Letters of recomendation?

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I have a 3.5 gpa and I thought I'd be a shu in to get into the nursing program at the community college of my choice. I guess at this school thats not the case. I asked another girl how she got in. She said she had a 4.0 and submitted several letters of recomendation. This school doesn't require that but I'm thinking it's a good idea. And the fact that I should apply at other local schools. Who do I ask for letters of recomendation from (I do work at a hospital and my best friend is an RN) but who to ask and how to ask? Anyone have personal experience with this?

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don't get one from your best friend. you will want to use your boss and two instructors (preferably science profs). look online for sample letters of rec, it would be helpful to those writing them for you to have a series of questions for them to answer. Look online at other nursing schools. Many of them will have a form letter, you can use that as a base.

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I agree with shock-me-sane.....college professors are a great source for letters of recommendation. The college I applied to did not want any personal references but I don't know if this is true everywhere. Good luck getting in!!

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Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.

Not to get off track, but I think your friend's 4.0 had a lot to do with admissions. I doubt the letters of recommendation were considered by the admissions committee if the letters were not requested. Most admissions committees stick to a formula when giving out points and they rank students accordingly.

A 3.5 is not bad but maybe it is not competitive enough at the school to which you want to apply? Ask a counselor what the cutoff was for the previous classes that were admitted.

If the average cutoff is higher then a 3.5 (possibly a 3.8-4.0), then you may want to retake some of your pre-requisite and co-requisite classes to boost your GPA. Especially since that is probably your best way to improve your chances. Good luck to you! :wink2:

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Specializes in Med/Surg/Tele.

i've thought of adding a letter of recommendation-even though it's not required. it doesn't hurt, that's for sure. even if it isn't considered, it will definatley make you stand out!

go for it! it's competitive, so you have to find an edge if your gpa isn't that high...you never know!

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Not to get off track, but I think your friend's 4.0 had a lot to do with admissions. I doubt the letters of recommendation were considered by the admissions committee if the letters were not requested. Most admissions committees stick to a formula when giving out points and they rank students accordingly.

A 3.5 is not bad but maybe it is not competitive enough at the school to which you want to apply? Ask a counselor what the cutoff was for the previous classes that were admitted.

If the average cutoff is higher then a 3.5 (possibly a 3.8-4.0), then you may want to retake some of your pre-requisite and co-requisite classes to boost your GPA. Especially since that is probably your best way to improve your chances. Good luck to you! :wink2:

Our school takes gpa 3.6 and higher right now and thats pushing it we also have 2 lottery positions and no letters accepted. Also we can't retake pre reqs unless we got a D or and F I have a C in English 101 I took 20 years ago and they won't let me retake it for a better grade, I have A's so far in all my other pre reqs but still have 2 more to go, that C seriously brings my GPA down.

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Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.
Our school takes gpa 3.6 and higher right now and thats pushing it we also have 2 lottery positions and no letters accepted. Also we can't retake pre reqs unless we got a D or and F I have a C in English 101 I took 20 years ago and they won't let me retake it for a better grade, I have A's so far in all my other pre reqs but still have 2 more to go, that C seriously brings my GPA down.

Thats horrible!! I hear some schools are that way about retaking courses. I also hear that some schools will average your courses so if you got a C then an A your new grade is a B.

My school allows you to retake classes and completely replace your poor grade. In your case, if I had a 3.5 like the OP I would look at another school to open more options. Especially since given a cutoff of 3.6 would not get me in the door.

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Thats horrible!! I hear some schools are that way about retaking courses. I also hear that some schools will average your courses so if you got a C then an A your new grade is a B.

My school allows you to retake classes and completely replace your poor grade. In your case, if I had a 3.5 like the OP I would look at another school to open more options. Especially since given a cutoff of 3.6 would not get me in the door.

yup that would be a good idea for some but for me applying to other schools isn't really an option, we are in a growing community but it isn't that big yet as it is I have to travel to get to school its the only one close enough right now though for my situation. Clinicals are quite far too and i have 3 small kids in school I have to make arrangements for, I keep telling my husband I want to move to a bigger city with more options. Right now I am just getting thru the pre reqs and will move on from there

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