I've been told to change my major, I'll never make it as a nurse

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Hello All,

This is my first post, so I hope I'm doing this correctly. Recently, I transferred to school in hopes to finish my prerequisites and apply to their nursing program. I received an email from admissions with an admissions appeal attached stating I need to fill it out and turn it back in, now mind you I'm already enrolled in classes. They took a transcript from 8 years ago and applied it to my now GPA and it brought it down 1.25. I went and talked to my nursing advisor and was told I might as well change my major because I wasn't getting accepted into their program because it's so competitive, and that no matter how many times I retook a a course i still wouldn't get accepted into their program. So, she told me to look into Healthcare Administration. I get that I may not be this super smart person but for her to just tell me give up on what I want to do, my dreams it bothered me but now it also has me sitting here contemplating on changing my major but my heart is telling me and and I have no idea what else I would want to do. I know I'm not dumb, I just have a difficult time when it comes to test, I get real bad anxiety and I start to second guess myself and it could be something I know and I just freeze up because I want to do so well.

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Well, you have two options honestly. You change your major or you find a less competitive program to try to get into. If they've said your GPA isn't high enough then it isn't high enough. You won't get into that program. Dream or no... that's the reality here.

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Look for another program.

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The situation is what it is. You have an exceptionally low GPA and that means that the only college nursing program that will accept something that poor is going to be a school that will charge you a lot of money and offer not a lot of hope for passing the NCLEX. Good programs don't take students with little to no chance of completing them, not when the competition to get in can be steep, they have their choice of students with straight A averages.

On top of that you have your own issues when it comes to testing in general, you freeze up and don't test well. I understand the anxiety, but you must realize that nursing programs are chock FULL of tests and some of them require you to get 100% in order to pass. There is little to no room for someone who has crippling anxiety.

As I see it you have exactly one possibility for becoming a nurse, and a lot will ride on whether you overcome the anxiety. LPN programs are not college-based, or at least they don't require you to have a minimum GPA to enroll. Competition for program space will depend on where you live. Time is anywhere from less than a year to nearly 2 years. But if you CAN get through that program successfully, and can pass the NCLEX-PN, you can then enroll in an RN program as a bridge student. Longer route, but realistically your only option.

If nursing doesn't work out for you I'm sure you can find another route to happiness. I understand your dream is to be a nurse, but not every dream is attainable. Maybe if you get a grip on the anxiety and do better academically you'll have a shot down the road.

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First, everyone gets test anxiety, don't use that an as excuse for poor grades.

Next, she didn't tell you that nursing wasn't for you or that you'll never make it, she told you that you wouldn't be accepted into their nursing program. So find another.

If you are the type to let one persons comments destroy your dreams, nursing may not be for you. I don't mean that unkindly, just that over the course of the next few years, you'll have to continue to pick yourself up and dust yourself off.

Good luck.

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If you allow a single college councelor flunkie to deter you from you goal then you really should not be a nurse.

Take it as a personal and professional challenge. As a nurse you will be expected to advocate not just for yourself but for your patients as well. Get used to overcoming challenges, just another day for a nurse.

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Can anyone come up with a college of nursing that will enroll a student who has a 1.25 GPA? Other than the for-profit schemes, a college that has students who pass the NCLEX? Anyone?

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"now mind you I'm already enrolled in classes.". You may be enrolled in classes, but they are giving you a heads up that you will not be eligible for THEIR nursing program.

Some programs do not go back eight years, in determining your GPA. Finish your classes there. Research nursing programs that will accept you.

Acceptance to a nursing program is highly individual to the school. What is your GPA for the last 4 years?

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTACH, LTC, Home Health.

I was in similar shoes as yours, not because of the GPA, but because I hadn't completed my sciences. I wanted to apply to the local LPN-RN bridge program, which was set to begin in January 2010 and last until the end of December. The nursing department would not even hand me an application.

So, I continued to take prereqs in the local college, applied elsewhere, and long story short, I received my RN license in June 2010, 2 months before I would have been allowed to apply for the next term, and 7 months before I would have even been allowed to start classes.

Fortunately, there is more than one nursing program in the world. One door closing means another one is opening.

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.
First, everyone gets test anxiety, don't use that an as excuse for poor grades.

Next, she didn't tell you that nursing wasn't for you or that you'll never make it, she told you that you wouldn't be accepted into their nursing program. So find another.

If you are the type to let one persons comments destroy your dreams, nursing may not be for you. I don't mean that unkindly, just that over the course of the next few years, you'll have to continue to pick yourself up and dust yourself off.

Good luck.

^^^this^^^

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Specializes in NICU.
Can anyone come up with a college of nursing that will enroll a student who has a 1.25 GPA? Other than the for-profit schemes, a college that has students who pass the NCLEX? Anyone?

She didn't say her GPA was 1.25. She said that a transcript (from another school) from 8 yrs ago brought it down 1.25. But, your point is still valid. Even in the best case scenario, 4.0 GPA that was brought down 1.25 would result in a 2.75 GPA which is still not competitive.

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Can anyone come up with a college of nursing that will enroll a student who has a 1.25 GPA? Other than the for-profit schemes, a college that has students who pass the NCLEX? Anyone?

There are plenty of schools that only care about math/science GPA or will accept retakes for replacement grades. So she's not out of options.

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