Getting in with poor grades but high test scores.

[jr307]

Hi first time poster here:

I'm interested in getting a BSN through my home state university (Wyoming). I didn't really have the best grades during highschool as I had a bit of a rough home life. During my senior year I had to move out of the family home and work full time to support myself through graduation. My roommate also had very serious emotional/depression issues and I really didn't focus enough in school. By the time all was said and done I graduated with 2.8 GPA overall. I understand that a 2.8 is not good enough to get into most schools (U of Wyo states 3.0 admission minimum w/ a 21 on ACT), although I had pretty good ACT scores. I scored a 27 in the ACT over all with a 30 in reading, 28in writing 23 in math, and 26 in Science. I've now been out of school and working full time for three years.

I've come to the realization that the life I'm living; working every day 12-14 hours is not going to be enough to satisfy my active mind and ambition. I want to pursue the goals that I had set forth for myself before real life getting in the way. Is it realistic to expect to get into a BSN program at a state university with the scores I have? Have I waited too long to pursue this and am I better off going the ADN route? It's very important to me to get scholarships because otherwise it is unrealistic for me to hope to pay my way through school in my current profession (sous chef/kitchen manager) am I even in a reasonable position to apply?

Honestly I've been out of the game for a bit too long. I didn't take advantage of the resources available to me in school and I want to honestly know if it's too late for me to make it.

[thimba]

Maybe you could try applying to a few community colleges and take some nursing pre-reqs there. Once you get good grades in those classes then you may be a better candidate for a BSN program if the school has grades other than your HS grades to look at.

[tbaughm]

I agree. Do some pre-reqs at a 2-year college to establish a good gpa and then your high school gpa won't matter.

[Seattlemamalama]

I agree with the previous posters.

Go do your prerequisites at a community college and get excellent grades in those classes. This will save you a ton of money and will not have a big negative effect on getting accepted to university.

Once you have finished your prerequisites universities will not care about your high school GPA and it will then pretty much become irrelevant.

Since money is such a big factor (and is for everyone) don't waste your time starting out at a university.

I found it frustrating how high schools make students believe that they automatically need to start out at a 4-year university. Not true. You'll notice that a majority of your classmates will probably end up at community college in a year or two and with $50,000+ in debt from their failed attempt at university. I have seen this personally more times than I thought possible.

Recap: start out at a community college

excell in prerequisites (at least a 3.5 GPA)

transfer to university once you have hit the minimum requirements to apply to your university of choice.

[jr307]

Thank you very much for your responses I really appreciate it. I think you're all right and that going to community college first is the right choice for me financially. I also think it will help me get back into the swing of school. The community colleges in this state really help out students too so I think thats officially my plan!

Thanks Again!