I want to be a Nurse!

Published

i want to be a nurse but i cannot get into school anywhere. i have a bachelors degree with a gpa of 2.7 ( i know that it is low). i have 5 years of cna experiance and a year and a half of research. i have applied to seven bs to bsn programs but cannot get in because of my gpa. if anyone has any advice on a program or school that i should look at or even a different way that i could become a nurse it would be greatly appreciated.

thank you for your help!

I am in a similar situation as you in NC. I am not sure how it is in every state, but in NC, the community colleges CANNOT deny you entry as long as your paperwork is in on time. I will begin as a "pre-nursing" student but will get to skip all of the "remedial" courses that are pre-reqs b/c I have classes from my B.A. from 1995 that satisfy all of the English, Science and Humanities requirements. Because I hadn't taken a math class in less than 5 years, I had to take a placement test to avoid College Algebra.

This allows me to get my Associate's degree in nursing in about 1.5 years if the classes fall right. I then plan to get my BSN online though either UNC Chapel Hill, East Carolina University or NC Central.

If all goes well, I'll work as a RN during my BSN phase and jump to CRNA school after 1-1.5 years.

It will take me about a year more to achieve my goal, but that's the price you pay when you spend more time socializing in college than planning for the future.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

One more note to the above.... Although I cannot be denied entrance to the school, I do have to apply to the true "Nursing Program" with a selection scale based on grades and the TEAS exam to determine my eligibility. That part is NOT automatic.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I HIGHLY encourage you to go to med school..for an extra 2 years you can be a doctor. They favor Micro degrees as well. Additionally, there are Carribean schools that are accredited in the USA. If you're going to study hard and pay all that tuition, why not become a Doctor..and somewhere that's gorgeous? :) Good Luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Community college! Either way you end up a RN (most employes will pay or help pay for RN-BSN later) and the community college will save you A LOT of money plus you can work while going to school so you'll have an income as well. I have a bachelors degree and that is the route I'm taking. As much as I would rather do a 2nd degree BSN... just can't justify it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency.

personally i think associates is the best option.

i got my ba in psych then decided to go back to nursing school after working as a psych tech in the er. i went to community college not due to grades but to keep the cost down while i was still working. i got my rn (associate of applied science) and am now doing an rn to msn program using my ba. when i'm done i will be a nurse practitioner and will have saved some money in the process. how you get rn after your name doesn't matter and with your previous bachelors degree it will be very easy to continue your education.

give it a shot. good luck to you! ;)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Don't give up on your dream. I was in similar situation as yours, but did have a higher GPA in the prereqs part. I doubted myself throughout college years, thinking no nursing program would ever accept me with my poor GPA. Even having a higher prereqs GPA did not push me to apply because I just kept putting it off and thinking I am not good enough. This year, I finally got the courage to apply for the very first time. After 3 months of wait, I finally was told that I got accepted. Someone wise once told me, you never know until you try. Find schools that will look at ur prereqs GPA, or schools that do lottery system, I am sure you will get into a nursing program one day! Good Luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Cassandra,

I was in the same boat as you, my GPA for my BA-English degree was 2.5. I had taken alot of science pre-reqs at a community college but I got tired of waiting on their list to be called for clinicals. I applied at Ucrsuline, and I did not get accepted into their accelerated program as I applied later than the deadline, however, I did get accepted into their BSN program and am now working on my second bachelors, they took many of my classes as transfer credit and actually I will only be in school one semester longer than if I were in the accelerated program. UC is a great school with many options and their counselors will work with you to find the best option. If you know this is what you want to do, then the right school for you is out there, just like it was for me!! Stick with it and if you would like any other information just let me know! :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
The way I'm doing it (because of time and finances) is through my community college that has a great associates program. I will be extending my education to a masters at some point. I already have my bachelors in another area. Alot of masters programs around me have "bridge courses" (1-3 classes) that convert your BS into a BSN before you start thier masters program.

A lot of us are in the same boat. I'm so glad we took notes on what we did wrong the first time around and aren't sinking this time!!!! :yeah:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Rodeo Nursing (Neuro).

The only thing I did right in my first attempt at college was to flunk out quickly. I was under the limit to replace some of my failed courses by repeating them and was able to bring up my GPA pretty quickly. That won't be as easy with a completed degree, but if you can take some prerequisite courses and do very well in them, you can a.) improve your GPA and b.) establish a more recent track record. At my school, your grades in support courses were weighted more heavily, so even though my overall GPA went from, I think, 0.9 to something like 2.1, my 4.0 in support courses got me in. And I was able to take 1-2 courses a semester, which made that 4.0 a lot easier to manage. I did have to pay for my part-time courses out-of-pocket, though, which is one reason I didn't take more of them.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

any of u know how many apply to jeff davis and pjc ... trying to find anyone who knows if alternates ever get bumped up

Up Vote Up Vote ×

anyone know if people apply to jd and pjc...if so...anyone know if alternates ever get bumped up

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Every nursing program that I have encountered states that the average GPA is a 3.7 and up for acceptance. Go for a CNA program first. Nursing isn't what you think.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion