MME20

As others have said, your GPA from high school and your ACT won't matter to medical schools at all. They will look at your volunteer/shadow/research/work experiences, your recommendations, your MCAT score, your cumulative Bachelor degree GPA, and your science GPA. They are highly competitive and selective, but if you put in the work during your undergrad career, it's possible! Just remember that good grades are important, but networking and volunteer experiences are equally so. A good forum to check out would be the student doctor forum. They have a whole pre-med section. You can get your undergraduate degree in almost any field so long as you take all of the general requirements to be able to apply to med school (there are a lot). Community college would be an affordable way for you to take all of your prerequisites for your Bachelors and give you a way to build up your GPA before transferring to a four year university. Once you enroll in school again, there are pre-med advisors that can help you plan your education. Also, if you plan on enrolling in a community college first, you may not need to worry about taking the ACT at all. There are a lot of possible careers in the medical field, so if your heart isn't set on being a doctor and dedicating another 8-12 years to school, you can also talk to your advisor about other med career options. Best of luck in whatever you decide to do :)

I applied to some of the same schools as you (in Illinois) this cycle. Did you ever hear back from Elmhurst? The one thing I really liked about this program is the fact that they seemed to look at the applicant as a whole, not just GPA. From what I remember of Depaul, they will still consider you if you are enrolled in or plan to enroll in your remaining prerequisite class. They also have winter cohorts, so it may be worth registering for OChem and reapplying for this winter. Also, I would consider applying to the Rosalind campus because the Lincoln Park campus filled up much faster, so it might be a bit more competitive. It's possible to take more GPA boosting classes, but some schools look exclusively at the GPA of your undergraduate degree. If I were you, I'd probably focus on taking the prerequisite courses needed to apply to more programs. Also, I'd look into other programs and apply to as many as I could. I've heard Milkin has a good program that looks at the applicant holistically. In addition, your GRE scores are average (a little below in the quantitative), so that could be a relatively easy and inexpensive area to improve upon. From what I've heard, PA school is very competitive, so it may be more difficult to get it. You were waitlisted, which is still a good thing! I wouldn't give up just yet. Take more classes that will open more doors for you and apply to more programs. Also, getting more patient experience would be a good thing as well. You could take a CNA class or look at volunteer opportunities. I know there is a program in Illinois that looks for volunteers to sit with hospice patients. I'm new to this whole process myself, so take my advice with a grain of salt! Good luck! I hope you get in somewhere :)

To the OP, congratulations on your acceptance to your program!

I have no idea how competitive ADN programs are, but I do know a lot of programs have minimum cutoff cumulative GPA's of a 2.5 or higher. For prerequisite courses, many have cutoff GPA's of at least a 3.0. Is there any way that you can improve your GPA? Could you take a year worth of classes and shoot for straight A's? Also, is your GPA a 2.35 without the grades of your repeated classes? For a couple of the nursing programs I applied to, repeated courses were counted in your final GPA. Therefore, I'd be careful to check how they are calculating your GPA to make sure you meet the requirements for the program. On another note, schools like to see an upward trend in GPA, so if your last year or two in school show consistent/improved grades, it could help. If you have taken a class 3 times and are still not passing with a significantly improved grade, this will be a cause of concern on your application. I honestly think you shouldn't be shooting for less than an A on your third retake. Can you can get a chemistry tutor or join a study group? My undergraduate institution offered free tutoring services for students. Maybe your school has a similar program? What kind of volunteer experience are you getting? Do you have strong references you can use? Having strong experiences/references may be able to help offset some of your GPA deficiencies. I'm starting my program this summer, so I don't have any experience in nursing school yet. However, my step-mom and sister have both just completed BSN programs. Both were 4.0 students and they struggled to maintain their GPAs in nursing school. The coursework is fast paced and you won't get the option of 3 retakes. Therefore, I'd really use your remaining time in your school to improve your study habits and find what works for you! There are some great books with different study strategies that might help. Maybe run through some of these options with your advisor and see what he/she says. Good luck!

I actually didn't apply to many because I had to stay semi local due to my husband starting grad school this year. Anyways, I got into Depaul University, Elmhurst College, and Marquette University. I also had an interview at UIC that I canceled. I plan on attending Marquette University this May. I attended a large state university for undergrad, but OSU is much larger!! I was also a psych major and had large lecture classes, so I got involved in research on campus as a way to develop relationships with professors. As a result, my recommenders knew me well, so they could really write personalized letters. If you have time before you finish school, I'd really suggest trying to find a way to get to know a couple of professors a bit more. My husband was in a large anatomy class, so he made an effort to talk to his professor everyday and to visit office hours. As a result, he stood out and received a pretty strong letter. Could be worth a try as you finish up your prerequisites :) I really have no idea which is more competitive. For me, a MSN program made more sense and aligned more with my career goals, so I didn't research many accelerated BSN programs. Also, keep in mind that when they say something like "we receive an average of 200 applicants and admit a cohort of 50," it's likely that more than 50 had an offer of admission given that not everyone will accept the offer! So your chances could be higher than you think.

I actually had very similar stats as you! In my case, I think my experiences and recommenders were what really helped me. I didn't think I had a great chance of getting in, but I ended up getting into all of the direct entry programs I applied to and will start classes this summer. You can't do much about your gpa (which isn't horrible), but you can continue to try to build your experience, get great recommendation letters, and write an awesome personal statement while you wait for your application cycle. Good luck!!!

