Dismissed From Nursing School, Not Sure What To Do Now

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Hi, I've just recently been dismissed from nursing school and I'm not exactly sure where to go from here. Nursing is still my biggest passion and something I want to do for the rest of my life. I've taken a step back to examine what went wrong: I've done my notes, listened to my lectures, did my practice questions but I'm not sure if I can blame this on test anxiety. Anyways... Can I get accepted with these grades?

  • A&P 1 - B+
  • A&P 2 - B
  • Chemistry - C (retake of the class is B-)
  • Psych - A
  • Sociology - B
  • Human Growth and Development - B-
  • Microbiology - C (retake is B)

I have yet to receive the rest of my grades for the semester but I am determined to do this. My plan is to continue at the school as a Biology major and finish any pre-requisites possible and increase my GPA of 3.2. I live in the Long Island area and plan on maybe applying to SUNY Farmingdale or Adelphi.

That's not true everywhere, in fact it's not true most places outside of California, I'm sure there's some but not most.

I'm in Colorado and it was that bad. She's on Long Island. . . . .

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I'm in Colorado and it was that bad. She's on Long Island. . . . .

Colorado is definitely bad like that. I'm guessing Long Island would probably be worse.

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Specializes in Dialysis.
That's not true everywhere, in fact it's not true most places outside of California, I'm sure there's some but not most.

At most schools in Indiana, it's that bad or worse

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Specializes in Palliative, Onc, Med-Surg, Home Hospice.
That's not true everywhere, in fact it's not true most places outside of California, I'm sure there's some but not most.

Most community college programs in SC are extremely competitive. The program I graduated from was more competitive than the 2 local BSN programs

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Specializes in LTC, Rehab.

I disagree that her grades were that bad, particularly when you factor in the re-takes. I'll add a qualifier, though, that I come from an era before grade inflation. In my first degree (not nursing) I had a 3.25 and was damned proud of it... not many people had a 4.0 or anywhere close to it at that time.

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That's not true everywhere, in fact it's not true most places outside of California, I'm sure there's some but not most.

It's absolutely like that in CT. We have a great CC nursing program. It's both affordable and reputable, so it's understandably attractive to applicants, making it quite competitive.

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Specializes in Mental Health.

Our community college program is also extremely reputable, I guess they have just made enough room for the number of students trying to get in. If you take your pre-reqs at the school you are pretty much guaranteed a spot. I found out the dental hygienist school is crazy competitive though. lol Part of it might be that we have multiple excellent community college programs, with two schools and three total campuses, plus two universities with large nursing programs, so there's plenty of options and room. This is in the Milwaukee area.

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People rightly point out that it's regional.

Her GPA of pre-reqs (based on my program) is a 3.0. I don't know how she got into a program to start with, but she wouldn't have gotten into one around here with that. In my town, people that get an 88 in A&P re-take to get a 90. It's crazy.

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It was 200 applicants for 50 slots at my GA university. Pretty sure competition is stiff everywhere.

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

Two year nursing degrees are faster, cheaper and generally very popular all the way around. Entry is competitive in most places. It is not the exception for this to be the case; if the school is accredited, a two year nursing degree is going to be appealing and heavily sought. In most places it is more difficult to get into a community college RN program than a four year program, not less. Given that there is little to no difference in earning between a two year and a four year RN, this makes sense.

OP, your best bet is going to be meeting with your school to appeal for reacceptance. Most nursing schools will not accept a student who failed out of a nursing program, not because you are bad but simply because they don't have to. Entry is competitive and they are judged on how many people complete the program compared to how many started it followed by how many of those who complete it go on to pass NCLEX. Those who were there to see you "almost" make it are going to be more inclined to give you the benefit of the doubt than school with whom you have no connection.

Your potential for earning a different four year degree and then applying to an accelerated program has possibility; however, your previous acceptance to and failure out of nursing school is still going to show up on the transcripts you will be required to submit. Getting in will not be a sure thing. I would consider hard whether to go this route and know what your Plan B will be if you cannot go to nursing school.

Good luck whatever you decide.

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Specializes in Critical care, Trauma.

I'd reach out to the community colleges in your area to ask about how competitive you'd be there, and/or what would need to change to make you at least minimally competitive. If you don't get the answers you want, and this is something you really want to pursue, then I'd recommend moving to somewhere that has less competitive programs. I'm out here in Kansas and we have lots of options. We also have lots of job opportunities if you wanted to stay afterwards. I've moved around a bit in the state, anywhere from medium-sized (for Kansas) college towns, tiny rural communities and even our state capital and have yet to find a place where there are not multiple (if not copious) jobs available, of every flavor and variety.

My initial GPA prior to deciding on nursing school was abysmal. A few years later I went the CNA/CMA-LPN-ADN-BSN round and never had problems with my previous GPA because my more recent pre-reqs were all As (though I had at least 1-2 Cs in pre-req classes from the first time around in school, that I didn't retake) and my nursing school grades were all As and Bs.

I echo what others said above about not putting your eggs into the "Accelerated BSN" basket. They're going to be intense and presumably more difficult to get into unless you find a super-expensive/sketchy for-profit program.

Good luck in your decision.

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No two programs are the same, and it is essential that you find the one that works for YOU! Make a list of *accredited* schools in your area.

And also don't limit yourself. An ACEN accreditation on graduation only matters if a particular hospital or BSN program that you want to go to requires it. To give an idea, Mayo Clinic, kind a a huge deal in healthcare... doesn't. As far as I've seen, no state requires these accreditations for licensure by endorsement (don't confuse ACEN/CCNE accreditation with "an accredited nursing school"). So to Mayo Clinic, that ACEN accredited logo on your school's website doesn't mean a single thing. To the apparently super competitive state of California's BON, to test or get licensed by endorsement, they couldn't care less if your school had that accreditation, they care that you passed the NCLEX and have a valid license.

But DEFINITELY make sure that they're, at a minimum, regionally accredited. Some states don't require that to be approved to sit for NCLEX, and it can be extremely hard to transfer credits to a bachelor's or master's program without it (you usually technically can, but any general education classes might have to be retaken). Basically, regional accreditation tends to mean that it's a legitimate school.

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