CLD85

Thank you again for your input and advice. I am going to look into CNA for experience and think I'll be able to keep up with my pre-reqs and CNA once I switch to the community college next semester. Finals are fast approaching so I am going to log off and lock myself up in the library for the next 15 days! Hope you have a wonderful holiday season and I will keep coming back to the forum throughout my little journey!

Thank you both very much for your advice. Yes, I am on Long Island now. I spoke with the Dean of the community college I will be attending next semester and he helped me choose courses that he knew Stony Brook would accept. I then followed up with the Nursing School at Stony Brook to make sure that the courses suggested were acceptable and they were. I would have to do the same for any other school/program I apply too but since the community college I will be attending is a SUNY school, I was told by both Stony Brook and SCCC that most of their courses are transferable since they are basic. (A&P I and II, stats, Bio, developmental psych..etc.). I would prefer to apply to an ABSN program so I will continue to do my research on the best school for me and work hard to pull my grades up. I am so afraid that this past semester at SBU is really going to mess up my pre-req GPA and ruin my chances of getting in to any Nursing program. I am trying my hardest to avoid being discouraged but I am extremely worried about my low GPA. I have never studied so much with such little progress and never been to a school where the class average was below a failing score! I guess thats just the nature of the school and i just need to work as hard as I can. Unfortunately, I am unable to relocate at this time and will have to apply to NY/NJ schools within a commutable distance from my home. Would you recommend getting some type of experience before applying? The only job I've ever held in a hospital was in medical records and that was some years ago. Someone had told me that it may be beneficial to look into becoming a CNA and taking a 6-12 week course to do so. When you applied to you ABSN program, did they look at your undergrad GPA and your pre-req GPA separately or combine them together. Stony Brook told me they are going to look at my science GPA and then overall GPA. Both the science and overall GPA must be at least a 2.8 although most applicants who apply have over that. Thanks again for the advice! I really REALLY appreciate it.

Hi, I am a post-bacc student at Stony Brook University in NY finishing the pre-reqs needed to apply to a Nursing program. I got my bachelor's degree in Legal Studies and Business Administration from St. John's University back in 2007. I worked for a few years in training and development at a large NYC law firm and never felt fulfilled. I love people. I love working with people, helping people and I had always thought about going into nursing. However, in college, I was afraid to change my major, afraid to spend more money in school, more recently afraid to quit my job, leave my apartment, etc. This past year, I finally had the courage to fulfill my dream. I left my job, moved out of NYC and enrolled at SBU to take the classes to fulfill the requirements for nursing school. This is where I need advice. I have no idea what to do next! I graduated with a mere 2.98 GPA from St. John's. I worked 3 jobs to pay for school while attending full time and was involved in alot of extra curricular activities (student organizations, clubs, volunteer work, etc.) which definitely affected my GPA. The courses I am taking now are HARD (they are designed to cut and weed out students who want to go to med school) and I am struggling so I am afraid my pre-req and bachelor's GPA won't be good enough to be accepted into a nursing program. I am leaving SBU to take the remaining pre-reqs at a local community college to cut costs and boost my pre-req GPA. I initially planned on enrolling in an accelerated BSN program but have become discouraged after reading the threads and seeing all these people with high GPA's with experience that are being rejected due to the competitive nature of the field. I am a hard worker and am determined to get into a program. I was wondering if it would be best to pursue an accelerated BSN or even a 2 year BSN at a university or go for my ADN and possibly bridge to BSN once I have a job and an income. I gave up so much when I made this decision to pursue my dream and would hate to be rejected from these programs, waste all this time and money and not be able to fulfill my dream. Any advice you can give to me would be greatly appreciated. My heart and stomach are in knots over this.