My school won't let me retake any of my prerequisites

[oned]

I know in order for me to be competitive with other students to get into a program, I need A's and B's. Unfortunately, I got C's in 3 of my major classes Physiology, Microbiology, and Anatomy. I asked my counselor if I could take those classes again and she said "Do not take them again". She told me if I did take them again, it would look bad and told me just move forward. But, i've seen a couple old post from members here telling people to take your C's over again.

So, if i can't take any classes over then how do i improve my chances of getting into a program? I was thinking about applying to every community college program I can anyway. I was also thinking about going to a LVN program and once I finish that I will do an LVN to RN bridge program.

I really want to be a nurse but i feel confused about my situation right now:eek: . Should I just talk to the dean of my school and tell them i need to take these classes again or should i just go with my original plan?

[mcubed45]

depends on your school's admission policies. at my university no more than TWO pre-req classes my be retaken and retaken only ONCE. after that any retakes do not count. the old grades are the ones that will be used for your application. reason being that anyone can take a pre-req repeatedly and eventually get an A by the 3rd or 4th time. that's not the kind of person they want to admit to the nursing program. that's someone who will likely not pass their nursing classes and will end up wasting a valuable slot in the program.

best bet is to talk to admissions at the various programs in your area. admission criteria and policies vary A LOT from school to school so no one here can tell you what you need to do to get in. you've gotta do the legwork yourself.

[LoveMyBugs, BSN, CNA, RN]

The school where I did my pre-reqs allows retaking the classes, but there is a make on your transcript to show that the class was taken again. Could you take the prereqs again at a different college and use those transcripts when applying to different colleges to get into a nursing program?

[Asherah, BSN, RN]

Also, you may not be able to retake these courses as the core sciences are usually severely impacted and those who haven't made their first attempt to take them need to do so. Letting everyone retake courses again and again prevents many students from getting one chance.

Many schools do not let students retake courses who achieved a C grade, only those who earned a D or F. You will need to determine if your counselor said "you shouldn't" as he/she doesn't advise it, or you can't at all if the school doesn't allow it. Those are two very different things.

[RhodyGirl, RN]

The school where I did my pre-reqs allows retaking the classes, but there is a make on your transcript to show that the class was taken again. Could you take the prereqs again at a different college and use those transcripts when applying to different colleges to get into a nursing program?

I would NOT advise this. Any college you apply to will require transcripts from ALL colleges previously attended. Withholding transcripts from a school because of poor grades is sneaky and, if caught, could result in rejection from a program.

[LoveMyBugs, BSN, CNA, RN]

I would NOT advise this. Any college you apply to will require transcripts from ALL colleges previously attended. Withholding transcripts from a school because of poor grades is sneaky and, if caught, could result in rejection from a program.

I wasn't meaning this to be sneaky, and never said to withhold the transcripts, but going to another college and taking the repreqs, as she said that her school wouldn't allow her to retake them. Many of the schools that I have applied at state that they will only look at the most recent pre-req grades. Also for many schools the pre-reqs expire within 5 years so people may have to retake them. I dont know if the OP is in a univeristy and is trying to get into that schools program, but it sounded like she was going to be applying to multiple schools and each school has different rules as for what they will accept, and for how many attempts someone can have.

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

Most schools do not allow a student with a passing grade to retake a course; some make exceptions if the student earned a D, but otherwise, many don't. It seems to be part of the weeding process.

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

Also, you may not be able to retake these courses as the core sciences are usually severely impacted and those who haven't made their first attempt to take them need to do so. Letting everyone retake courses again and again prevents many students from getting one chance.

Many schools do not let students retake courses who achieved a C grade, only those who earned a D or F. You will need to determine if your counselor said "you shouldn't" as he/she doesn't advise it, or you can't at all if the school doesn't allow it. Those are two very different things.

Also, even with repeating a course where a D or F is earned; many cases, they are factored in together, which would still drastically bring down the GPA. This happened to a friend of mine and she didn't get accepted into the nursing program, even with repeating the subjects. She got an F in one course, repeated and got an A-, but factored together was about a C.

[WeirdNurseKelly, BSN, RN]

Maybe you should talk to a different advisor, maybe someone who knows a little more about the nursing program. Some advisors don't really know a specialty area, they are there to answer "general" questions.

See if you can talk to the nursing advisor, better yet, email them if possible to see what they think.

The community college that I went to for my prereqs did allow me to retake A&P to better my grade. Overall my transcript looks pretty yucky because of withdraws and repeats. I managed to get into a community college nursing program.

I had to fill out a repeat course form. My new grade was factored into my GPA as a repeat. Because I did so much better, from a C to an A first term, it made a difference in my GPA.

I am not saying that ALL schools will be like the school that I went to. You should think about talking to someone else, maybe someone who is a little more qualified (if they aren't) and really know what they are talking about and what the school expects of a prenursing student and their transcript. Dont give up.

I did end up with an A the first term of A&P but ended up with a C the second 2 terms. I got into nursing school the second year I applied. I do have some pretty good work experience too. So don''t give up, there is hope for everyone!

[aegirl]

One thing you need to consider if you would retake them at another college is, when applying for the nursing program they may consider those transfer credits as a 'C' grade even if you got an 'A'. That's how it works at my local community college. So you may want to look into that if that's what you want to do, because it may not benefit you.

[oned]

The reason my counselor said I shouldn't take my classes again is because my community college admits people into the program by a point system. Every time you retake classes it lowers your points.

[caliotter3]

Unless there is a specific policy by the school of nursing stating that one is not to repeat prereqs, then go ahead and retake them if you wish. Your counselor is misadvising you unless they can show you something in black and white stating that retakes will not be counted, or that retakes will be black marks when you apply. My school recently instituted a rule that a course could only be repeated once and the second grade was it, even if it was lower than the first grade. This policy is in writing, put out in the policy letters of the School of Nursing. Any time you are told something like this, request to see the policy in writing. Furthermore, you should repeat those courses, get better grades, and apply to other programs where you know you will have a better chance. The further you cast your net with applications, the better your chances. Good luck.