Failed out of nursing school. Do I have a fair chance of getting into another?

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I was in a previous nursing school and failed out my 3rd semester. I have tried to transfer to a different school for a year and wasn't successful! Finally, After a year I was able to transfer as a traditional student and was told as long as I meet the requirements I would have a fair chance. Well now I have passed the hesi entrance exam, I have a 3.0 GPA, and I've taken all of the pre reqs and I've applied for clinicals. I exceed the minimal requirements and then some. But now they are telling me that " me failing out of nursing school" will be taken into consideration. Does this mean I don't have a fair chance of getting in? Has anyone had this problem?

May I ask why you failed out of your previous program? Also, does your previous program not have a process for reinstatement/readmission?

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Specializes in Occ. Hlth, Education, ICU, Med-Surg.

"I'm about to pay 3 times the tuition I was paying at the previous school"

Just out of curiosity....how much would this be exactly?

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

I assume that OP is using the term "private" to describe a commercial (for profit, investor owned) school. Commercial schools usually have much more liberal admission criteria because their focus is to increase revenue (tuition payments). However, they also must meet the same outcome measures (80% NCLEX pass rates) as other nursing programs, so they may be more inclined to impose additional hurdles (late in the program) in order to eliminate any students that may not be completely prepared for NCLEX. Thus maintaining high pass rates while maximizing revenue.

PPs have all provided great advice. Especially the emphasis on the immutable fact that past behavior is the absolute best predictor of future behavior. Unless OP has taken the time to analyze and correct the underlying reasons for failure, it's unlikely that other schools will be convinced to take a chance on admission.

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Your school must have pretty low admission requirements if having a 3.0 GPA counts as exceeding requirements. Anyone at the program I graduated from had a 3.5 GPA or higher when they were admitted. They also didn't say that they wouldn't admit you because you had failed another program, only that it's one factor that they may look at as to whether or not to admit you. Keep in mind that having a "fair" chance doesn't mean you'll actually get in, it just means they're looking at you as a possible candidate. An unfair chance would mean they wouldn't look at your application at all. Also, it's in any school's best interest to admit students who have no previous experience of failing before those who have. This doesn't mean you don't deserve a second chance, or that you shouldn't become a nurse. However, you will have a more difficult time than some other students.

Also, I'm wondering why you couldn't be readmitted to your previous nursing school? At the school I attended, you were able to repeat one semester without consequences. I repeated my second semester, and then went on to complete the program without any more repeats/failures.

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Like others have said, I would take a good, hard look at why I was not successful the first time and make a plan for what I will do differently if I am given the opportunity. That being said, since it sounds like other school(s) are aware of your past negative experience, I would explicitly tell them what I will do differently (whether that is through a required essay, application letter, whatever). If I were reviewing your application, I would be willing to give you a second chance if you had a clear plan for success (example: I cut down hours at work to devote more time to my studies; I got a tutor; I re-took A&P101 for review; I developed a relationship with a nursing mentor to learn how to better handle stressful situations; I took a course on test-taking skills, etc. etc.). Good luck.

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I agree with what everyone is saying for the most part but the OP did say she spoke with the director of the nursing program who told her she could enter as a traditional students and meet the college's requirements for application to the nursing program. Meaning to me that the nursing director already knew she had failed from the previous program and was encouraging her to apply to their program and if the OP isn't spinning it in a way it didn't happen then it looks to me like she wasn't told she would have the failure marked against her. to me that isn't fair. if the director of nursing wasn't up front with her about how her failure would affect her chances of getting accepted and that she needed more than the minimum requirements in order to get in, that isn't fair. but OP, are you totally sure she didn't tell you all this when you met with her? sounds like a big chunk of info to leave out of that conversation. more likely she did mention it but you were probably so focused on being allowed to apply that you might have glossed over that part but now it's relevant.

I know from the students I see at work that if they fail they can't get into another one. it's Do Or Die time.

Thank you for understanding. Before applying to the school i met with the Assistant Dean and i explained my situation. i also made copies of my appeal and the evidence that i provided for my appeal. My appeal was granted at the school i failed out of and then they revoked it. The Dean was aware of my past and my situation. I provided as much evidence as i could to show that i was in a bad situation that led to me failing. She is the person who encouraged me to apply. She is the one who gave me guidance and told me what to do. However, she did not mention that my past failings would be considered when selecting students. I understand that other students will be considered before me, and they should. But what i am saying is, i was told to apply and it was a 2nd opportunity being that i had been searching for the past year to transfer and had no luck. All i am saying is, my past is my past. everyone learns from their mistakes. It doesn't mean that i should just be eliminated immediately without even considering that i can't do better. when i failed i was completely devastated, and it took a long time to pick myself up from that. i thought about what i did wrong everyday and how i could correct it if given another chance. But once you fail it's like no one wants to give you a 2nd chance. everyone's nursing program is different, and just because i failed out of one program does not mean that i am not capable of doing well in another. i appreciate you understanding from my point of view and they others and not just being one sided like some of the comments.

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May I ask why you failed out of your previous program? Also, does your previous program not have a process for reinstatement/readmission?

