RIDICULOUS RULES!

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Feb 3, 2012

Wow! I'm glad you got that out of your system. It's obviously hard to be you right now - huge disappointment & feelings of betrayal for sure.

But, your last sentence says it all. You're ready to move on with a new plan of action..... ATTA GIRL!

Catharsis is always good. That's what we're here for.

Love & hugs

nursegirl75 · Feb 3, 2012

Are you only applying to this one nursing school? You need to apply to many many nursing schools because nursing is so popular right now with the media telling the world that there is a nursing shortage.

Usually there are quite a few nursing schools clustered near each other so if you have to travel 45 minutes to school it will be worth it when you graduate with a degree.

I was turned away from 2 schools - because I also didn't meet the requirement- but I had my back-up school that accepted me- now i'm graduated with a job. So don't depend on one school. Each school has their own silly, strict requirements, so at least one school ill take you.

Gluck!

emcadams · Feb 3, 2012

What classes did you take at your college from 10 years ago? I would strongly recommend applying to a different college, and NOT submitting transcripts from your old school. Pretend like you never went there. A few years back, I was applying to a community college just to take some prereqs, and it asked me to list all previous institutions attended. So I did. And then they wanted all my transcripts from those colleges/universities. I had gone to law school for a year, but this has nothing to do with the education I am pursuing now. I was annoyed I had to pay $15 for a transcript that didn't matter. My advisor later told me that I could have avoided that by just leaving it off of my "institutions attended" list. Well too late for me, I already paid the $15!

DFWgal · Feb 3, 2012

I would be as mad as you are. Needless to say, your nursing advisor did a horrendous job. I'm sorry you're having a bad time now.

On the practical side, I don't know if this applies to every state or every university/college but I know that the student can request his/her grades erased from the system after 10 years if they are not good. ("Academic Fresh Start")

Example: AFS Texas. I googled quickly and I saw that Tennessee and California mention this too.

Take a look and see if you can benefit from this. Good luck! :)

iteachob, MSN, RN · Feb 3, 2012

Our University has an academic amnesty procedure for cases like yours. There are procedures the requesting student must follow, but it frequently is granted in their favor as long as their reason(s) is/are compelling.

Find out if your school has academic amnesty......kind of like that "Academic Fresh Start" post above.

Mrs.Priss · Feb 4, 2012

thanks for all the info and support! it really helped! i needed to hear it from people who would understand my situation and how i'm feeling! i looked at the academic fresh start at my school. it says this:

"a student who has not attended an institution of higher

learning for at least four years, has gained maturity through

extended experience outside a higher education setting,

and has demonstrated better than average academic performance

upon his/her return to college, may seek special

permission for an academic fresh start. the grade point

average of a student granted an academic fresh start is

calculated based only on work completed.

requirements for academic

fresh start are as follows:

1. separation from all institutions of higher learning for

at least four years prior to enrolling.

2. after enrolling, the student must

complete all developmental studies program courses

and earn at least 15 semester hours in college-level

courses with a minimum overall grade point average of

2.50 before academic fresh start may be granted.

3. a written request for academic fresh start must be

made to the vice president for the college; the written

request must describe an academic plan.

4. a student granted academic fresh start forfeits the

use of any college credit earned prior to the four-year

separation period stated above.

upon approval by the vice president for the college, the

student will be granted academic fresh start. the student’s

permanent record will retain a record of all academic

work. however, the record will note the date that a

fresh start was made, and the student’s grade point average

and credit totals will be based only on work beginning

with that date.

all tbr institutions will

honor an academic fresh start granted at another tbr

institution; however, non-tbr institutions may not accept

the fresh start provision.

academic fresh start will be granted only once."

i don't quite understand how this works! would be eligable for this even though i have been at the institution almost 3 years? would it wipe away all the work i've done these past 3 years? i'm going to call monday and try to get some answers. i might write a letter to the president of the college asking if i could be granted and academic fresh start and keep all my credits from this school since it was never offered to me in the beginning and nobody ever informed me that it existed! worth a try!

emcadams · Feb 4, 2012

It definitely sounds like you could pursue it. I believe you probably need to include all the details of your situation in the letter to the Vice President. Seems like this is on a case by case basis as it should be. I don't see why they would wipe EVERYTHING, that doesn't make sense. When I read the fresh start info, it seemed to me that you just had to have not attended a particular school in at least 4 years. Usually when you start a neew school, an academic advisor should be letting you know these options, especially if they could see the GPA you came in with. Honestly, I would just call and ask the procedure to submit the letter, and let the VP take it from there. I wouldn't stand to be shoved around by a school that didn't bother informing you in the first place.

Feistn · Feb 4, 2012

First of all, it's 2012 now, and 2013 is not that far off. You can't argue with the school when there's more butts than seats right now. Whatever stupid, arcane rule they make is the one you have to live by. Yes, you're 30, but you waited this long, and there will be older people than you starting nursing school.

As I see it, your options should include shopping around at other programs. Maybe you just suck it up and retake those courses, I don't know. But if you've done many of your nursing prereqs, you might be a good ways into a bachelors. Some programs will loosen the admission requirements if you've got a BA, or even consider it a bump in the admissions decision (these were programs that I personally shopped for... I went to college while not knowing where I would sleep or where my next meal was coming from.... and my grades show it.) Here in MN, there are a few programs that say that if you have a BA/BS, only the last 30 credits of your bachelors count, plus the 30 credits after, or only the 30 credits after, depending.

suanna · Feb 4, 2012

Sorry for your rocky road. I agree it isn't completely fair, but you did screw aroung in school 10 years ago. You were an "adult", and chose fun over grades. I can see you have matured and are now taking the academic rigors much more seriously, but what is the school to do if they have you- with a history(all-be-it remote) of not taking your academic obligations very seriously, or a student with a couple of years out of HS and an equal GPA to yours. Who gets the spot? -Not you, you have a history of poor performance, the other student has been committed since the get-go. I tell my grandkids- get serious sooner rather than later- Enjoying a few "wild oats" years puts you behind everyone who got serious when they were 15 and put thier noses to grindstone then.

Cherry02 · Feb 4, 2012

i don't think you are eligible because you haven't been separated from "all institutions" for 4 years before enrolling. however, if i'm wrong and you are eligible, it only wipes out your credits from 4+ years ago..."4. a student granted academic fresh start forfeits the use of any college credit earned prior to the four-year separation period stated above."

Mrs.Priss · Feb 4, 2012

Sorry for your rocky road. I agree it isn't completely fair, but you did screw aroung in school 10 years ago. You were an "adult", and chose fun over grades. I can see you have matured and are now taking the academic rigors much more seriously, but what is the school to do if they have you- with a history(all-be-it remote) of not taking your academic obligations very seriously, or a student with a couple of years out of HS and an equal GPA to yours. Who gets the spot? -Not you, you have a history of poor performance, the other student has been committed since the get-go. I tell my grandkids- get serious sooner rather than later- Enjoying a few "wild oats" years puts you behind everyone who got serious when they were 15 and put thier noses to grindstone then.

I appreciate your opinion. I don't think you are understanding exactly where I was going with the post. I do not disagree that "screwing around" your first try at college is a mistake. I'm also not saying that I should deserve the spot over a person fresh out of high school who doesn't waste their time. I'm saying that If I was advised CORRECTLY by my advisor, I could have taken the steps necessary to make-up for my mistakes in the past. Because I DID slack of at first, It will take extra time, work, and money for me to get in the same spot as a freash out of high school student, but just because I made a few poor choices when I was younger doesn't mean that I can NEVER get the same advantage as a person coming out of high school who DOESN'T make poor choices, it just means I have to work a little harder. I deserve the same opportunity as anyone, no matter what my past is. I have to retake those classes I failed 10 years ago. The college failed to inform me that I needed to go back to the college I went to 10 years ago and retake them or they wouldn't replace the grades. Instead I paid the money and took the time to take them at the school I'm enrolled in now BELIEVING if I did that they would be replaced. Nobody advised me to do what I NEEDED to do! And I had no way of knowing that I even needed to ask about something like that. They saw my first semester when I got advised that I had those classes at the previous college and still let me sign up to retake them without letting me know they wouldn't be replaced. They witheld vital information. They can see that on their screen when I get advised. I can't see it and have no way to see it unless I request a transcript for myself. And why would I do that when they have one? I'm sorry, I'm just going on and on and a littl off topic of your comment, I apologize. I am still a little upset. I have been working very hard to make up for my past. I'm not looking for sympathy. I know that God is using this experience to teach me something. I don't know what that is yet, but one day I will.vHe may be doing this to teach me to be stronger emotionally or to fight like hell for what I want in life. I don't know, but I'll keep faith. I'm a survivor, not a victim. Since the day I found all of this out I have been talking to everyone possible and doing everything possible to keep my dream of being a nurse going. I WILL be a nurse, this school isn't going to stomp my dream with their ridiculous rules. ok, sorry for the long response! lol Thank you for your comment.