To the folks whove made it...

Published

First off I'm greeeeen with envy. Moving on..

Can u tell us how your gpa's were added when you applied. What was the actual number they used to compare to other applicants.

I know programs use cumulative, last 60 hours, last degree program completed, science grades, an surely I'm missing one or two but you get my point.

Im just curious how YOUR program did it.

Thanks

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Grade points are a bare minimum. Pretty much everyone has A's or B's in their science courses, if you don't, you should be retaking them for your own good. Nobody looks at a calculated GPA. Most schools require a B or better (3.0) in all prerequisities, so having at least a 3.0 doesn't do much to help you stand out. That's just what saves your application from the garbage can.

Everyone looking to apply gets caught up in this GPA nonsense. It means nothing. If you don't have good grades, yeah, you're not going to get in. Meet your school's bare minimum criteria, then do something for yourself to stand out. I did good on my GRE, had my CCRN, 3 years ICU experience, taught clinical for a college, and went in well prepared for my interview. Apparently that was enough.

Good luck!

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Appreciate the insight. I've FINALLY gotten my prospective schools on the phone and from what I can see your right. Most of them were far more concerned with my BSN gpa than cumulative or ADN gpa.

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Appreciate the insight. I've FINALLY gotten my prospective schools on the phone and from what I can see your right. Most of them were far more concerned with my BSN gpa than cumulative or ADN gpa.

If schools see that you did better as you progressed through college, it helps a lot. In your case, the BSN core courses with a higher GPA will help you stand out versus someone who had mediocre grades throughout their entire undergrad career.

That seems to have helped me, and many others that I know. I was a know-it-all up until nursing school then I really buckled down and improved my grades, and all the courses I took post-Bach I earned A's.

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Appreciate the insight. I've FINALLY gotten my prospective schools on the phone and from what I can see your right. Most of them were far more concerned with my BSN gpa than cumulative or ADN gpa.

Good to know. My pre-ADN gpa was low. Graduated ADN 3.0+, my current BSN school liked that and gave me a waiver/forgiveness for it and I will graduate BSN 3.5+ I'm sure of it!

Looking to get into anesthesia one day too so again good to know.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

To be totally honest I was a complete slacker my first several years of college. When I finally decided that I wanted to entry the nursing field I pretty much went back and retook most of my classes to improve my GPA (I focused especially on doing particularly well on science courses). I busted my hump during both my ADN &BSN years and got exceptional grades. I worked hard to get into an ICU ASAP and was about to get a position 8 months after receiving my RN. I have two years of good ICU so far and just got accepted to NA school starting this coming fall. I consider myself extremely blessed and have a difficult time believing that I've gotten this far. If you want it bad enough, it's totally possible!

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Hey, I know this is a two year old post but I am new here and couldn't find any update post on GPA. I have a BS which I got a GPA of 2.5 back in 2006 and got my AND in 2009 in a one year program with a GPA of 3.3. Currently I am getting my BSN and have a GPA of 3.4 and work in the ICU. My goal is CRNA... I have a couple question.

1) If my cum GPA for total credits taken doesn't go above 3.0 at the end of my BSN causes the credit number is to high, Does that restrict me from getting into CRNA school?

2) If it does, Would a master program help me get in? If so, what type of masters would help?

THANKS

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From above "If my cum GPA for total credits taken doesn't go above 3.0 at the end of my BSN causes the credit number is to high"

What does this even mean? The number of credits can not get too high - ever. The more credits you take, the more grade points you get, ad infinitum. Of course the more credits you have, the harder it is to raise a GPA because the significance of one A in a 3 credit class becomes diminished as the total number of credits climb.

For example, I graduated college with 120 credits or whatever about 15 years ago with a 3.1. Been in community college and now nursing school getting nothing but A's for the past 2.5 years (over 40 credits), but have only been able to bump the cumulative up to 3.3ish.

The ONLY way to raise a GPA is to continue earning credits that were higher grades than your previous ones. Mathematically, you can never turn a 2.0 in to a 4.0.

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From above "If my cum GPA for total credits taken doesn't go above 3.0 at the end of my BSN causes the credit number is to high"

What does this even mean? The number of credits can not get too high - ever. The more credits you take, the more grade points you get, ad infinitum. Of course the more credits you have, the harder it is to raise a GPA because the significance of one A in a 3 credit class becomes diminished as the total number of credits climb.

QUOTE]

That's what I meant.

Do CRNA programs have grade forgiveness for repeat courses?

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Ok. I see what you are saying now. I don't know anything about grade forgiveness, but those low grades will always be on your transcript. If you have to raise your cum GPA, the only thing you can really do is just take more classes. For example, when I am all done with my BSN, I am going to take two semesters of orgo as well as a bio chem at my community college and will be able to slightly raise my GPA if I get all A's.

So theoretically, if you took a master's program and got all A's, yes that would help your overall cum GPA. Seems like a lot of extra trouble though when you are looking to eventually become a CRNA. You will see lots of people on here who had a lower initial GPA from their first degree like you do and kept getting it higher as they moved through their nursing degrees. Now that 2.5 is pretty low, but you have done a lot better since then and that will show maturation and dedication.

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Hey! We're you an LPN first? Me too!

I would not waste time getting a master's, however boosting your application if you have a poor GPA can be done by doing well in grad level classes. Take pharm, phys, or some other science class and get an A. That will show them you can handle grad level work.

Good luck!

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I have recently applied to Drexel, Villanova, Upenn and Jefferson's CRNA programs. I'm super anxious to hear back.

Experience:

8 years in OR

5 years CVOR

currently in CVICU/ICU (will have 2 years by the start of the program)

ACLS

CNOR

MSN

GPA 3.6

sigma theta tau member

great letters of recommedation from anesthesiologists and surgeons I work with.

Do do you think I have a chance of getting an interview?! I want this so badly! Woo!

If anyone has gotten accepted to these schools is love to hear from you!

Thanks!

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