Seeking some guidance as a 5th year student

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Hello all, i'm a fifth year college student, 22 years old. I know I have wasted so much time and I deeply regret what I haven't done in college. Currently I have about 86 credit hours without a major declared. I have all the pre-requisites required to apply to about 4 nursing schools and that is my goal but I'm afraid I won't get in with my low GPA (3.1) I have about 150 hours in volunteer experience, used to have a CNA certificate but did nothing with it. I'm wondering what classes should I take in the meantime while applying?

What do students in my position (if there are any) do in my situation if they get rejected? Should I settle down for 2-3 more years and finish a degree? Should I keep on applying and hope that I get in?

I just feel so apologetic to my parents. They're so supportive and expect the most from me even though they make minimum wage. All I can show for my 4-5 years of college is a bunch of credit hours with no sort of goal.

Sorry if this is a lot of information but I would be thankful if you could help guide me in any way possible.

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Specializes in Emergency.

I would apply and then re-take classes where the individual grades matter. That will vary by program. For example, at my school, the grades in English 101, Chemistry 121, and A&P 1 count for the most for getting into the program. Overall GPA is the last tie-breaker criteria they consider. This allows students to overcome some poor grades by retaking just a few classes.

You have age on your side! You can still become a nurse with some focused effort. I have about 175 credits and no degree, and I'm 39 years old. But, I'm on track to be a shoe in to a highly competitive program next fall :) You can totally do this!

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Similarly, my 21 year old sister just moved across the country to live with me in California. She has been at the community college in Maryland for 4 years and has a gpa below a 3.0. She is looking at adn and bsn programs here in Cali so she can live with me and get the support she needs but is having trouble finding a program. Can anyone help?! Her morale is low and I don't know what to do to help her. I'm not a nurse but I do work in the healthcare field

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Apply to nursing school(s) - you can't possibly know if you'll be accepted or not until you apply.

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I say apply too. Your situation is exactly why I will encourage my kids to wait to go to college until they know what they want to do. Your situation is SO common and I have no idea why we encourage 18 year olds to make the biggest investment of their lives right outta high school. Don't feel too guilty just be firm in what you want to do and then stay on that path. You could always do LPN then bridge. With all of your credits you shouldn't have to take many non nursing classes once accepted into a nursing program.

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Specializes in ICU Stepdown.
Similarly, my 21 year old sister just moved across the country to live with me in California. She has been at the community college in Maryland for 4 years and has a gpa below a 3.0. She is looking at adn and bsn programs here in Cali so she can live with me and get the support she needs but is having trouble finding a program. Can anyone help?! Her morale is low and I don't know what to do to help her. I'm not a nurse but I do work in the healthcare field

I've read that nursing schools in CA are extremely competitive and hard to get in because of how saturated the market is. If I were her, I would just get my ADN in Maryland then go to CA.

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Specializes in ICU Stepdown.

OP, I would apply to both BSN and ADN programs in your area. If you don't get into any within a year I would reevaluate where you're at and think of a different field for now. I'm not saying give up but that is a lot of credits to not show for anything. I was lucky to have gotten into my community college's ADN program for the spring but would have thought of a different path if I didn't.

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Specializes in Emergency Room, CEN, TCRN.
I've read that nursing schools in CA are extremely competitive and hard to get in because of how saturated the market is. If I were her, I would just get my ADN in Maryland then go to CA.

I initially started my prereqs when I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area (San Jose, to be specific). A lot of the programs there were actually lottery based to be invited to take the TEAS, and if they passed the TEAS they got in -- applicants weren't chosen based on their academic competitiveness, they just had to get lucky.

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I am in the exact same position you're in. I'm 23 and going into my 6th year of college with nothing to show of it. I switched my major to nursing a year ago, finished my pre-req's, and applied to schools.

If you have all of your pre-req's done, then don't bother taking other classes that aren't going to help you in the long run. You'll end up racking more credit hours, and in my state at least, that is a no-no. I applied to a nursing school for the Fall 2016 semester in June and got rejected. It sucked because it pushed me back another semester, and like you, I hate that I've wasted so much time and money. However, I took a summer class that I needed and now I'm applying again for the Spring 2017 semester and all signs are looking good right now.

I know how it feels to be wasting all this time and money with nothing to show but if you're determined to get into nursing school then apply to as many programs as possible and if you there are any classes you absolutely have to take then do it. If you get rejected figure out why and re-take a class or two if that's the issue, if not all you can do is try again.

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