Repeat course question

[shortm]

I have been taking general education and science courses for 3 years in hopes of getting into a nursing school. I took A&P and Biology twice, but still ended up with a C and C+ respectively. I know that in the competitive nursing world, a C is not acceptable. I am nervous now that no schools will accept me even if i get an A (my third time around). I was just wondering if anyone has any advice who maybe went through the same thing. I want to be a nurse, but I'm afraid I've blown my chances with these two grades. (My overall GPA is a 3.2, science GPA is a 2.6) I'm also aware that some school are not competitive-based, but those schools in Michigan all seem to have a 3+ year waiting list...and growing..

[SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP]

Check with your nursing program. Many of them will not allow you repeat more than once. So, if you withdrew or got below a C twice, you may be stuck with the grade you have. Not all schools are like that, but many are.

How does the C factor into your overall GPA? Some schools only count the GPA using the pre-requisites and some use a cummulative GPA. That might also be a factor. If your GPA is still high enough to be competitive, the C might not hurt you. If your GPA is on the low end of the scale, you might not be competitive enough for acceptance.

Some programs give points for other things (like CNA, phlebotomy, EMT, volunteer work, etc.) so you might be able to bolster your points that way, too.

However, with a science GPA of 2.6, that's not going to be very competitive. The program I want to get into clearly states that if your science GPA is below a 3.5, you won't be competitive enough to get accepted, even though the minimum requirement is 2.5. There's just so much competition to get in!

Good luck! I hope you can re-take and still use the re-take grade.