I've probably just lost it all....

OB-nurse2013, BSN, RN · May 5, 2012

Seriously you're being pretty extreme. Yes, it sucks but one class isn't going to make your GPA that bad. I mean you're going to have to get your BSN and then apply to grad school. You have time to make your GPA go up for the whole rest of your program and when you do your BSN. Getting A's in nursing school I think is harder then a regular class but definately not impossible, I've managed many A's so far.

tsm007 · May 5, 2012

so I have a slim chance of a masters program now?

I think you are getting way ahead of yourself. Get through nursing school first. You may get through and decide what you think you want to do in the future isn't what you really want. Who knows where the future will bring you. There is nothing wrong with wanting to get an A, but I sure as hell wouldn't quit nursing school because I got a C in one course.

Maybe it's because I'm older, but my focus is no longer on As. I don't care about that so much any more. I care whether I am learning something. I can't tell you how many classes that I got a perfect A in and didn't learn a darn thing. I would much rather get a C now and actually learn something than get an A and learn nothing. I'd push hard to learn as much as you can, pass school and be the best nurse you can be. Worry about everything else later.

OKNurse2be · May 5, 2012

I haven't started yet myself, and I also have aspirations for the future. I hope to become a CNM one day. My current GPA is 3.9. That being said, if you become too grade focused you are going to stress yourself out, and that will hurt you more honestly. Stress can and will overwhelm you if you try so hard to achieve A's that you don't take care of yourself. There is more to nursing than your grades on tests and like pp states, a pt will not give a rip about whether you got A's or C's as long as you passed the NCLEX. It's great that you have plans for the future, because those ARE important. Just don't let tomorrow become more important than today. :)

anonymousstudent · May 6, 2012

You have PLENTY of courses coming that will balance you out. Fundamentals is hard. I also got a C in that course, it was hard to swallow, but I went on to get A's and B's in everything else, and I'm now a balanced out B student. Take it as it comes, and don't get too down on yourself about this. When it happened to me I didn't think I'd be able to recover from it, to be successful in my program, but that just wasn't true.

jennys77 · May 6, 2012

What do you call a nurse that got C's in college? --- "nurse"

I am still waiting for junior year to start, so actual nursing classes haven't started for me yet. I have 120+ Credits in freshman and sophomore classes and a 3.67 gpa. I do not expect to make any A's in my nursing courses. A's are for super over achievers who are near experts. I've taken English, science, math, etc classes my whole life, so those college courses were a breeze to get a's and b's in. C's are an average grade, and I expect to be average in my nursing courses.

All I'm saying is, a's are the exception, not the norm, once you take away grade inflation.

Jasel, BSN, RN · May 6, 2012

I wouldn't freak out over a C. Honestly there have been people in my class who would have killed to have a C, then they'd still actually be in the program (C = 80 - 85, B = 86 - 92, A = 93 - 100). Anything under a C is failing in my program. Just try to get through it and worry about the rest later. Like others have said your grades will probably improve as you get used to the program. Nursing school is a whole other ball game. Most people aren't completely prepared for it. Honestly I probably would have failed out by now if I wasn't already an LPN and had an idea of what nursing school entails. Even now I'm only getting an 83%. We started with 95 people a year ago and out of that original 95 we have less than 45 and I know several of them aren't going to pass this class when it ends in 2 weeks (and even then we'll only be halfway through the program).

Just try your hardest, keep trying to improve, and plan things one step at a time. Get through the program, THEN worry about grad school. Believe me you'll stress yourself out trying to worry about too much at once. Nursing school alone is stressful enough without worrying about post-grad degrees. Good luck!

Inori, BSN, RN · May 6, 2012

Good luck .. though i will give 1 piece of advice: DO NOT GIVE UP.

Once you've believe/accepted in your mind that you can't do it then its guaranteed that you will not be able to do it and you will fail. That was the difference between me and the classmates who didn't pass. I believed that with enough hard work anything is possible. Me passing the "Weed Out" course (medsurg) proved that true. Anyways just know that the amount of effort you put in to getting that "C" is and would be an "A+" in any non nursing class.

