Retaking Classes With Bad Grades

Kimberley.RN · Nov 6, 2008

I'm not in a nursing program, only prereqs, but I think it depends on the school you're applying to. Each one has different criteria. Some look more at your prereq grades, some at your overall GPA. Depending on when you took the courses you could apply for academic forgiveness. I'm not entirely sure how that works, but I've heard other posters talk about it. The best thing to do is figure out what school you'd like to go to and talk with a counselor. Good luck!

TeeRN2Be · Nov 6, 2008

Ditto what the pp said. It really depends on the school. Some look at your overall GPA even though some of those courses are not required for their program and some only look at their required pre-reqs. Re-taking those courses could bring up your GPA so I would encourage you to re-take them. I was in the same boat, I had C's in some classes and re-took them to hopefully get an "A". I got "A"s in both :lol2: :lol2: Good luck to you!

nika1980 · Nov 7, 2008

I had a few bad grades that I made up as well. One of the nursing schools that I applied to told me to write a separate brief essay explaining what was going on in my life at that time that caused me to get those bad grades.

smellyacres, BSN, RN · Nov 8, 2008

Well.. there is a trick, if this is the case for you. Are you going to a different school than when you got those bad grades?

Most colleges in so cal only look at the prereqs for their program:

Ususally they are:

English

Stats

Critical Thinking

Speech

Chemistry

Anatomy

Physiology

Microbiology

Psychology

Sociology

maybe some others depending on the school

if its a specific CSU let me know and i can tell you more, I've looked this up a lot.

If you have all of your prerequisites done at your current school, then when you apply to nursing school, only send the transcripts from your current school. Don't send them the transcripts from the last school, unless there are prerequisites done at that school. This way, they will only go off of what you have taken at that school (only the good grades) and they won't be able to tell.

This only works for a few cases, but its worth a shot

justme1972 · Nov 8, 2008

I was wondering if I could get some input from those of you who have already applied and/or have been accepted into a nursing program. I have a couple of courses that I received either a D or F grade in, earlier in my college education. These are not pre-nursing prerequisite classes but just general education courses, when I was still unsure of what to do and actually some of the courses I do not even need to fulfill the general education requirements as I already have a bunch of classes I took. I am planning to retake them before applying to nursing school, but I wanted to know if anyone who has experience with this, knows how the nursing schools will look at these? Will the bad grades be calculated in my GPA? Will the grades be averaged out or the bad grades removed and new grade counted? I am in southern California if that helps. I would appreciate any input and help. Thanks.

Your overall GPA will be extremely important when applying to BSN and graduate programs. GPA is a very permanent thing...once you have earned it and graduated...you can't exactly go back and change it.

Better to fix it now while you can.

The way it works, is the fact that you originally took the class and the grade you got will always appear on your transcript...but it will be taken out of GPA calculation with a grade replacement and will appear in the final GPA on your transcript.

Don't worry about how this is going to look....especially if a large period of time passed in between retakes.

txnursingqt · Nov 9, 2008

Well.. there is a trick, if this is the case for you. Are you going to a different school than when you got those bad grades?
Most colleges in so cal only look at the prereqs for their program:
Ususally they are:
English
Stats
Critical Thinking
Speech
Chemistry
Anatomy
Physiology
Microbiology
Psychology
Sociology
maybe some others depending on the school
if its a specific CSU let me know and i can tell you more, I've looked this up a lot.
If you have all of your prerequisites done at your current school, then when you apply to nursing school, only send the transcripts from your current school. Don't send them the transcripts from the last school, unless there are prerequisites done at that school. This way, they will only go off of what you have taken at that school (only the good grades) and they won't be able to tell.
This only works for a few cases, but its worth a shot

I would not advise doing this because it can get you kicked out if they find about it. And they can find out if you attended anywhere else. How, well when you applied to the school you are at now you probably included any grades you had elsewhere and they put that on your transcript. So if you change schools again or send them your current transcript they will see that you attended other institutions but didn't include them. KWIM?

I knew someone who did this and got caught. She got kicked out of the program and they would not take her back. Just a word of caution.

MTTMPE · Nov 9, 2008

I agree, hiding your grade will cause more damage. All school have a computer base information. When you declare your graduation, they will type your SN and name and retrieve all of the school you applied for and grades. I know this because at the end of graduation of my B.S i had to list every schools i went too. Your best bet is to re-take the classes. Ask yourself this. Can i get a higher grade? You would need to get an A in every class you failed. To even out the GPA. Go online and find a GPA cal. find out what your GPA is Now and if you retake the classes. I would also, see a counselor. They can tell you what you need to do. I know it is a lot of hard work. I know your parent words " Do well in school" echo's in your head. but i would hate to see you do so well in the program and then get kickout. Getting kickout and not being able to enter any program, because of a little white lie. Excel in your current classes and make up for the ones you got a low grade.

