Trying to get into nursing school

[Krystal-12]

Hello everyone! I am going to be applying for the nursing program at a university in Ohio in spring 2016. I am going into my second year and unfortunately my first semester gpa fell a little low, but fortunately I picked myself back up for my spring semester. Although my Gpa for my first year was 2.8 (cumulative), I am taking classes over summer that will be included in my first year and I am doing well in them so far so my gpa should boost up a little more. I hope to get great grades for fall 15 so come time for applying to the nursing program my gpa is where I want it.

So what I want to ask in this post is about volunteer work and what I can do besides get good grades To get into the nursing program. I am trying to do some volunteer work and take opportunities that will reserve my spot in nursing school. But I am having trouble finding opportunities that will make my application stand out. I was reading about Gap Medics and it seems like a really good program to take part in. I was wondering if traveling to a different country like Thailand and volunteering through Gap Medics would be a good thing to do. What else can I do make sure I have a high chance of getting in? I am willing to do anything I can go be able to work towards my goals.

Thanks for all your help!!!

[WookieeRN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Do they have an entrance exam for your program? Knocking that out of the park would potentially offset your GPA a little.

[MKIVSupraRN]

Here in my state, all nursing programs including ADN and BSN only look at your cumulative SCIENCE GPA. Essentially, all the science pre-reqs i.e A&P, micro bio, Patho, etc. For us, they didn't care about previous work experience such as those who were EMS1/2 or CNA. All they really cared about is science GPA. Don't let this weigh you down as you can still get in. I know students with similar gpa and still got accepted.

Again, don't let this affect you when you apply. There are other things that also account in your application such as your entrance HESI or TEAS exam score and ethnicity. There were students getting rejected with 3.5 GPAs but were accepting students with 3.2 GPAs. Why? They were getting exceptionally high entrance exam scores. So don't let this discourage you in any way. You will be fine :) as for the ethnicity part playing a role.... My states nursing programs are state funded and by law all are mandated to accept students who are Native American, Indian, Muslim, etc at a certain amount because the schools contracts with the state and this state contract entitles this requirement and the schools must abide in order to maintain their funding.

Also, some schools do interviews along side your application. Some schools here in my state got rid of them where as some kept them.

Don't let your GPA get in your way of pursuing your life dream. If you need to, retake your lowest pre req courses and bump up your GPA. Also, study hard for your entrance exam as it is a key player in the admissions board as to student admissions into the program.

Volutneer work always looks good to have on your application, however it's not a key factor in what the admissions board looks into when it comes to choosing potential candidates for the program.

Stay strong and keep going!

Good luck :)

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

Moved to the pre nursing forum

[Cakelady1]

For my program, acceptance is weighed according to:

Grades (#1) - and not only science, but for all prerequisites

HESI score (#2)

Then little "brownie points" such as: Hospital volunteer, CNA work, EMT work, etc.

NA certification is a requirement for entrance into my program, but you don't *have* to actually work as one. I have just started my prerequisites, I'm only entering my second semester of them next week. But I hurried up and finished my CNA for two reasons - 1, so that I could make sure nursing was really for me. 2, so that I can start working weekends while working on my prereqs so that I have some hours to put down on my application for extra "brownie points." I should have a good 18-24 months worth of CNA hours logged for my application by the time I apply. :) At our information meeting, they said that a lot of students wait until the final semester of prerequisites to do their CNA and I was a little shocked. Why? They have wasted all of that time when they could have been getting some experience. And what if you spent all of that time/money on the prereqs, only to take the CNA course and decide you really hate nursing?

Sorry for getting off on a tangent there - my point is, what makes your application stand out depends on your program. Some don't require CNA, so perhaps that's a good place to start! Get certified (it's relatively easy and inexpensive, doesn't require a lot of time - my program was 4 weeks.) Volunteer at the hospital. Really, it depends on how your program works. Read through the information with a fine tooth comb.