GPA advice. What would you do?

[SML456]

Hey guys!

So here's my brief story. I have a B.S. degree but got it with the intention of going into an Ultrasound program after graduation. Now that I've realized the ultrasound program is $20,000 for 11 months of school, it's is just out of reach for me. I am paying 100% out of pocket for school.

Well, I decided in December (2014) to go into nursing since a lot of my courses for my first degree are similar and I took my entrance exam and passed. However, my combined GPA from the college I got my A.A. at and the university I got my B.S. at is 2.65. :/

Yes, I know. It's terrible. A lot of things happened in my life during my bachelors and I just burned out and didn't apply myself very well. Also, my entire degree was online, which I will NEVER do again. That being said I don't know what to do since I the minimum GPA to get in is a 2.75 and that's if I retake the entrance exam and get mostly 90's or higher on each section except one.

What would you do? Should I look at other health programs? The only other school I can try would be an hour away and I still have to work full-time Monday-Friday.

Should I try LPN?

Ugh, I feel stuck. Like I let myself down for nursing as an option.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Your situation is not unique. There are a lot of threads here on AN about this same issue. Those GPA requirements are not arbitrary. The unfortunate reality is that nursing programs have established their 'hard and fast' admission criteria based upon analyses of student success.

But there is still hope. Schools calculate admission GPA requirements in different ways. Some use a comprehensive GPA... which includes your entire college history. Obviously, this would not be favorable to you. Other programs may only include your pre-requisite courses. Some will allow you to re-take pre-requisites and only include the higher grade in their GPA calculation.

My advice? Do some investigation to find out how GPA is calculated in the programs in which you are interested... then adjust your plan based upon what you find.