you could try East Carolina University. they have a good nursing program. you could possibly get into Cincinnati as well. the higher your SAT/ACT the better your chances, and of course the more you can raise your GPA this semester the better.
if you really want to do nursing though, community college is a good option. my daughter is doing a three-year Nursing program at CC where she will become an RN, and her 4th year will be with East Carolina for the RN-to-BSN program. she also does stuff at the ECU campus since it is a joint program.
there are also other schools in the UNC system that offer Nursing like UNC-Wilmington, UNC-Charlotte, UNC-Greensboro, Appalachian State, Western Carolina.
@Wien2NC His GPA is pretty low to get into Cincinnati, he would need much higher test scores. Especially considering nursing programs are usually pretty competitive.
My suggestion is to attend one of the feeder schools for a year or two to have more solid grades and then go to the main campus after that - examples are Penn State-Harrisburg going to Penn State or Purdue-Northwest going to Purdue. Also, look for schools that have either/or grades or ACT scores to get in. Example if you want to go across the country - UNLV (Nevada-Las Vegas) - admissions are either a 3.0 GPA or a 22 ACT.
I think that a lot of the suggestions have been great, but I also think that there is a reason for the additional information section on college applications. Most colleges give you a chance to talk about the reasons you struggled with your grades, and I think your explanation would definitely give the admissions representatives a reason to consider you seriously. Additionally, I would focus on getting good grades for the remainder of your high school career, as colleges will want to see a change in your drive. A good ACT score would definitely be helpful in your application. I know you mentioned sports schools, but Iād recommend you check out this coalition or perhaps check out the book by the same name: http://ctcl.org/ (Colleges that Change Lives). Iām not sure how much longer you will be in HS, but you still have a chance to improve your GPA and be in the running for a good handful of schools. Good luck!
I think that you shouldnāt dismiss community college as a choice- i know it might not sound like a great option, but honestly community colleges can be great resources especially if you plan on transferring out. You said you were in PA right? so am i. At the community college near me, professors from the nearby top-ranked schools teach classes there. Youāll still get a good education, and as a plus, youāll save a shit-ton of money. When you transfer, you may also get in to a much better school than you would if you just applied straight out. Iām also pretty sure that it doesnāt show up on your diploma or anything if you transferred out of a community college (but donāt quote me on that).
I would try to talk to your guidance counselor about your options. If your school offers online or summer courses, maybe take some of those, too, as gpa boosters.
In PA, there are several schools that you could likely get into as a PRE nursing student and then you take classes to show you are ready and then you get into the major fully your sophomore year. Off the top of my head, those schools are:
Clarion University
Edinboro University
California University of Pennsylvania
Penn State Altoona (You will stay at Altoona campus all 4 years, not the 2+2 where you go to main campus for nursing)
Other Penn State commonwealth campuses (Not the main campus)
Clarion and Edinboro accept upwards of 90% of applicants. And for nursing, as long as you pass your NCLEX exam, it will not matter where you went to school. Clarion, Edinboro and Cal U are all state schools. Penn State Altoona is not and may be the more difficult one to get into, but Iāve heard it happen with kids under 2.5 GPA.
There is also the Pennsylvania College of Technology. They have a nursing program They are affiliated with Penn State but you donāt get a Penn State degree. PCT is an open admission college. Meaning, if you graduate high school, you can go. Itās a residential campus as well, and very highly regarded for what it does.
Donāt give up. My son has a 2.67 GPA because of different problems throughout high school and MANY people told us to just do the CC route. Well, he applied to IUP, Kent State and Penn State Altoona and got into all 3. He is going to Penn State Altoona in the fall. If you want to go to college, there are ways to do it. Good luckā¦
I got into Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, LSU, Ole Miss and Missouri with a 2.36. I got denied by Florida State, Auburn, and Oklahoma. Still waiting on Clemson, but itās probably a no. I think you can probably get into those places depending on your ACT/SAT. I almost applied to both WVU and VCU because they seemed rather easy to get into.