Where do I go from here? Need advice

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I've already accepted the fact that my grades will never be good enough to get into an RN program at a community college. I feel like I will waste many years being rejected. I know it's very competitive and my B in anatomy, C in physiology, and C in microbiology will never be able to compete even though I have a decent overall GPA of a 3.2 and passed the teas exam with an 82%. I wish I could re take these classes, but I guess once you pass with a C or better, you can't. I almost feel like I should've intentionally failed so I could retake them. I've never been a c student, just went through some rough times that year and it affected my studies. In fact I graduated high school with honors and had no lower grades than a B after that bad year. so where do I go from here? What other options do I have? I don't have the money to go private... Nor do I want to be in debt for over $90,000 just to be an RN, which is what West Coast University's tuition costs. I live in Los Angeles and all of the private colleges are very expensive. I work at a hospital as a clerk and I really want to be a nurse, but feel like I'll never get the chance because of my grades. I've considered going to an Lvn school and just pay the $20,000+ for tuition and going to a lvn to RN program at a community college, but once again they will look at my core sciences grades and my chances will be back to being slim. Need advice please....

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Specializes in Med-Surg/DOU/Ortho/Onc/Rehab/ER/.

I live in LA county. Where did you do your pre reqs? Where have you applied to?

People with bad grades that are not able to retake them (most schools here let you do ONE retake)

Apply to private

Apply to waitlist schools ie MT SAC, Cerritos

Apply to lottery programs.

I would look into these programs then see how many repeats you can take. Even one of those Cs to an A can help you.

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Specializes in ER, Trauma, Med-Surg/Tele, LTC.

Not all community colleges are grades based. Mt SAC, ELAC, and Cerritos are 3 CCs in the greater LA area I know of that are lottery based. I'm sure there are more, you just need to do your research.

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I did my prereqs at pierce college. I applied to College of the Canyons, Pierce College, and Los Angeles Valley College. COC said they were lottery bases, yet their brochure stated that you should have a 3.0 to be more competitive... My other problem with looking into other community colleges is that MOST of them want your core sciences to be 5 year recent... My pre reqs are about 8 years old... So I'm limited to the colleges I can apply to. Which is another road block ...

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Why not redo your sciences so that you can apply to those programs that require them to be less than 5 years? If they are expired at those schools, they will allow you to retake them. My A&P was expired so I had to retake it. I was a bit ticked off that I had to retake it but it all worked out. I had a B with the expired one and when I retook it I got an A.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/DOU/Ortho/Onc/Rehab/ER/.

Well there's your problem. They are expired.

I hate to say this but you either retake them or choose a different profession.

You just can't complain that your not getting accepted when you know what you have to do. Then do it!

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I'm not sure if this pertains to you or not..... but here's my experience.

I have just been accepted into my community college's RN program after my first try. I was a little nervous because I have 4 F's on my transcript as a result of a family emergency out of my control. However, I retook those classes and received A's. My GPA is a 3.2 right now and I had to take the HESI and only scored 84% composite. I thought this wouldn't be good enough, but my school factors in the core sciences & the hesi. It's not really based on GPA. I live in NJ however, but I wouldn't give up! If your dream is to become a nurse. Keep pursuing it! Don't ever give up! Just try harder and keep all your options open. I understand how frustrating it can be waiting and waiting ..... but if you really want to be a nurse then it's worth it. Good luck to you! And believe in yourself and your abilities!

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Specializes in med-surg.

Do you really want to be a nurse? There are no jobs for nurses now. If you have problems with the science classes. The Nursing course will be even harder for you. Do not put all your eggs in one basket. Do not get in debt for nursing school. Try a different field. Don't let what you hope for spoil what you have now.

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Specializes in ER, Trauma, Med-Surg/Tele, LTC.

I agree with mangopeach. Just retake them. If I were in your situation I'd consider it a good thing the 5 yr limit has passed bc it gives me an opportunity to get better grades in those classes. It may seem like a longer route right now in the short term, but you'd be happier in the long run by being able to go to a school you want to go to instead of just going to a school just bc they'll accept you.

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Thank you! I honestly didn't think i was allowed to retake them because all I knew was if you got a c or better you're stuck with it. And I thought if the 5 year time limit elapsed then you were out of luck... I guess i was misinformed by certain people who were probably jealous of me wanting to get ahead in life. Thanks for the insight. I'm on my way to see a counselor to talk about retaking them. I know it's hard for nurses to find jobs in big cities like Los Angeles, but it's my goal to go to undeserved communities and small towns in need of nurses.

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