Is it possible to successful in nursing school.....

beth66335, BSN, RN · Jul 21, 2009

I had a 2.75 when I applied for my program and at the end of first year I had a 2.9 I am hoping to finish with a 3.5 at least...we shall see. Nursing school is just a lot of paperwork and reading and stuff, so it is hard but not impossible if you keep up with the load. Some people may struggle with time mgmt or critical thinking and that can make it more difficult. I am starting my second year again because of the math test last Fall, but my grades and clinical evals were great first year so that didn't factor in at all.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Jul 21, 2009

Why don't you ask some of the quarter of a million licensed nurses in the U.S. who already made it through nursing school?

AZMOMO2 · Jul 21, 2009

I know some people that just rushed through the pre-reqs to get onto the waiting list, hoping for that C just to check off one more of the large amt of pre-reqs, yet excelled in Nursing School. I also know some that got 4.0 in all of their pre-reqs and failed out of Nursing School.

Fermin Hernandez, ADN, ASN, RN · Jul 22, 2009

Most who get 4.0s in prereqs are good students that do well in NS. People always remember the exceptions as the norm.

AugustRain · Jul 22, 2009

It seems as though every nursing student I run into had about a 3.5 gpa and above in the prereqs before entering nursing school yet every now and then I meet someone who is applying to nursing school with on a 2.5-2.7 gpa. I always want to ask them how do they expect to survive nursing school with an average knowledge of the basis of their field. Did anyone on here have or know someone who had just an average gpa before entering nursing school, and if so, how are you/they doing so far?

I finished my 1st degree with below a 3.0 (don't remember the exact number) and though I did very well in my pre-reqs, they were not straight As. I'm graduating from an ABSN program in 6 weeks with a 3.5 GPA, HESI scores consistently in the high 900s/low 1000s, and excellent feedback from my clinical professors. So yes, I do know someone, and so far, she's doing great. :) It's possible. Actually, I'm willing to bet that it happens more than we think - who wants to be the one to admit that they had crappy grades to begin with, especially after they've moved beyond them? There are more factors in one's successes and failures than the GPA they came in with.

Out of curiosity, what makes you want to ask these students how they expect to survive nursing school? Are you really wondering or are you in disbelief that they would even want to try?

SCSTxRN · Jul 22, 2009

My undergrad GPA was a 3.0, but that was mostly A's with a couple of really poor grades condensed into one semester. My undergrad major was Chemistry / Premed. I taught math for almost 10 years before deciding to go to nursing school - at a community college. I crammed all of the older sciences (A&P, Nutrition, Micro) into the summer before school started - with a 4.0. I haven't had any problems in the courses- my nursing GPA is a 3.8. The people who made C's at the school that the nursing school is at are struggling. Hard. Most of them have failed out.

It is what it is.

Steph

sh1901 · Jul 22, 2009

I don't necessarily think that a gpa reflects knowledge. Maybe that person suffers from test anxiety and so doesn't get as high of a gpa because of test scores - this doesn't mean that they don't know the material. I know plenty of other nursing students who have high gpa's, but you ask them an anatomy question and they blank (um, which side of the body is the liver on?), I also know students who have lower gpa's that can rattle off all of the crainal nerves and their functions without breaking a sweat. Onthe flip side, I know people with high gpa's that are absolute dynamo's and folks with low gpa's that live up to the stererotype. A person's gpa can't necessarily define them...nor should it.

I don't think that it is fair to judge how someone is going to "survive" nursing school based on their gpa or to base what kind of nurse someone will be based on their gpa. Have you ever been in a situation as a patient and stopped your nurse and asked, "Hey what was your gpa for your prereqs? What about nursing school?"...I don't think so.

I do not think that anyone's gpa is anyone else's business. What a student has as their gpa is their business.

smallnurse10 · Jul 22, 2009

My GPA when I was admitted was 2.7. I am now in the program and doing very well. My current GPA is 3.5. Nursing school is not difficult it is just time consuming. If you write down what you need to do every week and stick to it then you will be successful regardless of whether or not you got C's in pre-reqs. I honestly didn't care what grade I got in my pre-reqs because my school admits based on a point system and does not just look at grades.

leekun2010 · Jul 22, 2009

It seems as though every nursing student I run into had about a 3.5 gpa and above in the prereqs before entering nursing school yet every now and then I meet someone who is applying to nursing school with on a 2.5-2.7 gpa. I always want to ask them how do they expect to survive nursing school with an average knowledge of the basis of their field. Did anyone on here have or know someone who had just an average gpa before entering nursing school, and if so, how are you/they doing so far?

I am one of those people who started nursing school with high GPA but now currently have a lower GPA although still above 3.0. It is still possible to get your GPA higher if you work harder for your classes. I admit I feel like I do not perform my best in nursing school at times.

NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN · Jul 22, 2009

I've maintained over a 3.0 from prereqs through out nursing school, so its possible.

calledtodo · Jul 22, 2009

It is hard to say that just because you have a certain gpa going in that you will or won't be successful. You will either do well or you won't.