Is it safe for me to apply for Accelerated BSN programs now?

[kaolla56]

Hello everyone!

It's been awhile since I've been back to the allnurses forum but as of lately, I've been reading up on threads about ABSN programs and I'm quite scared about applying (mainly due to my horrible grades, overall GPA and TEAS exam score). In summary, I'm a 4th-year Biology student who will be graduating this June from a UC school with a B.A. degree. However, I have a cumulative 2.73 GPA currently and I only got 77% on the TEAS exam which I took last summer. I'm almost done with most prereqs required for the ABSN programs I'm looking into but not so sure if my grades in them will be acceptable:

So far this is what I have:

Anatomy with lab = B

Sociology = B

Intro to Psych = B+

Microbiology = C (will be taking the lab portion next quarter)

Statistics = C

Public Speaking = A

I have yet to take Nutrition, Life Span/Developmental Psychology or Physiology with lab so I'm hoping to take those at a community college soon. Other than my grades, I do have some extracurricular/volunteer experience - I just finished completing 300+ hours being a hospital intern the past year, I've held 2 officer positions in a campus club called FIMRC (Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children), I'm currently an International Peer Advisor who helps accommodate foreign students to campus and I've helped my mother in her dental office with simple tasks like sterilizing tools or cleaning patient rooms. Anyways, do you think my standing now would be satisfactory to apply for ABSN programs this early? My parents are pretty strict and really want me to apply for schools for the fall term. I'm just scared that my stats won't be enough to get accepted

[leenak]

Do schools in your area have a minimum GPA for their ABSN programs? The ones I've seen either require a 3.0 or even 3.2. They also generally require a 3.0 in the pre-reqs. Based on your GPA, I would say you aren't a competitive candidate. You might actually have better luck applying to a traditional BSN program out of state.

[kaolla56]

i live in southern california so most of the absn programs here require a minimum 3.0 cumulative gpa. i've also been looking at out-of-state programs that only require at least a 2.5 gpa but even then, i am not sure if i am competitive enough to get into those schools. would there be a better chance for me to go out-of-state? i know that schools don't look solely at the gpa but it is an important factor.

if all else fails, i would definitely consider post-bacc nursing programs too so i could be a better applicant in the future.