Transfer old credits or start new?

[lmh24]

Hello all!

I am looking to return to school to pursue nursing. I am in my late 30s and haven't attended any college courses in over 10 yrs. I did complete some of the pre-reqs that would be needed for the nursing program, however my grades would not be competitive. I passed both the required english course and math course with a C, as well as psych and soc classes with As. From what I have read its the science courses that you really need to do well in. I want to get my ADN not BSN (not yet anyway), so I don't know how much my couple of "C"s will matter with regard to being competitive. My other thought was to go in as a new student and take placement exams to hopefully place high enough that I won't need to take the math and english courses.

I would be working full time (and I'm married with 2 kids) while completing the rest of my pre-requisites so if I use my previous grades it will definitely save me time as I don't think I can realistically take more than one class (and do well) per semester. The college that I am looking at attending would only require 3 science based classes in addition to what I have already completed.... again just not sure how "competitive" my grades need to be for an ADN program at a community college. Thoughts?? Thank you so much!

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

You need to check with the school. Many schools put a 5 yr limit on credits. Older than that, they will need to be repeated.

[Double-Helix, BSN, RN]

It's unlikely that your 10 year old course grades will be accepted as transfer credits. Even if they do transfer, I would retake them and aim to do better than a C. Science courses are more heavily weighted in some programs, but overall GPA still matters. While ADN is your current goal, you'll want your GPA to be competitive for the nursing program, as well as put yourself in good standing for entry into an RN-BSN program, should you wish to go that route in the future.

[lehaley1989, ADN, RN]

Definitely check your school's policies. In addition to the point that Guy in Babyland made about time limits, you'll want to make sure that the C's will not affect how competitive your application is. Don't discount the competitiveness of ADN programs. In many areas, ADN programs are just as tough to get into as BSN programs. Schools can generally provide the average GPA of admitted students for each semester, so I would recommend taking a look at that before making any decisions. Another thing to keep in mind is that I've heard that schools have a way to determine if you've taken college courses in the past, even if you don't send them your transcript. This would technically be considered academic dishonesty, which nursing programs tend to take very seriously.

[lmh24]

Good point on the 5 yr limit for credit transfer. I know in general credits never expire, however I have not researched this with regard to the nursing program.

Thank you for mentioning the academic dishonesty. That was something else I was wondering. I wasn't sure if it is even an option to withhold my previous courses.