 18, immature, didn't care about college, and only took the course because I had to fulfill a science requirement as a sociology major) and repeated it 10 years later in 2011 and received and A before applying for fall 2013 admission with a 3.93 GPA and a 90 on the HESI (it was also the ONLY science course I took other than environmental science...and all my other science courses were A's with the exception of 1 A-). Regarding what they look at for admission, yes, it is only the core science courses and your grade on the HESI. You may be able to squeeze in if you absolutely rock the HESI and score in the 99.99999%, but it's still unlikely...highly unlikely. Once you start, you have to take pharmacology and pathophysiology. There were a couple people in patho. this year repeating the course and a couple of my classmates in the accelerated program failed pharm. and had to switch to the generic program.

However, this doesn't mean completely giving up on a nursing career. Sometimes all someone needs is a few years to mature and realize college requires a lot of time and effort. If I had started as a nursing major at age 18 instead of going back for pre-req's at age 28, I NEVER would have made it. I didn't take college seriously, I didn't realize how important it was, and there was no sense of urgency. Sometimes waiting could be a good thing. If, however, you already realized you do need to buckle down and study and you have the ability to really focus the way you need to, then start looking at private programs. From what I have heard, Long Island University is pretty easy to get into. You may very well be able to gain admission there, although it will cost a lot more. Another option is check out programs in upstate NY. SUNY Delhi just stared a BSN program for fall 2013 and I know a couple people I took pre-req's with who applied and were accepted there because they were having difficulty filling seats -- they had grades similar to yours and were accepted on the spot. If you retake the courses, you have a great chance at getting in (and, unlike NYC, you're pretty much guaranteed a job prior to graduation because they truly DO have a shortage of nurses up there). You can also check out Crouse Hospital College of Nursing in Syracuse which is private, but has extremely affordable tuition (double CUNY or SUNY tuition, but a far cry from a $40,000 per year program). They require a few more courses, but it's worth looking into. And, again, being in upstate NY, you're pretty much guaranteed a job (and Syracuse pays their nurses pretty decent -- almost $60,000 to start -- which is good if you're just looking for that 1 or 2 years of experience before moving back to the city).

All I could say is don't be discouraged and REALLY keep looking around until you find a program that takes you. You have to be realistic, but where there's a will, there's a way. When I first made the decision to go back to school for nursing, EVERYONE (especially on these boards) told me I was S.O.L. because my previous GPA was terrible. I was told there was no chance I was going to be accepted to an accelerated nursing program in the CUNY system, and yet I was accepted on my first try to the ONLY program I applied. So, don't give up! Keep looking around until you find what works best for you and you will make it! Perseverance pays off...you can do it!!