I was an honors student in HS and I was able to go to a prestigious university, but I struggled a lot in university as my mother got terminally ill in my first year and passed away at the end of my first year. I became depressed, and I didn’t care at all about my grades so my first 2-3 years of my university were a disaster, and in my last two semesters I finally pulled myself together and I got a 3.25 and 3.70 respectively but my CGPA was still a 2.60. I have graduated in 4 years with a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing, and have managed to get a job at the best hospital in the U.S. Additionally, I have taken my GRE and achieved a 315. I had a couple of leadership positions in university as well but they aren’t outstanding. I really want to go into a top 20 graduate university i.e UCLA/NYU but I feel like my chances are ruined due to my first 2 years in university and my CGPA. I don’t plan on going automatically but spend some time working for 1-2 years and then apply, but in the meanwhile, what could I do to improve my chances or do I even have a chance? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!
UCLA, like many grad programs, has a minimum undergrad GPA of 3.0 for admission. That is a University of California requirement at all campuses, and is generally not waiveable. I would assume that NYU is similar.
Since nursing is a specialized field, suggest that you contact an advisor at your undergrad college and ask them.
Good luck.
You should contact UCLA and NYU and ask.
You indicate that you have a good background; use that information to ask.
Both schools are expensive, and in the end, you’ll have a job, regardless of where you go.
Were you intending to use the MSN to further graduate studies and teach?
Thank you! I’m not too sure which type of program I would like to go into but I either want to get an MSN in Nursing and become a nurse practitioner or get an MBA in healthcare management. It just has been a dream of mine to go to good grad school and I was just wondering how possible it would be with my credentials.
You can sometimes take a few graduate classes at some schools as a non-degree student. Do well and it’s more data that shows you can handle graduate work.