Graduating with honors help with grad school?

allnurses Guide · Dec 13, 2008

I think grad schools look at you as a whole person - grades etc are one part of it. They want to know that you're going to be successful in their program.

UVA Grad Nursing · Dec 13, 2008

Grades are important. So too is the type of experience you have had, the quality of your writing, and what sorts of volunteer/leadership opportunities you have done. We also look to see if you serve on committees (and to what capacity), are you taking part in research or evidence-based practice projects, are you precepting others, etc.

Spacklehead, MSN, NP · Dec 14, 2008

I think having a nice, well-rounded application impresses the admissions dept. more than having graduated with honors. They like to see well-written goal statements, excellent recommendation letters, as well as decent GRE/MAT scores. Also, work experience, extra-curricular activities and community involvement also play an important part.

MissDoodaw · Dec 19, 2008

I knew I wanted to go to grad school w/ limited experience (8 mos as an RN + 7 mos. as an ER tech). This does not meet the entry requirements for many of the FNP programs I was interested in, so I wanted to open as many doors as possible. I graduated 2nd in my class -4.0 GPA, high GRE scores. I was accepted into an FNP program and just finished my 1st semester's final exams.

For me- graduating w/ a solid GPA was one piece of the puzzle -compensating for my lack of nursing experience.....

allnurses Guide · Dec 19, 2008

Congrats on your great results - I'm just not sure how that compensates for lack of experience. You can't learn experience in a classroom, and there's a reason it's required for admission to programs.