Hi ladies and gents, i'm very new to this forum, so this is my first post. I really need some input, because the last couple days i've been over thinking everything and it's really been getting to me. This may be long, so I apologize...
I've been an on and off student since I was out of high school. I was always so indecisive about what I wanted to do, therefor I was never the most studious. the last semester that I attended at my local CC I received some less than stellar marks (F's) just out of shear unmotivation and immaturity. I don't know what I was thinking at the time and I don't think it matters now, being that it was back in 2011. All I know is that I declared my major as psychology and I figured I'd just pursue that. At that time I transferred to a different University and went there for 2 semesters. My grades were steady B's for the most part, again because I felt unmotivated with my major. I didn't feel right about continuing with psychology so I took a semester off to really think about if that's what I wanted to pursue. I decided to take a specialized career placement exam, with results in the field of nursing. I then spoke with family members and friends who are nurses and they encouraged me to look into it more. Basically in 2013/2014 I did some serious soul searching and planning. I moved back to my old area and attended my old CC. From 2014/2015 I took A&P 1 and 2 and Microbiology. I Aced all three courses. I also retook some past bad grades and Aced those as well. Within that time, it became more apparent to me that nursing was really what I wanted to pursue....
Alright cool, but now I feel haunted by my bad academic behavior from the past, being that those old failing grades are still on my transcripts, but not calculated in my GPA. Don't get me wrong In general I have more B's a few A's from the first couple years I attended college, however I can't get over the fact that If I was as motivated then as I am now I would have straight A's and wouldn't be worrying like this.
I took the Teas test for the first time last fall. My score wasn't good enough for the ADN program but I was accepted into the LPN program for this coming fall. The director of my school encouraged me to pursue the LPN-RN bridge program, which sounded like a good idea when I really started thinking about it. I will be starting that program in a month, and I'm very excited and nervous about it. My plan is to eventually transfer to a BSN program, but i'm worried other programs may not be as forgiving of my past.. It's been on my mind the last couple days and for some reason I can't shake it.
Besides the bad grades that I retook, I have general nursing prerequisites that I took previously that are mostly B's and a couple A's. Including my sciences, my nursing prerequisite grade is a 3.5.
After reading my story, would you say I have a chance of getting into a good program? Is there advice that could be given to me? I've never been more committed to anything in my entire life.. I'm just feeling discouraged that i'm not a traditional student and I have a not so stellar academic past.
They aren't going to care as much about your F's in 2011, they will look at how you do in the LPN program and what your professors have to say about you.
I can tell by your long post that this is both important topic to you and you hold a fair amount of anxiety about the situation you have put yourself in. I have to say that I feel you are doing the 'right thing' by going back, retaking some of the classes you did poorly in, and are earning a better grade at this point. Also, Kudos to you!! Microbiology is a no joke class and you received an 'A'. I respect that.
Also, please know that nurses do not know what the GPA their colleagues held. Therefore, focus on getting into a program, work hard at it, and you will get noticed. I had one of my Professor's write a letter of recommendation for me when job searching for the first time. This went very far in helping me out. The Professor noticed that I was passionate about Nursing and tried even harder in the parts of school that I had weaknesses in.
Lastly, when you apply to another school to earn your Bachelor's degree, the new school will look at your transcripts to see if you meet the specifications for entrance into their program. If you do, they will accept the classes for transfer that have the right grades and not accept the transfer credits if the grades are not high enough. As a starting point but certainly not utilized in every school, usually one needs a 'C' or higher for transfer of the class to the BSN program.
You are in a position that you are already repairing the damage done when you were younger and did not hold the wisdom you do now. From your post, it sounds like you are making pretty good grades in the Nursing classes now. You should take this to heart and continue on your current track.
If you have been accepted into an LPN program, you could prove your worthiness right now. I would feel remiss without mentioning that all of nursing is headed towards bedside nurses holding a BSN degree. You should know this when making any decisions as entering an LPN program would mean more schooling for you in the future.
I wouldn't be too concerned. You've already made an effort in improving yourself, and showing future colleges that you're willing to do the hard work required. I failed a class, and ended up retaking it. I have had no trouble being accepted anywhere (though the class and the retake did not transfer, but it's math, and those rarely do) like state schools, CCs, or private universities. They'll see that you were able to improve. If they ask, explain what happened and that you're extremely committed, which they'll be able to see with the better grades in the classes you retook.
Good luck in the LPN program! Remember, colleges and universities see lots of different students and transcripts, some probably like yours. A BSN program will look at your grades, but since you would already have an LPN, they'd be happy to have you.
