Help!!!I don't know what to do next

[porterkate1219]

I started nursing school at community college were minimum grade was 73%. I fail to make the cutoff. I transferred to a private university where cutoff is 80%. I have failed peds with 78%. I tried to get readmitted they told me to become lpn. I have peds and med/surg 2 to complete and then would be rn. I don't have money to go start over again or to go to lpn school. I don't know what to do. I LOVE nursing and have amazing clinical reviews. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[quarterlifemess, ADN, RN]

Why did you fail your two nursing programs? I understand that you missed the cutoff but why? What was the cause of you not being successful in the classroom portion? Was it the tests? Were you working too many hours and thus not able to study enough? This is what I would determine before trying to get into another LPN or RN program.

[Emergent, RN]

You don't get special consideration for 'loving' nursing. You have to meet minimum standards.

Why don't you take the advice you were given, start with your LPN, and then take it from there. I think that might be a wise course of action at this point.

[Extra Pickles]

None of us can tell you what you should do, aside from telling you that you should talk with your academic advisor. Schools sometimes allow, through an appeals process, readmission to a program. You should know though that successful appeals are based on providing documentation showing a valid reason why a readmission would be different than the previous enrollment. And in your case, just failing to make the grades is not grounds for an appeal. The cut-offs are there for a reason. You failed by 2 percentage points, you did not make the minimum standard. Schools set this because they know someone who cannot make the minimum standards also has a low chance of succeeding on the licensing exam. And graduates who do not pass the NCLEX reflect badly on their schools. Your choice at this point is really not much of a choice, unfortunately. You can save up and attempt entry into an LPN program, get through that program, pass the licensing exam, and complete a bridge program for RN.

You are not two classes short of an RN like you are saying, you have failed out of the program. You don't just reenter another school to complete two courses, doesn't work that way. I'm sorry, but at this point you really have only one option if you plan to try a career in nursing, save up for an LPN program. Good luck to you.

[Username invalid, RN]

I'm mainly jumping in to say I'm sorry to OP. I know lots of people with heavy student loans. At least you're not alone, I guess?

I've seen a post on here from a guy with a bachelor's degree in one area who went back for a master's (yeah, a master's) in nursing without any prior nursing background; so I suppose it doesn't necessarily close the door if you switch degrees.

Or, you can go for a bachelors degree in something with similar prereqs like sonography, perfusion, or OTA. On a somewhat related note, I considered a bachelor's in health science, instead of a BSN, for a little bit. Hearing nurses grumble about the economic focus in healthcare (and their spot in the pecking order) gave me some pause back when I was weighing a BSN against everything else. BUT, my point is, you can still graduate with a very respectable health degree that utilizes the work you've already done.

I say: research, be flexible, and don't fear planning your next educational-steps creatively. Life happens! But use what you've got :)