Published Jul 29, 2009
BayAreaCarrie
2 Posts
Hello ladies/gents,
I've been lurking about on this forum for several months and the information I've received here has been invaluable to me. I've strongly considered a career change to nursing, as I believe it would be more rewarding/fulfilling (I am an ergonomics engineer). I am already a bachelor's degree holder.
My question is this: I graduated from university with a 3.3 GPA and the majority of my course grades are either A's or B's. However, in my college Chemistry and Biology courses, my grades were less than impressive. I received a C- in Chemistry and a D+ in Biology (I still can't believe it).
In college, I took neither of those courses seriously and barely even attended class. The problem is that I'm worried that those two grades will prevent me from being considered for nursing school candidacy.
Would my best bet be to first retake those two courses at a local university to fulfill my prerequisites and THEN apply to nursing school? Or should I apply beforehand? I'm unsure of how to proceed...help, please!
mariposabella
356 Posts
I think you should retake them since nursing school is so competitive.
CuriousMe
2,642 Posts
Hello ladies/gents,I've been lurking about on this forum for several months and the information I've received here has been invaluable to me. I've strongly considered a career change to nursing, as I believe it would be more rewarding/fulfilling (I am an ergonomics engineer). I am already a bachelor's degree holder. My question is this: I graduated from university with a 3.3 GPA and the majority of my course grades are either A's or B's. However, in my college Chemistry and Biology courses, my grades were less than impressive. I received a C- in Chemistry and a D+ in Biology (I still can't believe it). In college, I took neither of those courses seriously and barely even attended class. The problem is that I'm worried that those two grades will prevent me from being considered for nursing school candidacy. Would my best bet be to first retake those two courses at a local university to fulfill my prerequisites and THEN apply to nursing school? Or should I apply beforehand? I'm unsure of how to proceed...help, please!
I think that before you take anything again, you should talk to the advisors at whatever nursing programs you're applying to. Some nursing programs only look at the grades from the first time you take a class....others only look at the Pre-reqs they're interested in, and the chem & bio you took, may not be the same chem & bio required as a prereq....so, talk to the advisors for individual programs.
Peace,
JBGC4
300 Posts
Biology, Algebra, and Chemistry are the three "biggies" at my NE school. I would check with your school and seek out a counselor w/in the nursing program. You could always check w/ the school's NURSING admissions Director. They will probably tell you that you need to re-take the Biology. D's are failing. And, Nursing School is all about Biology!!! You have to have a understanding. They may take the C in Chemistry, don't really know.
Good Luck
MammaNurse2Be
247 Posts
Most definitely! I referenced material in those courses all the way through my pre-reqs and I have had countless people tell me how lucky I was to have those good reference notes and the understanding I did of those concepts. For example, glycolysis and the kreb cycle were concepts that came up in every class from nutrition to physio to micro and even a little bit in anat. I was so glad that my early teachers spent so much time on those concepts because the others skim it and expect you to know it. I can't urge you enough to retake those classes!
AccelCNL, MSN, RN
1 Article; 501 Posts
You should definitely take those science courses over again. Nursing school (esp. in CA if you name is anything to go by) is really competitive.
I am retaking a chem course and I only got a C.....but if that is what I gotta do well that is what I gotta do.
GL!!!!
CeilingCat, ASN, RN
209 Posts
Talk to the nursing school and see what they need. Mine for example does not need Chem (however, your overall GPA is relevant). Bio is a must and it was required before I took my A&P classes.
I feel like much I learned in BIO prepared me for understanding the A&P classes. I also got the impression my A&P classmates who were struggling were doing so partly because they didn't understand basic things such as meiosis, mitosis, Krebs cycle, anaerobic/aerobic, proteins vs lipids vs saccharides vs nucleotides, and so on.
Look at your local community college. Both are offered at most community colleges, and most community colleges are accredited & credits will transfer. The nice thing is tuition is 1/3 the cost of taking these common pre-reqs at a University, community college is often closer, and class size is smaller.
msdeannah
281 Posts
For my school only a C or better was considered. Check with your school to find out the requirements.. You may have to retake them...
Thank you all! I've been calling about and much of what the admissions reps have stated to me reinforces the feed back I received here. I'm searching for community college courses now...