I really need help

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Dear nurses, students, and prospective nursing students,

Please bear with me. It is a long paragraph, but I would appreciate it if you read all of it.

I'm a recent graduate (2013) with biology major from american university. I have been thinking days and nights before posting in this forum because I didn't think earlier that I may receive useful help through this forum. I apologize in advance for my negative opinion. I was trying to reach out to people for help and advice in real life but I couldn't reach out someone. The latter was due to many reasons. Some of them are :

1_because I'm not American( moved to the states 4 years ago).

2-most of my friends are not american. They are my fellow citizens who are most of them not interested in education. So, they know a bit about education, colleges,etc.

3- Even though, my English has improved a lot during college, I still don't know the meaning of many formal and slang English words. This reduced my chances of meeting and reaching out to American students who can help.

4- It is hard to meet really passionate people in real life who are willing to offer advice and help to people who have the same background of mine.

I firmly decided this year to complete nursing prerequisites to hopefully be admitted into nursing programs later.

However, I have concerns about GPA and pre-requisites fulfillment.

I have 3.1 cumulative GPA, 2.85 science GPA.

I know this issue has been raised by many on this forum, but I feel my case is different.

I need more help because of my special background. I have read many questions on this forum on how to resolve a low GPA requirement, but I still feel I need to start a topic for myself because of the reasons that I mentioned above.

I have been looking lately for private nursing school that accept students with lower GPA requirement as Denver school of nursing and Remington college of nursing. The cost is very high, but I was thinking this my might be my only solution to be accepted into a nursing school. But, could I enhance my application by any means to be competitive for public schools?. I'm asking this question because I'm not comfortable going for my degree in a private school. I always think that they are scam.

I also would like to mention why I didn't do better in my academic study in school. It was mostly because of two reasons. They are:

1- My English language quality: When I moved to the states, my English was very limited. I only knew few words. however, I didn't wait to learn English well before I apply for University. I was learning English as I was learning college material at a time. Can you imagine learning a totally different language than your home language and learning science materials written and spoken in this language at the same time?. Yes, it was very hard. It wasn't the best wise decision to apply for college before learning the language well. But, my ambition for college and science couldn't stop me from learning both at a time.

2- the second reason is that I was home sick. I was thinking of my friends and family that I left back home specially when it is unsafe country.

3- It took me sometime to adapt to the American culture because I entered college right after I moved to the states.

4- These three reason have also affected my studying habit. I didn't study hard for two or three courses.

Thus, I don't feel my GPA reflects my academic ability and critical thinking. Someone can imagine that he may know the material well, but he doesn't understand the question on the exam. If he didn't receive a good grade, does it mean that he didn't know the material well?. He might didn't even understand the question because of his limited English.

now, most of the reasons have been removed because My English has improved. Also, I feel united states is my home country now.

any advice on how to enhance my application to apply for public nursing schools?. If I volunteer in a hospital and do well in my prerequisite science courses, will it improve my admission competitiveness?

Any help, advice is welcomed. Can I write a personal letter to nursing schools that I apply for mentioning the reasons that I did above? will that help?

I'm mostly looking for a second traditional bsn or accelerated bsn.

I also need advice on how to apply to multiple nursing schools.

Since every school has its own pre-requisites and requirements, how do you fulfill all of these requirements to apply to multiple schools. I want to apply to multiple schools because that will increase my chances of being accepted somewhere in the states.

I'm really desperate for help. Feel free to give any help you can afford. Also, if someone has the same GPA concern, feel free to write and become friend with me.

Also guys feel free to even correct my writing if you notice any mistakes, haha. I'm a very friendly guy.

I just really need help!

My regards to all potential readers.

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

I would narrow it down to a handful (consider a few things:cost, curriculum, length of program, location, NCLEX pass rate) and print out the schools entrance requirements. Most require similar courses. Then just take that extra course or exam needed to apply to several programs at once. I forgot my gpa but I was "average". I made Bs in A&P. I got in a program and have been a nurse for several years. Good luck.

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Specializes in Med/surg, Tele, educator, FNP.

Well, try to start from the bottom. Get a CNA certificate or MA certificate then get a job in the medical field, that will help you more with American culture. As far as nursing school do you want a LVN/LPN or RN? The general pre requisites include anatomy, physiology and microbiology and those classes are usually the ones they look at for science GPA. Private for profit school usually take most students since they care about making money and not success rate. So if you can't get into a cheap school then You either get your GPA higher or just go to private school.

I went to a private LVN school because I had a lower science GPA and it wAs the best thing I did becAuse I learned so much. Now I am a NP. Good luck !!:)

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First off, I would get yourself involved in a medical translator course of study. This way, you become familiar with the different ways of saying things.

