Should I continue my quest to become a nurse??

[marie85]

Ok, here is the rundown. I'm 26 and I've just decided to go back to school (for the third time) and pursue nursing. I've worked in the medical field (mostly clerical stuff, some pharmacy, for 10 years now) but I have not been too happy with my job lately so I wanted to go back to school and do something more rewarding, like nursing.

So now, let’s back track a bit, I started University around 2003 and only lasted to 2004 (I was an Early Childhood Education Major at the time, Nursing really appealed to me, especially because I am bilingual, but I knew Nursing required a lot of studying and dedication and at 18/19 years old all I wanted to do during college was hang with my friends and go to parties). I earned sub-par grades(some A's and B's, MANY C's and D's..and yes, even some F's ) I stopped going to school in 2004 and worked full-time for 6 years then in 2010, I got the itch to go back to school. I switched majors to General Studies and I literally lasted only 1 semester before I failed out. (I was trying to balance 40+ hours of work and a newborn baby.) I got really discouraged about school and started to feel like maybe I was not smart enough to finish college, even though I had always been a solid A/B student in high school.

I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and signed up to take classes at a local community college. I quit my job and got a part-time job and studied my butt off. I have held a 4.0 during my time at the community college and when I graduate it will be with honors with a 3.5 GPA. (No, that is not the greatest GPA but the mere fact that I brought up my GPA from what it was to this is a miracle in itself!) I was so excited about this that I felt like maybe I had a shot at getting into Nursing school only to find out that I might be wrong. I did not realize that the Nursing schools I was looking at going into looked at ALL your attempted grades. This makes me very sad because I don't feel like I should be punished for grades I got in 2003/2004. I have repeated all the classes I got F’s, C’s and D’s in and got A’s in all of them. I thought if I took them again that schools would only look at the higher of the two or that somehow the higher grade would “replace” the bad grade. I have made A's in all my science courses( A&P I, A&P II, Micro, Chem I, and Chem II) but I'm worried that if they take into consideration my GPA from my previous University experience (it is so low I'm embarrassed to even post it) that no school will want me. I calculated it and it drops my GPA from a 3.5 to a 2.88! No school will even look twice at my application with that GPA! So, after that spill, here are my questions:

1) Do schools look at your GPA as a whole, all classes, or just Nursing requirements (Sciences, English I &II, Psych, etc) when determining GPA for who gets in and who gets denied?

2) Does EVERY nursing school look at all attempted courses when evaluating applications? And, again, is that attempted classes as a whole or just in the Nursing requirements?

3) Do you think schools would take into consideration that it was so long ago when I got those bad grades or is that going to haunt me forever? Do you think they would consider the fact that I retook all those classes and made A’s in all of them?

4) Will schools look at the fact that I have aced every single one of my science courses and will that be enough for them to overlook my crappy GPA?

5) Also, if I make a really great score on the TEAS or the HESI (depending on what school I decide to apply to) do you think that would be enough to get them to at least consider my application? I’m scared to death they will take one look at my GPA and throw out my application!

6) Should I even bother applying to Nursing school after all this? I just don't want to waste time/money on applications and tests if I'm definitely not getting in because of my GPA, yet, on the other hand, I don't want to live with the "what if" if I don't apply.

I COULD REALLY USE SOME ADVICE!!!!!

[mandaleni23]

First and foremost, way to make a comeback! That, to me, shows that if you put your mind to doing something, you can do it and, most importantly, do it well.

I can't speak to what the school will or will not look at, since every school's policies vary so widely. I would suggest contacting the nursing schools that you would be interested in attending (or checking on websites, etc.) about their specific policies. Maybe attend an open house where you can get some information and speak to someone (casually) if you have any questions that the materials don't address.

Also, I would check to see if you are eligible for any kind of academic forgiveness for your less-than-desirable grades. I have a previous BS and I am currently taking pre-reqs at the CC where I attended before transferring to a 4-year school. I had an undesirable grade from my first semester at the CC and was able to get that grade forgiven because I had much better semesters after that. It still shows up on my transcript, but the grade is no longer calculated in my cumulative GPA (which, btw, is what my prospective nursing school uses).

Finally, when you go to apply, I would include a cover letter explaining your situation in a little more detail. Nothing too lengthy, just something to explain the previous grades, and to convey your new-found academic discipline and passion for nursing.