Gigi, maybe if we have a class president they can just take over the admin for the group lol. I hope you two get in! The first round of students had to let them know the 24th and I found out the morning of the 25th, so that was a really fast turn around. If they follow the same pattern, you guys should hear back around the 1st hopefully! I really hope you both get in!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1552436988352856/ I made a group! If anyone would like to be an admin, just let me know! I've never done this before, so let me know if you have any problems finding it

I may pick your brain later lol. I can make one really quickly and post a link

Congrats to you too! I'm so excited to meet everyone! Does anyone know if there is a fb page?

I hope you get good news! There is still another round of you don't get one today! They said we have to make our decision by March 31st

I got my acceptance email this morning! Anyone else??

I haven't checked my campus connect for awhile, but today the immunization tab was there! I applied for the Rosalind Campus.

Ya me too! I'm just curious what the next steps are. When do you plan on moving to Illinois? And I actually did my undergrad on the eastern side of the state, but I'm originally from the Seattle area.

Other than an email about my financial aid status I haven't received anything. How about you? I'm dying to know more because I really haven't been able to find much online. I did get a chance to visit the campus and I really like it. It's a LOT smaller than where I did my undergrad, but it's beautiful.

That will be a big move! I don't envy you . We are actually living about 35 miles north of Chicago, but are looking for a place this summer that will be more of a midway point for both of us. Are you planning on living in Elmhurst?

Hi Ann! I believe that Soni7 is planning on attending Rush! :) Where will you be moving from? I moved to the Chicago area this past August from Seattle for my husband to start a podiatry program

I'm just catching up on this thread and I'm glad to hear that he is willing to try to work out some time this month. However, there does seem to be some interesting dynamics with your husband shutting you out from his school life. I really think that creates a lot of disconnect and I'd be a little worried about why. My husband made an effort from the first day of classes to include me in get togethers with classmates and as the result, I've become friends with many of his female classmates and lab partners. Because I've had a chance to be included in his school life, I feel secure. When I start my program this fall, I plan on doing the same with him. A lot of things can be miscommunicated over the internet and we are all dissecting these comments, so we may not be understanding the situation. But that would be a red flag for me and a cause to be concerned. It's important for him to involve you and be able to talk to you about his day. I wish you all the best! It's definitely tough and it sounds like you have a LOT of responsibility on your shoulders.

My husband and I have been together for 8 years (married 1) and he just started a podiatry program this year. During the first couple of years of podiatry school, they take the same classes as an MD student, so they are very busy. As we tried to get into the groove of things, it did cause a lot of strain on our relationship. We are spending a LOT of money on his schooling, so his grades and clinical experiences are a priority, but we have had to find a balance with family. Therefore, we decided that I get a half an hour of uninterupted time with him everyday to just talk or take the dogs on a walk etc. My justification for this is that without me, he would be doing grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning on his own and that's easily a half an hour a day. No excuse! Plus, it's good for him to take a break too! We also try to have one evening a weekend were we spend quality time together (not watching tv!). When possible, we also try to exercise together on a similar schedule. I'm willing to be flexible with most of these things, but a half an hour a day is mandatory. And also, it's so easy when we are so busy to skip intimate/sweet moments like a kiss or a hug, so we try to make an effort to connect like this daily. I also have an office for my husband and when the door is shut, I leave him be. If he can't have the quiet/distraction free time that he needs, he would have to study on campus. I imagine being home with you and your kids could make it difficult to focus (especially since I'm sure he wants to spend time with you all as well), so it may be necessary for him to study somewhere distraction free to be successful in school. This is a difficult time for a lot of people, but it's not forever. I've realized that it's really not the quantity of time, but the quality (cheesy I know!). I also believe that your husband has a responsibility to make time for you and your kids, so IMO there is no excuse to not try to find some sort of balance or compromise like dinner at home.

My husband is studying podiatry at Rosalind Franklin. We just moved here in August and it's a very nice campus. It's about 35 miles north of Chicago and is a separate city from Chicago (kind of confusing). The campus is located right next to the naval base, so there are some great cheap living options. It's also definitely more of a suburban area and there are a lot of nice areas and nice apartments (Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, etc), but there are definitely areas you don't want to live (a lot of areas in Waukegan). Another plus is you don't have to pay for parking on campus!

I think Rush is one of the top ranked programs and located in Chicago. And hopefully you do get good news! I hope we all do! I think I need to limit the number of times a day I check my email because I'm driving myself crazy haha And that's awesome! I love the midwest so far (there are actual seasons! lol), but I really miss all the variety in Washington (real skiing, all the lakes, ocean, awesome hiking, etc).

Wow. That's really short notice. Also, waiting another month to hear back from the school sounds awful lol ... I've really got to work on this whole patience thing!

Another Washingtonian! :) Where did you do your undergrad? And I applied to direct entry programs at Elmhurst (accepted), UIC (waiting), Depaul (waiting), and Marquette (waiting). I hope you get good news from Marquette! It's such a stressful process and I really feel like the waiting is the worst part. Have you ever considered Depaul or Rush? If you don't get in this cycle, they both have winter cohorts too I believe. I figured it might be because of the switch to NursingCAS. Do you guys think they will wait two weeks between rounds of acceptance like they have in the past?

That's good to know at least! Thanks for sharing :) Did they say when we could expect to hear from them? That is stressful! Where would you be moving from? My husband and I moved from Seattle to Chicago for his program this past summer :)

I haven't heard anything yet... I hope I find out one way or the other this week. I'm surprised it has taken this long