Pre-Nursing student STRESSING PLEASE HELP

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I am currently an undergraduate, this summer I will have completed all of my Prerequisites to apply for Nursing School. My current struggles consist of the following : My poor GPA of 2.38, The fact that this is my fourth year of school and I am just now completing the prerequisites, I have failed Chemistry 3 times and I am taking it a fourth time this summer. And so many people and Advisers have told me to "give up" and change my major to Health Sciences or Biology Education Major. I am having an extremely difficult time taking that advice because, I know I can become a Nurse and I am not willing to give up! I have looked at ADN as an option and I have all of the classes to apply for it now. As a short term goal I would like to go from ADN to BSN and long term goal is to get into and Anesthetics program. If there is any hope for me that you know of please let me know. I'm freaking out over this because I know that Nursing is very competitive and my GPA is no where near competition ready. But the main focus for me is finding a way to do what I love and that is Nursing. I need realistic views and answers! Thank you all in advance

I met a man who took college algebra five times before he passed. But he was not attempting to get into nursing school. You should have already latched onto a private tutor. Strongly suggest that you look into an LPN program and the LPN to RN route while you rework your approach to chemistry. Your chances at nursing school grow slimmer with each failure of this class. Time to get it or move in a different direction.

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Specializes in Psych.

I am currently taking chemistry and if I wasn't meeting with a tutor one on one two to three times a week I wouldn't be passing. If you need to take chemistry by itself or with one other non science/non math related class do that. Chemistry needs a lot of dedication. It's a tough course. Without tutors and YouTube I'd be lost and failing. Don't give up but make some major changes. Tutor tutor tutor!!!!

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Specializes in OR.

Fast forward 3 years and the title to this thread could be: "Failed NCLEX 3 times"

Sometimes its not meant to be, and decreasing the standard isn't the solution either. Just because its your desire to be a nurse doesn't mean that can be the reality.

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Specializes in Critical Care/Vascular Access.

I think I'm on board with the negative sounding people (although I don't intend it to be negative at all) when I say you should at least start to consider other directions.

You wanted an honest opinion so here is mine: we can not all be anything we want to be even if we try hard enough. It's a nice thought but it's just not true. I'm not saying to just give up every time things get hard, just encouraging you to be realistic about your capabilities.

Now, having said that, let me back step just a little and say if you're considering giving it another shot, then at least be sure that there are methods you have not tried, tutors you have not used, steps you have not taken, before you try again. Maybe even consider taking the course from a different teacher or through a different school, not to get an easier one but maybe one you understand better. DO NOT go back and spend all that money and time just to do it the way you've been doing it. It's obviously not working.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
I met a man who took college algebra five times before he passed. But he was not attempting to get into nursing school. You should have already latched onto a private tutor. Strongly suggest that you look into an LPN program and the LPN to RN route while you rework your approach to chemistry. Your chances at nursing school grow slimmer with each failure of this class. Time to get it or move in a different direction.

This.

I will re-state what another poster has stated; one needs to have a really firm grasp of the science pre-req's prior to getting into nursing school.

PN school MAY be an option, however, it will also be a challenge to learn nursing in a very intense and packed way...you may need to rework your study and test taking habits before you decide to continue down the nursing path.

Best wishes.

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Be aware that there was an entrance exam for the PN program my daughter attended. She took algebra and chemistry in high school, so met that requirement. Not likely that you will avoid chemistry if you decide to try the LPN route.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Are you at a large university where there are literally hundreds of students in a lecture hall. If that is the case I would consider taking the class over at a small nonprofit college where there is more individualized attention. Also you need to do the homework and probably would benefit from supplemental textbooks like a solutions manual. Chemistry is a lot of memorization and math.

Depending on the school they may simply average all your attempts together vs taking the new hopefully better grade. Also there may be a limit on high many times you can take a class over. I think even if you succeeded it would make it harder for you to be accepted into a nursing program.

If you don't know what you are doing wrong, where your weaknesses are I wouldn't spend the money and would go in another direction for a future job/career. There are plenty of other jobs out there besides nursing.

Good luck with whatever you do.

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I really suggest that you reevaluate what you really want to do for your career. Failing 3 times is unacceptable. I knew one person who wanted to be a nurse, she failed human physiology/anatomy twice and decided nursing wasnt for her. You need to realize that failing these classes will show that you are not a good student, or worker, because it brings your entire GPA down. I don't know what else is going on in your life, but continuing like this is holding you back. I had to upper division science classes and they were hard, I would study 4+ hours per day for those classes. In competitive BSN programs, admitted students have GPAs 3.5-4.0, faaar above the minimum requires.

To be honest, I don't think it is an issue of failing the class 3 times and saying it isnt your strong subject. After failing once and not getting an A, its a really shows how little you value your education. Like the others, get a tutor if you have educational difficulties which need professional help.

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Find a program that doesn't make you take chemistry. None of the schools in my area require you to take that. Look around. Get in summer school and take some easy courses to bump up your GPA.

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While I am no chemistry master and don't use it in my daily nursing practice it does help determine how well you will do in other classes that ARE pertinent to daily nursing practice. I would tell you nursing isn't for everyone but no one ever wants to hear that.

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Also, make sure your true weakness isn't math. That was actually my problem. When I straightened out my math issues the chem flowed nicely.

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I guess I can't really say much since I am still taking my GE and prereqs. however, DON'T GIVE UP. I believe that there's a solution to every problem. I also am a believer that you can do anything you put your mind to. My only question is, after the first failed chemistry class, what didn't you improve as far as study habits? Maybe you weren't trying hard enough, or if you were, you've got to try harder! If this were truly a dream of yours, I think you could've been more diligent. Aside from that, I say you keep going. The failure is in quitting.Take initiative and find out what you can do! Talk to college counselors, instructors, etc. I know this may be entirely different, but I have a friend who got into Cal Poly for Civil Engineering with a 2.0 GPA. They accepted him, because they saw PROGRESS. I know it may be entirely different, but it's just food for thought. NEVER GIVE UP. YOU CAN GET YOURSELF OUT OF THIS MESS ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. Don't listen to the nay-sayers, follow your dream, even if all odds seem against you.

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