GPA and major?

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Hi everyone, happy holidays!

So I've just finished my second semester of my freshman year, and while I'm excited for next year, there are so many questions floating around in my head. I made the decision to declare pre-med before I entered college. After volunteering at hospitals and seeing a close family member in and out the hospital, I've started to think Nursing might be a better fit. My biggest problems right now are my school and making academic decisions.

The college I attend now has a Nursing program, but they don't seem compatible with my plans to transfer schools and continue with my education after that. When I went to the office to inquire about their program, the response I got was something along the lines of "why on earth would you want to get a Masters when you could work after two years?" I didn't want to step on any toes, so I thanked them and left it at that.

Because of the advising situation at my school, I'm a little confused right now. I ended the semester with a 3.25 (so far I've earned three As, two Bs and a C that I'm not happy about.) Depending on where I transfer, I was considering majoring in Neuroscience. If not, Psychology and Biology are also strong contenders.

I apologize for posting so much; but any advice on where to go from here would be much appreciated. If my semester gpa for spring is a 4.0, then my overall will be a 3.56.

Thanks for reading!

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I'm a little confused by your post.. are you transferring to do nursing? Or to do neuroscience, possibly biology? I think before you transfer you need to decide what your plan is. Try to look into nursing programs at other schools and go meet with their advisors or find out if they offer an open house for their nursing program. If you like nursing, complete the pre reqs and try to avoid C's. If you can raise your GPA up some, you should be able to get in.

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I think if you need to think about the jobs after you graduate with a bachelors. In psychology, you will need a masters or higher for almost every job. It sounds like your gpa is going up...You can always go back after you start nursing and get them to pay for your masters.

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Do you really want to be a nurse? That's the question you have to answer before you think about a master's degree. While your advising may not have gone exactly as you wanted, it doesn't mean that a master's from them is out of the question. I picked my program because not only are they rated highly nationally but also because they offer a master's and doctorate in nursing. Still, I have to get the bachelor's first.Don't let one poor advising appointment make your decision for you.

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Thanks everyone!

I think being able to transfer into programs where I can graduate with a BSN would be amazing. The only school I've found that has info about transferring in is U of Iowa. The advisor at my school said none of the nursing classes transfer out because it's a junior college.

This is why I brought up a science based major. That way I could apply to nursing programs after I graduate with a Bachelor's & still have the option of applying to Master's programs or maybe attempting to get a PhD.

I apologize for being so confused! With the whole pre med track I know exactly what classes I should take, how to enhance my application, and when to take the MCAT/apply. I just want to have a solid plan for becoming a nurse, so I can make it happen if that's what I decide.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Ahhh - I think I know where the confusion is. Nursing is not a 'major' like other things. The clinical portion of Nursing education is provided by way of a "program". The nursing program in any given college does include all of the content that is required for accreditation, but each program can design it however they want. So, you are probably never going to find any 2 nursing programs that have exactly the same structure. That means that the clinical portion of nursing education (e.g., the "program") is pretty much non-transferable to any other program. You usually have to start from scratch if you change programs.

There are some exceptions, such as:

1. If schools have an articulation agreement - usually between LP/VN - ADN - BSN programs. Each school has already analyzed the clinical programs of the others, so they know exactly what they contain. These are set up so that graduates of one program can enroll in the higher level program without the hassle of having to repeat clinical subjects.

2. Some schools have a CLEP-like process that will allow students to go through a validation process and get credit for previous knowledge... usually requires both a knowledge & demonstration testing component - very stressful

Pre-med, on the other hand - is composed of purely academic classes...usually end up with a degree in biology or something at the end. There is no clinical component... that doesn't start until you get into med school. Does this make it any clearer?

You can certainly continue your education after you obtain your BSN (me - MSN & EdD)... lots of nurses choose to obtain advanced degrees in other fields entirely. The pre-requisite classes (non clinical) that you have taken will transfer and 'count' just like any other academic credits. The only catch in science-based degrees is that most science-y credits have expiration dates... 5 - 7 years as a rule. So you may have to end up taking them again if you wait to long to transfer them.

