Poor Grades, How to Achieve R.N.?

[Memictory]

Hello,

I graduated back in 2014 from a UC with a B.S. in Biology. Unfortunately my transcript is poor and it will be an uphill climb to be qualified to apply for Nursing programs.

Cumulative GPA: 3.16
Science GPA: 2.85 (if you include math it is 2.77)

Yeeeesh - underwhelming, I know. I was wondering what advice you may provide to improve my transcript in order to apply for RN programs. Should I apply for a BSN program? Should I retake my classes I did not do well in at local community colleges to improve my gpa? Should I apply for a postbac or Master's program? How would you/did you approach this goal of getting your R.N. if this was your situation?

Thank you for your time and help in advance.

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[pamac]

RN programs can have varying factors that they look at in a candidate. A program near me looks at the GPA that an applicant has from 5 or 6 prerequisites, and bases most of their file score on that. So in that case, someone would go and take the prereqs in question, and make sure they get A's in them, and have a really good shot. Some programs have waiting lists, and you just have to wait things out until a spot opens up (which can literally be years). Some programs are expensive, and will overlook grades that aren't 4.0, but the school will set you back tens of thousands of dollars. One near me is over $80k.

So there's no way anyone can answer your question directly because there are too many variables involved. My nursing program was less than $8,000 total. It had as many applicants as most PA programs get. They took into account how many prereqs students had completed on a rather significant prereq list. They also looked at gpa, and scores on a specific pre nursing test. There were a lot of different factors. Another nearby nursing program looks at overall gpa heavily, as well as the standardized entry test, and has interviews. Every school will be different, and because of that, there isn't a one sized fits all solution for you. You may not have to retake a lot of courses.

So start looking at websites of programs in locations you feel like you could stand to live in. That's really the best way to go, and the best advice anyone can give you.

 

[politeness]

Poor grades are not good for the RN program. This program is very tedious. You need to have a good grasp of understanding the subject matter to survive.