Previous GPA really bad HELP!

S.N. Visit, BSN, RN · Apr 21, 2005

Sorry, I don't know. I would think someone at your college could only answer that. Good luck! 2.5 GPA could be better, but it isn't that bad :)

bellarosa · Apr 22, 2005

Yes, you need to let them know all of your grades from higher education. However, some schools only look at the specific prereqs for nursing. My gpa from my first degree and 2 years in law school weren't very good, but my prereqs were great and I got in to an accelerated BSN program that only took 10 students.

Just check with the school to see what they look at. You may need to repeat some classes for a higher grade.

Ex130Load · Apr 23, 2005

Today, I talked with a former co-worker (who is working for another university) about this thread. She mentioned something I'd never heard of before, even when she I and worked for another university. Some institutions have a thing called "academic clemency." If accepted, the university to which you're applying completely disregards an entire transcript from another university. My friend further stated normally, it's only granted during the application stage, ie., you can't request clemency after classes have started. You can't pick and choose which grades you want counted from a particular school; it's all or nothing. If accepted, you may find yourself in need of credits/classes which may be good if you're on an upswing and currently receive good grades. I didn't see anything about academic clemency in my school's student handbook, but that doesn't mean we don't use it. If you've attended several schools, especially common with military personnel, it may be worth considering. It can't hurt to ask...

Anyone else heard of academic clemency?

lady_jezebel · Apr 23, 2005

Hopefully somebody can help me. I received my Associates in Business with a 3.5 GPA, and pursued a bachelors degree but did not complete it. I have a 2.5GPA from that. I am currently taking prereqs at a community college so I can apply for the final two years of nursing school. Do I have to let the nursing school know about my bachelors degree GPA? I will not need any of those courses that I took for the bachelors for the nursing school. Is there any way the nursing school can find out if I don't tell them about it? Please help!

You are obligated to send transcripts from ALL of the institutions you attended. However, if you do well in the prerequisite classes for nursing school, address you previous bad performance in the undergrad program & state that you have "matured" & are "more focused" than you were then. That's what I did. I had a 1.98 GPA from one college, never finished, then transferred to another college & graduated with a 3.0. By showing improvement, they will NOT hold your previous grades against you -- instead, they will view you as someone who finally got their act together & is LESS likely to fail in the future. Use this whole thing to your advantage!

Ex130Load · Apr 23, 2005

You are obligated to send transcripts from ALL of the institutions you attended. However, if you do well in the prerequisite classes for nursing school, address you previous bad performance in the undergrad program & state that you have "matured" & are "more focused" than you were then. That's what I did. I had a 1.98 GPA from one college, never finished, then transferred to another college & graduated with a 3.0. By showing improvement, they will NOT hold your previous grades against you -- instead, they will view you as someone who finally got their act together & is LESS likely to fail in the future. Use this whole thing to your advantage!

Being viewed now as someone who "got their act together" is not a universal truth. At my school, this year's junior class had an approximately 30% acceptance rate. Minimum GPA is 2.5. From a school's perspective, it makes little sense to accept someone with a GPA closer to the minimum over those whose record only reflects them "as always having had their act together." I don't remember having an interview during the application process meaning GPAs contribute heavily to acceptance. I think the "more focused and matured" consideration would work better at schools with smaller candidate pools. However, I firmly believe the most a school is going to say is "no."

Good luck.

BoonersmomRN · Apr 23, 2005

Anyone else heard of academic clemency?

Yes, sort of if it works like this. At my school if you took any classes before ( at another college- no matter when that are equivalents of the pre-req's...you give them your transcript and if they accept them they are considered " institutional transfer credits" and your GPA is wiped clean and you start from scratch ( GPA wise) once you start classes. So like my transcript now has 9 " institution credits" ( from Psych 101, Eng 101, and Speech 101) that I got transferred ( I took them 10 years ago!). My GPA back then was 3.0 but it shows as 4.0 now because everything I have done since starting my school ( in 2003)has been straight A's.