med-stallion

Miewn, I started out as a different major but am now doing Nursing. At first, I hung out with my friends, partied, and did just everything but the work I needed to do in order to get through school. I am very intelligent, but I ended up with a 1.something upon entrance into my nursing pre-reqs. I noticed my friends were all doing well and nearing graduation while I wasn't. So I decided to "turn over a new leaf." I ended up taking 10 hours the first semester, 9 hours in the summer, and 21 hours the next semester. I made nearly straight "A's" and managed to pull my gpa up to barely a 2.0 which is the minimum required for my program. I don't know about your program, but my program looks at overall gpa, pre-req gpa, science gpa, as well as the NLN entrance exam score (overall gpa carries lowest weight out of the four). With excellent performance in all categories (except overall gpa) and much prayer, I got in on my first try. I start my second semester of clinicals on Friday. You can do this.

Well I am starting clinicals this Spring and am not sure how many classes that would be as they do our schedules for us. However, this past Fall I was enrolled in 21 hours as well as a CNA program at another institution. It was crazy! If I had advice, I would say study early and study always. Read the book! Read the chapters the lessons are coming from and take notes on them, then study from your notes. Here is what I do: let's say I have just taken a test. That same day I look to see what chapter(s) the next test is coming from. I then count the number of pages I will have to read. I then count the number of days I have until 2 days before the test. I then divide the number of pages by the number of days and read that many each day while taking notes on it. The last two days, I only study my notes from the chapters. This method seems to work because I make an A on all of my tests. You may have to tailor this to different classes. For example, last semester I took an upper level Microbiology. It was a lot of information and I had to read so that I had 3 days instead of 2 to study my notes from the chapters.

I see. Thanks PMFB-RN and elkpark

I can tell you with almost sure certainty that it is much better to re-take a class that you did not do well in (i.e., a C-). Administrators will like if you, for example, later received an A because that would mean that you understood the information much better than you did the first time. Of course, having an excellent grade the first time is choice. Plus, making a better grade will most likely raise your GPA (check their policy). It doesn't matter what school you attend, just as long as the school allows you to re-take a class if you desire. Failing a course is never appealing at any school.

Yes, I made a mistake by saying that one who doesn't have a BS will either have to first obtain one or they will obtain it whilst in the MSN program. You are right, that isn't necessarily true. However, I said in another post that you at least have to complete some coursework from a BSN-like curriculum. I have yet to see a program that says otherwise. You mentioned the DNP being not true for 2015. However the AACN says differently: On October 25, 2004, the members of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) endorsed the Position Statement on the Practice Doctorate in Nursing. AACN member institutions voted to move the current level of preparation necessary for advanced nursing practice from the master's degree to the doctorate level by the year 2015. Here is the link to the page: American Association of Colleges of Nursing | Frequently Asked QuestionsI am unsure of where you are receiving your information. Please explain your reasoning in more detail and/or provide a link to where your information is coming from (if you don't mind). Thanks.

Really? Are you sure? Wow. I wasn't aware that you could skip degrees like that. That is new to me. I was pretty sure that at the least, you would have to do coursework from the BSN that is integrated into the MSN program. For every program that I have looked at that awards an MSN without a previous BSN, one is required to do some kind of extra work. Please list programs you all know of that allows one to acquire an MSN without doing any coursework of a BSN. Thanks!

My apologies. I guess I missed that part. I am new here. What is "OP?" haha

Good luck! I'm sure you'll be fine. A 3.2 isn't bad.

Hello, Well 1st, you can't obtain a Master's degree without first obtaining a Bachelor's degree. You would either have to first obtain a bachelor's degree, or enroll into a Master's program that confers a BS along the way by including coursework from a BS into the Master's program. Though you do have a bachelor's in another field so that might be a different situation. That may cover you, but I'm not sure. If it were me, I am the kind of person to go all the way to the top. Therefore, I would do the accelerated Master's program, and then go through the DNP program. The only reason I would support getting a BS first is that it is faster and having a BS allows you more opportunity for promotion and management positions. However, perhaps it is the same time-frame doing an accelerated MS program since you get the BS along the way. I don't know. I am not that familiar with the accelerated MS. It may be irrelevant anyway. I say that because if you are wanting to be a nurse practitioner, you will be required to obtain a DNP starting in 2015.

Hey P1753, I will answer based on my own experience with the Nursing Department here: they do look at your overall GPA, however it is not the only thing they look at. The nursing department here looks at several things: overall GPA, prerequisite GPA, prerequisite science GPA, and finally the score you make on your NLN exam. Now although they look at your overall GPA, it has the least weight. What I mean is that there is a weight on all the categories with the most weight, for nursing here, being on the NLN score. They understand that overall GPA for most people will not be outstanding because many of us, like me, wasn't focused in our beginning years and many of us, again like me lol, just hung out with friends and partied. Therefore, that has the least weight. Prerequisite GPA is self-explanatory. Science pre-req GPA means the GPA just from the sciences required to be taken before going into clinicals. Hope this helps! Also, congrats on your previous invitation to law school. It is unfortunate that you weren't able to go. However, nursing is a great profession too.