Dismissed from Chamberlains BSN!

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Oct 25, 2014

I'm sorry you're going through this, really. Something you should be aware of (and probably are, but are too upset to think about just now) is that a minimum grade standard must be met, regardless of how "close" you are. At the time you were dismissed, your GPA was 74.5%, not the minimum of 76. I don't know how long you were at the substandard grade, but it's likely you received a warning of some type, suggesting that you needed to raise your average to 76% in order to stay in the program. Failing that, you were dismissed.

When I was in school, a classmate was 0.9% below the minimum passing standard. He was dismissed. He was naturally very upset, was yelling and carrying on that it wasn't fair, it was 'this close', like that. But the bottom line was it didn't matter if he was ten points below passing, or one: it was below passing. Appeals are generally irrelevant: a condition of your enrollment is to keep at or above their minimum passing standard. As a student, you know that condition....you get the idea.

Schools typically do this in order to ensure the best graduation rates, and the best NCLEX-RN pass rates. No one wants to go to a school that turns out graduates who cannot pass the NCLEX, and having minimum standard grades for courses helps with that ratio. If you cannot make at least a 76% in the coursework....you're less likely to pass the exit exams for graduation, and ultimately the NCLEX itself.

Financial aid is conditional upon your being enrolled in a qualifying school, with qualifying coursework. Dismissal from the school would, naturally, end your financial aid payments. Lousy timing, of course, but there it is.

Advice? Don't just give up! You ARE close to the minimum standard, and therefore might be able to improve. You need to contact other schools in your area, or any area to which you are willing to travel or relocate. Some schools will turn you down because failure in a recent nursing program indicates to them you cannot succeed in theirs. However, there ARE schools that will take you on, assuming other pre-requisite courses are in place, AND you have been successful in those.

You might want to use Google to search around your geographic region, see what there is, and start laying out a plan.

Meantime, read around this website, follow up on leads, and don't despair. You don't say how far into the program you are at this point, so don't know how much anyone can help. How many credits are completed? How many core nursing classes are completed? When were you slated to graduate?

Hang in there, see what members here have to offer. And good luck!

Editorial Team / Admin · Oct 25, 2014

Keep in mind, if they move the minimum grade for you, then everyone will want their grade changed. The cutoff has to be somewhere; unfortunately, you did not meet it. Look around in your area for another program that will accept your prerequisite classes; being a large city, Chicago should have some. I don't expect that any program would accept any nursing classes you may have completed as these are generally very individual to the school.

WookieeRN, BSN, MSN, RN · Oct 25, 2014

Think of it this way... That is the MINIMUM grade they expect, so naturally I understand why your professor would not budge. While 76% may be the minimum, they expect you to aim higher than that.

Have you taken a look at what made you perform the way you did? What are you going to need to change in order to succeed? I know you are not looking for a lecture but you must be realistic. For most programs, your dismissal is already a strike against you. Nursing programs want to know you can succeed, graduate, and pass the NCLEX. These are questions that any other program is going to ask you, or want to know, before they decide to look at your application or admit you.

For your question re: financial aid, once you become dismissed from a program or fall below the standards of your financial aid department you become ineligible for financial aid until you rectify those issues. Many FA departments have an appeals process but it is by the school's FA policy and they are all different.

BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN · Oct 26, 2014

Your school dismisses after failing one course? Can you not repeat the class?