retaking prereq. for 2nd Bach. degree program

[TC2009]

Hi,

I am currently a senior in college majoring in Biology. I am very interested in becoming a NP, but with my low gpa (2.9), I am now thinking of taking some time off and retaking some classes before applying to nursing school. I was originally considering the master's entry level programs, but now am thinking about applying to a 2nd bach degree in nursing first since I heard these programs are less competitive to get into. I will be taking physio with lab next semester but anatomy lab is kicking me in the butt right now!

I am just wondering if anyone has retaken some of the prereq. (anatomy,micro,physio,stats...etc) after they graduated from college before applying to a nursing program and has that helped?

any suggestions/thoughts are welcomed! Thanks!

[emtneel]

I didn't retake any courses, but i did have to take pre-reqs and went the same route as you.

my first degree was pre-med/biology, and med schools don't require A and P. So i had to take that, which I took the 2nd semester portion at a University spring semester and i took a full A and P course at the same time at a community college so i would have the full course in 1 semester, it overlapped some and i had to dissect 2 cats bob and george...

I think i had to take Psych as well.

I wouldn't worry too much on your GPA, do good in the rest of your classes. I had a 3.0 gpa or something like that as well, because i got C's in all my chem classes and C in photography, but mostly As in everything else.

I got into a program that required you to take the GRE before starting the BSN portion, so as long as i did okay on the GRE that was good. Schools may put you on probation the 1st semester and you have to make good grades the first semester then.

The program i went to was 3 yrs, where you get your BSN the first yr, then your nurse practitioner the last two years. I ended up switching schools after i got the BSN purely for financial reasons. the original school was a private very expensive one, and i opted to finish the masters program in my home state for in-state tuition which saved me a lot of money but took a few semesters longer, because the program took longer, required more credits.

Check everything out, make a list of pros/cons of doing it this way or that way, and check the different schools.