I struggled my way financially and educationally, almost got through community college with an AS degree and made an attempt to fulfill the nurse program pre-requisites. My grades fell and I was disqualified from financial aid. Finally, I am taking a break from school to re-evaluate and gather funds.
I can appeal for financial aid when I return. My GPA is now only 1.79. I have about 6-8 classes left for an AS degree including Algebra ii, Statistics and 1 or 2 English classes and the 4 science pre-requisites for nurse program (anatomy, physiology, microbiology, and chemistry). I have no background in science so I want to get some foundation before I do those classes. Which science classes should I take before taking those pre-requisites? I have completed Nutrition already. Should I take Biology for example (I never did in high school)? Would Physics help if I first complete Algebra and Geometry (should I take this class even though it's not required to get a better background in math) and Statistics? Or other science classes? I think my high school education did not prepare me for this education level. Would you recommend computer classes or English classes or other? Any classes you think helped you to be a better nurse student?
One more important question is how much will my overall GPA, and how much will my pre-req. science classes GPA be taken into account and affect my chances at getting into a nurse program?
I am surprised you are not on academic probation. Get it to together. You earned those grades and you will have to live with them. No one will feel sorry for you. You "think" your high school education did not prepare you? Lots of people fail class and many succeed..all came from the same high schools. Do not blame and figure out how to survive. Your grades are straight up awful and it is up to you to fix them. You have basically 0% chance of getting into nursing school with a 1.79 GPA.
I don't think it's possible to raise a GPA from 1.79 to 3.7.
For example: I've done about 83 units, and have a 3.801. I only had 3 B's and 1 B+, the rest were all A's... and that's about 3 years of work. I had 3 semesters (not including summers) of all A's, and a 4.0.. Spring of 2013, I got those 3 B's, and it lowered to a 3.76.. bc I had a year of almost all straight A's and only a B+ Spring 2014, it was only raised to a 3.801. Even if I get 3 more years of straight A's.. it would only go up to a 3.84 via an Online GPA Calculator (look one up online to see what you can do with X units and Y grades). It's very very hard to raise one's GPA when you have many units, but since yours is so low vs mine which is already high, it would be easier to raise... but I don't think a 3.7 is possible from a 1.79... maybe from a 3.5, but not a 1.79.
Maybe you could raise it to the 2.0's from that. Look up the GPA Calculator and insert those units with possible grades.
At this point, I wouldn't aim for a BSN, but maybe an ADN program which is lottery based, and from ADN you can do RN to BSN possibly... Something which isn't merit-based or grade-based...
I can really relate to you. I am actually taking only two classes and I pay out of pocket. I just managed to put it in the budget. Also, my school works with a third party to make payments as well. I really don't do much outside of work, and try to study at lewst two hours everyday. I've heard it's going to get harder in nursing school. So that's why I'm taking every class I can before starting. So I will only have one class a semester.
This is interesting to me, are you taking as many nurse program courses as possible before being in the nurse program? I have been worried about the nurse program being so compressed and wondering if there are alternatives where students could take fewer classes over longer periods.
As far as the third party I would love to know if I would qualify for something like and where do I sign up? I am also a single mom and receive no child support. I need the education for my child not for myself, because minimum wage doesn't support 2 people very well (lol).
You have a terrible GPA. It's so bad that you'll have to finish your current AS with all A's, plus get another entire AS degree with all A's just to have an overall GPA of 3.0. Even then, you'll likely not be a candidate for most, if not all BSN programs, and most other nursing programs. You'll likely have to rely on financial aid, which will be all loans because of your GPA. This is a bad situation because you'll likely borrow to cover living expenses as well as school, and you'll end up with a crippling amount of debt should you finish the program (God forbid life happens and you never finish the program). Your history suggests you are up against a stacked deck, being a single mom with no support, little to no income, an apparently ill prepared high school academic portfolio, and a college history that is very poor. Add in the fact that nursing schools are impacted (and therefore competitive) and new grad positions are hard to come by, you're looking at a near impossible scenario.
