4.0 in nursing school?

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I was just wondering if it's possible to complete nursing school with a 4.0. Has anyone done it? I've read many times that in nursing school you usually drop a grade level... A students become B students.

I'm pretty worried about this. I'm disappointed with any grade less than 100. I know it sounds crazy, but it's not something I can control. I know I would be devastated if I made a B. So far throughout my prereqs I've been able to keep a 4.0 and many of my final grades have been 100. (not just the easy classes) I have to study ALL the time though.

So is there anyone else out there like me? Did you make it though nursing school without having a breakdown?:nailbiting:

Ok maybe I exaggerated a little bit saying a B would devastate me. Life has handed me much worse things than a B and I've always managed to pick myself up and move on.

I keep hearing that grades aren't that big of a deal when it comes to getting a job and I'm sure that's true once you have experience. However every internship and residency I've looked into has had a minimum gpa and has has used gpa as a determining factor. If I have all the same qualifications as Sally but my gpa is higher I'm betting I'll get the position. I'm hoping that a high gpa will help me to stand out since I'll have no experience.

Also I've received many grants and scholarships due to my gpa. And bottom line, I just don't see the point of not putting ALL I have into school. I quit a truck driving job I HATED, working 70 hours a week to go to school. I'm so blessed to be able to do this. My husband is still working his butt off so I'm able to. I just feel like there's no excuse for me to be doing any less than my best ... and right now that's As. Who knows what the future will bring. :)

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Also I've noticed many of my classmates who don't do as well as me, aren't putting in the effort I am. Let me be clear, I am not saying that's true of everyone. Only the ones I have spoken to about grades. They ask me how I do so well and when I tell them how much I study they're like "oh no I can't do that. I've got friends or a boyfriend or a life.." Whatever. I understand if you have a job or kids. I KNOW I couldn't do it if I did. However many people I've spoken to have none of this. Someone is taking care of them while they're in school and they're just not putting as much effort. Once again, I'm not saying this is everyone who doesn't make As. It's just a lot of people I've spoken to at my school.

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Haha... Duskyjewel...first my apologies, I thought you were the original poster. Second, if you know tone through this, you are amazing!

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Specializes in ICU / Urgent Care.

Fellow perfectionist here, I'm laughing my way through nursing school, and I'm at one of the top (rigorous) nursing schools in my region. To the people who say this is hard, all you have to do is look at the daily life of a medical student/resident, nursing school pales in comparison, hell even compared to pre-med undergrad classes (Most of my cohort struggled in INTRODUCTION to organic chem.......yeah.)

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Malenurse69...the work load/material isn't hard, but you should no that looking at things through a nursing perspective is more demanding than treating pathogenicity... It is easier to treat the condition than it is to treat the person with the condition...but if you don't look at it from this perspective than yes, I guess nursing school is easy but, it would be just the same in med school, if you are a person with drive... I no I am

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I finished nursing school at a university with a 4.0. I am a wife, mother to three kids, and I worked part time. For me it was about setting a goal and achieving it. That being said, I made sacrifices to make it happen. I don't consider having straight A's perfection, it is benchmark like so many other things in our lives. It is okay to keep this goal, just be okay with some setbacks along the way because I sure has heck did not get A's on every exam. Good luck!

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Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.

You seem to think that if one isn't shooting for perfection, then they have a c=degree mentality. That is not always true.

But twist my post however you like. I do not care.

There are few things which I can envision being devastated by... the loss of child, the loss of my independence, and the loss of my economic viability are the only ones that I can think of.

In the standard of my personal performance, though, I consider an A- as acceptable and anything less than that as personal failure. I've never found failure to be devastating, though.

For my first degree, I had an attitude akin to the C=RN mindset... and my grades reflected it with a 3.0. For my second degree, I had the mindset that nothing less than an A was tolerable and, again, my grades reflected it with a 4.0. For my nursing degree, the mindset was again, A's are the goal but not mandatory... hence the 3.97.

One needs to determine his/her goals based on her/his personal situation and resources... and there's nothing inherently wrong with pursuing perfection... and generally speaking, 4.0 students tend to have a better mastery of the material than do 3.0 students.

Just sayin'

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Specializes in hospice.

I've always been a straight A student in the past, but I had no responsibilities beyond a boyfriend the last time I was a student. I will strive for excellence as I always have, but my kids need my attention when they need it, not at some nebulous date when I finish school. My obligation is to care for their needs since I chose for them to exist. I also have a husband and marriage needs attention as well. I'm not going to be one of these people whose marriage can't survive school. And I'm going to have to keep working. So while I will do my best, maturity has taught me that perfection is a goal that destroys because it's unreachable. I will graduate just as well with GOOD grades.

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Specializes in ICU / PCU / Telemetry / Oncology.

Being devastated when you don't get 100 all the time is a tad severe I still think -- especially when getting 95 every so often gives you wiggle room for less stress and still gets you the same letter grade on your transcript, an A. Hell, what's wrong with an A- ... :D

Sent from my iPad using allnurses

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Late to the conversation here, and I will admit I haven't read every response (on my phone so it's difficult).

I am a neurotic over-achiever, and I finished school 2nd in my class of over 100.

That said, I had to bust my butt to get those grades, developed 2 bouts of pyelonephritis, septicemia (3-days in ICU), anemia, nutrition deficient alopecia, insomnia, and dropped to 98 pounds. The pressure I put on myself to achieve perfection was ridiculous, and my body and mind suffered terribly for it. It took months of recovery before I felt 'healthy' again.

Don't do that to yourself. I almost died from that nonsense, and that is no joke.

Study hard, but don't sweat getting a 'B'...if you get A's and B's, you will still finish with a very high GPA. As a new nurse, a good GPA is very attractive to employers, but that doesnt mean you will be a great nurse. A high GPA can only help you in two ways: It might stop your new nurse resume from being tossed on the wood pile for your FIRST job, and it will help to meet entrance requirements if you wish to earn an advance degree--and it doesn't even have to be a 4.0 to do these things. Otherwise, GPA matters very little.

Instead of destroying yourself to get a 4.0, focus on absorbing the teaching and skills in a meaningful way so that you can be a fantastic bedside nurse. That is what truly matters.

Best of luck!

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I have been a registered nurse since 1995. I now hold a Doctorate of Nursing. I was, am and always will be a student. Everyone should look at life in that way. NOT ONCE, have I ever been asked my GPA by a patient. I have had doctors, nurses, attorneys, nursing professors ALL as patients and they only wanted health care. I did graduate with honors in each program;however, I don't think I received a 100% on ANY test. To this day, I still ask my patients for pointers about their healthcare so I can teach others. The patients love it, I learns lots of easy healthy tricks and pass them along.

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Specializes in ICU, neuro ICU.

Of course people get 4.0's! It would be silly to assume that no one has ever done it... But I agree with the other commenters, you need to get your anxiety under control if you really feel that way about "perfection". In real world nursing (and even nursing school) you have to accept that you have done the best you could at a particular time and move on. Otherwise, you're going to hate yourself constantly. And that isn't good for anyone!

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