about GPA

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Jul 25, 2006

I see you are young. However, this is a good question.

Earning a 4.0 in a CC is not easier or harder necessarily.

For many of us it boils down to finances. Read this post:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f198/need-some-help-169142.html

sweetface18 · Jul 25, 2006

your prenursing gpa is your gpa calculated from your college undergraduate classes. it doesn't really matter if it was at university or cc...although some programs may only accept a certain amout of credit hours from "junior colleges= cc". just be sure to talk to your advisor so you don't end up wasting your time....

dougRN2BE · Jul 25, 2006

I see you are young. However, this is a good question.
Earning a 4.0 in a CC is not easier or harder necessarily.
For many of us it boils down to finances. Read this post:
https://allnurses.com/forums/f198/need-some-help-169142.html

Based on my experience, I have to disagree that "Earning a 4.0 in a CC is not easier or harder necessarily". I have taught at both a community college and 2 universities (non-nursing field) and the expectations and drive for cc students is often lower than at the university. Before the flames begin, let me re-emphasize that I didn't teach nursing courses. That being said, I have many colleagues who teach at both levels and my experiences are similiar to those of others I know who teach at the cc level. I think the big difference, however, is when it comes to older students who attend cc as opposed to a university because it is more convenient and they can't drop their life to do a university schedule during the day. These students tend to work their butts off. However, I do think it is far easier for students to get a 4.0 at a cc than a university (again, only speaking from my experience at the 3 institutions I've taught at)...I've had several transfer students who flew through cc classes with a 4.0 and then hit a brick wall when they get to the university because academic expectations are higher.

Let the flaming begin!!

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Jul 25, 2006

Let the flaming begin!!

The OP asked about why a student chooses a CC first over a 4 year program. From what I have read, most students agree with me that it is because of finances. It has nothing to do with easier or harder.

I have a graduate degree, I obviously can handle hard courses. Plus the science classes at my CC were not easy. My Professors graduated from Ivy league schools and were in no way compassionate toward students who wanted to become nurses if they did not do the work and perform well on exams.

In addition, I have taken science courses at 4 year universities and expectations from the institutions are the same... easy or hard classes boils down to the Professors not the students.

By the way, I teach at a CC as well. My students do not consider me easy. All my reviews make that clear.

dougRN2BE · Jul 25, 2006

The OP asked about why a student chooses a CC first over a 4 year program. From what I have read, most students agree with me that it is because of finances. It has nothing to do with easier or harder.
I have a graduate degree, I obviously can handle hard courses. Plus the science classes at my CC were not easy. My Professors graduated from Ivy league schools and were in no way compassionate toward students who wanted to become nurses if they did not do the work and perform well on exams.
In addition, I have taken science courses at 4 year universities and expectations from the institutions are the same... easy or hard classes boils down to the Professors not the students. And yes, I agree with you, traditional students do not necessarily work as hard as non-traditional students. However, that does not mean classes are easier or harder.
By the way, I teach at a CC as well. My students do not consider me easy. All my reviews make that clear.

Let me clarify. I was only speaking to the question of cc being harder or easier. I absolutely agree with you that many students choose cc because it is more cost effective. And when I was at the cc, I wasn't easy either...and I do agree that it depends largely on the professor. However, this is a key point. Many faculty members at the cc level tend to have less of an interest in research than in teaching. What does mean? In my opinion, it translates into the instructors being more connected to their students and understanding their abilities and concerns at a comm college because they are often not primarily concerned with the publish/perish phenomenon in the universities. In my opinion and experience, because cc instructors have more of a connection and understand their students' abilities and needs, they tend to be more realistic in expectations. Now, of COURSE there are exceptions and this is a broad generalization, but I have found it to be largely true. And also, I don't know where you teach, but there aren't too many ivy-league educated professors teaching at comm college.

This brings me to your point...many times the professor determines the difficulty of the class. I can absolutely see validity in this point. More professors educated at prestigious institutions tend to set their goal at getting to a university to teach and research. Since these professors are ending up at universities and not so much at comm colleges, their expectations tend to be higher, classes harder, and thus it is not as easy to get a 4.0GPA. I don't think anyone will disagree that it is as easy to get a 4.0 at your local comm college as it is to get the same at an ivy-league or a presigious public 4-yr school.

Columnist · Jul 25, 2006

I'm sorry this thread is getting highjacked, but it's an interesting discussion nonetheless.

I have taken classes at both cc and univ, and the cc classes without exception were easier. That's not to say I didn't learn as much. As dougRN2BE pointed out, cc instructors often are better connected to their students' needs and abilities, which enables them to tailor each class session to maximizing the information their students assimilate.

My question is: how do cc courses look on one's transcript? I am facing a choice that involves this issue. Assuming I get my BSN, I plan to eventually enroll in a specific master's program that requires the pathophysiology to have been taken "within a biology department, not within a nursing or allied health department." My university only offers patho through the nursing dept (and it's only a 2 credit hour course). However, the local cc offers patho (standard 3 credit hour course) through the biology department.

My concern is how it will look on my transcript if my patho classes are from a cc, while the rest of my courses are from the univ. (For the record, my univ doesn't care if I take my patho from them or from the cc, as they have a reciprocity agreement.)

