Needing Help and Encouragment :(

[USFEli]

Excuse me if this gets a bit lengthy. I am a sophomore at University of South Florida. My current GPA is, I believe 3.19, with a 3.2 in Pre-Reqs. That should increase to about 3.33 and 3.46 by the end of this semester. Regardless, this is terrible and weighs down on me so hard.

The reason my GPA is so low primarily is a F in Pre-Calculus from my first semester as a Pre-Veterinary student... Parents wouldn't let me drop the class, even when it was clear I would pass. Since then, I have gotten a C in Anatomy 1 Lecture (got a 100% in the lab class) and a C+ in Chemistry Lecture (got a A+ in the lab again). I think I've had one other "B" in my pre-Reqs, in Finite Math.

I'm finishing all but microbiology and college algebra this semester, and starting to look at applying. What I'm seeing is throwing me in havoc. USF won't let you talk to a pre nursing advisor without a 3.2 GPA (for a good reason) so until the end of this semester I'm doing this on my own. And that's proved to be tough.

I have so many questions! Like what is a good timeline for pre-nursing students? When to take the TEAS test in order to get the results in in time to send off applications? Some of these applications for next fall are due in January.... I haven't even finished my classes yet.

I know my GPA is not anything near even the "minimums", I'm hoping to boost it up to a 3.5-3.6 by the end of spring, but that's a big if and it might not be enough if applications are sent in with mighty 3.4 on them. I plan on applying to the big schools for the heck of it (UWF, UNF, USF, FAU), along with about 5-6 community schools. I know it's a lot but I want to broaden my umbrella.

I have my CNA, and did about 3 weeks of work before I had to return to school full time. I've been president or officer of 3 science-academic clubs here, and am active in volunteering (not hospitals but at horse back riding camps for soldiers with PTSD). I know the essay I have started will explain briefly the grades and touch on the emotional story of what changed my mind to nursing, but I just don't know what else to do. I feel like i will test well on the TEAS (my SAT and ACT scores were 2310 and 2800 with writing and my ACT was a 33)

This is just something I want and am scared for. Application time is coming so close. Anyone have anything to say? Thanks for reading!

[queserasera, RN]

Don't be down. If you're sure this is what you want, you have to make it happen! I don't know how the competitive the schools are in your area but please don't be discouraged by your low GPA.

I myself failed a class early in my career, I re-took it and got an A. I made a C in micro (I thought taking micro, a&P I, pre calc and english writing was a good idea at the time).

But you know what, I have all A's and B's in my other courses, i made a great TEAS score and have, what I think is a pretty soid application.

For me my application was due Sept 4th. I finished a summer A&P II course mid-august and took my TEAS the week after. I only had a week to study but made it my job. I think a month before your app is due is a good time to take the TEAS (definitely after you've completed your core science classes).

It seems like your experience and your roles in the science clubs will bode well for you if your school looks at applicants holistically.

Good luck to you, and know you have support here!

[Vmyracle]

I am currently taking what my school calls replacement courses to boost my gpa, I know its hard and stressful but if its what you want there are ways to make yourself a competitive applicant! :) For the teas, buy the practice tests! They were soooooo helpful for me because it was formatted exactly like the test! The science portion is super hard so I would buy the ati teas exam book just for that reason. Science was the only section I didnt score a 90% or higher on. You'll be fine, just review science and it should be cake for you :) best of luck!

[BusyBee91]

Ok first of all, if you scored a 2310 out of 2400 on the SAT, congrats, that's amazing. Second - The TEAS V (I just took it) is NOT A HARD TEST. The math and verbal are MUCH more basic than the SAT. You should be able to knock those out of the park. The science is sort of weird/random; I would make sure you wait until you've taken A&P I &II before taking the teas. That being said, if you take the computer test (which I would recommend) you will get your scores immediately. I would still take it about a month (or a little more) before you need to submit your teas transcript to the admissions office, (like the other poster said) only because sometimes these things take time to get submitted from ATI to your institution.

So I'm not sure if you're taking anatomy this semester, but if you are, I would probably take the TEAS around...November 1st. BTW, I used the McGraw Hill practice tests (I know that the way to get the highest scores (because they tell you exactly what concepts they will test you on) is to buy ATI's manuals etc. But I think the whole thing is a racket. So I bought the Mcgraw hill practice tests for like.. $10 bucks on amazon? I got the ebook version, so I had to write my answer down on my own paper.. but whatever it was cheap. Anyway, I'd get some test prep and occupy yourself with practicing for that test to help keep your mind off moping about your GPA.

Also - you are a CNA, you volunteer, let's assume you are going to knock the TEAS out of the park... So your grades aren't great across the board... so what? You are probably going to have a lot of things going for you that others won't. Keep in mind that the national average on the TEAS V (which is an EASSSSYYY basic basic basic test) is like in the 60's percentage wise. If you score a 90%+, you are going to be pretty competitive, I think.

Ok next: timeline. To be honest, I am just doing this for the first time myself (but I've read extensively on the subject, both on this forum and on many different programs' websites.) Here's what I'm doing. I want to go to nursing school in the fall of 2014, and most of the deadlines that I'm looking at are in December and January. I'm being proactive and setting my own personal deadline of November 1st to submit all my applications. It's important to order your official transcripts early, because sometimes they can take a while to be sent. So I've got all my transcripts in the works.

Currently, I'm writing my admissions essays. My plan is to ask for my letters of recommendation by the end of this month (september) allowing my recommenders PLENTY of time to write nice, thorough, well thought out letters.

So once all of my components are complete (shooting for mid november on that) I'm going to put everything in nice little plastic-y portfolio-thingys (staples :) and mail them all in. Ta-da! That's my master plan. Hopefully it works for me, and hopefully it works for you!