Do I even have a chance at nursing?

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Dec 21, 2014

Your GPA and prerequisite grades would easily get you admitted into many nursing programs out of state. However, you are in California, which arguably has the most impacted nursing programs in the entire US.

To set it to you straight, in the CSU system you'll be competing against masses of applicants with GPAs in to 3.7 to 4.0 range and near perfect test scores. However, you never know if you'll be admitted unless you try.

ORNurseCOS · Dec 21, 2014

Your grades are fine, question is what did you get on the teas?

If the teas grades match your other grades you won't have any problems.

Chin up, those are good #'s don't be so hard on yourself!

For reference, I had a 3.2 GPA for my Finance degree, then a 4.0 in all science prereq's and scored 98th percentile on the Teas.

I just got into my school.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Dec 21, 2014

Your grades are fine, question is what did you get on the teas?
If the teas grades match your other grades you won't have any problems.
Chin up, those are good #'s don't be so hard on yourself!
For reference, I had a 3.2 GPA for my Finance degree, then a 4.0 in all science prereq's and scored 98th percentile on the Teas.
I just got into my school.

You are in Texas according to your posting history. I am also in TX. Nursing school admissions are generally more lenient in TX than they are in CA.

OP is in a part of California that is very glutted with stellar applicants. When I say glutted, I mean that more than 1,000 candidates will apply for about 60 or so spots.

RunBabyRN · Dec 21, 2014

It's certainly worth applying and seeing what happens. If you don't get in, what is your plan? My suggestions are taking transferable credits to increase your overall GPA and reapply each term anywhere and everywhere you'd consider until you get in.

It's really about the pool of applicants when you apply and how your score is calculated (because as I'm sure you know, it varies). I did get into a CSU with a lower GPA, but only because I'm a veteran, and the school accepts veterans as long as they meet the minimum requirements.

funsizedprenurse · Dec 22, 2014

That's the thing, I don't have any other plan. I can get into an associates degree in nursing, but that's based on lottery according to the schools I'm close to. I can't repeat a class because it lowers my chances.

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Dec 22, 2014

I would say that you should apply to every program that you think you might be qualified for as an applicant. That includes the ADN programs. If you're not accepted anywhere the first time, apply again everywhere because, quite frankly, getting an RN license via ADN is a whole lot better than waiting and waiting for a BSN program to accept you. Once you get the ADN, the RN to BSN pathway is easier to get into and adds only an additional year (2 to 3 semesters) to the total timeline to gain the BSN. Three years total time to BSN completion is a lot better than applying maybe 2 or 3 years in a row to a BSN program. If you get chosen first by an ADN program and the BSN program doesn't accept you at all, the last time you will want to apply to a BSN program would be for a start date no later than the start of your ADN 3rd Semester. After that, it will take longer to do a traditional BSN program than it would to do an RN-BSN program.

BSN does = more employment opportunity, but it doesn't foreclose all employment opportunities, even in acute care hospitals. A good number of my classmates are working now, some in LTC, some in acute care hospitals, some in non-traditional settings. One found that he really likes psych and that's his full time job now.

RN License in hand is a whole lot better than no RN License because you're only pursuing BSN...