pre reqs

[Marysan767]

so I am a pre nursing student just starting out. I go to a community college and hope to eventually transfer in a year with hopes to get into a nursing school. I am just now in the process starting out my science courses. The problem is I got a D in english and sociology, i dont know how. I called university of maryland college park nursing and they advised me to get very good grades in all my other courses and if i did , then those D's wouldn't be as big of a deal. do you guys think i should retake sociology and english, one or the other ?,

my second question is that do you think i should pick up volunteer hours in the ER at the hospital next to my school. Would that boost my chances ?

[LacyJanae]

Hello Marysan767,

I just read your post, as well as several other comments. I am currently finishing one last pre-req prior to the nursing program and literally just went to a mandatory healthcare information session at my college yesterday, that is designed to tell us exactly what we need to do to prepare for it. Your grades matter big time. My advice is for you to talk to the healthcare advisor (if your school is offering the nursing program like mine does) or to go to your school of interest and ask them. The choices that you make now will definitely affect your eligibility. In addition, please pace yourself, if you want to go full time and get as many credits in one semester that you can. Try not to take the courses that have labs (AP 1, AP 2, Microbiology) together. First, they usually have to been taken in succession (example: Biology leads to AP1 then AP2 then Microbiology) because one builds on the other and so on and they are generally tough classes that require a lot of your attention.

As for the grades in these classes, you can pass with a C but it is highly recommended that you shoot for an A or B. My school takes the three science classes and weighs them more heavily for admittance but our overall GPA has to be at least a 3.0 cumulative (all pre-reqs and science classes). Also, the nursing program itself grades differently in my school. A grade of C is usually 70 - 79% but in nursing school, a grade of C is a 78% (almost a B) and you cannot pass the program below a C. It's tough, so in making these crucial decisions correctly now, you will not only get into the program, but it will set you up for future success. Of course all of this depends on what your school requires and I would start by asking them. Sure, hope this helps.

[HotChicken]

Volunteering might help your entrance score a little, but not nearly as much as retaking those courses. If you plan on going to a nursing school that is not-for-profit you will be going up against students who aced their general ed classes and space is limited. So, no, it might not be a big deal to the school (although I'm shocked they'd let anything in under a C, even for pre-reqs), but your chances of even getting into a SON have decreased exponentially.

Also, things like "I didn't know when the exam was" won't fly in nursing school, so that needs to be addressed, like, yesterday.