GPA to become a nurse?

Columnist · Jun 25, 2014

Moved to Pre-Nursing for more response.

pmabraham, BSN, RN · Jun 25, 2014

Have you done introspection as to why you got the "F" and "D" in the first place? Have you thought about why you didn't seek help in those classes prior to the end of the class where it was too late to impact the grade? I'm not sure how you came up with a 2.0 GPA when you are stating you got "F"'s (0.0 towards GPA) and "D's" (1.o towards GPA). Without knowing the full quality points you have to date that achieved your 2.0 GPA, it's hard to answer if it is possible to get your GPA higher (especially towards a 3.2).

Thank you.

Chabibeh · Jun 25, 2014

Sorry I haven't made it clear. I have a 2.08 because I ha gotten an F,D,B,and a few Cs. I am planning to retake te classes I did poorly on and am going to stay in community college a bit longer than I should. I know why I did poorly and I will do better next semester.

Thank you :)

BeachsideRN, ASN · Jun 25, 2014

A lot will depend on how competitive your market is. Minimum standards rarely cut it.

Balto · Jun 25, 2014

What did you get D's and F's in?

If you retake them, there is a possibility the program will accept the new grades. But if you have a 2.0 and have taken many classes, that is hard to bring up to a 3.2.

I would probably work on getting into an English class. Even though science courses are important, English is important in its own way. It teaches you how to articulate yourself to others, such as admissions counselors, professors and nursing recruiters. Terrible grammar and spelling skills can really give off a bad impression to such people.

Chabibeh · Jun 25, 2014

Thanks for the help. The classes were nutrition and abnormal psychology

**NICU Guy, BSN, RN** · Jun 25, 2014

Just because a school will accept a 3.2 GPA transfer, it does not mean that you will get into their nursing program (especially Cal.). It is probably their minimum GPA that would qualify you to get into their program. The people actually accepted into the program are close to 4.0

pmabraham, BSN, RN · Jun 26, 2014

Good day, Chabibeh:

Your best bet is to ask your advisor to help you calculate how many "A's" you must get without a single lower grade in order to get your GPA to a 3.2. Since I don't know how many C's you got, I cannot do the math for you... but it looks like you've had several semesters worth of classes to get to a 2.08 given 1 F, 1 D, and 1 B with the rest being an non specified number of C's. I would also ask their advice for what are your options for other majors.

One of the things that helped me pick a direction is that I did seek out career counseling where I took a meyers briggs personality test, along with other tests to help refine ideas for what I might be good at in order to narrow down the choices to what I believe I can be very passionate about. I'm not stating nursing is not in your future, but you might have a longer road ahead of you... maybe LPN to RN might be a route... not sure.

Thank you.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Jun 26, 2014

You asked for opinions, so.....here goes.

Consider another major, and now. Your grades do not indicate a great likelihood of success in nursing school, if you even managed to get in. And that, I'm afraid, isn't likely either.

Bone up on English core material. You might take offense at this, but the simple fact is that I don't see evidence of college-level English in your posts. And THAT is needed at the most basic foundation of all nursing courses.

You are seeking to enter a VERY competitive educational path to a VERY competitive career, and I am not certain you have the necessary skills with which to begin.

Good luck in whatever path you decide.

RunBabyRN · Jun 26, 2014

You'll need a much higher GPA for SSU. The minimum to apply is a 3.0, but even if you aced the TEAS and the essay, it wouldn't be enough to get in. I imagine Davis is much the same. Every program in CA is highly impacted, and schools across the country are in similar situations.

I agree about working on your English. We wrote SOOO many papers in SSU's program, and some instructors are VERY strict about their grading of your English.

SSU will accept repeats, but remember that even with grade improvements, your old grades are factored into your overall GPA. Also, be sure to look at only your transferable credits when you factor your GPA (or take courses to improve your GPA). This screwed me, as my GPA is much higher when you factor in non-transferable courses. I was young and dumb at one point and I didn't care much about my GPA. I didn't know I'd eventually go into nursing, and when I up a bit and figured out what I wanted to do, it took A LOT of damage control to correct what I'd done. Thankfully as an older student, I was much more serious and didn't bite off more than I could chew like I had when I was younger.

It may or may not be possible for you to do the same, but again, it's A LOT of work and A LOT of time, and you REALLY need to be ready to buckle down and be serious. You can't go from earning Cs and Ds one semester to earning As without some major shifting around. How many units have you completed so far?

WHY are you earning these grades? You said you know, so make sure you really, really get serious if you are to make this work. Get a tutor, utilize the learning centers at your schools, whatever it takes, but if you're not able to get serious about general ed and prereqs, I can guarantee you that you won't survive nursing school.

izzie817 · Jun 26, 2014

just work harder and study more, if you want it bad enough you will get it!