Hi nursing students! I don't want to take you away from your studies for too long but I was hoping you can answer some questions for me.
Are there any of you out there that were mostly "B" students that got into nursing school. If so, how long did it take? Were there other factors you think set you apart from other applicants?
To all students: What was your acceptance GPA? How many schools did you apply to? Anything special set you apart?
I had a 3.5 when accepted into nursing school, after my freshman year at a university. In the program I got accepted into (BSN, 1 of 3 I applied for, but my one of choice), GPA, ACT score, personal experience and essays were what they accepted upon. I had an average ACT score and no background in nursing (PCA job, volunteer work or anything like that), but I feel like I spent a lot of time focusing on my essays and tried to show how passionate I was about getting into nursing and what I would plan to do with my career. I feel like I answered them somewhat uniquely, and I think that helped. I did notice that people who had previous PCA jobs or volunteer in a hospital or such an environment were definitely favored, so if there's still time, I would work on that, if you know they would know you did such a thing.
Accepted with a 2.54 first try into a BSN program. I had some outstanding recommendations from previous instructors and the hospital was beginning me to continue with my current degree ( rad tech but i hated it so they put a good word in for me for nursing ) My GPA has gone no where but up since I got in. Pulled some of the best grades ever while in NS
Specializes in Family Practice, Emergency Nursing.
I am in NS right now in Pittsburgh, PA and I love it. I'm originally from Southern California and was placed on a wait list for 2 years. My grades and test scores were decent (87 on TEAS, "A" in Micro, "B" in Anatomy and Physiology). I was tired of waiting so I looked at my odds. Keep applying to get into schools in Cali or go away for a couple years and get in right away? My school is very competitive with getting in, and like all other NS, it's competitive after you get in.
I personally feel that grades are not what completes the package with Nursing students. It's much more than that (ie. compassion, communication, personality, etc.).
I got straight B's in most of the sciences and A's in math and English/Comp, Psych, etc. But B's in the classes they look at heavily. I got in on my first try. I also scored pretty high on the entrance exam, so I think that has a lot to do with it.
It's not all about your grades, so don't stress the B's.
I had a 3.4 GPA when accepted into my program. They required that you had passed all your pre-reqs with a C and a cumulative GPA of 2.0 to even be considered, but that was far from what was needed to get in. You were judged by your GPA, with an emphasis on your A&P and Chemistry courses. You also had to write an essay about why you wanted to attend nursing school and how it fit into your future plans. My university is big on churning out students who will go on to grad school, pass the NCLEX on the first try, etc, so they were looking at grades mostly, but also I think having a good essay about what you wanted to do with your life and why was a factor.
I agree with whoever said that ADN is easier to get into as far as requirements, but longer. I know friends who are waiting a long time to get into and then still taking awhile to get through nursing school at a community college. However, they got accepted earlier and put on a waiting list. At my school - if you're not accepted, you might be put on a limited waiting list, but it dissolves after the semester has started and you have to reapply the next semester.
I applied to nursing school straight out of high school, but I was definitely a B student! My GPA was only a 2.97...However, I still got into 8(?) out of the 11(?) schools that I applied to (was waitlisted at 1 and denied at 2).
Got into a highly competitive CC ADN program with a 2.8 GPA. I was waitlisted but was number 7 on the list. I had a bachelor's degree and all of my non-nursing pre-reqs done except for a a computer class and communications class. I also had extensive psych, nutrition, and science course work with many As in the more recent course work. They also count your SAT/ACT scores, and even though I took the SAT in 1997, I had an above average score which helped mitigate my low GPA.
Note that my GPA was low not due to having mostly B's though but because of a semester I failed entirely due to a meltdown and poor decision making early in my college career. After growing up and returning to school, I earned more A's than B's and worked my butt off to overcome that bad semester.
Depending on what the school's admission requirements are and what they are looking for, you can find a program that will let you in. In the meantime work on improving your grades and achieving a high score on the nursing admission test.
I had a 4.0 GPA. I applied to a competitive CC and a competitive BS program; I got accepted at both. My GPA got me in to the CC ( I could tell from their point structure), but there were plenty of other 4.0 students who didn't get in to the BS program. I believe it was my essay that got me in to the BS program (grades didn't hurt, but as plenty with my GPA who didn't get in, it was obviously not the primary criteria).
Neither school had us do an entrance exam, required CNA certification/experience, or required volunteer experience in health care (and I did none of these).
I get what Tyler is saying. I got accepted in a nursing program with 2, yes 2 C's on my record (C in A&P 2 and C+ in Chemistry). My GPA is near a 3.5. Some thought there was NO WAY I'll get in with 2 C's. Well, I will be starting my ABSN program in Jan. It was my first and only program I applied to.
I had this big discussion with other nursing students face-to-face, and they like Tyler said "book smarts" doesn't make you a better nurse. They have given me examples of nursing students in their programs that had a 4.0 going in but got dismissed from the program because they failed clinicals.
Then again, OP, to get into some of these NS, students seemed to have to shell out a nearly perfect GPA to be considered. I'm grateful my NS wasn't like that as some 4.0 students didn't get in.
I had this big discussion with other nursing students face-to-face, and they like Tyler said "book smarts" doesn't make you a better nurse. They have given me examples of nursing students in their programs that had a 4.0 going in but got dismissed from the program because they failed clinicals.
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Just to give the other side of the coin on this. You can't be a 4.0 nursing student in my program unless you excel in clinicals because clinicals are 55% of our grades (only the first of 9 terms are pass/fail for clinicals, the rest we get a grade in).
No, being books smart doesn't mean you will be a great nurse.....but it often seems that folks here are very close to saying that folks who are book smart aren't good nurses.
I think we need both books smarts and critical thinking skills (physical skills are just physical skills and will be learned through repetition....so, not really a factor). It won't matter to me how caring and compassionate someone is, if they don't understand the pathophys of my condition, or the pharmacology behind my meds.....how else will they know how to react when something unexpected happens without understanding these concepts?
No nursing is not all about books smarts....but I don't see how I could be a nurse without the knowledge I've learned from books.
i got in with 2 Cs also (a&p 1 and 2). i had a 3.2 or something and have about the same now. as long as i stay at 3.0 or higher, i'm a happy camper. i pass my classes, do great in clinical, get sleep, see my family, and have an occasional social night.
fearless89
3 Posts
I had a 3.5 when accepted into nursing school, after my freshman year at a university. In the program I got accepted into (BSN, 1 of 3 I applied for, but my one of choice), GPA, ACT score, personal experience and essays were what they accepted upon. I had an average ACT score and no background in nursing (PCA job, volunteer work or anything like that), but I feel like I spent a lot of time focusing on my essays and tried to show how passionate I was about getting into nursing and what I would plan to do with my career. I feel like I answered them somewhat uniquely, and I think that helped. I did notice that people who had previous PCA jobs or volunteer in a hospital or such an environment were definitely favored, so if there's still time, I would work on that, if you know they would know you did such a thing.