Low cumulative GPA but high Prerequisites GPA. Afraid of not getting admission anywhere.

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Hey guys, I graduated last summer with my Bachelor of Science degree with a cumulative Science GPA of 2.4. I lost all hope in getting admission to any nursing school and worked at a Lab since then but two quarters ago, I decided to retake all my prerequisites at my local community college. I currently have As in all my prerequisites including A&P I, Microbiology with Lab, Satistics and Nutrition. I hope to continue taking all the prerequisites and keep doing well in them as well. Unfortunately I'm afraid my past cumulative GPA will come to haunt me when applying to schools. I'm taking my classes at a local community due to financial reasons instead of the university I graduated from, therefore I'm unable to improve my cumulative GPA.

Has anyone been in a similar situation as me and has any advice for me? What's the best way for me to get into an ABSN program? I'm super nervous about the whole thing and not sure if it'll make a difference in me getting all As in my prerequisites since it's froma CC and not the same university. All help is appreciated. Thank you.

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I am in the same situation. I graduated with my Bachelor degree with a 2.51 due to some unfortunate events. Years later I'm taking classes at a community college too to get my prereqs done.

I've looked into this as well and unfortunately you have a very slim chance of getting into an ABSN program because they go by GPA. Minimum to just apply is usually 2.5 but average accepted is in the 3s.

However you have a FANTASTIC chance of getting into an ADN program.

My local community college doesn't even consider GPA. It is a point based system according to grades in prereqs and your TEAS (some schools use HESI or Kaplan) scores, along with some Gen. Ed classes. Based on your grades you'd have no problem. I got an 82 on TEAS only halfway through A&PI.

Some schools only calculate GPA based on classes in the nursing curriculum (again ADN). It seems like you'd have a 4.0 though.

On the the other hand, other BSN programs look solely at your GPA you had from your Bachelor degree. Others factor in classes taken afterward, but the more credits you have (assuming ~125 from Bachelors) the less new grades affect GPA no matter how good. I used some calculators for this with my new As and Bs and it didn't get me past 2.75. Few programs are specific in how they calculate your GPA.

Unfortunately I think your best option is a 2-year ADN program. That is what I'm going for and I'll do a bridge to BSN or MSN. It will take a bit more time but after more research than you can imagine it's the reality I've found.

(Unless someone has found otherwise!!!)

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Thanks Mj Reid. I decided against an accelerated program as well since I feel I won't get accepted anywhere. I decided on doing a BSN degree instead and decided to take it slow rather than rush it so I can maintain a good GPA during nursing school and later on move on to becoming a NP.

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Do not feel discouraged because of a low GPA. I was recently at an information session for an ABSN program that I am applying to, and the program director explained that "someone with a lower GPA could still be an amazing nurse...and on the contrary, having a 4.0 GPA doesn't necessarily mean you will be a great nurse!!!" I remember thinking to myself wow, that is so true!

Because you are obviously applying to be part of an academic program, GPA does matter; however, there are so many other components of the application that can show admissions you are qualified. For example, in your admission essay, letters from references, your resume, personal statement, TEAS score, etc. And there is usually an area on the application where you can go into detail about your academic history.

It wouldn't hurt to apply, because not all programs put GPA as high on a pedestal. Work really hard on the other application materials. Study for the TEAS and try to get an advanced score (above a 78), write a damn good essay, send a nice email to admissions, highlight your work experience, and much more. I believe in you!

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Specializes in Ortho, CMSRN.

I had a poor GPA from two previous colleges when I decided to go to nursing school. The university that I wanted to get my BSN from just didn't transfer any credits with C's, so that raised my GPA substantially. I did well on my pre-reqs there, not the best... but I made it into the program. Can you get your lower grades dropper in a transfer maybe?

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Depends on the program. Some only look at GPA of pre-reqs and don't care about anything else. Others do.

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Don't go by average accepted GPAs unless you REALLY understand statistics. If their average accepted is a 3.0, and the minimum is a 2.5, then there's a good amount of people around that minimum that are accepted.

Your GPA is only one part of the story. Something to remember about all these people who got denied because their 3.6 GPA wasn't competitive enough, most likely, they were never actually told why they weren't accepted, they just assumed, because nobody likes to admit that maybe they're just not cut out for nursing school. Now, some schools WILL explain it in their letter, there's definitely exceptions where the school actually said that the GPA just wasn't competitive enough, but you're typically just getting the same exact rejection letter as everyone else.

Way more nurses than not got accepted into nursing school without being in the top 5% of students in the country. Keeping an A average and being at that 3.7GPA people like to obsess with... Understand that maintaining these GPAs means being a Cum Laude or higher graduate. Almost every student in the country fails to meet that goal, dropping well below it in their Freshman year. That's why it's such a big deal at graduation for the people who make it. 10 times out of 10, there's way more to a rejection or acceptance than a GPA, because those "competitive" GPAs just don't typically happen.

That 2.5-3.5 range is where most students fall. While a 2.4 might be a little low, after you factor in everything and look at your current GPA, you should be fine. Apply to schools, you'll probably get into one.

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Thanks tony. I decided to apply to a BSN program which only takes my prerequisites and I currently have a 3.6 GPA. The program I plan on applying to is very competitive with an average 3.8 in the past years, but your comment reduced my anxiety. I plan on doing my best and if that's not enough, I'll apply out of state.

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Good luck, let us know how it goes.

And just remember, and anyone applying to schools reading this. The average GPA that gets accepted to these schools is just the average. Mathematically, people have to be getting accepted below that average for it to be possible. The average can't be equal to or below the lowest number.

Don't forget lesson 1 of your statistics class where you went over mean, median, and mode. Without all 3, the average really doesn't tell you anything. Out of all those people, how many were only at a 2.5 or 3.0?

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Specializes in ER.

Hello.

You should check the admission requirement page on the programs' website and see what type of GPAs they count. My ABSN program only looked at science pre-requisite and last 60 unit GPAs. Best of luck!

xoxo

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