Thank you everyone for your words of wisdom. Everything that I read from your responses was very insightful, and I feel better about my situation. I know I just have to continue working hard and i'll reach my goal of being an RN. I'm a little relieved that there have been others in similar predicaments who have succeeded. I think in my efforts of changing and turning my grades around, i've also become a type A, and so whenever I look at some of my grades from my old transcripts I cringe at the fact that I used to be that careless.
First off, I know how you feel when it comes to being discouraged due to past bad grades. I was in the same boat from 2012(January)-2014 (May) at my old university (4-year BSN program), and didn't make it into their program due to my poor grades. However, I looked into another smaller private college (4 year BSN program) that has one of the best nursing programs in my state. During the summer of 2014 I retook microbiology (i had already retook A.P. 2 / and Chemistry for Allied Health) and told myself that if I passed this class I'll transfer out and go to the smaller college. Which is exactly what I did and I have been getting great grades this past academic year (august 2014-may 2015) (had 64 credits transfer from my old university, but still need to complete the four year program at the private college). During my first semester at the private college they were offering a nursing class that was 1 credit so you can learn about the profession a little bit and some study techniques and time management skills if you got into the nursing program. I had already taken the NLN which is a nursing entrance exam but didn't get the score I needed with that test so I had to prepare for the TEAS-V test. The test was so much easier for me however, I attended every study session I could that the college provided since this was a new test the college would accept for applications. Well, I took the test and passed with the minimum required scores. Then this past January I began to take my first official Nursing class that included a clinical class. I ended up passing it with the required B to move on to the second year courses which I will be taking this fall (taking 3 lecture nursing classes with 2 clinical's). I have so much more motivation now, now that I came to a much smaller private college with much smaller teacher/student ratios. Not sure if my story will help you, but just keep your eyes on the prize and you'll get through it. :)
Yes it did! and i've actually been looking into private nursing schools. My area is known for having some of the best private nursing schools in my state, so I've been looking into them, and I will hopefully meet with their directors before the summers over. I'm taking the Teas again this fall, and hopefully i'll have a higher score. I usually don't get test anxiety, but when I took it my anxiety was through the roof. I think this time around will be different because I have A&P 2 and Micro under my belt, and at the time I took the Teas I only had A&p 1.
yes those next classes will be very helpful, also look over some physical science too, i remember getting questions about the earth, also try to remember the domains of animal species, i remember seeing something about that too. i felt the TEAS exam was way better than the NLN. TEAS is easy wording. just keep studying and be sure you are confident in your answers, NEVER go back and change your answers, if you are unsure about an answer come back to it once you have answered all the ones you know. Being that its a timed test you want to get the best scores you can on the subjects and concepts you are confident about.
Agreed. Also when I first took it, I studied from a book made from trivium test prep. I actually found multiple wrong answers in it, so I would never recommend it to anyone. This time around I bought ATI study manual which is so much better. And taking too long to look over certain questions rather than just moving on and coming back to them was a mistake that I know not to do for next time.
Hello I am new to this site. My name is Vanessa, i'm 26, I attend a local community College here in California and, I have a few worries I am still taking all my general education classes, and I have a few in English c's. & math. I'm getting discouraged because I know you need A's and B's to even be considered in to the Nursing program. I mean don't get me wrong I am not dumb at all it just I dropped out of high school at such a young age; I went and got my GED and I feel I should of just listen to my parents and finished high school. but any who I want to know if there is anybody that has got in to the nursing program with a few C's. And, these are not even my perquisite classes there still my Gen ed's. I hoping if I try really hard I might still have a chance to get in ..
To PP, CA is an extremely competitive state for nursing, both in schools and in facilities. I would speak with an academic advisor from the nursing program, but I'd imagine it is very difficult to get in a nursing program with anything lower than a B.
Hello I am new to this site. My name is Vanessa, i'm 26, I attend a local community College here in California and, I have a few worries I am still taking all my general education classes, and I have a few in English c's. & math. I'm getting discouraged because I know you need A's and B's to even be considered in to the Nursing program. I mean don't get me wrong I am not dumb at all it just I dropped out of high school at such a young age; I went and got my GED and I feel I should of just listen to my parents and finished high school. but any who I want to know if there is anybody that has got in to the nursing program with a few C's. And, these are not even my perquisite classes there still my Gen ed's. I hoping if I try really hard I might still have a chance to get in ..
Most schools accept C's in your science classes and around a 2.5 overall GPA for your general education classes. Just check with the Nursing department and see what their requirements are.
Glycerine82, LPN
1 Article; 2,188 Posts
They aren't going to care as much about your F's in 2011, they will look at how you do in the LPN program and what your professors have to say about you.