Do I need A's?

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Hello everyone,

It has been quite a while since I posted due too circumstances in my life and studying. I wanted to post this in regards to the pressure I am feeling and my nerves getting ready for nursing school.

I am currently planning on applying for the nursing ADN program and after completing the ADN program I was hoping to get a job and while working finish off my bachelors. The reason why I am feeling a bit of pressure is because this semester just finished for me after completing all my pre-reqs and I only really have a year to complete my nursing program because my parents are putting up the house for sale soon and planning on moving to PA. Anyways this is not why I am posting this article.

I ended off my semester with a B in anatomy and physiology part two. With my school there is no such thing are C+, C-, B-, B+, A-, A+, etc. You either get a D, C, B, or A. 70-79.4 is a C, 79.5-89.4 is a B and 89.5-100 is an A. For both A&P one and two I ended up achieving both a B. More specifically I achieved a 87 in A&P 1 and a 88.3 in A&P 2. I am a bit upset for not getting an A in either one of these because I understand how important these classes are for getting into the nursing program along side the GPA. For the Lab portion I achieved a B in A&P 1 and then I achieved a A in lab for A&P2.

My overall GPA for all my Pre-reqs out together ended up getting a 3.3. Personally this is not what I was hoping and I feel like I am already failing honestly because from what I heard and understand the Pre-reqs are extremely easy compared to the nursing programs.

The only requirement left that I am missing before I can officially apply for the nursing program is to take the TEAS exam. Im signed up for this exam on 8/02/2018.

The reason for me posting this thread is due to my question regarding my grades. Do you believe a B in both science courses will be enough to get into the Nursing program or do you believe I should just take these classes over? I also do understand that no one here can predict that and it mainly comes down to luck of the draw. I am just nervous and a bit paranoid that if I can only achieve a B in the pre-req science courses than I will do horrible in nursing school.

Some of you may be wondering too why I have not mentioned microbiology. My school actually does not require this course until we get accepted into the program.

I think the reason why I am also a bit nervous and paranoid is because my friend who got into nursing school before me and got high A's in all his pre-reqs messages me all the time telling me how he is barley passing nursing school with high 70's.

I am sorry for the long post and I appreciate anyone who has read this and will take the time to reply to my post.

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A perfect question for the nursing advisor at the nursing school you want to attend. Otherwise, as a rule of thumb, your current overall 3.3 GPA would not get you accepted at many programs these days.

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Wow really? I mean if that's the case I'll just have to take some classes over but wow that's crazy. I didn't think that was a low GPA. I know it's not high either but wow. Okay, I do appreciate your comment and advice. I'll have to talk to my advisor and see what they recommend. Thank you

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Caliotter3 is correct. Ask the nursing advisor at the school you wish to attend. I hate to say it, but although most schools will say they'll accept a "B", a good chunk of people are going in with straight A's in the main science courses. It's stiff competition out there.

One exception to getting straight A's is if you apply to a private college. The private ones cost more, so people usually don't have those as their first choice if they can get into an affordable state school. I've heard and know of some people who have gone the private college route and were accepted w/ some B's in their GPA for some of the major prerequisites. Again, the main difference is the cost of the schools. For example, affordable state school in California might be $20.000 whereas a private one will give you the same degree for $75,000. So, yeah............try to get those A's if you can because you might save some money.

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Caliotter3 is correct. Ask the nursing advisor at the school you wish to attend. I hate to say it, but although most schools will say they'll accept a "B", a good chunk of people are going in with straight A's in the main science courses. It's stiff competition out there.

One exception to getting straight A's is if you apply to a private college. The private ones cost more, so people usually don't have those as their first choice if they can get into an affordable state school. I've heard and know of some people who have gone the private college route and were accepted w/ some B's in their GPA for some of the major prerequisites. Again, the main difference is the cost of the schools. For example, affordable state school in California might be $20.000 whereas a private one will give you the same degree for $75,000. So, yeah............try to get those A's if you can because you might save some money.

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Specializes in Dialysis.
Wow really? I mean if that's the case I'll just have to take some classes over but wow that's crazy. I didn't think that was a low GPA. I know it's not high either but wow. Okay, I do appreciate your comment and advice. I'll have to talk to my advisor and see what they recommend. Thank you

Be careful. Some schools do not look at/allow retakes. One example is Lehman College. If you get a B, retake a class and get an A.. they're only looking at the B. If you're going to a private school, they're usually more lenient and I think you'll be fine if you decide to retake some classes.

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Specializes in mental health / psychiatic nursing.

Talk to your nursing advisor at your school. Schools may or may not allow retakes of course (some may only allow retakes if under a certain mark - e.g. "C or less"), some schools average scores from retaken courses, and some accept most recent grade regardless of higher or lower score. Know what you are getting into before you spend the money on retaking classes. A 3.3 gpa isn't terrible, but nursing can be an extremely competitive major at some schools - so talk to your adviser about how realistic your chances are at your particular school - and if there are other factors that get taken into account in admissions decisions. Some schools look purely at GPA/test scores in which case both may need to be very high in order to be competitive. Other schools require a minimum gpa but then may also look at work or volunteer experience, admissions essays, and other factors in which case a weaker gpa my still be competitive when combined with other factors. If you are not a competitive candidate at your current school it may be worth talking to the adviser about what you can do to boost your competitiveness and what other options exist (e.g. could you be accepted to an LPN program and bridge?).

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The one thing I do know is the school I am currently attending does allow retakes and if you score higher then your previous grade then it will replace that grade but both grades will factor into the GPA. So basically if I went from a B to an A it won't do much with my GPA because both will be factored in but the A will show when going through the selection process. Right now I am currently attending West Georgia Technical College and the nursing program requires a minimum GPA of 3.00. Of course I don't want to be near the minimum at all. Ill have to talk to the advisor and see what they recommend. Thank you

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This Monday I am going to go and have a sit down with the Nursing dean/advisor and get all the advice I can get. My school does average the scores together for the GPA so I don't think it would really make a huge difference for me going from a B to an A. I might raise it from a 3.35 to like a 3.38. I really don't know. I know at my school it is pretty competitive and thats why I asked my teacher from anatomy and physiology one if I can get a letter of recommendation from him since he is extremely respected by the nursing school. He said yes and is always willing to help me so thats a plus. I have looked at other schools within my area too and majority of the schools other than the one I am attending only require 2.5-2.8 which is pretty low. I am planning on applying to all these schools even though I really want the higher GPA school to accept me so it looks much better on a resume but we will have to see what the outcome is after applying.

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It is one thing to be disallowed credit for retaking a class by the nursing school admissions committee, and quite another to be disallowed to retake a course at all by the school. In my area, community colleges across the board do not allow one to retake a course where one already has achieved at least a C in the course. That is why you have to carefully research all of your options before you start and along the way.

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I understand. Right now my plan is to keep on trucking on apply to nursing school. I may not be extremely competitive but at the same time I think I still have a good shot at getting in. My GPA is not high but its also not low and if I score really good on this TEAS exam then that raises my competitiveness. My school does replace the previous grade though If a class is retaken. If I got a C or a B or even failed the class the first go around and then decided to take it again and got an A then they will replace the previous grade with the highest grade. The only thing about it is both grades get averaged into the overall GPA.

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It's also good to researched the average GPA of those accepted into the program rather than just the minimum requirement. I believe the program I'm in now requires a 2.9, but the average of those accepted is like 3.7-3.8 (if it hasn't gotten higher in the last few years).

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