Moved to northern Cali

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Hi there,

I recently moved to the South Bay Area from Los Angeles. I used to be in an RN program but failed out. I still would like to go for my RN but how do I make my application stronger? The schools I’m interested in are:

Evergreen cc, hartnell cc, Cabrillo, Monterey, and Gavilan college so far.

I'm taking a cna class to be certified. After that I’m thinking of taking EMT to refresh my anatomy and physio and be certified.

I don’t know if it’s worth repeating anatomy and physiology because currently I have

 anatomy Grade B (taken in 2013)

physio Grade B (Taken in 2014)

micro grade A



I’ve also been an Medical assistant for 5 years. Any input is appreciated. I haven’t taken the TEAS 6 yet either I only taken version. 5

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To be competitive you need as close to a 4.0 GPA in your sciences as possible. You will most likely be a second tier candidate with those B grades, however, repeating at a community college is not usually allowed and there is no guarantee you would achieve an A.

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One other thing to look out for is to make sure your classes are still acceptable due to how long ago they were taken. I think for community colleges they may not put an "expiration date" on them, but if you decide to go somewhere else you may have to retake them due to the classes aging out.

As you probably already know, California nursing programs are very competitive. You have two things going against you right out of the gate: You already failed nursing school once and the two "B" grades you have in your prerequisites. Thankfully, you do have 5 years of healthcare experience so that may be able to help you out.

I would almost recommend that if you can, you would be better off moving back to the LA area to places like Imperial County, Riverside County or San Bernardino county. Especially Imperial County - seems it would be less competitive due to less people being in the county.

Good luck!

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23 hours ago, caliotter3 said:

To be competitive you need as close to a 4.0 GPA in your sciences as possible. You will most likely be a second tier candidate with those B grades, however, repeating at a community college is not usually allowed and there is no guarantee you would achieve an A.

That’s why I’m hesitant on repeating anatomy or Physio. Although I saw Cabrillo and hartnell May do exceptions on repeats if they’re over 5 years.

10 hours ago, Mergirlc said:

One other thing to look out for is to make sure your classes are still acceptable due to how long ago they were taken. I think for community colleges they may not put an "expiration date" on them, but if you decide to go somewhere else you may have to retake them due to the classes aging out.

As you probably already know, California nursing programs are very competitive. You have two things going against you right out of the gate: You already failed nursing school once and the two "B" grades you have in your prerequisites. Thankfully, you do have 5 years of healthcare experience so that may be able to help you out.

I would almost recommend that if you can, you would be better off moving back to the LA area to places like Imperial County, Riverside County or San Bernardino county. Especially Imperial County - seems it would be less competitive due to less people being in the county.

Good luck!

Thank you so much but I can’t move back to Los Angeles. I heard it’s more impacted there than northern Cali actually! Don’t know if it’s true though.

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For the student who can’t get in, schools in the north and in the south are equally impacted. That is why a 4.0 GPA with no repeats and no W’s is close to essential.

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I’m enrolled in a CNA class for the fall 2020 and Spring 2021 I’m going to enroll into an Emt to refresh my clinical skills. I’m aiming to be an ER tech (my goal is to be an ER nurse) gain clinical hours and then go back to retake prequisite courses (maybe anatomy and eng 1b since I had a B in both)

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Hello,

I actually applied for Evergreen cc and Hartnell cc for this Fall 2020. Fortunately, I got accepted at both EVC and Hartnell so these are the only two cc's I can speak for. Because all of the colleges you mentioned are community colleges, they are all extremely impacted. Based on what I heard, they receive up to 400-600 applicants per application cycle with only 80 spots available, 40 fall and 40 Spring (Evergreen) and only 40 spots for fall at Hartnell each year. The good news is they admit students based on a multi-criteria process which means they take other factors into consideration and don't admit solely based on GPA. It's great that you're taking a CNA course. You will get experience & it will give you extra points on the applications as long as you're able to provide a work verification letter from wherever you get hired. However, you will already receive points for being an MA as well.

As far as GPA, Evergreen also gives 10 extra points for taking Pharmacology and Pathophysiology.. although they are not required to apply. It might be a good idea to take those courses if you want to receive more points and as you mentioned, refresh your mind on these topics.

I will attach a link to a power point that has lots of information about EVC.

Hope this helps & goodluck!

https://www.evc.edu/AcademicAffairs/Documents/Nursing%20Information%20Workshop-%20Updated%202.21.18.pdf

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1 minute ago, Vargasjenn said:

Hello,

I actually applied for Evergreen cc and Hartnell cc for this Fall 2020. Fortunately, I got accepted at both EVC and Hartnell so these are the only two cc's I can speak for. Because all of the colleges you mentioned are community colleges, they are all extremely impacted. Based on what I heard, they receive up to 400-600 applicants per application cycle with only 80 spots available, 40 fall and 40 Spring (Evergreen) and only 40 spots for fall at Hartnell each year. The good news is they admit students based on a multi-criteria process which means they take other factors into consideration and don't admit solely based on GPA. It's great that you're taking a CNA course. You will get experience & it will give you extra points on the applications as long as you're able to provide a work verification letter from wherever you get hired. However, you will already receive points for being an MA as well.

As far as GPA, Evergreen also gives 10 extra points for taking Pharmacology and Pathophysiology.. although they are not required to apply. It might be a good idea to take those courses if you want to receive more points and as you mentioned, refresh your mind on these topics.

I will attach a link to a power point that has lots of information about EVC.

Hope this helps & goodluck!

https://www.evc.edu/AcademicAffairs/Documents/Nursing Information Workshop- Updated 2.21.18.pdf

Thank you so much! I’m actually really want to get in either Hartnell or Evergreen cc. I’m currently going to take their emt program this fall then CNA next semester. After that work and improve my TEAS 6 score. What was your TEAS 6 score if you don’t mind me asking? I took mine about 3 years ago and it was a 72.7% and evergreeen only takes the 1st score. :[

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Sorry for the late response-- I actually scored a 76 on my TEAS. Not the score I would've hoped for but I got invited to take the TEAS at Hartnell with little to no time to study. (First time taking it and only had a few weeks to study.) You would get the same amount of points for the TEAS section as I did, so it's definitely possible for you to get in. My best advice is take a good look at the whole application and focus on getting as much points as you can in all the other sections.

I also have an AA, all the required courses, medical experience, foreign language, life experience... pretty much points in everything else which made up for my low TEAS score.

Try to focus on completing these other requirements, if you haven't already, and I'm sure you can get in! Most of these schools around this area have all these same qualifications so it'll boost your chances.

Best of luck! Let me know if you have any other questions.

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1 hour ago, Jvr92 said:

Sorry for the late response-- I actually scored a 76 on my TEAS. Not the score I would've hoped for but I got invited to take the TEAS at Hartnell with little to no time to study. (First time taking it and only had a few weeks to study.) You would get the same amount of points for the TEAS section as I did, so it's definitely possible for you to get in. My best advice is take a good look at the whole application and focus on getting as much points as you can in all the other sections.

I also have an AA, all the required courses, medical experience, foreign language, life experience... pretty much points in everything else which made up for my low TEAS score.

Try to focus on completing these other requirements, if you haven't already, and I'm sure you can get in! Most of these schools around this area have all these same qualifications so it'll boost your chances.

Best of luck! Let me know if you have any other questions.

THANK YOU!

Yes, I’m taking an emt/CNA course then retake the TEAS again to boost my chances. I’m going to apply for Hartnell and Evergreen for Fall 2022 because I want to save up and have a lot of debt to pay still.

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