Getting Accepted on a GPA only system

Asherah, BSN, RN · Apr 10, 2008

So barring those last two 4 credit hour classes would I still have a chance to get accepted you think on my first try if I ace the rest of my classes?
The lady said that they get about 200 app's and fill 60 seats and that they go from the top down in terms of GPA. So she said that if I can raise it to a 3.5 or 3.6 that I should be looking pretty good. Thanks for your advice.

Mike,

It seems as if you already have the answer to your question. If the admissions counselor from the program you would like to enter stated that a 3.5-3.6 would be competitive, you merely need to work to achieve this (and then beyond, just to be safe). How many credits do the "rest of your classes" total up to? Do a GPA calculation with your current grades assuming you achieve A's in the upcoming courses and see where you stand.

However, applicant pools vary each cycle, so perhaps a 3.5-3.6 would be good in some cycles and in others where the average is higher, it may not be. The best you can do is focus on each course itself, do well in them individually and then see where you stand. The GPA will take care of itself if you focus on learning the material and demonstrating your mastery within exams and practicums.

Last bit of advice...if you have other reputable programs in your area, apply to them as well, not just this one!

MikeInCO · Apr 10, 2008

I will keep that in mind. The reason I chose this school was because they are the only one of two that offer a BSN here in my area w/o having to drive over an hour to another city both ways. They were also chosen based on their admissions criteria. The local CC's all have 2+ year wait lists except for one and I would end up having to go back for my BSN anyway... So thats why I chose this school. I will however keep your advice in mind when I finish up more of my classes and would be able to apply for other schools' programs. Thanks for the advice.

MikeInCO · Apr 15, 2008

Just an update for everyone who might care... lol or not but is reading this anyway... I have crunched the numbers and according to my calculations if I 'ace' every class left then i can only get up to a 3.58 but if I retake two classes that I have C's in then I can get it all the way up to a 3.86... Although this is very challenging and leaves me a little discouraged because I have to take A&P 1,2 and Micro still. I'm not so worried about the other classes. And if I retake those two classes that I got a C in and Ace on one of my science classes but get a B in the other two then I can get up to a 3.67. Not that I'm planning on just settling for that or anything. I want to maximize my chances to get accepted the first time. So I'm going to push full steam ahead and work really really hard to get A's in everything and retake those two classes to make my GPA get to a 3.8. Which would make me pretty competitive I'd say. At my school you are ranked by your GPA of your pre-reqs only... Has anyone here gone to or are currently attending or planning to attend an institution that runs a program this way? And has anyone gotten accepted to their pgoram with a 3.5-3.6 GPA?

rholman · Apr 15, 2008

Good Morning,

Seminole Community College in Florida runs their program the same way. The advisor explained to me that it is strongly recommended that ALL of your pre-reqs should be completed at the time you APPLY for the program and keep your GPA as high as possible to be competitive. They have 100 seats each year for the day and 100 for the evening program. I will be attending an orientation today for the Nursing program and get more specifics. I will just be starting my pre-reqs this summer and will be aiming for a 4.0 GPA when my time comes to apply. Considering the waiting list for a lot of schools, I will take my chances with this one, and because I work full time I need an evening program. I am soooo excited and can't wait for May 5 to get started

Good Luck to us All :yeah:

MikeInCO · Apr 15, 2008

Good Morning,
Seminole Community College in Florida runs their program the same way. The advisor explained to me that it is strongly recommended that ALL of your pre-reqs should be completed at the time you APPLY for the program and keep your GPA as high as possible to be competitive. They have 100 seats each year for the day and 100 for the evening program. I will be attending an orientation today for the Nursing program and get more specifics. I will just be starting my pre-reqs this summer and will be aiming for a 4.0 GPA when my time comes to apply. Considering the waiting list for a lot of schools, I will take my chances with this one, and because I work full time I need an evening program. I am soooo excited and can't wait for May 5 to get started
Good Luck to us All

That is pretty cool. My school lets you apply when you have 50% of your pre-reqs done. Although, you must have them all done by the time that you start your nursing classes in the following Spring. We don't have a Fall start option. I will have all of them done I believe by the time that I apply. Our cutoff is May 25th to apply and I believe that the Spring semester will end just shortly before that. Which is important because I am finishing up my last two pre-reqs that semester... lol Good luck to you! And let me know what they tell you... Even though it'll be a little different than out here I'm still pretty curious as to how they run their program. :) :yeah:

rholman · Apr 16, 2008

That is pretty cool. My school lets you apply when you have 50% of your pre-reqs done. Although, you must have them all done by the time that you start your nursing classes in the following Spring. We don't have a Fall start option. I will have all of them done I believe by the time that I apply. Our cutoff is May 25th to apply and I believe that the Spring semester will end just shortly before that. Which is important because I am finishing up my last two pre-reqs that semester... lol Good luck to you! And let me know what they tell you... Even though it'll be a little different than out here I'm still pretty curious as to how they run their program. :)

Hey Mike,

Orientation was very informative.The applications are put in 3 categories and the selection process is as follows:

Category 1. -Successful completion of All required pre-reqs with a

re-calculated GPA of 3.0 or better.

