Nursing school, competitive GPA and what else?

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Hi, all,

I looked at another post which said the acceptance in nursing school needs to have very competitive GPA, volunteer and working experience. What volunteer and working experience do they ask for? I went straight to the local community college after high school and am taking some prereqs. I have very little working experience, is it going to kill my chance? What is the proportion on those requirements?

I appreciate all your help, thanks!

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Hi, all,

I looked at another post which said the acceptance in nursing school needs to have very competitive GPA, volunteer and working experience. What volunteer and working experience do they ask for? I went straight to the local community college after high school and am taking some prereqs. I have very little working experience, is it going to kill my chance? What is the proportion on those requirements?

I appreciate all your help, thanks!

It depends where you go to school. All usually have a baseline GPA you have to have, but some also use your GPA for admission (higher numbers get you in) or some just use a lottery system. Some require CNA experience others don't. I have no medical background and I got into a program :). You just need to find out what your school requires.

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yup! I agree w/ Lunakat, you have to find out what your program requires. Some schools weight GPA heavier than others, while some schools require that you have some volunteer experience before entering the field. Either way, I think it's good if you can find some community service in your area and do a few hour/week just to make your application stronger but do keep your GPA high. :)

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Specializes in L&D.
Hi, all,

I looked at another post which said the acceptance in nursing school needs to have very competitive GPA, volunteer and working experience. What volunteer and working experience do they ask for? I went straight to the local community college after high school and am taking some prereqs. I have very little working experience, is it going to kill my chance? What is the proportion on those requirements?

I appreciate all your help, thanks!

It really depends on your school. My school acceptance requirements only includes gpa. Find the school you're interested in and ask them what their requirements are.

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Thanks all for your reply. I am living in Maryland and working hard on the prereqs for BSN. I just got some information from the school last night, it says student should have very competitive GPA. But like some of you says, it would be good to have some volunteer work in the community anyway.

Thanks again. :)

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Specializes in Trauma ICU, MICU/SICU.

Not all schools are the same. You need to contact the admissions office and ask what your school looks at. Mine was based solely on GPA.

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Also - it helps if you can shadow a nurse or do some volunteer work. Schools want to know that you have an understanding of the nursing profession. Plus most schools require an essay asking why you chose to go into nursing. It is a good idea to have a solid answer. A lot of people say they "want to help people", which I think is very important but there are also other factors that made you specifically choose nursing. I also attended community college before I transferred to a university, I shadowed a few RNs and an NP at a children's hospital and it was a great experience.... just make sure you eat breakfast..and don't faint like I did (I PROMISE I GOT OVER IT, at least there were nurses all around me) lol Good luck!

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