Undergrad Transcripts Question

[brilikethecheese]

Hi everyone! Looking for some insight here. I am currently almost done with my BSN and looking toward grad school to become a Nurse Practitioner. In my current program, I have a 3.8 GPA, lots of work experience, and volunteer experience. My issue is this - about 10 years ago, I was in a political science program that I dropped out of too late (due to a lot of weird circumstances - I had a death in the family and basically had a mental breakdown). Sooo I have a bunch of F’s on my transcript at that school for my last semester. Grad schools say they want ALL undergrad transcripts, so I’m assuming I have to send the ones for the Poli Sci program. Am I outta luck for being accepted somewhere, or will they overlook it since I’ve done so well in my current program and it was a long time ago?

[NurseBlaq]

Yes, they mean ALL transcripts so you would have to send the PoliSci ones too. Will it hurt you, not necessarily. They're mainly looking at nursing pre-reqs and sciences. You usually have to write an essay. Maybe include something simple to explain the PoliSci debacle in the essay. Something along the lines of "I was previously interested in PoliSci blah blah but later learned nursing was my passion. Blah blah hence why I started nursing and my grades are reflective of this. blah blah etc etc." You get the gist. Basically, use your essay to fill in any gaps or explain questionable issues on the submitted documentation but keep it simple and move along. Good luck to you!

[umbdude, MSN, APRN]

Don't worry about it! I got numerous C's, D's and F's in a variety of classes during my first 2 years of my first undergrad degree (not in nursing). I've since received a master degree in a quantitative field, had great professional progression in my previous career, 4.0 in all pre-req courses, and top grades in my BSN classes.

I never explained my failing grades when I applied to 3 competitive NP programs and got into all. I strongly discourage explaining those irrelevant grades. But if you do, do not exceed 2 sentences, "In 20xx, I performed poorly due to personal circumstances. My BSN GPA is an accurate reflection of my academic ability to handle XYZ's NP Program."

Just focus on your strengths that relate to nursing and your personal traits.