Failed out of CUNY CSI nursing school by 1 point

[Sarah.Ann]

Good morning everyone,

I was wondering if anyone has any advice for me. I will lay out my situation as stands: I was always a 4.0 GPA student throughout college. Initially I went for psychology, and aced all my classes. However, I always knew I wanted to be in the medical field and after much searching I felt that nursing was the career path for me. Nurses are at the forefront of patient care, and I truly feel that they make a difference in the lives of their patients. Last semester I applied to nursing school and was finally accepted into the Nursing Program at CUNY CSI. During the first semester students take Pharmacology and Fundamentals of Nursing. I got an A in Pharmacology and failed Fundamentals by 1 point. I was absolutely devastated because if you fail that class during the first semester you are out of the program and have to reapply. I realize that the reason I failed was that I didn't put enough work into that class. I was never a person who needed to sit down and study. When I entered the world of nursing I was immediately thrust into a whole different ball game, and I will admit I underestimated it. I didn't read the textbook like I should have, nor did I utilize the resources available to help me excel in the program and I am extremely disappointed in myself. After I failed, 2 of my professors called me and encouraged me to reapply to the program. They claimed I was very liked and had great potential, and that I had a good chance to get back into the school. This boosted my spirits and I was encouraged to write my re-acceptance letter where I took the blame for failing and laid out all of the things I would do differently next time, I would never take an opportunity for granted again. Unfortunately, I was denied re-acceptance because the school only accepts 10 students who failed and my class had the highest fail rate in the past 5 or so years (more than half of the first year students failed). Now I feel so lost because once you fail out of a CUNY program, you cannot apply to another CUNY. I do not have the funds to pay for a private college but I am willing to take out loans to try a private school. I do not want to give up on this dream.

Does anyone know if it is possible that a private school would accept me after seeing I failed the first semester in a previous program. I was thinking of applying to St. Johns school of Nursing and Wagner's accelerated program, both in Staten Island. Or is it time for me to move on to another career? Am I supposed to take this as a sign that I am not cut out for nursing?

[sandygfleischmann, MSN, RN]

Do not give up, apply to the nursing program and plan how to pass the second time. The fact that you have faculty support is great, they see your potential. I have supported students how have failed by one or two points to try again. Most of them do great the second time. Another program may not accept you with a failed nursing course on your transcript. Good luck and do try again!

[Millennial Nurse87]

One door close and another will open. If CSI descides you're not up to par then another school will gladly accept you without much stress. Look around for other schools, make some sacrifices and try again. This is how I look at it, half the students who apply to nursing school have the grade but not the drive, some students and faculty forget that the hardest part of life is the first step and disregard people who don't always meet all the standards that require entering or staying in a program. My advice to you is take your failure as a learning experience! If you have the drive then you are going to become a nurse one way or the other. Some nursing schools sometimes make it much harder then it truly is. A majority of the material can be read on your own, watched through YouTube or explained by a person who works on a unit who has patience and the experience. The goal of most nursing schools are to get their students to pass the NCLEX so that they stay open as an institute by the state. It undervalues students who don't always get it right the first time around which I personally feel is a part of the "supposed" nursing shortage. Yes, you want students to be educated and prepared to take the responsibility of caring for patients however good grades don't always make a good nurse!

So like I said, there's always gonna be another program out there for you. Just stay positive, determined, and never forget that failure shouldn't stop you from making the career you want a reality.