Post-Masters Nurse Practitioner

[HeartRN90, MSN, RN]

Hi,

I have my MSN in Leadership and have decided to go back to school for my AGAC-NP. My undergrad GPA is 3.11 for various reasons (working 3 jobs through nursing school, going to WGU for my BSN/MSN, etc). Professionally I'm a competitive applicant (I've been a nurse for 8 years, with certifications, charge nurse and preceptor experience, etc.) but scholastically I'm not. I have applied to 2 local schools, Georgetown, Vanderbilt, and Duke - denials from all except 1 of which I'm on the waitlist. 

Can you all provide me with other reputable schools? I'm open to hybrid. Or would it be easier to find a reputable school for FNP and then obtaining my AGAC-NP after? Any advice would be really appreciated. Thank you. 

[pro-student]

Many school have a minimum GPA of 3.0 but (officially or unofficially) expect a GPA of at least 3.5 if you have a master's degree or higher. Regardless of your other qualifications, your application might get rejected simply because your GPA is low. You also choose three quite competitive programs. Schools that have non-traditional academic models like WGU might be considered less rigorous and, combined with a low GPA, doesn't make you look like a strong applicant to these programs despite your other qualifications. 

You have basically 2 choices: you could try to improve you GPA or you could apply for less competitive programs. Since you probably have lots of credits, it won't be that easy to improve you GPA so your best bet would be to be a realistic about the schools you apply to. If you have your heart set on a particular program, you could try taking a few classes as a non-matriculated student which might show the admissions committee that you are up to the rigor of grad school.