Is nursing really for me? Really Discouraged about grades

[theresa005]

I am very discouraged about not being able to get into a nursing programs because of my bad grades. I live in SoCal and all the community colleges and Universities in my area are very competitive. In the beginning of college i didn't take my prereq's seriously because at the time i was unaware of how difficult and impacted the programs were. I have Cs in all of my nursing prereq's and my TEAS score is a low 70. All the schools i have applied to have turned me down because all of them want the minimum of a 2.5 GPA for science pre-reqs. & with me having all Cs in those classes im at a 2.0 for A&P1,2 and micro. All the schools also only take the first passing attempt so i cannot retake to bump my C's up to A's or B's. I feel like my dream of becoming a nurse is withering away because of my grades. I currently am in a CNA program to hopefully see if that will make my chances higher of getting into a program. I dont know what else to do and i feel like it is almost impossible to get into a nursing program with my science grades. Is nursing really for me? Also have you ever heard of anyone getting into a Nursing program with Cs and low TEAS score, if so how did you do it without being allowed to retake, im very discouraged and do not want to change majors, nursing is the only career i set my mind to since i was 11 years old): and im 22 now and have been submitting applications for about 2 years. Feel like i need to figure things out quickly. Any advice is appreciated. Wish i could go back in time and take school as serious as i do now ):

[idkmybffjill]

I'm not sure any school will accept a 2.0 prereq GPA other than maybe some for-profit schools, which will cost you an arm and a leg. Though in California, even that might be iffy.

Have you considered going out of state? From what I've heard, California has a very high number of people applying to nursing programs, so their programs are going to be very competitive and can have harsher requirements. Programs in states with a lesser number of applicants will be a bit more lax on the requirements. Most of the schools I've looked at in Florida allow for a second and sometimes third attempt on prereqs and will take the latest grade for each class. So, going to a state around you may be the best way to be able to retake your prereqs and have them count.

[theresa005]

Yea ive talked to some school advisors and they told me private schools will possibly accept but itll be expensive. I have also thought about going out of state but im so wrapped up in a lot rightnow i dont think thatll be possible for me atm. Thank you for your input though. I really appreciate u taking the time to repond to my post:happy:

[LorraineC]

I think it depends upon the school itself. I know of a few CCs in Northern CA that will accept people with a 2.0 science GPA. One of them being Napa Valley College and another one being Solano Community College. There are private colleges such as Roseman University that may take you despite GPA and they are accredited (18 months to a BSN) expensive, yes, but what else are you factoring in? Do you have a family? Are you able to take out a loan or get a co-signer to help? If so, I would just go for it, because you'll more than make the money back and you can also push yourself and work harder in nursing school. Pre-reqs are only half the story, don't let yours end here. (I'm in a similar position myself) feel free to reach out if you need to! Best of luck!

[Christian96]

I was in your exact situation last year. I had a 2.0 gpa and I thought no school would accept me. The problem is that I was applying to the well know universities.

After not getting into those big we'll know universities , I started applying to smaller/less known schools.

if you are looking for an associates degree , try a technical college. I don't know about California , but here in Florida, many technical colleges have an LPN AND AND RN program.

Of you are going to a bachelors degree , try to take more credits ( nutrition, medical terminology, introduction to health Science). A lot of school look at overall gpa instead of pre requisite gpa. If you take a lot more classes , and do well in them, you can raise your gpa

i hope this helps ! Don't give up ! You'll be an amazing nurse one day (:

[instax_]

I believe some community colleges allow you to retake the TEAS after a year from your first attempt. Have you considered possibly retaking your prerequisites at another community college? They will end up averaging out your two grades, but that'll probably boost your GPA. If that's not a plausible option, you could perhaps look into for profits like West Coast University. You just have to be careful and do your research with for profits, some of your prerequisites might not transfer with them & you may have to retake it at their university.

California is truly, annoyingly competitive. However, I don't think it's impossible for you to become a nurse. Perhaps work as a CNA for a bit to get some work hours in for points towards some of your applications!