Does GPA Matter?

[Nurse McDreamy]

I'm a senior nursing student that is scheduled to graduate in a couple of months (April) with a BSN. I've been looking into GN internships and residencies that I can apply for so that I can start working. What I've been noticing is that some of the hospitals have a minimum GPA that you must have in order to be considered for their internship/residency...

Does GPA really matter??

Will I still be able to land a desirable job in a good learning environment with a sub-par GPA?

When I first entered nursing school last year I was under the impression (maybe I had gotten some bad advice) that now that you are in nursing school GPA doesn't matter, the important thing is that you become an RN.

As a result I've spent most of my time in nursing school trying to understand concepts and not necessarily trying to be anal about making all A's in every class. (It definitely kept my anxiety level at a minimum, unlike some of my classmates :nuke:)

My main concern getting out of school is finding a job at a good hospital that has a excellent learning environment that can help mold me into a good nurse.

[BoonersmomRN]

I suppose it all depends on the hospital, etc.

I had to maintain a 3.5 to remain on my hospital's student scholar program while I was in school. They paid all my tuition and gave me extra money and I was able to work as little or as much as I wanted to.

Other classmates of mine with even below a 3.0 were able to secure jobs/internships. It just ALL depends on what the hospital you are applying to requires.

I can tell you that when I interviewed for my RN position at my hospital they never even ASKED what my GPA was.

[CareBayer]

At the hospital where I accepted a job most of the students who interviewed were asked about their GPA, skills they performed during clinicals, etc. A few students who had low GPA's did not get hired, and a few students who had above average GPA's did not get hired.

GPA is not everything. It's "more" important if you want to go onto receive an advanced degree.

[Achoo!, LPN]

The hospital I am starting at only wants your liscence. They never asked about GPA. For me, I am considering going back into a direct entry MSN progra. For that reason GPA is important but not for getting a job, in my area anyhow. :)

[llg, PhD, RN]

It all depends on the specifics of the situation. Imagine yourself in these 2 scenarios:

1. You are a manager looking to hire 4 new grads. You have 10 applicants for the position. All come into the interview appropriately dressed and saying how much they want want the job ... they can be flexible with their schedules ... etc. etc. -- all the stuff you want to hear. How would you determine which new grads to hire? Would you be interested in knowing who the "high achievers" were? Would you be interested in knowing who the really good students were and who just barely squeaked by with a "pass?" You'd probably be very interested in knowing that.

2. You are a manager desparate to hire any RN you can find because you are so short-staffed. You have 10 open positions and only 5 applicants. Would you really care so much about their GPA's? Probably not.

In short ... while it is always to your advantage to do well and have the grades and/or credentials to prove your high level of performance, sometimes it matters more than others.

[marilynmom, LPN, NP]

It can matter. It just depends on the hospital. Not every hospital or unit has a nursing shortage---especially some of the more popular areas to work (ICU, L&D, etc). If they need people though they are not going to care.

I have had 2 different interviews and BOTH asked what my GPA was and I had to bring my transcripts into my interview and they looked at both my overall GPA and my nursing school GPA. One interviewer even asked me about a class I had dropped (W on transcript) from 2 years ago!

[texas2007, BSN, RN]

The way it seemed to work out at my school was the people who did well in clinical got good/excellent references, and a good grade to boot. My experience was that it was a hell of a lot easier to get a job in a good hospital having a good gpa, and good references from a good school. Doesn't mean someone with an average gpa, average references from an average school doesn't get a job, but do they get the job they want? Trust me, the hard work WILL pay off. Why take the chance that anything than your best effort could hurt your future?

[Nurse McDreamy]

thanks everybody, all of your replies have been really helpful and some REALLY good info. I wish I had known all this when I had started. Currently my GPA is 3.0ish so its not too bad...mostly its from me getting a lot of B's in my classes. Hopefully I can still land a job in the area I want. Thanks for all the help!

[iToniai]

It all depends on the hospital that you will be working for. I just recently interviewed with a prestigious hospital in NYC that required all applicants (i.e. new graduates) to have a 3.5 gpa and a "C" or higher in all science classes just to be interviewed. Once at the interview, I found out that in order to be in a specialty area (i.e. ICU, OR) one must have a "B" or higher in all science classes. But I also know of hospitals that didn't even consider grades when granting interviews.

[Avocadoloveer]

is that at nyu?

lol

[UCI&USFMom]

I believe that's NYU requiring 3.5 GPA even for a junior level intern nurse program, you also need to be a BSN student.

[hiddencatRN, BSN, RN]

If a hospital has a minimum GPA for new grads....then I'd say that GPA matters for that hospital, right?

Most of the residencies I applied for required certain GPAs. The job I ended up getting didn't even want to see my transcript, although my GPA was on my resume.