Do W's on your transcript affect you getting into nursing school?

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Hi everyone, this is my situation with applying to nursing school this year.

I graduated last year with my bachelor's degree in health science and finished with a 3.6 GPA. However, my start in college did not go well. In my first semester, I was in an abusive relationship, moved away from home for college, and was not in a good situation. I ended up withdrawing from the whole first semester of college. I then returned and did well until I withdrew from statistics two times. I retook it the third time and got an A. I finished the last two years of college strong. I didn't know what I wanted to do while I was in college until I decided to explore the idea of nursing. I did my CNA training, and that's when I discovered I wanted to do nursing. Now I am applying to nursing programs this year, and I'm retaking some prerequisites. I am applying to ABSN programs and wanted to know if these W's will affect my getting into a program. Any advice?

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Specializes in CVICU, ER, Education.

I had a lot of Ws on my transcript before starting nursing school. When I started college, I was technically not ready for the commitment or the idea of attending school. I was accepted into my first program application even with my Ws. I did have a competitive GPA and TEAS score, though.

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Specializes in mental health / psychiatic nursing.

I had a couple of W scores on my transcript - but not in coursework relevant to nursing school, and my overall GPA was still high, so the programs I applied to did not even question me about them.

I think some of it comes down to what courses the W's were in, the total number of W courses, how the school figures W's into your GPA (some ignore them, and some calculate W's as 0.0 scores), and what your overall application looks like (e.g., more likely to forgive a few W scores for a student who has otherwise done well academically with good test scores, than for one who remained a middling or below-average student). I think in your case, it may also be appropriate to write a letter (assuming school allows it) explaining that you had to withdraw entirely from a term due to significant life stressors and that (as is apparent from the rest of your grades), once those stressors were addressed you were able to perform well in college.

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Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).

You'll be fine. It's OK to have some W's on your transcript. You finished strong, which is excellent. I also had W's and got into Hopkins. Good luck.

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I had W's in the heavy hitter classes of ego and physics and genetics (LOL @ premed dreams), and at first, the academic adviser counted them as 0.0 in a GPA calculation, which as you can imagine, would drop a GPA considerably. This was crushing because it slipped my GPA below 3.0 into the lows 2's, and I was blown away. I got a new adviser who ignored the W's, and even with the bad grades I did have, the method they used (ignoring, LOL), I had a 3.34. I knew I did poorly in college (similar issues as you had, I am SO sorry you had that happen, too), but to be in the 2.0 range was unbelievable! Thankfully that was wrong.

So, my program required a 3.0 to even apply to the program, and it wasn't considered after the "checkpoint" sense. What was considered was the GPA of 4 classes: Biomedical Stats, Anatomy and Physio (Lab and Lecture) 1, AP 2, and Microbiology. Then it was the TEAS and an Essay.

Beyond the initial GPA and fighting around those W's, it was smooth sailing. I would ask your programs how they consider a W-- is it on par with 0 points, or is it even acknowledged? I was ready to write a letter to the program, and even the dean, explaining my situation and showing proof that I was willing and capable of a nursing program despite my last struggle. That proof would have been A's in all nursing prerequisites (the four classes and their labs).

To give you hope, It probably does not matter. But knowledge is the most significant power, so ask and see what's up. Good luck!

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Hello Everyone!

I am wondering if I can get some input about my current situation. I am currently a sophomore at a community college, taking my prerequisites for nursing school when I transfer out. At the moment, I am halfway done with my science courses and am taking Human Anatomy. However, I am not doing too well :(. I am considering dropping out with a "W." I can pass the class, but not with my desired grade. I want to apply to almost all Cal State nursing schools, but within those schools, it includes about 3-4 schools with stringent rules. Those schools are San Jose State University, San Francisco State University, San Diego State University, and Cal State Los Angeles. I am apprehensive that if I drop out of the class and get a "W," it will count as a repeated course, and I won't be considered since it's a core science course. I mainly want to drop out because I am concerned about getting a "C" or even below letter grade and want to drop out before I even receive one.?. This is the first "W" I will get, and I have a 3.3 GPA at the moment. I will appreciate any feedback!

Thank you.

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Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
infinityoxox said:

This is the first "W" I will get, and I have a 3.3 GPA at the moment. I will appreciate any feedback!

Thank you.

See my answer above. I am also from California and had a much worse record than yours, and I got into UCLA, Univ of San Diego, and Hopkins. So, take the W. Your other option is to get the grade you get and retake the class to get a higher rate. Good luck!

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Thank you so much! Truly appreciate your input!

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Specializes in Critical Care, Trauma.

I have ulcerative colitis and had a nasty flare during my nursing prerequisites. I have several W's on my transcript as a result. I just graduated from my ADN program and am getting ready to start my RN-BSN in the next few months. They're a blemish on my transcript but don't count against my GPA.

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FullGlass said:

See my answer above. I am also from California and had a much worse record than yours, and I got into UCLA, Univ of San Diego, and Hopkins. So, take the W. Your other option is to get the grade you get and retake the class to get a higher rate. Good luck!

This is so inspiring. I have W's too and I was worried. This is such an old post but if you see this, can you please let me know what do you think helped you stand out in your application for these competitive schools? Did you do any extra curricular work? How was your GPA and TEAS? Thank you so much and congrats on the big win! 🙂

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Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
astrochld said:

This is so inspiring. I have W's too and I was worried. This is such an old post but if you see this, can you please let me know what do you think helped you stand out in your application for these competitive schools? Did you do any extra curricular work? How was your GPA and TEAS? Thank you so much and congrats on the big win! 🙂

I entered ABSN as I already had Bachelor's but I had to take and retake science prereqs b/c I graduated a long time ago.  I had 3.98 GPA on those and other related courses I took.  I wrote in essay that my most recent academic achievements accurately reflect my potential.  I was a high tech business exec for 20 years so they liked my leadership experience and it made me more "interesting."  My original undergrad was Yale.  I also completed a healthcare mgt and leadership exec education prgoram thru UCLA and had 4.0 GPA on that, plus recommendations from some UCLA professors.

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