Published Oct 3, 2015
FabianaSmith
1 Post
I intend on majoring as a Pediatric Nurse and minoring in Italian. I got a 19 on the act and a pretty low gpa. I've talked to my counselor and he said i can bring my gpa up to what most schools are looking for by the end of the year if i get mostly As. Obviously i need to apply now so what are some schools that would possibly accept me or would it make more sense for me to go to a community college for 2 years so i can "remake" myself and get my gpa higher so it looks more presentable when i transfer to a university?
JustBeachyNurse, LPN
13,957 Posts
Are you in the US or Canada? Entry level nurses do not specialize and are generalist trained therefore they have a "comprehensive" holistic education that covers adults, geriatrics, pediatrics, obstetrics/women's health, and psych/mental health. Specialty education is post-licensure or at the graduate (advanced practice nurse or clinical nurse specialist) level.
Many pre-nursing students enter school thinking they want to practice in a particular area (ED, OR, pedi, L&D) and as they progress through their education change their mind. Most affordable schools are highly competitive as are most job markets. The nursing shortage is for experienced specialty trained nurses (5-10 years experience) and in many areas of the country there is an abundance of new grad and experienced nurses competing for jobs as a result start their career wherever they can get hired.
That said while navy associates and BSN programs list a minimum GPA of 3.0, in actuality those accepted have a GPA of 3.7 or higher. Plus excellent scorers on required entrance exams (TEAS, HESI,, PAX, etc). If you have not taken any of the standard pre/co requisite classes it's likely more affordable to take them at your community college and do well. Classes like general psychology, developmental psychology, sociology, statistics, nutrition, biology, anatomy & physiology with lab, microbiology, and general elective classes. It's tough to raise a low GPA but with hard work and dedication it can be done