Plan B?

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Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.

Ok, so I got my Chemistry test back. It is worth 100/600 of my grade. The average was a 69, and I bombed. I got a 78/100. My labs have been an average of a 9.5/10, and out of a total 130 pts that we have, I only have a 106.4 (an 81%). He does NOT scale the grades.

This is worrisome to me because Chemistry is a prerequisite for Nursing. Luckily, I am taking this at a community college, and I am enrolled at a 4 year school where I have the choice to transfer these credits or not.

So should I drop out of the Chemistry course, and take it at my university? Also, I am extremely worried about not getting into my nursing school, and I need a plan b in terms of career choices. What should my plan B be? I am thinking about becoming an English/foreign language teacher, but they are not in very high demand.

What would you do if you were in this situation?

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Well, if your class isn't over yet, then you still; have the balance of the summer to pull up your grade to a B or B+, I'm not sure how it works with your school, but at my school any transfered credits dont count towards your GPA, only count towards completion of the class, so it would be on record you took chem, but the grade is just pass or fail. Personally, I think by giving yourself a plan B you're setting yoursel up for failure, and in a way telling yourself, you can't do this. If you want to be a nurse, apply yourself and dont even consider another option, just give 100% and see what happens.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Postpartum.

Some things I completely disagree with the above poster. Having a plan B doesn't mean you're setting yourself up for failure. NS doesn't take everyone that applies. Someone has to receive either the "waitlist" letters or the "decline" ones. You still want to be hopeful and there are people who have not gotten accepted in NS even with a 4.0 GPA.

I say all that because you must still believe in yourself. Continue with the class and do well in the others. If you take Chem at the University, doesn't necessarily equate to it being easier. It'll just cost you more. Yes, depending on the school, you transferring a class will not transfer the grade you got in it, only that you've completed it.

If I don't get accepted into NS, my plan B is to work and retake any classes that I think will help and reapply to NS. I wouldn't give up on nursing.

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You can always retake that class and one B is not bad just make sure the rest of your grades are okay. Some advice, if you want a plan B do not choose foreign language or English Teacher. My aunt and mom are teachers and they have both been laid off its happening in lots of parts of the U.S so I really really would not recommend it.

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Specializes in ICU / PCU / Telemetry / Oncology.

You're looking to give up nursing based on ONE bad test grade in a class in which you have not received a final grade yet and have the potential to get a good grade (even a B) if you really apply yourself going forward? Think about what you're planning to do. Not everyone needs a 4.0 to get into nursing school. One B grade among other A's is nothing to sweat over. Do what you have to in order to bang this course out with your best work.

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Specializes in ICU.

Friend, only 130/600 points are even scored yet. You have *tons* of time to get your average up. Why don't you give it some more time? Keep an eye on the last date to withdraw, and really see if you get get your grade higher.

Is this Chem I? There are lots of resources to help with basic chem - try YouTube or a "Chem for Dummies" book or googling the topics to see what's out there. Maybe a study group or a tutor could help. Check out your resources.

You also might want to spend some time evaluating how you study. Some courses just require a different approach.

Good Luck!

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Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.
You're looking to give up nursing based on ONE bad test grade in a class in which you have not received a final grade yet and have the potential to get a good grade (even a B) if you really apply yourself going forward? Think about what you're planning to do. Not everyone needs a 4.0 to get into nursing school. One B grade among other A's is nothing to sweat over. Do what you have to in order to bang this course out with your best work.

The competitive GPA at my school is a 3.655 in terms of prerequisites (English, Human Anatomy, Biology, Gen Chem I and II, and Psychology and Sociology). I only have completely English (AP cred) and Sociology (A). I used a GPA calculator, and I can only get 2 Bs to be considered competitive...and that scares me.

I need some other careers...something! Because school is expensive, and not having a plan is a bad idea.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.
You can always retake that class and one B is not bad just make sure the rest of your grades are okay. Some advice, if you want a plan B do not choose foreign language or English Teacher. My aunt and mom are teachers and they have both been laid off its happening in lots of parts of the U.S so I really really would not recommend it.

So what are some other careers that are not heavily science or math oriented that I should consider?

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Specializes in NICU.

I'd visit a career counselor at your school for information about other good careers for you to look into, should nursing not work out. I know that I personally could not tell a person that I have never met which major would be good for them.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Postpartum.

OP, you seem to be asking questions about careers/majors that a college counselor should be advising you on. Seriously follow Bobbkat's advise on that please.

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Specializes in ICU / PCU / Telemetry / Oncology.
The competitive GPA at my school is a 3.655 in terms of prerequisites (English, Human Anatomy, Biology, Gen Chem I and II, and Psychology and Sociology). I only have completely English (AP cred) and Sociology (A). I used a GPA calculator, and I can only get 2 Bs to be considered competitive...and that scares me.

I need some other careers...something! Because school is expensive, and not having a plan is a bad idea.

I agree with you: not having a plan IS a bad idea. But planning to switch to another career is not your only option. You can also plan to make every effort to get A's in the rest of your coursework. If nursing is really something you want, you're not going to give up that easily, especially this early in the game considering you're off to a great start with one A and AP credit in Eng. I know competition for nursing school is higher than ever right now and high GPAs are even more important than ever these days, but try to focus on doing whatever you can academically (except for cheating, which is not fair to anyone) to get the highest grade.

Not saying you need to stick it out, because only you can decide if nursing is what you really want. The prior poster has suggested a career counselor, which is a good idea. I also discussed computerized career inventory tests in another thread, which is how I discovered that nursing was my strongest career direction based on the results.

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Since you are already doing the nursing pre-reqs might as look at dental hygiene and radiology tech programs b/c they have similar pre-req courses.

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