New here.. Wondering what y'all think

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Hey everyone, I've never posted here before so hopefully I don't mess up [:

I'm hoping to make it into the bsn nursing program at SF State (800+ applicants for 80 spots/year), and I'm just wondering if you think I should worry about a B- in one of my prerequisite courses.

just so you know what I'm up against: the admission process for this program is done by ranking students by the prereq gpa, then looking at other factors - overall gpa plus the optional criteria of foreign language and letters of recommendation confirming healthcare and/or cultural experience. they say recent students admitted have a prereq gpa of 3.7+, an overall gpa of 3.5-3.7+, and two or more of the optional supplemental criteria.

Of the 8 prerquisites, I've gotten 3 A's and still have 4 more to do, but I got a B- in Critical Thinking my first semester of school. Now, I'm thinking I probably shouldn't be worrying because that means my prerequisite gpa is exactly 3.7 right now... my all college gpa is 3.6... I'm also working on a Spanish minor.. and I plan on volunteering either at a hospital or a non-profit clinic. I could retake Critical Thinking for an A, but it'd be tedious and I'd hate to do it if it's unnecessary, and they also say retakes decrease the overall competitiveness (though that may just be if the first attempt was a failing grade?)

I guess if I just keep working hard and keep my grades up I should be fine (right?). but, this pretty much means everything in the world to me for now, and I dont exactly have a back up plan in mind if I dont make it. I don't plan on applying anywhere else. when I was taking Chemisty, my professor said she previously had a pre-nursing student who got a B+ in her class and retook it to get an A. this seems almost absurd to me and I know my grades are good.. basically I'm just worried that for every non-A I get, there's someone else who did get an A or retook the class to get an A. Or you know, 80 other people doing that. hah

sorry that was longer than I first intended. just being paranoid/wondering what you all think. mmk peaceout.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

Hi,

My school encouraged people to retake classes in hopes of getting their grades up and I think its a crock. Unless they could promise you that you would get in if you had an A in that class I don't think I'd do it just on the chance that it would help. 80 out of 800 aren't great odds (mine was 40 out of 400) so I would try for every A I could get from here on out and you could always meet with someone in the nursing program for their insight. Best of luck to you. Jules

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I'm hoping to make it into the bsn nursing program at SF State (800+ applicants for 80 spots/year), and I'm just wondering if you think I should worry about a B- in one of my prerequisite courses.

... they say recent students admitted have a prereq gpa of 3.7+, an overall gpa of 3.5-3.7+, and two or more of the optional supplemental criteria.

Of the 8 prerquisites, I've gotten 3 A's and still have 4 more to do, but I got a B- in Critical Thinking my first semester of school. My prerequisite gpa is exactly 3.7 right now... my all college gpa is 3.6... I'm also working on a Spanish minor.. and I plan on volunteering either at a hospital or a non-profit clinic. I could retake Critical Thinking for an A, but it'd be tedious and I'd hate to do it if it's unnecessary, and they also say retakes decrease the overall competitiveness (though that may just be if the first attempt was a failing grade?)

I guess if I just keep working hard and keep my grades up I should be fine (right?). but, this pretty much means everything in the world to me for now, and I dont exactly have a back up plan in mind if I dont make it. I don't plan on applying anywhere else..

Advice: Keep up on the other classes and get A's in those. Critical Thinking is not the major class that nursing schools look at; it's more likely the Anatomy and Physiology classes. I would strongly suggest applying to more than one school; the competition is really tough. It's far better to have a backup plan than to have to wait an entire year to reapply at the one school. I have seen many students who were really qualified (GPA, volunteer work, foreign language, etc.) who did not get in; nursing schools are really impacted. (Not enough instructors, clinical settings, # of slots!) Good luck!

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Specializes in Maternity, quality.

I agree with the others... keep plugging away and plan to knock your future pre-reqs out of the park. Concentrate on what you can do going forward to make yourself more competitive. If you earned substantially lower than a B- I might advise you to retake it, but I wouldn't worry about it now.

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thanks for your comments, i appreciate them [:

I honestly dont see myself having any problems getting A's in the rest of the prereqs so I'm not too worried about that part.. in fact I only even got a B- in that class because I completely blew off the final paper that was 20% of my grade due to my inability to cope with the suicide of someone very close to me. but, last time i checked there's no space on the application for excuses hah. one of my roommates always likes to say "excuses are like a**holes. everyone's got one." :p

as far as applying to other schools, after some thought I definitely am going to apply to a joint program with sfsu that offers an additional 40 spots. I'm going to look into other programs nearby as well, I just feel a little stupid for not thinking this through earlier because there's not much time left to take additional prerequisites for other schools if the requirements are different. how much do the prerequisites vary between programs?

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Specializes in CNA, RN Student.

I wouldn't let it bother you so much. I agree with the other posters though start applying at other schools. I know for a fact that you are fortunate living in the bay area where there are plenty of options for you. You might want to consider an ADN first and then apply to the university to get your BSN. I know that it sucks to have to think of other options when your heart is set on a particular school but you don't have to rule it out completely. My worry is that with 800+ applicants and 80 spots more than likely there will be 80 students who did get all A's--at least that's how it is in my neck of the woods. Just keep your head up, explore other options and find out what exactly the selection criteria is based on so that you have a better understanding as to where you stand based on the competition.

Good luck!

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You might want to consider an ADN first and then apply to the university to get your BSN.

Good luck!

the thing about this option is that I'm already a second year student at sf state, so.. I may be wrong.. but it seems like it would almost be more work and more $$ to go the ADN route at this point than to even wait out another year at the uni if I don't make it into a program on my first try. I also would hate to give up my Spanish minor that I'm working on, but becoming a nurse is more important to me than that so I will look further into that option. thank you [:

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