The Good:
You've started the process of stepping back and re-evaluating your life and what has led you to the spot you are in currently. That shows some self awareness and intelligence. Choosing nursing as a career choice is also a good idea, as the scheduling and opportunities are very flexible for single parents. You also sound young, so you have a lot of time ahead of you.
The Plan:
There is no easy way out of this hole you've dug yourself. You have a decade of very hard work ahead of you. You need to start with the basics. Find a job that's flexible, and when you're between semesters, cram in the hours. Do not take out student loans for living expenses. As for classes, you need to build your science foundation with Biology 101, and Chem 101. You HAVE HAVE HAVE to get straight A's from here on out as well. Treat every class as the difference between raising your child in a food stamp home or a middle class home. Use that as motivation to do your absolute best. You need to study late and get to work early.
You've put yourself in a spot where the only way out is sustained, maximum effort. If you can take care of business, getting all A's from here on and working hard to keep the lights on and food on the table without loans, you can turn your life into an incredible application essay. Nursing schools look for people with drive and initiative, especially those who have been through adverse experiences and came out stronger and better. This is going to be an incredibly difficult, long road, but many people have come back from worse. It's up to you to decide how much you want it. There's always a chance you never get into nursing school. However, you'll have become a completely different person during this experience, and will now have the tools to succeed elsewhere in life.
@Telly67. The third party option was offered through my school. So I am sure you could ask your school if they participate in something like that. Also, there is always loans. The benefit is not having to worry about qualifying each year, and the comfort of school being paid for. Remember also there is books and other fees that you will have to be prepared for as well.
Yes, I am taking as many non-nursing programs as I can take. I will end up with only one class a semester, except for the first one. I will have two classes. Look at your programs classes and see what classes you can get out of the way ahead of time. Let me also say I have two previous degrees as well. So that definitely gave me credit for electives, speech and psych 101. So sit down with an advisor and see what classes you can take. Good luck.
Very good information here. Thank you everyone! I am thinking to go for a degree in foreign languages as well. That way I will always have something to fall back on like working as a translator, possibly a medical records translator hmm. I still need to get my grades back up but I've learned my lesson. Quality is more important than quantity when it comes to education. Financial aid is no longer so appealing to me, but it sure helps. I suppose I was relying on it for more than it was intended to cover. I expected it to pay the rent at least during class semesters. I still think they should double the reward amount for us very low income students who don't even have the option to live at parents' home while in community college. At the very least I can share my experience with others so they don't make the same mistakes I did. Thanks again!
Pretty much what everyone else has said... You can repeat the pre-reqs to the pre-reqs at another college to replace the Fs. There should be no penalty for repeating classes that aren't directly required as part of admission to an ADN program. You just can't repeat your sciences or any courses required for your program without having major penalties. You will have to have at LEAST a 3.6 GPA and a TEAS in the high 80s to get in at the community college level. For a BSN admission you will have to have a 4.0 and a TEAS IN THE 90s as well as complete a volunteer program. Of course these aren't listed on the admission requirements for the programs, but since pretty much every nursing college program is on merit now, you'll have to be very competitive. I have a 3.983 GPA And an 88 on the TEAS and got waitlisted for a BSN program at a state college.
Oh, this is for California... Not sure how it is in any other state.
I have not completed the prerequisites. I was told that to get into a nurse program you only need a 2.7 GPA in Chem,Anat,Phys,Micro. Since I have not done any of those isn't it as good as being at the beginning of college as far as the nurse program is concerned?
Also, don't I just need to complete my AS degree and get my overall GPA up high enough to get the AS degree (I think that is anything above 2.0)?
Specializes in Cath/EP lab, CCU, Cardiac stepdown.
I'm gonna be real with you. If you're struggling with those basic classes then chances are that you won't be passing nursing school. Those sciences are the basics and very often you will be tested on it to get into the program. Once you get into the program, which is very bleak in your situation, nursing has much more advanced science with pathophysiology and pharmacology. There are plenty of students who don't do well in nursing school and those are students who have done well previously in their science foundations classes. To sum it up, the odds are against you.