I failed out of the program because my home situation wasn't the best. I won't put all my personal business out there, but i was in a pretty messed up unstable situation that resulted in a lot of stress.

i was a very attentive student regardless of what was going on in my life. I studied every single day and i knew my material, but my true struggle was that i just couldn't pass the test. It didn't matter how long i studied, how much i knew the material front to back, or how many times i taught my classmates material they didn't understand, NCLEX style questions were my weakness. i also had to work to provide for my family and pay bills. I didn't receive extra time until the 3rd test because i didn't even know about that. When i had gotten extra time my grades had went up 20 points and more but by that time the semester was almost over and it wasn't enough to save my grades. I appealed and provided as much evident as i could. The Nursing school granted my appeal, made me go to summer school, and then revoked my appeal and told me that i could not return. I wasted a lot of money and those summer classes didn't count towards anything.

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Your school must have pretty low admission requirements if having a 3.0 GPA counts as exceeding requirements. Anyone at the program I graduated from had a 3.5 GPA or higher when they were admitted. They also didn't say that they wouldn't admit you because you had failed another program, only that it's one factor that they may look at as to whether or not to admit you. Keep in mind that having a "fair" chance doesn't mean you'll actually get in, it just means they're looking at you as a possible candidate. An unfair chance would mean they wouldn't look at your application at all. Also, it's in any school's best interest to admit students who have no previous experience of failing before those who have. This doesn't mean you don't deserve a second chance, or that you shouldn't become a nurse. However, you will have a more difficult time than some other students.

Also, I'm wondering why you couldn't be readmitted to your previous nursing school? At the school I attended, you were able to repeat one semester without consequences. I repeated my second semester, and then went on to complete the program without any more repeats/failures.

I agree that they do have pretty low requirements considering that I'm coming from probably the hardest nursing school in LA.

the school requirements are: to have a GPA of a 2.75 and above and make a 75% or higher on the Hesi entrance exam, and also have at least a C in all pre reqs.

To them a GPA of a 3.09 must be considered competitive because other wise i don't understand why they would tell me that. I also scored in the 80s on my Hesi and they look at previous experience, which i have been in the medical field since 2013. I meet all requirements and i have a great background when it comes to experience. The real issue here is my past failings. This is what they will see and will judge. All of the other things is not a problem from what i was told, just failing. i understand that others will be admitted before me. I knew that before even applying, because they deserve to be admitted.

Im worried because it seems like no one gives you a second chance. the first thing they look at is that you failed out of nursing school once. But that doesn't mean that I'm not capable. That doesn't mean that i can't prove myself or fix my mistakes. That doesn't mean that i won't succeed the second time.

I appealed at my previous nursing school and my appeal was granted. They made me take summer courses and the day after the drop date, they contacted me and told me my appeal was revoked and that i could not return.

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I appealed at my previous nursing school and my appeal was granted. They made me take summer courses and the day after the drop date, they contacted me and told me my appeal was revoked and that i could not return.

That is beyond harsh.. almost criminal. Sorry that happened to you.

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Specializes in Medical-Surgical/Telemetry.

I feel compelled to type this post because I was also a student who failed from nursing school in my third semester. I failed from my local large public university nursing program. Two Cs in my third semester led to my termination. No chances to retake any classes. My appeal was denied. Luckily for me, there is another local public college that also offered a BSN and accepted transfer students. I went through their whole admitting process and anxiously waited a semester for a spot to open up in the appropriate cohort, which was the second semester in my case since they accepted some of my passed nursing classes. Lo and behold, a spot opened up (unfortunately, due to a student failing the first semester). The spot was offered to me and I accepted it. It took me about another 1.5 years to graduate, but I did it. I even passed my NCLEX on my first attempt and got a job at a decent-sized hospital within 2 months of graduation.

I don't think this post answered your question in yours. I just wanted you to know that you are not the only who is/was going through what you are. Just keep going forward. Eventually, you'll reach your goal. Good luck!

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I feel compelled to type this post because I was also a student who failed from nursing school in my third semester. I failed from my local large public university nursing program. Two Cs in my third semester led to my termination. No chances to retake any classes. My appeal was denied. Luckily for me, there is another local public college that also offered a BSN and accepted transfer students. I went through their whole admitting process and anxiously waited a semester for a spot to open up in the appropriate cohort, which was the second semester in my case since they accepted some of my passed nursing classes. Lo and behold, a spot opened up (unfortunately, due to a student failing the first semester). The spot was offered to me and I accepted it. It took me about another 1.5 years to graduate, but I did it. I even passed my NCLEX on my first attempt and got a job at a decent-sized hospital within 2 months of graduation.

I don't think this post answered your question in yours. I just wanted you to know that you are not the only who is/was going through what you are. Just keep going forward. Eventually, you'll reach your goal. Good luck!

thank you! I am not giving up! But times like this can get even more discouraging! Your story has motivated me and has given me hope.

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Why post this? The only people who can give you a definitive, correct answer to your question are the people at the school to which you applied. Anecdotal stories from strangers have no meaning or bearing on your situation.

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