Hello, I have been reading and searching the threads and have read a lot of discouraging things. I am looking for anyone who has been accepted into nursing school or is now a nurse and can say "I did it when everyone said I couldn't". Or I made what was thought of as a low grade on the Teas V and still made it in (73% and not the "competitive" 80% or higher a lot of use hear about.) I just really doubt myself a lot and I wanted to see if there was anyone else out there that didn't have everything go smoothly with the perfect GPA and retook classes. I wanted to see if someone could give me advice on what to do that hasn't had it perfect their whole college career.
It's been a few years since I've been here on AllNurses. I was last here and in tears because I had made it into an LVN (non-HCC) program I had worked so hard to be in then made a low C on a final which wasn't allowed by my program and was kicked out, even though I had A's and B's in all my classes, and A's as my averages, they made me drop them all. I applied back to the program and was accepted back in but then decided that instead of an LVN license I could probably do more with myself and finish my associates in arts and go further.
I went and re-enrolled back in to Houston Community College courses. Before trying for my LVN I had taken a few courses there and dropped many of them. I had a hard time, long story short, my husband was in Iraq during the war in 03 and I was 19 and things were just way too stressful for me at the time, theres more to the story but thats for my personal statement. After getting kicked out of my LVN courses, I went back to school at HCC and took on full course loads. I finished with an associates in arts and in about a year and a half, brought my GPA up to a 3.0 over all and a science GPA of 3.2. The primary school I am looking at right now is UTMB (traditional).
Well I didn't go straight to UTMB after finishing HCC, I went to University of Houston because after a visit at Houston Baptist University and more discouraging words, maybe a first degree would be better and I would try to get into a second nursing degree program later. So I went to UH and in 2 more years I finished with a bachelors of science in psychology and a 3.7 GPA and with honors.
I am also a medical assistant and have been working in hospitals, doctors offices, and home health till I needed to do volunteer hours to finish my psych degree. Most of my MA experience in the past years has been with patients who have neurological and psychiatric disorders (which is why I went for a degree in psychology) and my volunteer hours were with a company that deals with children who have a variety of both as well. The company then hired me as a therapist after I graduated. My job is fun, I love working with the kids, but I want to be on the other side of it and I want to be a nurse more than anything in this world.
Here is my downfall, and I am ashamed to even admit to it, but I took the Teas V test 2 times and I have made C's both times, it's so discouraging! My last attempt was a 73.3% and I burst into tears in my car after the test. I went and spoke with the admissions advisor at UTMB and she said I had good GPA's and yes there is a gap in my transcript but when it shows I went back to school my grades shot up and stayed there, she said it looks great for me that I have a 1st degree even for the traditional program and that the place that I volunteered at, thought enough of me to hire me. She also said I can take the test as many times as I want to but each time is looked at, so the less the better but they will accept the highest score. I want to take it again in December but I am unsure if I should or not. I sent her an email asking and she didn't really answer my questions but just said I would still be considered with a 73 on my Teas. I sent her another email and I am waiting on her reply. Till then, I wanted to see if there was anyone else on here that can say "I did it after going through this this and this" and give me something more to go on other than the typical parents paid your way through college and never had a worry in the world, 4.0 GPA, 96% first Teas attempt, that I keep running into when I Google and search through the threads. Not that that is bad, it's just you can't compare a perfect anything to mine since mine isn't perfect. Any advice would help, thank you in advance.
Thank you so much csmcj. I was told the same thing about it going beyond your scores by a few other people and by the admissions advisor as well. The 73 is killing me mentally. I just can't decide if I should retake the test or not, and/or just apply early, we are in the first week of open application time right now. I know it all depends on my application "pool" also. It is comforting knowing other people who don't have a perfect background made it and have made it out of nursing school. I wish I just knew how "bad" it would be if I retook it again. The minimum score is a 58% over all on the Teas, although I know a 58 is not considered "competitive".
Texas02
87 Posts
Thank you so much csmcj. I was told the same thing about it going beyond your scores by a few other people and by the admissions advisor as well. The 73 is killing me mentally. I just can't decide if I should retake the test or not, and/or just apply early, we are in the first week of open application time right now. I know it all depends on my application "pool" also. It is comforting knowing other people who don't have a perfect background made it and have made it out of nursing school. I wish I just knew how "bad" it would be if I retook it again. The minimum score is a 58% over all on the Teas, although I know a 58 is not considered "competitive".