You're going to have to reevaluate your current move because it's going to be a tough one. If this isn't something you're serious about then I suggest you do something else. But if you really really think this is what you want then be prepared mentally and physically. It's going to be a long haul just to get in. Sit down and make a plan. Speak with an adviser, develop a plan. You need to know what path you're going to take.
See if it's plausible to get into the program, if not you might want to try other routes such as perhaps finding a program that has easier admission. Sometimes you will find a lpn program that has lower requirements but they're competitive too. If you manage to get into a lpn program finish it with top grades and then do a lpn to rn bridge and explain to them that your current grades reflect who you are now (assuming you ace them).
You're gonna have to put behind that my science sucks or my high school didn't prepare me mentality. It isn't going to do anything at this point. The question is what are you going to do about it? If it's an area you're weak in, then it's up to you to go improve it. There are plenty of books out there that helps you review it or break it down in an easier way. Finance is an issue but many times libraries Will have it. If you're determined then you do what needs to be done, even if it means going to the library to study.
Good luck, and may you find some inner reflection to guide you through this.
I don't know why, but talking to counselors at my school gave me a very different impression than the things people are saying here. Here many people are being very negative about my situation and talking about getting straight A's in order to get accepted into a nurse program. But when I talked to the nurse program at my school they told me I'm fine as long as I get 2.7 or above in the 4 prerequisite classes. And they said my other grades don't matter. I just need to pass enough to get my AS degree to move on to the next level. This is not making sense, are people here just negative or are they just selling me a lie at a community college?
Specializes in Cath/EP lab, CCU, Cardiac stepdown.
I don't know why, but talking to counselors at my school gave me a very different impression than the things people are saying here. Here many people are being very negative about my situation and talking about getting straight A's in order to get accepted into a nurse program. But when I talked to the nurse program at my school they told me I'm fine as long as I get 2.7 or above in the 4 prerequisite classes. And they said my other grades don't matter. I just need to pass enough to get my AS degree to move on to the next level. This is not making sense, are people here just negative or are they just selling me a lie at a community college?
Honey, let me tell you something. Nurses here are real, they're not optimistic out pessimistic, they just give it to you straight, which is why some people think it's bullying because the truth can be hard to hear.
Back to your situation, when I was in school the gpa to get in was 2.5. That is what their requirements were and it says so clearly. However if you didn't have a 3.5, you weren't getting in. Why the discrepancy? Because nursing school is competitive, they have limited amount of seats. Yes it says 2.5, but that's just the minimum. There are a whole bunch of people with gpa above 3.5 who applied and guess what, they get the seats and there are no more seats for those who are 2.5-3.4. Heck I applied with a 4.0 and most of my classmates then had a 4.0 or close to it. One thing I've noticed is that community colleges are very competitive, more so than some private universities. The reason is that it's cheaper to pay for so a lot of smart people who don't have much money Will go there.
As for why your counselor is telling you one thing and nurses telling you another, I cannot say for sure but it could be one of the lies that you hear in nursing. Just like many students who hear about how you will find a job right after graduating, well that ship has sailed long ago. There are many new grads unemployed. Just search around the forums, nurses tell students it Will be hard to find a job upon graduation, then those students Will call the nurse a bully and a liar, only to have them post that they can't find a job when they graduate. It's possible that your counselor said what she said so that you will invest more money into their classes. Colleges these days are all about business rather than education.
On a final note, above all, everything we say is just advice, just like your counselor. You can choose to listen to us or her but the choice is yours and you will have to be the one to decide.
windsurfer8, BSN, RN
1,389 Posts
I am surprised you are not on academic probation. Get it to together. You earned those grades and you will have to live with them. No one will feel sorry for you. You "think" your high school education did not prepare you? Lots of people fail class and many succeed..all came from the same high schools. Do not blame and figure out how to survive. Your grades are straight up awful and it is up to you to fix them. You have basically 0% chance of getting into nursing school with a 1.79 GPA.