Low nursing school GPA

[txf119]

I am Registered Nurse with 2.5 years experience in the ER and 1 year experience and currently working as a psych nurse. It's always been my plan to go back to school to earn a master's degree (preferably psych NP) but when researching programs throughout the country I did not realize how competitive it really is. I have a 2.9 nursing school GPA and a 3.1 cumulative GPA. I went to a nursing school where a B- is a 2.77 which were most of my grades and that killed my GPA. Like a lot of people, I was working full time during school and just didn't have the time I needed to study more to get my grades from B's to A's. It's a tough situation to be in because I know I'm not really competitive for a lot of the NP programs. I can't retake my nursing school courses and let's face it, retaking some of C's I got in classes like intro art and public speaking would help my GPA but wouldn't make the difference in getting into a program. I know I can take GRE's to help my chances but any ideas on what else to do? I'm 27 with no kids and not married so I know now is the ideal time to get back into school to advance my career. I love nursing and know I would successful in school but I feel stuck. If only there were time machines lol. Thanks for any help

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Talk to an academic advisor associated with the grad school you want to attend. My MSN program placed a great deal of emphasis on GRE scores, but they also gave higher consideration to applicants with evidence of 'learning' behavior in their clinical portfolio - such as achieving specialty certification, participation in research, work on special projects, etc.

Wishing you the best of luck on your continuing education!

[cloucel]

My program placed a high emphasis on speaking an in demand 2nd language like Spanish or Cantonese, personal statements, letters of recommendations, international volunteer work, and leadership skills. Try working on those aspects and that can make you attractive a a candidate because they can place you in a variety of clinical placements.