How Many Times Do You Have To Take A&P1 ?

cad4296 · Feb 22, 2007

I don't think any of us really wants to retake a class for a B, because let's face it, a B is NOT a bad grade. Unfortanately with the really of how competitive nursing school is in some areas it is IMPOSSIBLE to even get into a school without a perfect 4.0. So yeah if you are competing with that, the reality becomes that you have no other choice but to retake it. Apparantly nursing schools don't think B students will be good nurses. :rolleyes: Most nursing schools only look at GPA. Bottom line. They don't care that you have to work a full time job while taking a full time load and have kids to take care of or whatever the situation. They only look at grades. And the reality of life is that if you have so many other responsibilities that can't be neglected for school, sometime you do end up with that B. It's not because you didn't work you bum off the first time around. Some people can get away with just having school to focus on, but for most people they are having to work school into a hectic life schedule. Last semester I had a full time job that I worked on average 50+ hours a week, a part time job, a full load of 5 classes equaling 17 credit hours (2 sciences in the mix), and ended up with 4 A's and a B in chemistry. I gave it everything I had, nearly to the point of costing me my health. Could I have studied just a little harder in chemistry? Sure if I didn't get the 2-3 hours a night of sleep I got. While I think retaking 4 times is excessive, I'm not going to condemn someone for retaking it once to go from a B to an A. Because the reality is that in this day and age it's practically a necessity. You never know someone else's situation so really think about it before you decide to pass judgement on people. You only see from the outside looking in. You never really know what a person is dealing with.

2bNurseNik · Feb 22, 2007

I don't think any of us really wants to retake a class for a B, because let's face it, a B is NOT a bad grade. Unfortanately with the really of how competitive nursing school is in some areas it is IMPOSSIBLE to even get into a school without a perfect 4.0. So yeah if you are competing with that, the reality becomes that you have no other choice but to retake it. Apparantly nursing schools don't think B students will be good nurses. Most nursing schools only look at GPA. Bottom line. They don't care that you have to work a full time job while taking a full time load and have kids to take care of or whatever the situation. They only look at grades.

I've seend this same statement posted so many times and have questioned it. Here in St Louis, many schools require a minimum of 2.5gpa for community college and 2.75 for universities. One of the best schools here - Maryville - with a passing rate of 95% requires a 2.75. They don't pick the student with the highest gpa. They pick the students on first come first serve basis with having met the minimum requirements. I personally feel just because I don't have a 4.0 doesn't mean I won't be a good nurse. Just because I have a 2.75 doesn't mean I am a bad nurse. It's all about the hard work and dedication you put into the program. Either way, you still take the same NCLEX as everyone else. You either pass or fail.

Again, just my thought. :twocents:

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cad4296 · Feb 22, 2007

I've seend this same statement posted so many times and have questioned it. Here in St Louis, many schools require a minimum of 2.5gpa for community college and 2.75 for universities. One of the best schools here - Maryville - with a passing rate of 95% requires a 2.75. They don't pick the student with the highest gpa. They pick the students on first come first serve basis with having met the minimum requirements. I personally feel just because I don't have a 4.0 doesn't mean I won't be a good nurse. Just because I have a 2.75 doesn't mean I am a bad nurse. It's all about the hard work and dedication you put into the program. Either way, you still take the same NCLEX as everyone else. You either pass or fail.
Again, just my thought.
:hbsmiley: Today is my Birthday!!!

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I definately agree that even a C student can be a great nurse! I don't think my abilities in history or art have anything to do with being a nurse, but its factored in there all the same. I did a medical assisting program and retained a perfect 4.0 throughout the entire program. Why was I so successful there yet make a B in history? Simple....the medical field is my passion! Those classes challege me and interest me and I do my best when I'm challenged. If the hardest thing for me to do is memorize some dates, well then I'm basically bored and don't apply myself as much as I should. No that's not a good thing and I really should have realized when I first started college that someday that would be my downfall, but I didn't. I started out with a completly different path that only required a C all through college. I was doing good to be getting A's and B's in my original major because most people were doing the minimum C to graduate. Oh the things I know know that I wish I knew then. :rolleyes: Around here, most program minimums are stated in the catalog as being between 2.5-3.0's but in reality if you have anywhere close to the minimum, you aren't getting in. I actually don't know of a single program in my area that is first come first serve basis. Although I wish I did! I could rest more easily at night if that were the case! I know I would be a great nurse and do great in the program because its all classes that go directly what you're career is. But these pre-reqs that mean little to your career (aside from sciences of course) shouldn't be that big of a factor. Trust me art was a total waste of my time and money and I don't have an ounce of artistic ability in me....so that B was very hard earned!