Good luck! :)

[marie85]

Thank you so much for the advice! I have been pretty bummed out about the situation and it is nice to hear some words of encouragement. :) I live in the South and all the schools I really want to get into are in the North (New York and surrounding areas) so I'm not sure I would be able to do to an information session but it would be nice to get a mini vacation in with that as an excuse. I have looked at some schools in South and North Carolina so that would be more doable in terms of travel. I also like your idea about trying to explain my situation, briefly, in the cover letter. I also did not even think about asking for academic forgiveness. I wonder what the time frame for that is? I might be wrong but I think it has to have been at least 10 years? I'm hoping most of the schools I apply to require an essay (I'm a pretty solid writer) and an interview as that would at least give me a chance to explain myself. I'm just afraid of sounding like I'm full of excuses or that I'm trying to have a pity party for myself. I just want them to understand that I did not make the best academic choices early in my educational career but now that I am older I am serious about school and I know that I could bring a lot to the nursing community. Although, I did call a local nursing school that works with a community college a couple of towns over and tried to explain my situation to the secretary and she (not so nicely) told me that with two F's (in Eng II and Public Speaking..I know, I know..embarrassing) they would not even consider me (even if I had straight A's in all my other classes) and neither would "any nursing school in the US.":eek: I literally cried for 4 hours straight and felt so bad about myself. After I really thought about it though, I don't care what that lady says, I've worked hard to get this far and the least I could do is apply. If they reject me, then so be it, but at least I tried!

[taylorxteddy]

First off - congrats on your new start and good luck!

In my current experience, schools are more concerned about your science and nursing pre-req gpas than they are your overall. If any of those low grades are nursing pre-req courses, I would retake them if allowed. Also, sciences are weighted heavier than anything else, so retaking those is what will get you. However, if it has been more than 5 years, I think you have to retake your sciences anyway, so it shouldn't matter.

Side note: I have heard a lot about this program called "Fresh Start". I'm not sure how old your schooling has to be, but there is some kind of time that can pass, and if you come back to school, you can start with a clean slate. You can look into that.

[mandaleni23]

Thank you so much for the advice! I have been pretty bummed out about the situation and it is nice to hear some words of encouragement. :) I live in the South and all the schools I really want to get into are in the North (New York and surrounding areas) so I'm not sure I would be able to do to an information session but it would be nice to get a mini vacation in with that as an excuse. I have looked at some schools in South and North Carolina so that would be more doable in terms of travel. I also like your idea about trying to explain my situation, briefly, in the cover letter. I also did not even think about asking for academic forgiveness. I wonder what the time frame for that is? I might be wrong but I think it has to have been at least 10 years? I'm hoping most of the schools I apply to require an essay (I'm a pretty solid writer) and an interview as that would at least give me a chance to explain myself. I'm just afraid of sounding like I'm full of excuses or that I'm trying to have a pity party for myself. I just want them to understand that I did not make the best academic choices early in my educational career but now that I am older I am serious about school and I know that I could bring a lot to the nursing community. Although, I did call a local nursing school that works with a community college a couple of towns over and tried to explain my situation to the secretary and she (not so nicely) told me that with two F's (in Eng II and Public Speaking..I know, I know..embarrassing) they would not even consider me (even if I had straight A's in all my other classes) and neither would "any nursing school in the US." I literally cried for 4 hours straight and felt so bad about myself. After I really thought about it though, I don't care what that lady says, I've worked hard to get this far and the least I could do is apply. If they reject me, then so be it, but at least I tried!

Personally, I wouldn't use the essay to explain myself. You get few opportunities to showcase who you are and what your career goals are, and I would just focus my essay on that. At the interview I wouldn't bring it up. Let the interviewer bring it up and explain yourself confidently (and concisely) just the way you did above (obviously go a little more into specifics). If you go into too much detail, mention it too much, etc. you run the risk of coming off as being full of excuses or having a pity party.

Sounds like a certain secretary had a bug up her butt... I hardly believe that there is no hope of you getting in anywhere! Sure, nursing school is competitive to get into, but I think there's value in what you've done since your F's. You're applying for nursing school with a good scholastic history between those F's and now; it's not as if you just got the F's and you're expecting them to take a chance on you to do better! You've proven you can do better!

The academic forgiveness at my school required that at least 5 years passed since the bad grade, and that you've taken 12 (I think?) credit hours with better grades since that time. You might have to do some digging around to find out the information, but I hope that there's something you can do!!

Good luck!