Did I ruin my chances of getting into Nursing School?

Nurses General Nursing

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I am a student in Virginia Beach at Tidewater Community College. Last semester I had a ton of personal issues: my aunt passes away, my mother had to file chapter 13, my boyfriend got a dui... the list goes on and on! I was under so much stress, and I pretty much got C's in all of my classes. I am devestated! I got a C in my Anatomy and Physiology 2 class, but I did get an A in my A&P 1 class, if it even matters. On the fact sheet about the nursing program, it says that to apply, you have to have a minimum grade of a "C", which I do have... but I am afraid that I have blown it! Am I worried about nothing? Acceptance letters come out in June/July, or so I hear... if I am not accepted will they still send me a letter telling me why I am not accepted? I have all A's and B's in all the other classes required to take before the application process. I just couldn't take not hearing back from them. I am so stressed out! :eek:

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Specializes in Pulmonary, MICU.

What was your GPA? You'll likely need a 3.0 or higher to be competitive. I had some poor grades as well and got in just fine. They also weigh your test scores (ACT, SATs) into the picture, so if those were good you will be helped.

Worst case scenario, you don't get in. Spend another semester or 2 learning some foreign language, pulling up your GPA, and reapply with not only a better GPA but some knowledge of a foreign language, or even ASL. If you don't make it this semester doesn't mean you won't ever make it! Good luck!

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You'll be fine!!! Just wait for your acceptance letters :-) Getting a "C" is not the end of the world.

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Med-Surg.

They will send you a letter whether you get in or not, but the letter may or may not detail why you didn't get in. It may just say that you were not accepted, but not give specific reasons pertaining to your situation. I would imagine they don't have time to detail why each applicant didn't get in.

A couple of C's shouldn't put you out of the running, just make your essay, extracurriculars, etc really good.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

It depends on the school and what program, I think. In my area (New York City), anything lower than 3.5 for the RN (ADN) program is not competitive and will not be accepted, especially for CUNY schools because there are so many applicants for so few seats. BSN programs for CUNY seem to accept C's.

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Honestly, I don't see many people with C's in prerequisites get in unless they retake the courses and get a higher grade.

If you don't get in, it is not the end of the world. You can retake the courses and try again with less stress and more dedication.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

If you don't get in please meet with an advisor to find out what you need to do to make your application more attractive. This isn't meant to be harsh but please keep in mind that nursing is a difficult profession and one that requires us to be on the top of our game regardless of what is happening in our personal lives. I went to school with a woman that had a mid-term misscarriage, one that lost her mother and another that lost her younger brother to cancer but they managed, somehow, to push through. I would go light on the specifics as to what personal problems you have had especially BFs DUI. Wishing you good luck and please let us know if you get in.

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If stress rattles your nerves this easily then maybe Nursing may not be for you as it has much stress. As far as your grades, all you have to do is retake the courses in which you received a low grade. YOu have to realize that nursing school is very competitive. So you are wasting your time applying with 'C's as many students applying have 4.0 averages. You may get a letter and it will tell you the cut off of the gpa that they accepted for the amt of seats available and if yours fell into that range. Again, just look into retaking some classes. It's not that complicated.

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Specializes in NICU Level III.

I wouldn't say take a foreign language to up your GPA...most schools calculate the GPA on the prereqs...

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

You have to find out if the school will even allow you to retake classes. Mine would not let the student retake if they passed, even with a D; they would only allow retakes if the person failed. And even then, they would STILL combine the two grades together, which can bring down the GPA, anyhow. Combining an A with an F, especially with a 4 credit course was not a healthy mix for the GPA. Their train of thought seemed to be that if the student was taking it seriously to begin with, then, they would have passed well the first time.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
I wouldn't say take a foreign language to up your GPA...most schools calculate the GPA on the prereqs...

Yes, and that is the other thing...mixing classes that were not required were not computed into the overall GPA in my school, they only counted the pre and co-requisites required. Anything else was thrown away.

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Specializes in L&D.

It really just depends on how competitive your school is. I got accepted into the nursing program with straight C's in my pre-req science courses and my gpa was 2.9. I had a lot of hardship while going to school for pre-reqs so I understand your dilemma but don't worry. It is possible to get into a school with C's. I have really enjoyed nursing school and have been making A's and B's in the program. I don't agree with the 4.0 mentality of nursing school admissions. 40% of my class of 120 during first semester failed or dropped out and many of them were previously straight A students. Grades are not always the best predictor of future performance. Best of luck to you.

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