I have 2 F from 1991, i was 17 at the time. I'm on the deans list, and the president list, two times. My school GPA? 4.0 My overall GPA 3.3. because of the F. You might also need to take easier classes to get A's in to pull that grade up. You would be amaze as to all the stuff you can do. Basically, your going to have to pay to get yourself out of this problem (taking classes).

smellyacres, BSN, RN · Nov 9, 2008

Ohh, soory about that comment above. I know a woman in my chem class who was talking about doing this and she made it sound like it was okay to do it. I thought it was alright. I guess I should warn her. Thanks everyone.

But also, to add on to above.. when you retake a class to get a higher grade it "decreases your overall competetiveness". So it looks pretty much the same as getting a C in the class even if you took it over and did really well. Some schools might even average out those two grades. I mean, if you failed the other classes, you do not really have a choice but to retake them. I don't know which clases you were planning on retaking, but if they are not accutally prerequisites to the nursing program, and just general GE classes, they will most likely not count against you. A lot of schools only look at sciences and area A1 A2 A3 and B4 of the general education curriculum. So if the classes you are retaking are not any of these, then you will probably be okay.

justme1972 · Nov 16, 2008

I would not advise doing this because it can get you kicked out if they find about it. And they can find out if you attended anywhere else. How, well when you applied to the school you are at now you probably included any grades you had elsewhere and they put that on your transcript. So if you change schools again or send them your current transcript they will see that you attended other institutions but didn't include them. KWIM?
I knew someone who did this and got caught. She got kicked out of the program and they would not take her back. Just a word of caution.

The only way that you won't get caught is:

1. If you never put down at a school that you attended another where you took the classes.

2. If you never received financial aid.

There is no "magical" database anywhere in existance that houses information of where you went to school, unless you give it to them.

My husband went 1 1/2 years to a college, flunked out...but he never received financial aid, his parents paid cash.

He didn't even have the minimum GPA to even re-apply at another school (it was below a 2.0), so he went to a community college, re-took EVERYTHING, got A's and B's, transferred to a university, and then went on to graduate school.

I don't consider this dishonest...you know why? Because even CRIMINALS sometimes have their records expunged, and if you re-take all of the classes, then you have paid for your mistake.

So, unless you have put it on an application and had transcripts sent, it's not going to be on the record, and if you didn't get financial aid, there won't be a record there either.

The only way you can get "caught" is if you tell someone.

carlasbizz · Nov 16, 2008

Hello,

I read your post on allnurses and was wondering what other csu schools I can apply for. I don't want to be focused on one school. I currently attend Cal State San Bernardino. I will be applying to the program this winter. I am taking some classes over again because I got low scores. I want to know if you have a listing of any other csu schools I can apply to for next year. I am a older student and would have to wait another year to get in. I really wait to become a Nurse. My friend that goes to Cal State San Bernardino couldn't get in with a 3.5 GPA. Help please!! How do I research all of this. Thank you! carlasbizz:redpinkhe

snelly808 · Nov 16, 2008

The only way that you won't get caught is:
1. If you never put down at a school that you attended another where you took the classes.
2. If you never received financial aid.
There is no "magical" database anywhere in existance that houses information of where you went to school, unless you give it to them.
My husband went 1 1/2 years to a college, flunked out...but he never received financial aid, his parents paid cash.
He didn't even have the minimum GPA to even re-apply at another school (it was below a 2.0), so he went to a community college, re-took EVERYTHING, got A's and B's, transferred to a university, and then went on to graduate school.
I don't consider this dishonest...you know why? Because even CRIMINALS sometimes have their records expunged, and if you re-take all of the classes, then you have paid for your mistake.
So, unless you have put it on an application and had transcripts sent, it's not going to be on the record, and if you didn't get financial aid, there won't be a record there either.
The only way you can get "caught" is if you tell someone.

Hello, I just happened to stumble upon this thread, found the comments interesting and decided to post one myself.

When applying to most, if not all colleges, the application requires you to list ALL colleges and Universities attended. It doesn't matter if the transcripts will be forwarded or not.

Here is the statement from my application: "All information in the application must be complete and accurate. Any MISREPRESENTATION or OMISSION of facts from the application will justify a denial or revocation admissions or subsequent dismissal from the graduate program"

In my opinion, if you willfully omit infotmation, it is being dishonest. It is like saying the criminal did not commit the crime if his record is expunged because there is no way of proving it. To me, it still happened, he/she still did it.

Just my :twocents: .

Take care everyone.