Private or State school?

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

Published

I am currently taking my last science courses (A&P, micro) at a community college and am starting to look into nursing programs that I can possibly get into. With that being said, I come from very low grades. All my GED is C's with occasional B's. Because of this my GPA stands at at least a 2.4, which is not competitive when applying for programs. Due to my low GPA I decided to take my science courses one at time so I can really focus on the class. My school does A&P in two parts so I am in part 1 as of right now and take part 2 next term if I pass. My grade in that class currently stands at a low B and probably will turn into a C (with my luck). My counselor keeps telling me to change my career or to try a private school, but I am just afraid that since I'm mainly C student, if private school will even be worth all that money because knowing me I have a high chance of having to retake a class, which will be SUPER costly. If I do look into a state school I will just have to consume more time and classes and my community college to try and regain a better GPA, which also sucks because I've been at my CC for 3 years now and I just feel like I am behind or something. Even though I'm 21 (recently) with big goals. I guess what I'm looking for is some encouragement and someone to tell me if its possible I can make it? As well as which school would be a better option for me? Thank you.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Honestly, if you are struggling that much with your generals, and using all your resources (tutoring, office hours, study groups, etc.), nursing probably isn’t in the cards. At least not now. It’s highly unlikely you even meet the minimum requirements to be considered for admission at state or private schools.

It might be time to look into alternatives. I wish I could be more supportive.

4
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency Department.
6 hours ago, miss_mia said:

My grade in that class currently stands at a low B and probably will turn into a C (with my luck).

I'm not going to go into your grades and your GPA because I am in UK and we do things differently but I will address the quoted sentence. (My bold)

I am not attacking you but you seem to have given up before you have even started. It has nothing to do with luck it is entirely down to your learning and understanding.

Instead of spending money on a private school (which you may not get into anyway), why not spend the money on a personal tutor who can teach you on the stuff you need and also point out where you are going wrong.

1
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU/community health/school nursing.

I am giving you the same advice I gave RJ Junior. The private school may offer you more scholarships but at the end of the day the tuition's higher. She ended up at the state school that will cost her 1/3 of the lovely private liberal arts school where they offered her a scholarship that amounted to 1/4 of the total tuition. Never, ever go into substantial debt for a private label.

I might also suggest that instead of pushing on at this point that you get a CNA, patient care tech, or MA certification (whichever will get you a job in a hospital). Then you can work for a minute and see if this is really where you want to invest your time and effort. You're 21. You're doing fine. There's no rush. And the odds are that in five years you'll be doing something else, and in 20 you may have a whole different career.

2
Up Vote Up Vote ×

Another option is to go LVN then LVN-RN route - I didn't have the best grades and easily got into an LVN program thru a community college - took me a year longer than planned to become a RN but I did it.

Don't be so hard on yourself and don't give up! My pre-req grades were not that great but I pretty much made straight A's thru out the LVN program and A's & B's in the LVN-RN program.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in school nurse.

If a private school will accept you for nursing with a low GPA, they're probably just looking for your $$$.

Take your time at the state school and work on bring your GPA up with the pre-reqs. If that doesn't work, remember that nursing courses would be much more difficult...

Up Vote Up Vote ×

People often insinuate that LVN school is "easier." LVN school crams a whole lot of information into a small amount of time. If pre-reqs are this hard for you, I would not assume that LVN school would be any easier, no matter what someone else's experience might be.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
53 minutes ago, Horseshoe said:

People often insinuate that LVN school is "easier." LVN school crams a whole lot of information into a small amount of time. If pre-reqs are this hard for you, I would not assume that LVN school would be any easier, no matter what someone else's experience might be.

I didn't mean to insinuate it was easier - there were some hard days. It was like all of a sudden all the pre-req A&P info just "clicked" for me. The other part was that I could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel as far as getting thru school and earning some money, I was way more motivated with school once I was in the LVN program and the LVN-RN program.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

You're only 21 - you're not behind at all! But to be honest, if your grades are not good enough to get into CC RN program or state schools, I would not recommend private RN school. You will be in debt forever & I am skeptical about the ability to get hired even if you were able to complete a private RN program and pass board exams. This may be different in different regions of the country, but RNs from private schools have a more difficult time getting hospital jobs compared to state or CC grads in my area.

As long as you have consulted with a college counselor that is very familiar with your local RN programs and discussed the likelihood of you getting accepted, I would follow their advice & probably change majors.

Best of luck! There are a lot of other health care careers to explore.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).

When applying to nursing programs, they are most concerned with your nursing prereq GPA. If that is decent, then don't worry about your GED. If you do get a C in A&P, take it over. In general, you need to have at least a 3.0 GPA on your nursing prereqs. It should not be expensive to retake classes at a community college if you are a state resident. In California, CC is free for low-income residents.

There are other things you can do to improve your chances at getting into nursing school.

1. Get the CNA training and work as a CNA for awhile. That is directly relevant experience that will look good on your nursing school application.

2. Volunteer activities relevant to nursing/healthcare

3. If you are a minority and/or come from a disadvantaged background, that will be a factor in your favor

As for private vs public, very few people pay full price for a private college. Private colleges often have better financial aid. So, you can apply and see what kind of aid package you get. Sometimes, private college is cheaper than public college when aid is factored in!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Let me start off by being clear that I am not a nurse nor lpn. I am just a student. I have similar issues as you my advice is do not give up. Keep pushing yourself. When I first started college I did terrible in math had the lowest score. I was required to take 2 remedial classes and intermediate befor the prerequisite class one of which I failed (basic Algebra) the first time. I Went from Fs to As in math. Don't be hard on yourself. Believe you can do this. Take advantage of every resource you can. Khan academy helped me a lot. If your school allows you to take the class over.

As for public/State vs Private I would be careful with private. I checked one out last year. Besides craming in a lot they did not set up clinicals for you. The student was responsible for that. Also it was astronmically expensive. Full cost for an associate program was $40,000.

P.S another thing that helped me was making a schedule.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment