Denied from nursing school...

Nursing Students General Students

Published

I am a registered nurse. A family member of mine recently decided to go back to nursing school at the local county college program. She is in her late 20s, works over 40 hours a week, & worked her butt off to get a 3.95 GPA in all of her prerequisites. She found out yesterday she was not accepted into the program. When she called to question what was going on, one thing held her back. They stated that in 2010, she either failed or withdrew from 2 classes (I forget which). This was the semester after she graduated high school and was dealing with a ton in her personal life.

So, that being said, she had a few A's from 2010 that could not be used and she had to re-take those classes to keep them up to date, however now those classes 8 years ago, as a teenager, will forever hold her back?

I personally feel this is extremely unfair. We are dealing with an adult now trying to advance her career.

Has anyone else had this issue? does anyone have advice????

Try other schools! The school I'm applying to doesn't look at any grades except for the ones you list on your application (prerequisites and general ed required for degree), and then they verify through transcripts. It's a hassle looking into it, but if this is really what she wants to do, isn't it worth it?

0 Votes

There are oodles of people in a similar situation. I bombed college the first time and it counted against me when I wanted to go to nursing school more than 20 years later AND after being successful in a graduate school program. I found an ADN program.

It'll take some work, but there's a school out there for your relative.

0 Votes

talk to an advisor, see if there is any way to have those two "forgiven".

0 Votes
Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

Entry is competitive. It isn't that those things are there as much as that they were NOT there for other applicants, thus placing them above her in the selection process. Most nursing programs, especially community colleges, have hundreds of applicants for only a few slots. Unfortunately that means if there are 48 slots and 500 applicants, a lot of those applicants are going to also have a fantastic GPA. Therefore they start digging deeper to determine who gets the offer to attend. It is the only fair way to determine it when everyone is an outstanding candidate. I realize you are loyal to and sorry for your family member, but this isn't an unfair decision.

She should keep applying at other schools.

0 Votes

Turns out our parents were right, our grades really do follow us for the rest of our lives.

0 Votes
Specializes in Case Manager/Administrator.

I would suggest writing a letter to the Dean and Admissions coordinator about what you did back then, and how it made you into the person you are today. Request a formal hearing and be ready to plead your case. It sounds like you learned a life lesson and make sure you let them know how you would mentor to those who are going through something similar and how you would be an asset to the school.

The road through college is not an even stroll. It is like a full time job when you take greater than 6 credits. But there are a lot of bumps and this is just one of them. I would exhaust my appeals and then while I am waiting I would move on to another college just in case the answer remains no.

Please do not let this define you but add to the stiches that make us what we are.

0 Votes
Turns out our parents were right, our grades really do follow us for the rest of our lives.

Yeah, no kidding. I remember one program requiring my entire k-12 grade transcripts. High school, SAT scores, and LPN program grades were not enough for that place. Sent me all over the place one summer trying to get my grade school records. I'm not sure what they were trying to prove-maybe what age I was when I learned to play nice in the sandbox with others?

The whole process delayed everything by a semester. By the time everything was accepted by this community college and I got an acceptance letter I had moved on with my life.

The program that I eventually graduated from didn't even calculate my GPA from my transfer credits. They were labeled as PASSED with no GPA impact. An A, B, or C wouldn't make a difference. Acceptance was based on placement exam scores and program openings.

There are plenty of other schools out there.

0 Votes
I am a registered nurse. A family member of mine recently decided to go back to nursing school at the local county college program. She is in her late 20s, works over 40 hours a week, & worked her butt off to get a 3.95 GPA in all of her prerequisites. She found out yesterday she was not accepted into the program. When she called to question what was going on, one thing held her back. They stated that in 2010, she either failed or withdrew from 2 classes (I forget which). This was the semester after she graduated high school and was dealing with a ton in her personal life.

So, that being said, she had a few A's from 2010 that could not be used and she had to re-take those classes to keep them up to date, however now those classes 8 years ago, as a teenager, will forever hold her back?

I personally feel this is extremely unfair. We are dealing with an adult now trying to advance her career.

Has anyone else had this issue? does anyone have advice????

Ridiculous. It's now harder to get into some RN schools than it is to get into PA.

schools.

I know this because my buddy went to PA school after getting rejected from BSN programs.

People around here that get an 88 in Micro are re-taking it to get a 90. That's ludicrous.

My pre-reqs were a 3.25 and I got into a community college ADN program. Find a new school. Make the drive if she has to.

0 Votes

^ yup. Increased applicants and not enough instructors. And it's almost comical cause majority of the new nurses are ready to leave bedside 2-3 yrs in and want to do other things so who knows how this will all play out in the long run.

0 Votes

I think the school denying her is strange at the least...BS at the best. Go to another school and she will succeed! That's what I had to do.

0 Votes
thank you for the insightful responses. she retook those classes and got A's. It just a shame one dumb decision, barely an adult, can affect her life like that.

She is still waiting for the admissions office to give her advice. The dean of nursing, who doesnt have much to do with admissions (she states) seemed flustered and had very little advice to offer. She mentioned appealing the grade to the school, but she didnt have any information on that.

I would recommend her going back to the school that she received those grades and request to appeal those grades so they don't affect her transcript. I attempted to try to do this one because I was in the same predicament. People can try to say you were informed or it's our own fault. Which to a certain extent is true but you shouldn't have to keep paying for it. Heck, you only have to deal with bankruptcy for 11 years! I would also look into a school with a minimum GPA requirement but only takes into account prerequisite (science classes) into account for admissions. Best of Luck, it means so much more to have faced adversity and overcame it.

0 Votes

Everyone else is right. She'll get in somewhere else.

Now for my Debbie D. opinion:

Ah... poor Nursing....such an identity crisis: No one knows if this is the most noble (and now elite?) profession ever to grace the face of the earth, or a mere consummable/throw-away labor force to churn through. Both, I guess.

When I hear stuff like this OP I just want to advise running away and never looking back. Find something else to do and be damn thankful for that sordid history of two utterly meaningless bad grades.

0 Votes
+ Add a Comment