MB37 · Feb 22, 2007

I actually looked up my school's retake policy after reading this debate. USF (S Florida) allows all of its students 3 retakes over the entire course of their college career, and only 1 for each individual class. You have to go to the registrar and fill out forms so they know what you are doing. Any subsequent retakes are reported as separate classes with separate grades. For example: A&P 1st time: F

A&P retake: D eliminates F grade

A&P retake 2: B

Your GPA from this would be 2.0, or an overall C in A&P. If you took it again and got an A, you'd still only have a 2.67. This policy seems to make a lot of sense to me. It forces you to actually work the second time through a course.

AggieQT · Feb 22, 2007

Apparently I was taken the wrong way. Then again maybe I wasn't...

There is a BIG difference between someone who sits in the back and talks or comes in late to class and interupts than someone who is taking the class for a second or third time. Someone who is taking the class for the first time can inturrupt the class just as much as someone who is taking it for the second time. My point was to not just lable all people who take the class over as lazy or not caring or whatnot. I retook it because I got a B the first time. My fault was in that I had a surgery midsemester and missed several daily assignments and labs which I could not make up. Yes a B is a VERY good grade, but just doesn't cut it around here for admissions. I also sat next to a woman that was taking it for the third time because she had a really hard time comprehending and remembering the material and though she had failed the first time, made a B the second time, she still felt she couldn't remember the material and was taking it the summer before she started nursing school to refresh her memory.

As for my comment on nursing school admissions factoring in the fact that someone took it two or three times. I feel as though you misunderstood me. I meant that they will factor it in NEGATIVE light. Not a positive one. That is honestly my bad for not being clear on that. I took the chance when I retook A&P that it would look bad to admissions people, in fact I called up several of the schools around here before I did and they said it was up to me. On application information to the schools in my area they make it plain and clear that they do not like repeat courses. It was my choice however and do not want to be judged as a horrible person for bettering myself.

juicy_jade · Feb 24, 2007

Well, basically you implied that what the other people were doing was none of my business and got defensive about people that retake A&P 1. Apparently, my original post was taken the wrong way. Good luck on your endeavors.

energizer · Feb 24, 2007

I took one full year of A&P and that is all. There is a long waiting list for many schools. Some people need to stay in classes to be eligible for insurance coverage by their parents. So repeating classes to get a higher grade and more credits while still being eligible for insurance is the ideal thing to do for some people. Higher grades does get some people into nursing programs quicker.

smk1, LPN · Feb 24, 2007

I've seend this same statement posted so many times and have questioned it. Here in St Louis, many schools require a minimum of 2.5gpa for community college and 2.75 for universities. One of the best schools here - Maryville - with a passing rate of 95% requires a 2.75. They don't pick the student with the highest gpa. They pick the students on first come first serve basis with having met the minimum requirements. I personally feel just because I don't have a 4.0 doesn't mean I won't be a good nurse. Just because I have a 2.75 doesn't mean I am a bad nurse. It's all about the hard work and dedication you put into the program. Either way, you still take the same NCLEX as everyone else. You either pass or fail.
Again, just my thought.
:hbsmiley: Today is my Birthday!!!

I can't speak for your school, but out here, the minimum required GPA may be 2.5 or 2.75 or even 3.0, but that doesn't mean that ANYONE with those stats is going to get into the program. Those stats just mean that anyone not meeting that standard is ineligible for consideration. At my school the minimun GPA is 2.75, but no one under 3.7 ever gets in and most times you need 3.9-4.0. GPA is weighted heavily as is science GPA.