Why do you think NCLEX is pass or fail? The graduate with "2.0" is just as qualified to provide safe patient care as the "4.0". Once you get your RN license you can do RN-BSN and then BSN-MSN. Also post RN school isn't admit by straight GPA they require personal essay too.

Anyways as others stated, "Don't worry about NP school, focus on passing your classes first and GPA can come later." there's no NP if you can't graduate from ADN.

You'll have to answer that yourself .. if you just want a masters degree in any thing vs. a masters in nursing. There's nothing easy in life, and Anything that's worth it is going to be hard. So good luck and study hard.

allnurses Guide · May 6, 2012

Chance of getting into graduate school if you quit? 0%

Chance of getting into graduate school if you keep going? Better than 0%

Don't like your grade? Do better. Its that simple.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · May 6, 2012

So I just "completed" my first semester in my ADN program, a fundamentals of nursing class. It's a NINE (9!!!!) credit hour class and I got a C in it 1 point away from a B. I am a 4.0 student, you can only imagine what this has done to my GPA. I would like to think I would be able to get into a master's program sometime in the future (NP, PA, CRNA) but now it seems like that is something I will have to rethink because I know they want competitive GPAs for programs like that. And due to the structure of my program, someone getting an A in one of the nursing courses would be like seeing a unicorn on any given day. Should I drop and pursue another path, or just complete the program living by the phrase "C = Nurse" and accept my fate?

I think you need to crawl before you walk. I think you need to focus at the task on hand, nursing school, and after reading your past posts...........don't be concerned over who does LP punctures and to whom you hand the specimen over to, concentrate on becoming a nurse.

If that is what you REALLY want to be. I see your career path mentions many POST graduate goals, all of them the highest paying of the profession, but you have to roll over before you crawl and master crawling before you can walk....So focus on the present. Besides there are plenty more tests to take before you are accepted to a masters program even after you graduate a nurse. You have to be a nurse in a critical care area fro at least 2 years before you can be a CRNA. Focus on the present.

One "C" in ONE nursing course will not end your career. If you are pretty close from graduating high school........this is the real world. A good GPA is important but not the end of the world. College is harder than many imagine and nursing school even harder. A good nurse is not ALL about grades. It's about perseverance, resiliency, honesty, MATURITY and hard work. You need to get a grip (and I mean that in ONLY a loving way). You are allowed to feel bad.......for one weekend. You have been asking this question for a while. Get a hold of yourself, stop the pity party, learn for your mistakes, develop a better plan. Learn from what you did wrong. :hug:

My niece was doing this. She was SO accustom to getting straight "A's" in high school. High school was easy for her......when she went to college everything changed. She would jump to once major after another, never trying hard for one thing just because she got a "C" she was a flunkie failure. I finally told her to put her big girl panties on! That this is real life not high school and not everybody wins........you have to work real hard for what you really want. That things worth having are worth fighting for and won't be easy. Our family saying is "Buck up, hush up, move on, do better".

Nursing school will change the way you think. We "critical think" which means we are looking for the worst case scenario so we can anticipate our plan of action......and perform flawlessly so the worse case scenario never occurs. Nursing demands perfection because if we screw up someone could die. The Titanic sunk because they didn't think of the worse case scenario could ever happen and then they didn't have a plan to survive.

Now.....get up, put one foot in front of the next and get ready for next year. Maybe take some courses over Th summer if it will lighted you course load in the fall. Come here if you are struggling and let us help you.

:hug: Good Luck.

AOx1 · May 6, 2012

Just like any other academic program, there are more and less competitive graduate programs. Your focus should be on safely learning the material and improvement. If you panic every time your grades are less than perfect, you are creating unnecessary stress.

Nolander · May 6, 2012

All I'm saying is, a's are the exception, not the norm, once you take away grade inflation.

yeah but not every nurse is a CRNA, not the norm. CRNA's from what I've heard are usually the exception, those that excelled in both their grades as a nurse.

caliotter3 · May 6, 2012

Instead of obsessing about grad school when you haven't even completed your second semester in nursing school, you should be directing your energies at what you need to do to insure you get A's next semester, if you don't want another C. Up to you.