Heading back into nursing

Hello all,

I've been in and out of school now for the last few years while dipping my hand in a few nursing pre-req classes here and there. I have been spending these last few years trying to realize what exactly I want to do, and how to achieve that goal. As of now, I think I have a pretty clear way of getting to that goal but not without some obstacles.

The first problem I have is that I took a lot of classes at my local community college and ended up either dropping them or not finishing them, and as a result of this it took a negative toll on my GPA. I have tried to maintain strong grades for the nursing pre-req classes but I will have to retake a few classes. My question is, how badly will this affect my chances of getting into the nursing programs if they see all these dropped classes and retakes. I am trying very hard to not worry too much about it and instead look forward to a brighter tomorrow but it is still a nipping issue at the back of my mind. The good news is, is that I do have options. I have spoken with a few nursing reps from some of the schools around my area and they have all said that we really care more about the pre-reqs classes rather than any of the other classes you might have taken as an "experiment". My local community college also offers a nursing program but there is a long waiting list (currently 3 years!!!) so although it will not hurt me to apply, I will try and go for a university admission since there are is no waiting list.

I also am willing to make up for any deficiencies in my grades and was wondering what are the best options to do so? I was told through numerous advisors and people that nursing schools aren't too big on volunteer experience but that it will definitely help to show in your application that you spent some time willingly to participate in the health care world. I was wondering if anyone has any ideas on where I should volunteer, or what I should do to really show them that I am serious about doing this.