Lehman's College/StonyBrook U. Accelerated Nursing Application Question!

Published

Hello all!

First time posting here. I've seen such great responses to people's questions, I thought I'd give it a try.

So a bit of background (sorry it may get long and/or confusing)

I studied at an Ivy League school and just received my Bachelor's in Science this past May.

My GPA is less than stellar at around a 2.5.

During 2 separate semesters, my father who is very ill (it was life and death at one point) and lives by himself back at home when I'm in school, I had to leave in the middle of the semester to go take care of him.

Obviously, my grades plummetted because I wasn't physically there to take the classes and I wasn't excused because I left so suddenly.

Otherwise removing those 2 semesters, my GPA would be over a 3 (I haven't calculated it exactly yet.)

I decided that I wanted to switch into nursing. A complete change as I was a Hotel Administration major in school. Basically looking to close the gap between hospitality and healthcare (From experience I believe there is a lack of hospitality in healthcare, though of course not true all the time).

TL;DR I have a horrible GPA because of unfortunate circumstances and it limits my nursing school choices.

I'm looking to apply to accelerated nursing programs and given my current GPA I'm really limited to what schools I can apply to in New York.

I'm thinking of Stony Brook University (2.8 GPA min) and Lehman's College (I believe a 2.0 or 2.3 GPA min, and my top choice).

I'm taking summer courses at Nassau Community College in Long Island and I expect to get all A's (not to jinx myself!) in the following:

-CHE 107: General Chemistry (4c)

-CHE 151: Organic Chemistry I (4c)

-AHS 131: Anatomy and Physiology I (4c)

-AHS 132: Anatomy and Physiology II (4c)

-AHS 202: Medical Microbiology (4c)

-PSY 216: Lifespan Development (3c)

But I noticed that Lehman's pre-requisites for General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry are 4.5c and not the typical 4c.

I contacted the nursing program director to see if they would accept NCC's chemistry classes and they told me to ask Lehman's chemistry department. I never heard back from them even after 3-4 e-mails and phone calls with an uninformed secretary.

QUESTIONS:

Has anyone who's currently a nursing student at Lehman's or even Stony Brook's had experience transferring in credit from other schools?

Do StonyBrook and/or Lehman's look at SAT scores? I took it back in 2010, but did pretty well (2340/2400) so I would be more than okay sending those in.

Someone told me StonyBrook combines your pre-requisite courses GPA from another school with your cumulative GPA from your home school. True? Any experience?

Is the HESI exam required for Lehman's or can I substitute SAT scores (sorry similar question)?

Any general advice for making myself stick out as a candidate despite my low GPA?

--

A big thank you to everyone/anyone who read my incredibly long post!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Lehman does require HESI. Just FYI, Lehman's ABSN program is super competitive, which is why having near perfect GPA is very important. So, I do not know where you learned that Lehman's min GPA is 2.0. Please, do your proper research, before you apply.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thank you!

I wasn't sure if it was required (the HESI exams) for the ABSN as well, but now I know.

And of course, I imagine they're very competitive like any other accelerated program.

It's actually written in their documents regarding the generic program and accelerated program.

http://lehman.edu/academics/health-human-services-nursing/nursing/documents/UndergraduateStudentHandbook2014-2016_002.pdf

And after the summer, I should have a 4.0 in my pre-requisites, it's my GPA from my home school that I'm concerned about :/

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I'm not sure if my last reply went through...

Thanks for confirming that. At first I wasnt sure if the HESI was required only for applicants of the generic program and not the accelerated.

It's actually written directly in their documents about the Generic and Accelerated Nursing Program.

http://lehman.edu/academics/health-human-services-nursing/nursing/documents/UndergraduateStudentHandbook2014-2016_002.pdf

I did quite a bit of research before posting of course. I've also contacted Lehman directly through e-mail, but didn't necessarily get all the information I needed/was lookingn for.

Of course! I imagine any accelerated program is highly competitive, but I do believe I have what it takes in terms of work experience, interview skills, essay writing skills, etc.

I should have a 4.0 GPA in all my pre-requisites, but I'm more worried about my GPA from my home school where I earned my bachelor's degree.

If I were to take out the semester where I left in the middle, I would have well over a 3.5. But unfortunately, I don't think I can do just that.

Thank you for your response!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion