Quick question, need some advice

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Specializes in STICU; cross-trained in CCU, MICU, CVICU.

Hello everyone, new to the site however very excited about pursuing a career in nurse anesthesia. I have been working in a Surgical Trauma ICU for 4 years now. I have ACLS ( also ACLS instructor cert), PALS, ABLS, TNCC. I am sitting for the CCRN exam this August and also taking the GRE in September. I am currently at UNC Chapel Hill finishing up my BSN degree. So far I have a 3.89 GPA at Chapel Hill. I am going to apply for admission into 5 different schools for August 2010 however I have a small issue. My previous collegiate work was not stellar by any means. I obtained a BA in psych and my ADN. Both of which GPA's were less than a 3.0. However, as I said my current GPA includes 60 transfer credits and is a 3.89. So, do i apply for school with my BSN GPA or do I use my accumulative GPA over 3 different schools? I would appreciate ANY advice anybody can offer.

I

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Specializes in OR, ICU, CRNA.

Focker,

I am in the last qtr. of my first yr. in a good program.

You do not get to choose which GPA they will look at--they are going to look at everything and there is no hiding from any past academic transgressions--they are going to get every transcript and if they don't, you may not even make it to an interview. That being said, don't let that get you down, man! Fortunately, every school has its own formula and most don't care so much what you did as freshman with some different major etc. They tend to look mostly at what you have done over the last two years and how things have gone in sciences in particular. You can make yourself shine brighter with a good GRE score and good interviewing skills. Another good suggestion would be to take a graduate course or 2 with an "A" to show for it. The Xmas ornaments of CCRN, ACLS Instructor, blah blah all help too. Keep the faith and just do the best you can. Good luck!!!

B-dog

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Look carefully at the applications of the programs you are applying to. Several of the ones I applied to were mainly concerned about your gpa for you last 60 credit hours of coursework. Also, since your work experience, certifications, most recent grades, letters of recommendation, and GRE scores are (or will be) wonderful, it seems like your application would really demonstrate that you are ready for graduate level work.

On the few applications were the gpa was not really explicitly defined, I used my BSN gpa which was a lot better than my combined gpa with my previous psych major, or my gpa for the last 60 credit hours. Congratulations on the fabulous gpa you've got going on your BSN. Thats awesome!

Hope this helps a little.

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Specializes in Anesthesia.

I have run into the same issue. One school in particular, UNCC, requires all transcripts from post-secondary schools and they figure each grade individually into their own cummulative GPA. Now, I don't know if your past is as bad as mine, but my BSN GPA of 3.67 was no match for my previous work. My "UNCC GPA" wasn't even a 3.0. I have been taking classes to replace grades and think I've raised it above the 3.0 (but I also have CCRN cert now, so hopefully that will help). A lot of the schools I've researched require all post-secondary transcripts, but I don't know if they all look at it the same as UNCC. Good luck.

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Specializes in STICU; cross-trained in CCU, MICU, CVICU.

Hey all,

Thanks very much for the advice. At 32, it's amazing to see how far your younger years could haunt you!!! At any rate, most of the applications are due basically due by Oct 09 for Aug '10 admission. Have somewhat limited time on improving much more than i can already via my last semester at Carolina this fall. I'll definitely look into taking a graduate course somewhere if the deadlines haven't passed yet. Thanks again

Focker

Wilm nc

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