GPA dilemma

racing-mom4, BSN, RN · Apr 24, 2008

It totally depends on your school, you need to meet with a nursing adviser to figure it all out.

krisjazzer13 · Apr 24, 2008

I had a BS in another field with a 2.5 GPA @ time of application and that was the minimum that this particular school would take (I beefed up the app with other good stuff)...I got into the accelerated program just fine and just had to maintain over a 3.0 while in the program, so I would contact the school and see exactly what they require and ask for information.

MiaNJ · May 3, 2008

I currently hold a BS in psychology and am taking the pre-req. i will be done with the pre-reqs in Dec. 08.
My undergrad GPA is a 2.5 and from what i understand accelerated BSNs are looking for 3.0 and over.
Would it be best to apply to a associates program and then get into a BSN program?
Should i just try applying with that GPA? Has anyone else had this problem?

It depends on the school. Some will take lower than 3.0 if you have very good grades in your prereqs, which I think count more in many schools, since these are the core science courses. They also look at your recommendation letters and essay.

Just try applying, you never know.

elkpark · May 3, 2008

(Thread moved to Pre-Nursing Student forum)

Music in My Heart · May 3, 2008

I would apply to EVERY school in the geographic region. The reality is that your undergrad GPA is going to work against you so you need to better your odds by shotgunning. As others have said, each school has its own criteria.

I'd worry less about which program you get into and just get into A program as soon as you can.

CloudySue · May 3, 2008

I always found it unfortunate that young adults need to establish the rest of their lives at a time when academics is probably at the bottom of their priority list. When I was completing my undergrad for teaching, I cared more about friends, fun, parties, etc. and skipped lots of classes in persuit of those things. I never gave my GPA a thought. I don't know why I was so oblivious. I am/was a great teacher, but although I got some great year-long substitute jobs, I always got passed over when it came time to give out contracts, since I look so mediocre on paper (2.57 GPA). Principals would always look for the 3.0's and above, and in my area of the country, there are at least 500 applicants for every position, so I eventually cut my losses and decided to go back to school.

Now that I'm an adult with two children and a mortgage, I see my education as the most important thing in the world. I am ashamed of my GPA and have something to prove to myself and anyone else involved in opening doors of opportunity for me. I am worth more than a 2.57 and I am anything but mediocre. I started co-requisites last fall and currently maintain a 4.0. I actually have professors telling me I am too hard on myself! But I know better, I am finally living up to my potential. I start an LPN program this August. I had investigated accelerated BSN programs around here and they all want 3.0's or above from Undergrad degrees, so I continue to be screwed by my past. However, I was told that I may be able to have that requirement waived if I wrote a letter/essay/whatever explaining everything. So perhaps if you have some sort of "journey to self-discovery in your education" type of story, perhaps somebody will be impressed and give you a chance.

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · May 3, 2008

My undergraduate GPA is a 2.795. I generally got As and Bs, but then went and failed 4 classes. Yikes.

I'm taking prerequisites now and have figured that if I get As in all of them, I should be ok. But I'm also going to apply to everything within driving distance just to better my odds.

It's weird to care about my grades so much- I'm really anxious and feel more school pressure than I ever have before.

love_being_an_aide · May 3, 2008

The sad thing about grades and GPA is that they define a person's intellectual worth, and this shouldn't be the case at all. People today put so much emphasis on getting an A that they lose site of the real value of learning. A person could get an A in every class and still know less then a person with a B in every class. Why? The person with the B put more focus on learning the material, and the person with the A probably put more focus on learning what is absolutely necessary to maintain that A. I attended Cornell for two years and absolutely hated it, because I realized that all I was doing was learning what I needed to keep my pristine GPA. When I dropped out, I felt such a HUGE amount of relief. I love my job as an aide, and take classes at the community college for fun. I would apply to the school though, because you never know. And sometimes your lucky and get a person who understands grades don't define how smart you are.

Music in My Heart · May 3, 2008

I always found it unfortunate that young adults need to establish the rest of their lives at a time when academics is probably at the bottom of their priority list. When I was completing my undergrad for teaching, I cared more about friends, fun, parties, etc. and skipped lots of classes in persuit of those things. I never gave my GPA a thought. I don't know why I was so oblivious. I am/was a great teacher, but although I got some great year-long substitute jobs, I always got passed over when it came time to give out contracts, since I look so mediocre on paper (2.57 GPA). Principals would always look for the 3.0's and above, and in my area of the country, there are at least 500 applicants for every position, so I eventually cut my losses and decided to go back to school.
Now that I'm an adult with two children and a mortgage, I see my education as the most important thing in the world. I am ashamed of my GPA and have something to prove to myself and anyone else involved in opening doors of opportunity for me. I am worth more than a 2.57 and I am anything but mediocre. I started co-requisites last fall and currently maintain a 4.0. I actually have professors telling me I am too hard on myself! But I know better, I am finally living up to my potential. I start an LPN program this August. I had investigated accelerated BSN programs around here and they all want 3.0's or above from Undergrad degrees, so I continue to be screwed by my past. However, I was told that I may be able to have that requirement waived if I wrote a letter/essay/whatever explaining everything. So perhaps if you have some sort of "journey to self-discovery in your education" type of story, perhaps somebody will be impressed and give you a chance.

Good for you Sue for finally putting out the effort to reach your potential. Our stories, while different in detail, are very similar in theme. When I finally decided to take my education seriously I was amazed at my performance.

coolpeach · May 3, 2008

We actually had a Professor at our CC campus, and she would sit down with students who were in your situation. She would often tell them to retake certain classes to bring up the grade, and improve their GPA. You might want to sit down and figure it out on paper how many classes would you need to retake to bring it up to where you want it.

Wsmith16, ADN, BSN · May 3, 2008

I'd apply to every program ADN & BSN. And go with the school that accepeted me. That's what I did and i got in.