Advice?

dougRN2BE · Jul 25, 2006

I'm sorry this thread is getting highjacked, but it's an interesting discussion nonetheless.
I have taken classes at both cc and univ, and the cc classes without exception were easier. That's not to say I didn't learn as much. As dougRN2BE pointed out, cc instructors often are better connected to their students' needs and abilities, which enables them to tailor each class session to maximizing the information their students assimilate.
My question is: how do cc courses look on one's transcript? I am facing a choice that involves this issue. Assuming I get my BSN, I plan to eventually enroll in a specific master's program that requires the pathophysiology to have been taken "within a biology department, not within a nursing or allied health department." My university only offers patho through the nursing dept (and it's only a 2 credit hour course). However, the local cc offers patho (standard 3 credit hour course) through the biology department.
My concern is how it will look on my transcript if my patho classes are from a cc, while the rest of my courses are from the univ. (For the record, my univ doesn't care if I take my patho from them or from the cc, as they have a reciprocity agreement.)
Advice?

As far as I know, cc courses look absolutely fine on a transcript. Most universities understand that students go to cc's for a multitude of reasons and don't automatically assume you have an inferior education. Most all schools have a "residency requirement" that stipulates the number of credit hours you must take in residence at that university. Aside from that, I think most schools want to see you have done well (whether that be at a cc or a university). The only time I have seen schools get pretentious about cc credits is if you are applying to an east coast ivy-league school. There are so many colleges/universities on the east coast that (this is my understanding based on an admissions counselor from Yale) they tend to not like excessive cc credits because it looks like an easy way out. On the contrary, however, since there are many more cc's many other parts of the country that serve communities where a university might be far, far away, these areas tend to have a much more understanding attitude toward cc credits. Aside from very infrequent circumstances, I don't think people care where you get your credits. As has been posted many times on this site, ADN's and BSN's practice side-by-side and there is no difference in licensure exams. There are some professions, where the prestige of your university dictates whether you will get a job and how much you will earn. I don't think this is the case with nursing.

Sorry for hijacking the thread

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Jul 25, 2006

I am facing a choice that involves this issue. Assuming I get my BSN, I plan to eventually enroll in a specific master's program that requires the pathophysiology to have been taken "within a biology department, not within a nursing or allied health department." My university only offers patho through the nursing dept (and it's only a 2 credit hour course). However, the local cc offers patho (standard 3 credit hour course) through the biology department.
My concern is how it will look on my transcript if my patho classes are from a cc, while the rest of my courses are from the univ. (For the record, my univ doesn't care if I take my patho from them or from the cc, as they have a reciprocity agreement.)
Advice?

I can answer this one. I am in a similar boat, where my Patho must come from a 4 year university or it will not qualify for the RN-BSN program to which I will apply. So I am taking pathophysiology from the four year university I plan to apply too once I am done with my ADN.

In fact, I am taking the class either next Semester or in the Summer depending on when I get admitted into my CC's Nursing Program. Check out the school of interest and see if you can take the one class from them before you apply to their program. Good luck.

Krankenschwester_2 · Jul 26, 2006

For me, I'm presently a Senior at a University persuing my Bachelor's in History, yes History. I didn't decide I wanted to be a nurse until my junior year, last fall. I had planned on going to law school (and then on into military law), but then I met my boyfriend, now fiancee, two years ago and once we got engaged--plans changed. To change my major to Nursing now, I'd be here persuing my Bachelor's for the next four years. Whereas, I can graduate in May with my Bachelor's and get my ADN at a Community College while living at home (e.g. saving money). I simply can't afford to take any more student loans out at the University level...

After a couple years after becoming an RN I plan on enrolling in the RN to MSN program, so I can at least have a Master's.

Most people, in my opinion, choose community college because it's several thousand dollars cheaper each semester. I am confident that the college work I'll do at the community college will be much easier than the rigorous honors in History program I'm pursuing now. However, that was no motivation in my decision, money was.

I can't tell you whether or not it's easier to achieve a 4.0 at a cc since I've only had university courses beyond high school. I have a 3.65 at the University, including courses such as Genetics (which was no easy pie to slice). In my experience I have had 200-level Sophomore classes that I had to bust my butt in to get a B+ and other 300-level, research intensive courses that I had half the committment and got a A in. To me, it's all about the instructor (and whether or not they have graduate TA's who make things 10 x's harder). Subject matter is a huge difference, I suck at Math, so math is harder--whereas I'm really good at Microbiology, so an A is a synch.

Otessa, BSN, RN · Jul 26, 2006

I went to a 2-year state college and they were the SAME classes that were offered at the 4-year state schools-cheaper since I could live at home and work, etc. It wasn't glorified high school and most of my teachers had Doctorates........I went to a lot of pre-med, pre-engineering,etc students who wouldn't stand for easy-peasy courses...........why would i

Otessa, BSN, RN · Jul 26, 2006

from my 2 year college I had a graduation after 2 years and had completed the requirements for an "Associate in Science" I had to have this prior to applying to the nursing College I attended a 2 plus 2 program to get my BSN.