I made poor judgments during my university days and need some real advice.

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Hello. Please be very honest with me and not sugarcoat anything. I graduated with a bachelor's degree in History with a 2.17 because of not being focused and goal-oriented when I attended UC Santa Barbara. Being alone and having the freedom to do whatever I want really caught up to me. My first 2 semesters, I failed 4 classes. I barely graduated with a 2.17 gpa which I am terribly embarrassed about. I was in a rut and felt utterly hopeless about life and wanted to give up. I decided to enroll at El Camino College, a local community college near where I live. I decided that I wanted to pursue a career as a RN. I currently have a 3.47 gpa in my prequisites. In my core classes, I have an A in Microbiology, B in Anatomy, and B in Physiology. I needed advice as to how I can improve my chances of getting into an ADN program. Also, if I don't transfer over my transcripts from the University would they somehow find out? I so regret not taking my education seriously in my early 20's and it has definitely caught up to me. I would love to hear from people who are in similar situations as well as current RN's who can give me some real advice. Thank you so much!

To the OP: I could have written your post.

When I was "young and dumb" I was in college and basically whittled it away. I rarely went to class, was eventually placed on academic probation, still didn't change anything and was asked to take a sabbatical and return after a year due to my poor academic performance. I never went back.

While looking for a minimum wage job, I came across an advertisement to become a caregiver. It paid a little more than my other options, I interviewed and got the job.

That job changed my life. I really liked the job, felt a sense of purpose, and essentially grew up. That job kicked my butt into gear, I researched what I needed to do to become a nurse and started taking prereqs...and this time I went to class.

My poor academic preformance haunted me. Some of the classes I took the first time around were science classes, since I was a science major.

I was able to find a program that looked at my grades in the prerequisite classes and did not care how many times a candidate repeated the classes. They looked at 11 courses and took your best grade from each course. (Please note that they have since changed their admissions policy). I buckled down, studied hard, and took those classes.

I applied to the program with a 3.88 gpa from the 11 courses calculated the way the program calculates it (taking my best grade). I did not get in. I had to wait a year and reapply. I did so, and came back with a 3.97 gpa and got in.

I graduate next week.

It can be done.

If you want to be a nurse:

You need to research programs that look at grades in specific courses only. I don't know what classes you took when your grades were low- if they do include common science prereqs then you also need to look at programs that do not care about number of repeats. I've also heard rumors that there are programs that look only at your last 30 or 60 credits. Some programs used a point system, where you got so many points for grades in specific courses and a set number of points for volunteer work, work experience, etc. Do your research on programs...and check back often because programs do change their admissions requirements (as mine did).

It is very important that you fix whatever the reasons were that led to your poor academic grades. While I do know that many programs will give students a second, third, or even fourth chance at applying and getting into the program, I know that once you are actually in the nursing program repeating courses is typically either not allowed or allowed a very limited number of times.

Good luck. Don't give up. Research.

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Eclectic and wanttoban, you guys have a high gpa's your prereqs. My GPA is pretty low at 3.47 and getting B's in anatomy and physio worries me a bit. Im also worried because they require a 2.5 cumulative gpa of all the classes taken since college. But I'm going to do what I can to get in one way or another. I really appreciate the encouragement and I wont give up on myself. You guys are the best.

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I noticed that the UC I attended decades ago offers a lot of the courses I took in their extension division. Could you possibly retake bad grade courses at UCSB? Even if they do not 'replace' them prior to the wording on the transcript that says "degree granted", but added them after the fact (granting of the degree), your new school might take the new grade instead of the first bad grade. Worth a call to the registrar's office at UCSB to find out if this is possible.

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Caliotter, the problem is I am over 100 miles away from the campus and I think I took too many useless classes as an undergraduate. I think I maxed out the amount of courses I can take. Just didnt know what to do and took bunch of pointless classes. Ended up with a history degree and a minor in Asian American studies.

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Well I have taken the cake on the crummy GPA. My first attempt at college landed me with a 0.68 GPA. Seriously. I graduated in December from my nursing program. With honors. So yes, it can be done! Our school also figures in GPAs from anywhere and everywhere so I thought I was doomed for getting into the nursing program. I just wanted to let you know it's not the end of the world, it is possible to screw up the first time around and still get in a program :) The best of luck to you!

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Specializes in CVOR, CVICU/CTICU, CCRN-CMC-CSC.

OP, you've gotten a lot of great advice regarding academics. You'll also do yourself a favor if you volunteer/work in a healthcare setting. Some (maybe most?) programs operate on a point system, with so many points being awarded for GPA levels (higher GPA = more points) and other academic endeavors, but there are also points awarded for prior healthcare experience. Try working as an aide (some facilities will pay for the class - especially in small hospitals) or volunteering at your local hospital and get some experience hours in to bolster your application portfolio. Also, some counties desperate for medics will pay for your EMT-B in return for a contract to work a very small amount of hours (one shift a month for a year in my case). It can help prepare you for the fast-paced ED clinical rotations, as well as look good on your nursing school application. Best of luck to you, whatever you decide!

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IF they ask for all transcripts then you need to provide them. Some colleges request all previous transcripts and some do not. You need to find out the policy at your school and act accordingly.

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I don't think it would be a good idea to not show your transcripts.

If you work hard on your current classes, you may be able to bring you gap back up. Also, volunteering may be a good opportunity to make your application better. Not sure if the program you want to apply to would look at that though.

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I was in the same boat you're in what my adviser had me to do was to take classes (easy classes) that I knew I would make either an A or B in to raise my gpa, because most programs look at you last 24 hours of classes that you have taken. With it being that you have been out of school for 20 years I do know that your Biology classes can't be older than five year's. You would have to retake A&P 1 and 2 over depending if you're getting a BSN or ASN you might have to take Chemistry as well. But, I did was I took each of those classes by themselves instead of taking other classes with them. Because those are classes that help build your point's for calculating whether you get in or not along with other requirements that a particular nursing school requires. After, I completed those classes everything else I took were very easy like a religion course, and plenty of health courses, which will give you A's or B's in them raising your gpa. My advise is to go and talk with a adviser so you will know exactly which directions you need to go in.

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I had a similar experience. My gpa wasn't that low but it was 3.0 for my bachelors. A lot of the public universities have competitive entrance requirements. I tried to enroll at an Accelerated BSN program but was denied because my gpa wasn't high enough. However I was accepted at a community college ADN program. They also had a BSN bridge program that ran concurrently with the university that rejected me. So I'm still going to get my BSN from the university I applied to, but I will be doing the clinicals and Nursing process at the CC.

There are schools that look at only pre-reqs. That is how I got accepted.

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I know that for my ADN program, they only looked at the GPA of my pre-reqs rather than my overall GPA. This was great for me because I, like you, royally screwed up when I first went to college. My overall GPA was only a 2.67. But I'm doing extremely well in nursing school and just about to start my third semester. It's definitely possible. Just check out what the requirements are at each school.

Best of luck!

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Just an update about my situation. I received an email that I have been accepted to LA Harbor College Nursing Program! Orientation starts in January. I am nervous but at the same time excited about what lies ahead. Thank you to everyone who responded to my post.

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