Another wrinkle... I know of several nurses who have gone on to medical school and become physicians - and one who became a dentist (strange, huh?). They figured if they had to have a bachelor's degree in order to get into med school, it may as well be a 'real one' that could earn some $ if they didn't get accepted to med school right away.

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Yes, that's exactly it. I was having trouble articulating it, but what scares me about nursing is the idea of being behind. With the pre-med track there's more clarity in that aspect and everything is presented as a step on a long, arduous staircase. The idea of nursing being a "program" makes everything more clear, so thank you!

So for right now, would taking a few pre-requisite classes in addition to finishing my general ed requirements be my best option? Next semester I have human bio and my liberal arts core, and then I can take Calculus and/or A&P over the summer. All while working to keep the upward trend with my gpa, of course.

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Merry Christmas!

I too have heard about nurses going onto to apply to medical school. I don't know one personally, but from a friend I heard about one (a man who works at the local hospital) who is working as an RN while fulfilling more med school pre-requisite requirements, then he will be applying. So it IS possible (and I'd say becoming more common, too)

While working in my college's life science laboratory I help prepare class materials/chemicals for the entire life science department, so that includes microbiology, regular biology, zoology, botany, physiology, anatomy, ect. Everyone I work with actually are not pre-nursing students, but are pre-med, biology, or physics/chemistry students. I'd say the fields do overlap as the materials and the knowledge/requirements for them are similar.

I'd recommend raising your GPA. I have a 4.0 cumulative right now and will be applying with it in January-March and I am just on the cusp of being accepted, meaning I could be denied or accepted, depending on the applicant pool and whether or not I get accepted initially or alternately. It's based off a point system and I recalculated it. I have 2 points less than I originally thought out of 100 possible, this makes my application even more on the cusp. It is important to have a good GPA for nursing school acceptance and even more if you want to go onto graduate school, so keep that in mind! :D

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Thanks, Jolie! I'm definitely striving for as close to a 4.0 as possible. You must have worked for that. Good luck with your applications. :)

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

If you're serious about nursing and are in Iowa, there are a lot if great programs that are two years to get an RN and then Upper Iowa University offers a 1 year BSN program. I saw that your were afraid of being behind and that is a great option too. However, if you decide to go to med school after, you may have to take another year to get some higher stat or organic chem class that aren't offered in nursing.

I personally attended Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo Iowa, attend Upper Iowa now and start the DNP (Doctorate of Nursing Practice) program at the U of Iowa in the fall of 2014. I interviewed for med schools and the DNP program and had conditional acceptance for both. But I decided to stay the nurse route and be a practitioner in the future.

You have to decide if you want to be a nurse and apply to schools now. There usually is a bit of a wait list at some schools and if you don't want to fall "behind" you need to start now even if you aren't sure. You can always decline acceptance.

I had your same though process to only do the 4 year BSN route but for financial reasons took the 2 year route for the RN. I really liked that because I have worked full time all year while finishing my BSN and it's great! I am making great money to pay for school and have no student debt.

That's just my thoughts and maybe you have it all figured out!

Let me know if you head to the U of Iowa, it would be great to have some people I know when I head that way!

Best of luck to you!!!

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@sacwebb Thank you so much! I am currently going to school around the Iowa area, so being a Hawkeye is definitely a strong future goal.

This semester is going by smoothly so far. I'm working on my pre-reqs & hopefully a 4.0 this semester will raise my overall to a 3.5 :) I still have a long way to go, but I'm gravitating towards med school more and more. You all have been so informative, though. I have a lot of respect and gratitude. Thanks again, everyone!

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I suggest going about things in reverse slightly. Make an appointment with the senior college and visit with advisors in each area your interested in. Tell them you will be starting at a junior college in a certain program and are curious as to what will actually transfer to their program. Get them to print it out and go home to compare. They will push you to go there immediately of course.

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