How important are grades?

I am now taking 2 prereqs for nursing - bio and English comp. I'm sure I can ace the bio with hard work and studying but the English I'm not so sure about. I have good writing skills but the professor has a rep for being a very arbitrary grader. This makes me nervous because I feel that it's not in my control whether or not I get an A. From what I've read on these boards a high GPA is very important for getting into nursing school. Am I making a mistake if I don't drop the class?

depends on the selection process for your school. For my program it was all about the grades. Pretty much needed close to straight A's, but this isn't the case everywhere. Talk to the nursing admissions office.