Please know that English is the most difficult language to learn. Your writing reflects that you have most certainly come a long way. Good for you!!

Speak to a guidance counselor at school. There may or may not be support systems in place for English as a second language students. Start a study group in the community with other people of your culture. I hate to say watch American TV, but watch American TV. That way you will get the feel for how language is used.

You can also start by getting your CNA. Revisit getting your bachelors in nursing when you feel that you can have an understanding of the language. You could also go to a vocational school and get an Emergency Medical Technician, a Phlebotomist, or a Medical Assistant.

You could also go to a vocational school and get an LPN. This way, you could bridge later to RN.

What you will find to your advantage is that you will be well sought after in neighborhoods of your culture, in cities where there are many people of different cultures. Being bi-lingual is a really, really good thing!!

Lastly, when you speak with a guidance counselor of a community college, you may find it not as competative grade wise as a private college. The education is just as superior, however, with many adults going back to college after a many year hiatus, they don't seem to be as grade oriented. NOT that one can flunk out, however a 2.85 is not horrible, and an overall of 3.1 is really good!!

Best wishes to you in your endevours!!

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

Nursing programs in the US right now are very competitive. Accelerated BSN programs are even more competitive....especially in public universities.

Look in the state you wish to go to school. BE SURE they are nationally accredited programs AND approved be the Board of nursing. States like California are very strict about nursing schools and being able to sit for boards.

Beware of cost...I know of some accelerated private Accelerated BSN programs charging as high as $100,000.00 US. I could give you better guidance if I knew which state you are considering. ALL states keep track of the licensing exam pass rates this is important information for you to know. Not all schools are the same.

Knowing how to apply to multiple schools you need to do a search that matches your requirements and apply online. It is a very wide net to throw so you need to narrow your search to a few areas.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Schools set up their admission requirements based on an analysis of the criteria associated with achieving the goals of the program. They conduct ongoing data analyses to determine what pre-requisites, test scores & GPA are needed. It's not arbitrary. It's factual based upon actual results.

I am sure that everyone who is unable to meet the entrance criteria could come up with many reasons to explain/justify why they are unique and special and deserve extraordinary consideration so that they could take the place of prospective students who have actually met all the standard requirements. Do you think this should also be extended to NCLEX? How would this type of affirmative action affect the quality and safety of patient care?

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Don't let any school tell you their accreditation is "pending" or "coming next semester" or anything like that. Be sure that it's a real accreditation from ACEN and/or CCNE. There are a bunch of other "accreditations" that private for-profit schools use, but ACEN and CCNE are the only ones that specifically look at the quality of a nursing program.

Ask the Board of Nursing where you will eventually take NCLEX whether the schools you're considering are approved for their grads to take NCLEX, and what their pass rates are.

Agree with the idea of working as a CNA to get more comfortable with the language in context. And you didn't say what your first language is (American University in Beirut? Paris?) but whatever it is, your English is a damn sight better than mine is in yours. :) Carry on!

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Specializes in Community Health/School Nursing.

I will just say, "Best of luck!" You can do it!

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Thank you so much for the reply. I'm worried because I keep hearing that students with 3.5 GPA are not getting in and I only have a 3.1 cumulative GPA, let alone my science 2.85 GPA. But , I will try my best to excel on anatomy and physiology and other pre-requisite classes. Hopefully I didn't take the pre-requisites yet. That will be to my benefit.

Thank you again,

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Thank you for the reply ocrn3.

it is a good advice to start from the bottom. However, I'm already 25 with bachelor of science in biology from american university in the states. I don't want to start from scratch. that is why I have been looking into accelerated bachelor of nursing or traditional bachelor of nursing. I have not taken the pre-requisites yet, so I'm concentrating now on these classes hoping to get better grades.

I also think your advice about going the private Lvn route is pretty good. But, don't you think it would too expensive to reach bsn from lvn?. It would probably cost me about 25 k and above in California to finish Lvn. Then I have to bridge from LVN to BSN, then that it would also take about 25 or more. Then the total would 50 k or more. While, I could just go to a private school and pay 50 to get admitted into one or two year program that lead to bachelor of nursing right a way.

How about you, did you bridge from LVN to BSN? if that was the case, what was the requirement to do it. Do they also look at your GPA when you do the bridge program?

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. I hate to say watch American TV, but watch American TV. QUOTE]

I love this, jadelpn!! :yes:

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Thank you so much jadelin for your wise comments. I will definitely to try to watch more of the American TV.

Yes, I know 2.85 is not horrible. I think it is close to average GPA. On the other hand, nursing schools require GPAs above average.

Regarding my English, I'm trying to enhance my writing by reading books, articles, etc.

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