Do retakes on courses make nursing school applicants look bad? HELP!

zoe92 · Nov 2, 2012

I think you should speak to an adviser because we can't tell you how your school will think about you retaking classes. Personally, I am retaking A & P because I did badly my first time. I don't think it will look bad, especially because I have an A this time around. I think you should just stick to getting the BSN right away, rather than switching out to an associate's degree. Good luck!

BeagleBabe · Nov 2, 2012

It totally depends on your school. One school I looked at wrote on their website that they would not consider applicants with a "pattern of W's" on their transcript. Two others I'm applying to will not take re-takes, so your first grade stands. Some consider your nursing pre-req GPA to be more important, some put more weight on overall GPA.

It's amazing how the standards change from school to school in the same regions! You need to ask an advisor to be sure.

mkatts19 · Nov 2, 2012

Agreed with those saying to talk to an advisor. But NOT one from your junior college. You want to talk to someone in the nursing department. They know the types of students they're accepting so they're your number 1 best resource. However, I would tell you that if 20 students apply to a program and we can accept 15 only.... Would you rather take the 15 who have A's and B's or the students who have B's and C's? It's a harsh reality but there will be other people who have "better" grades and why would a school choose someone who has grades any less? However, yes most schools do go on a point system and just because you have straight A's doesn't always guarantee you a spot. You might get excellent reference letters versus mediocre ones and that might give you better points than the next person. Or you have 100 volunteer hours in a hospital but got all B's in that same year. I personally would rather accept the student who worked all year as a volunteer and managed to make B's than the student who did nothing but studystudystudy to get straight A's. You know what I mean? So each school is different. You taking the class over could be good for some (Shows that you wanted a better grade before applying.. wanted to really learn the info). or it could be seen as bad (You did so bad that you had to re-take the class). So in the end it comes down to talking to the school you're aiming to go to. I just wanted to give you examples of the good and bad. (In my case I did not get straight A's on pre-reqs... I got A's and B's.. and one C in micro).. however I assume I got additional points because of reference letters, volunteer hours, being bilingual, actually writing a decent admissions essay.. etc. Plus I had random classes (auto body, photography, dance) that I think (what I like to think haha), made the school see I was well rounded.. which is important down the line for nursing.

Compassion_x · Nov 2, 2012

Be careful about how many times you retake them, for certain courses some schools may not let you take it more than twice (well you can but you won't get accepted!)

SweetCorn · Nov 4, 2012

I think what it really comes down to is what is the applicant pool like where you will be applying to school?

Is there a lot of competition? If so, the fewer Ws and the more As, the better.

If there isn't much competition, it probably doesn't matter as much. If that's the case, then I'd like to know where that is so I can apply there :yeah:

Gotiffany · Nov 4, 2012

My RN-program worked on a point scale and this is how they would considered awarding points

1st time in class = Amount of points per grade

A-6

B-5

C-4

D & below- 0

2nd time in class = Amount of points per grade

A-3

B-2

C-1

D & below- 0

Basically, even if you made an "A" your second time around, it still would not be given more points than someone who made a "C" the first time around.

nguyency77, CNA · Nov 4, 2012

It depends on your program. At my school, the first grade will show up on the transcript alongside the new grade from your retake. Only the retake is counted towards your GPA.