My Weird Academic Record

[MikeAD]

Hey there,

My name is Michael and I'm a prospective nursing student that tends to worry a lot.

I'm currently finishing up my nursing prerequisites but remain concerned over my academic record. I have a 3.6 GPA but If you look at my transcript it kind of reads "This person doesn't know what he wants to do with his life."

I've taken a lot of courses unrelated to nursing as I was basically trying out and getting a taste for different fields. I also withdrew from my Anatomy 1 Lab a few years back when I was going through rough times and finished the lecture with a C. I also ended up withdrawing from 2 classes unrelated to pre-nursing when I got a job offer to join as a flight attendant for AA. Beyond that I have a good record with good grades and As in my other science classes. Been working as a flight attendant now for about 1.5 years but really want to go back and get my bachelors in nursing.

How worried should I be that I withdrew from my anatomy lab? How bad will it look that I am only now retaking the lab years after having completed the main lecture course? Is the C grade I got in the main course a death sentence?

Will it it look bad that I have so many unrelated credits to my degree path?

Will it also look bad that I withdrew from classes unrelated to my nursing prerequisites, in addition to the lab, and took 1.5 years off to work?

I get that some of this will disqualify me from certain nursing schools. For example I know that some schools don't allow you to have withdrawn from a science class. But is this hectic academic record gonna sully my prospects of getting into any BSN nursing school?

Appreciate any feedback or advice you all can give.

[FutureNurseInfo]

I will be short. At this point there is no need to worry about what ifs and buts. Clearly, you need to retake your Anatomy lecture and lab. In regards to Ws on your record, they may or may not pause a problem: every school is different. Also, I would not worry about unrelated credits on your transcript. Ultimately, when you apply, schools will most likely look at your overall GPA/Science GPA, grades in your pre-reqs, and entrance exam scores (if school requires). So, retake Anatomy lecture and lab, and do exceptionally well from now on.

[MikeAD]

I will be short. At this point there is no need to worry about what ifs and buts. Clearly, you need to retake your Anatomy lecture and lab. In regards to Ws on your record, they may or may not pause a problem: every school is different. Also, I would not worry about unrelated credits on your transcript. Ultimately, when you apply, schools will most likely look at your overall GPA/Science GPA, grades in your pre-reqs, and entrance exam scores (if school requires). So, retake Anatomy lecture and lab, and do exceptionally well from now on.

Heya, thanks for the reply! Appreciate your advice. I was thinking about retaking my anatomy I course but my school doesn't allow retakes unless it's below a C. Thought that was the end of that, but do you think I should take steps to challenge that and ask for an exception?

[FutureNurseInfo]

Heya, thanks for the reply! Appreciate your advice. I was thinking about retaking my anatomy I course but my school doesn't allow retakes unless it's below a C. Thought that was the end of that, but do you think I should take steps to challenge that and ask for an exception?

No, do not challenge anything. It will not matter, trust me. My suggestion is, apply to other schools that do accept retakes.

[caliotter3]

All the worrying in the world won't change the past. Apply to programs. If you are not accepted, then take steps to repeat the class at another school and apply to programs that allow retakes. Be proactive and omit the worry.

[kkbb, MSN, RN]

I know of some schools that do not allow retaking courses have alternative courses that can be taken (ASU offered this when I was looking at schools). I am not sure how all that looks to admissions, but it is something to look into. Schools will most likely not care about unrelated classes, except to look at overall GPA. If it makes you feel better about unrelated classes, my first degree was in theater. I took all sorts of "odd" classes that have nothing to do with nursing. Stage Combat really hasn't proven to come up in real life.