Category 2. - Successful completion of all pre-reqs with a re-calculated GPA of 2.0 -2.9

Category 3 - Students with outstanding pre-reqs in the following order:

A - Have not completed Humanities or Nutrition and Diet Therapy

B- Have not completed 1 course, other than Humanities, Nutrition or the sciences

C- Have not completed one science course

D- Have not completed 2 courses (except science courses)

E - Have not completed 2 science courses or 3 or more courses.

This information is directly from the information packet handed out today.

Of course Catagory 1 will have the best chance of getting accepted and Category 3(E) probably will never get accepted. They do not have a waiting list so if you don't get accepted you have to reapply the next year.

They have 2 programs: (100 seats each program)

Evening/Weekend -starting every January

Day- starting every August

I won't be complete with my pre-reqs until fall of 2009 so I will probably fall somewhere in Category 3. I will apply anyway but if I don't get accepted I will be ready the following year. I hope this helps. :bugeyes:

MikeInCO · Apr 16, 2008

Hey Mike,
Orientation was very informative.The applications are put in 3 categories and the selection process is as follows:
Category 1. -Successful completion of All required pre-reqs with a
re-calculated GPA of 3.0 or better.
Category 2. - Successful completion of all pre-reqs with a re-calculated GPA of 2.0 -2.9
Category 3 - Students with outstanding pre-reqs in the following order:
A - Have not completed Humanities or Nutrition and Diet Therapy
B- Have not completed 1 course, other than Humanities, Nutrition or the sciences
C- Have not completed one science course
D- Have not completed 2 courses (except science courses)
E - Have not completed 2 science courses or 3 or more courses.
This information is directly from the information packet handed out today.
Of course Catagory 1 will have the best chance of getting accepted and Category 3(E) probably will never get accepted. They do not have a waiting list so if you don't get accepted you have to reapply the next year.
They have 2 programs: (100 seats each program)
Evening/Weekend -starting every January
Day- starting every August
I won't be complete with my pre-reqs until fall of 2009 so I will probably fall somewhere in Category 3. I will apply anyway but if I don't get accepted I will be ready the following year. I hope this helps.

Thanks for that info. That is an interesting way to do things. I would imagine that my school does things a similar way. As that makes the most sense. Are you taking any classes over the summer? I plan to take 4...

justme1972 · Apr 16, 2008

My sister who just finished nursing school actually had to move across the state because all of the nursing schools where she was, if you had anything less than a 3.8, you could forget it.

She already had a Bachelor's degree where she had a 3.3 GPA...but for nursing school, they actually considered that application INFERIOR to those that had only 12 to 24 semester hours...and nothing else!!!

She had straight A's in Microbiology, AP 1 and 2, and other very, very difficult courses...she just had a hard time her freshman year (she was clinically depressed) and didn't get very good grades, but from then on she was on the Dean's list every semester.

Yup, some policies are more "fair" than others.

MikeInCO · Apr 16, 2008

My sister who just finished nursing school actually had to move across the state because all of the nursing schools where she was, if you had anything less than a 3.8, you could forget it.
She already had a Bachelor's degree where she had a 3.3 GPA...but for nursing school, they actually considered that application INFERIOR to those that had only 12 to 24 semester hours...and nothing else!!!
She had straight A's in Microbiology, AP 1 and 2, and other very, very difficult courses...she just had a hard time her freshman year (she was clinically depressed) and didn't get very good grades, but from then on she was on the Dean's list every semester.
Yup, some policies are more "fair" than others.

Here they have an accelerated program for people who already have a bachelors in something. But the average gpa for the people in that program was about a 3.4... I'm glad that she finally got in to a program! And congrats to her for finishing it! :yeah: What about you? Are you currently in a program or plan to enter one?

rholman · Apr 16, 2008

Thanks for that info. That is an interesting way to do things. I would imagine that my school does things a similar way. As that makes the most sense. Are you taking any classes over the summer? I plan to take 4...

I am only taking 2 classes a semester for now. I work full time during the day and part time taxi driver in the evening ( I have a very active 16 year old).:chuckle So needless to say my time is limited at this point. I registered for English 1 and fundamentals of Algebra (online).

I did forget to mention that at Orientation they explained that they favor a GPA of 3.5 and better. :rolleyes:

MikeInCO · Apr 16, 2008

I am only taking 2 classes a semester for now. I work full time during the day and part time taxi driver in the evening ( I have a very active 16 year old).:chuckle So needless to say my time is limited at this point. I registered for English 1 and fundamentals of Algebra (online).
I did forget to mention that at Orientation they explained that they favor a GPA of 3.5 and better.

The counselor lady that I spoke to also said a similar thing in regards to the GPA. She said that a GPA of 3.5-3.6 would be competitive still but the higher the better obviously... LOL I've already figured out the best GPA that I can get and I have a long hard road ahead of me... But I know that I can do it! And man do you sound like a busy guy! Have a great day!