I have 3.8 GPA with 3 Fs and 5 W on my transcript, will nursing schools reject me? :(

[SamaraS]

Hi All,

I desperately need an informed opinion. I am a pre-nursing student and I have an overall GPA of 3.8 but have 3 Fs in my transcript and 5 W. I went on a little bit of a roller coaster ride with school. Initially I was an accounting major but after the second year I got really bored and hated it, so I changed my major to biology (pre-nursing). I also had a bad semester and it was during the time my husband and I split so that was really difficult for me and I went into depression and dropped out of school. Because I couldn't finish withdrawing from the classes on time, I ended up getting 2 Fs and 2 Ws. Currently I am back in school but in the beginning of this semester I had to withdraw from one of the classes, because the workload was too much to handle as I have 3 science courses. However I had an incident with one of my professors. Basically long story short, the professor called me a moron in front of the whole class because I made a mistake that was against the safety rules of the laboratory. I stood up for myself and told her that calling a student a moron for a mistake that was genuinely made was unprofessional. We come to school to learn. if we knew everything from the start, then we wouldn't need to spend thousands of dollars to acquire an education. So I walked out and went to the registrars office to see if they would make an exception for me to drop the class because the deadline for dropping had already passed. They suggested that I not go to class anymore and that once the semester is over the grade will be an F or WF and I can retake and replace my grade and they will make sure that my GPA is not affected. I have already replaced the first two Fs (hence an improvement in my GPA) but I have to wait for the next semester to be able to replace the last F.

Do nursing schools look at Fs and Ws on your transcripts negatively? I am really worried but I cannot handle name calling and disrespect especially coming from someone from whom you are trying to learn. Being able to help people has always been something that I wanted to do hence getting into an accredited nursing school will be a dream come true!

Thanks in advance! (sorry for my really long story!)

Samara

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

A) The incident in the past is just that- in the past. Let. It. Go.

B) Yes, some schools do look at the F and W on your transcript. You have to own them and demonstrate why/ how you have changed. (And repeating the story about the name calling is not going to help you.)

C) the only way to find out your chances is to apply to schools.

[SamaraS]

Thank you for your reply! I wasn't planning on repeating about the incident in my nursing school applications because I know how it can affect my chances -which is really bad. But do you suggest that I write about my Fs and W in my personal statement?

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

Honestly write about how they happened, and why they will not happen again moving forward.

[the_murse_factor]

I'm not sure what area you live in but there are three schools in my area (One ADN and two BSN) who requirements are if you have more then two F's D's or W's on your transcript in any of the required science courses you are automatically disqualified from applying.

[emmjayy, BSN, RN]

What courses did you get the F's and W's in?

[ItsThatJenGirl, CNA]

You mention "replacing" the F's. There are a lot of schools that don't take replacement grades - or if they do, they also count the original F (so the grade would be a C, essentially).

That said, some do dismiss the original grade for the new one.

I'd start looking at the requirements for the programs you're interested in and go from there. Make phone calls if you need to.

Good luck.

[northmississippi]

Make sure you have a good score on you act/sat, and have good score on the prereq classes. You may even volunteer at the hospital for some brownie points. You can always go talk to the advisors at the nursing dept to make sure your doing what needs to be done to qualify. If you don't get in this year, keep applying. I didn't get picked the first time I applied and I had good grades. It would be good if they get to know you. Even bring in a book you have been reading on the side, like a book on assessment or nclex, and show it to them so that they will know you must be very interested in nursing.

[FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP]

A lot of nurses did not have stellar GPAs at the beginning of their academic career. I didn't. Retake the classes you got an F in. Make sure to get the best grades you can on nursing school prereqs. Do well in school from now on. Good luck.