Very Low Gpa...Is there still hope?

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Hello,

I graduated from HS in 2013, and from there I attended a local community college where my major was music (huge mistake) I ended up hating music and failing 2 classes that year. i also had low self esteem and no direction as to what I wanted to do in life. I left the local cc with a cumulative gpa of 1.474 at the end of 2014. With my gpa not rising I was put on academic suspension which meant sitting out for 1 year of college. So I ended up becoming an esthetician and laser technician. However, my true passion and dream is to become a nurse! My question is, is it too late for me to become a nurse with my gpa? I honestly feel as though I finally have direction in in my life and truly know what it is that I want to do. I didn't apply myself in college back then..I would skip classes and not turn in work. I've definitely matured since then, and I'm serious. Of course I haven't taken any pre-reqs for nursing so is that to my advantage? I also haven't taken a college level math class yet either. Any advice is welcomed

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Specializes in ED.

I would try the community college again, probably a better bet than trying to get in a 4 year institution. Then start on your prereqs concentrating on your science courses. If you can keep the grades up in those courses you have a good shot I think.

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I don't know if you can realistically bring up a 1.4 gpa. Did you take a lot of classes already? You are going to need probably at least a 3.5 to even be considered.

You need to talk to an advisor at a school.

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I did it. I failed out of so many classes at both NIU, which I was expelled from, and a community college. However, I moved to a different county where I then attended the community college there. Got all As in my prereqs (that was one of the only things my program looked at) and went right into the nursing program the following year.

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It is possible but will be very time consuming. You will need to retake a good volume of the classes your scored poorly in and then apply for academic forgiveness at the school you are attending. In Alabama the board of nursing here made it mandatory that all in state programs recognize your highest scores over the lowest-however your entire GPA is still looked upon. You need to meet with an advisor and put together a plan and be consistent with it. It's not going to be a cakewalk but if you really want it you will make it happen.

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I've attempted 38 hours and I've earned 19 credits. I'm still classified as a freshman at that community college.

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When applying to other programs they make you send in transcripts from all of the schools you've been to. Unless you apply as a freshman and nobody realizes you're a seasoned student I guess you could start over. However all financial aid will require you to own up to all attempted credit hours. Which is why I think you might want to put together a goal rebuilding plan with an advisor.

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I would definitely see if you can schedule an appointment with an adviser at the nearby community college. They will be able to go through your options and determine if it's possible to raise your GPA enough for the type of program you want (LPN/ADN/BSN). You may need to retake some of the classes you did the worse in to help your GPA the most.

LVN might be the best option if your GPA won't be high enough to be competitive for a ADN or BSN program. Then you could do a LVN to RN bridge program and go from there.

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Specializes in Critical care, Trauma.

It's possible, but depending upon how competitive your area programs are, you might need to move. Also, it's going to require that you do well in all of your nursing school pre-reqs. I did not do well in college my first time around and had a crappy GPA (under 2.0, can't remember exactly what at this point) but when I decided I wanted to go to nursing school I got all As and Bs in my pre-reqs, had been a CNA for a few years and I applied to an LPN program that didn't have a long waitlist. I did well in that program and bridged from LPN to ADN to BSN. My area is not particularly competitive (Kansas) but the coasts tend to be harder in terms of expectations for admission and how many people with which you are competing.

I think a lot of programs tend to understand that many people don't do well the first time around. I feel like my programs didn't really care about my previous schoolwork other than the classes I took in that timeframe that also were pre-reqs. My LPN program application required a short essay that I used to explain why I wanted to be a nurse and that I was determined to meet my goal.

Bottom line: If you want it, go for it. But if you end up falling into bad habits, it will be very hard to come back from it later so make sure you're ready, you have whatever support system you need and that you're able to dedicate the time and effort to getting it right.

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, ICU.

The nursing program I just graduated from only looked at a handful of classes and our HESI A2 score, not someone's cumulative GPA. I got my ADN so I'm not sure how BSN programs differ. You will need perfect grades in whatever classes they consider for admissions though.

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I did it! My experience wasn't exactly the same as yours but I'll give you the short version.

Went to college, majored in lots of things, graduated with a bullcrap degree in nothing, with a 2.49 GPA. Decided I wanted to be a nurse, spent 2 years retaking science classes at community college. Had dreams of an accelerated program, but was more realistic then I give my self credit for and applied to the community college ASN program instead. Graduated from nursing school 2 years later. Completed my RN-BSN in 2 semesters.

It wasn't *fun* or fast, but anything worth doing is worth taking the time to do right. The time I spent retaking my science classes really boosted my academic confidence and prepared me to work hard in nursing school.

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I see this question asked a lot and I'm always a bit confused. Does the nursing program where you are attempting to get into look at overall gpa or just the grades in the prerequisites. I've been to two community colleges (I had to move cities, but both still in CO) and the nursing program at both colleges based acceptance into the program on the prerequisite grades, not overall GPA. Look into the requirements and talk to an advisor. I doubt there were many overlapping classes for music and nursing. You'll probably have to start from scratch and take mostly all new classes

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