Switching My Major?

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Hello everyone! So I haven't really gotten a chance to introduce myself. My name is Samantha and I am currently a medical technology (BS) student at The College at Brockport.

Long story short, I don't really know what to do anymore. I am afraid that I won't be able to get into the Medical Technology programs offered in my area due to my GPA. To make things worse, I am pretty sure I didn't do well on my Cell Biochemistry course. I seem to have a better understanding and overall appreciation for Anatomy and Physiology. Nursing has always been an interest for me, but I always thought Clinical laboratory science was my passion until I started seeing my grades recently.

I am finishing up my Sophomore year of college, and I am realizing that it may be better for me to switch to a nursing major. The problem is, I don't think I will get into the nursing program at my current college because it is highly competitive and it's based 100% off of GPA. I had taken a lot of higher level chemistry and biology courses than what is required for Pre-Nursing students at my college. I would like a BSN, but I don't even know where to start looking. Should I finish with a Biology Major and then go for an accelerated program, or should I try to switch into a BSN? Or would an RN be sufficient enough??

I honestly feel lost because my mind was dead set with Medical Technology, and never seriously considered nursing until now. Advice would be MUCH APPRECIATED!

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Specializes in ICU.

First off, understand the BSN is the degree. The RN is the license. You would first have to get your BSN, then sit for the NCLEX. Upon passing that, you would become an RN.

I'm going to tell you nursing school is competitive to get into, and the program is ten times worse than any prereq. It kind of seems like you think, well I don't have the grades for this, so I'll take the easy route of nursing. You need to change that mindset. It will be more difficult.

You will need to look at the program's requirements and go from there.

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First off, understand the BSN is the degree. The RN is the license. You would first have to get your BSN, then sit for the NCLEX. Upon passing that, you would become an RN.

I'm going to tell you nursing school is competitive to get into, and the program is ten times worse than any prereq. It kind of seems like you think, well I don't have the grades for this, so I'll take the easy route of nursing. You need to change that mindset. It will be more difficult.

You will need to look at the program's requirements and go from there.

I 100% agree with this. Going into professional careers like this is never an easy way out and you may just have to work 10x as harder for it. Especially if you GPA is not up to par. I would suggest that if nursing is what you really want to do then you shouldn't wait that extra 2.5 years to graduate with a major in biology.

The best time to switch your major is now and go after what you want. Take some extra classes to see if you can bring your GPA up and don't just apply to one program because it will increase your chances of getting accepted.

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My problem is, that I am very much a tactile learner. I always do well in labs, usually much higher than the class average, but then lecture exams yank my grade down. Next semester I am signed up to do Undergraduate research, Nursing Microbiology, A&P 1, and Genetics. I have already taken Genetics and A&P 1, but I had a lot of things come up in my life at once and I did not do well at all in those courses. I know that I could have done very well in at least A&P, so that's why I decided to retake them.

My next question: Is there any real difference between going to school for 2 years and getting a license, and getting a BSN and getting a license? If I went for school for 2 years in a nursing program instead of 4, would I still be able to find decent paying jobs?

The reason why I am asking, is because there are a few decent community college programs that I might be able to get into if I take a couple of summer courses to help boost my average. Plus, I already spent money for 2 years of college and I don't want to rack up a ton of debt.

Thank you for the replies!

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

There is a growing reality in the US - hospitals in most larger cities are no longer hiring ADN nurses. This is an outgrowth of the IOM recommendation - based on evidence that higher percentages of BSN nurses has a significantly positive effect on the outcomes of patients in acute care settings. The movement is growing and hospital opportunities for ADN nurses are shrinking. It would be a good idea to investigate the nursing job market in your area.

Accelerated programs (for people with non-nursing Bachelor degrees) generally base admission upon cumulative GPA as well as standardized test scores. These programs are very intensive; good academic skills are a must. Programs have different rules about how they handle any course repeats... some may allow you to submit the higher grade, but others will simply average the two & many programs have a limit on the number of times a course can be repeated.

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I know that it is rather hard to estimate, but what would be a decent minimum GPA in order to get into an accelerated Nursing program? I think that after this semester my GPA will increase to about a 2.96 up to a 3.01. (I just did the math)

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Specializes in NICU.
I know that it is rather hard to estimate, but what would be a decent minimum GPA in order to get into an accelerated Nursing program? I think that after this semester my GPA will increase to about a 2.96 up to a 3.01. (I just did the math)

Since there are fewer ABSN programs than traditional BSN programs and they have smaller class size, the competition for those programs is the same or more competitive than the traditional BSN. A minimum of 3.5 GPA will probably will be needed.

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