I’m interested in becoming a nurse but from what I understand many undergrad classes are science focused. I’m not horrible at bio/chem, but I’m definitely not the best either. I may be interested in becoming a NP so I’m worried if I do pursue nursing I’ll have to take science classes I don’t like and end up with a bad GPA. Are there any nursing undergrads that can share their experience?
I am not a nursing undergrad, just the mom of a future one. 
Yes, there is lots of science involved. You can look up some sample course loads at different colleges, but most of the ones we’ve looked at involve some versions of biology, chemistry, and physiology/anatomy, as well as some nursing-specific classes that are science-oriented and some math classes. Most programs require you to have a certain overall GPA, as well as a certain science-only GPA, to continue on. It depends on the school … some requirements are fairly modest, and some might be challenging. A non-direct admit school might only admit the top x percent of students to clinicals in sophomore or junior year, and often they are prioritized based on science GPA. A direct-admit school might have the same GPA requirements, but as long as you meet them you continue (no competition for the top whatever number).
I don’t think nursing has quite the “weed out” focus that, say, engineering does. But there are going to be challenging classes and it is fair to require students to do decently to continue - the most common requirement I’ve seen is a C or better. I personally don’t think you have to be naturally gifted in science to be a nurse (although it certainly helps, lol) but you do have to be willing to work hard.
@Charliesch can probably chime in better than I.
I advise freshmen, including my fair share of “nursing-interest” students (can’t declare a nursing major as a freshmen) and am the parent of a fairly new nurse (starts MSN in the spring). My employer is not direct entry, so I would say that yes, the science courses are definitely weeders. About half my freshmen will self-select out of nursing before they get to the point of applying to the department. Generally the reason is the science courses.
The S in BSN stands for science. You can expect to have to take bio, chem, A&P, microbiology, nutrition (may or may not be taught in the bio department). Do you need to be good in them? Define good. If you are at a competitive entry place, sure, you’ll need high grades. If you get into a direct entry program, you’ll just have to earn the program specified minimums.
I would say at least 3/4 of my freshmen nursing-interest want to be nurse practitioners. They seem to think nursing is an easy route to becoming a doctor. I always advise one step at a time. Let’s not worry about the NP until you’ve earned the BSN. If you want nursing, focus on that right now. The NP worries can come later.
A nursing student needs to take much less chemistry than a pre-med student (often it is only one class). As stated above, you must be very very good at biology and anatomy. AP bio is a good test for whether you have the scientific aptitude. At my daughter’s nursing program, they made everyone take the freshman nursing bio class, even if you received AP credit for bio, because it was a high level intensive class. They assumed everyone already was good at bio.
If you want to work in health care, but do not have a strong aptitude for science, you might look into health care administration.
I should clarify that my daughter’s college still gave AP credits for bio, but they didn’t let you out of the required class. Those AP credits were valuable because they required 128 credits to graduate.
As others have said, you definitely can’t slack off in science as it is a Bachelors of Science degree. But honestly, it really depends on which nursing school you go to. I went to UC Irvine and I feel like we had to take more science than most nursing schools. I tool a whole year of general chemistry, 1 quarter/semester of organic chemistry, 1 quarter/semester of genetics, 1 quarter/semester of biochemistry, along with the standard physiology, microbiology, and anatomy classes. I even took physics one quarter (albeit that was my choice because I am interested in going the CRNA route). Mind you, in larger schools like UCI, you will be taking these classes with biology, chemistry, engineering and/or pre-med people so it isn’t exactly “watered down” for nursing as is the case in more “focused” schools of nursing.
Why do you want to be a nurse? Honestly? Your answer might make a difference in mine
<—NP, mom of BSN student
Something Like half of my school (unofficially this is just my general view) are nursing majors. The nursing majors at my school only required to take Human Anatomy and Physiology 1 and 2 and Microbiology (Microbiology does have a prereq of atleast BSC1005C, but there’s probably a way to wave that prereq). In short other than some basic biology courses, you probably won’t have much science courses. Although your college may require a semester of General chemistry and if you have thoughts of NP it might not hurt to take a semester or two of Chemistry. (I personally haven’t taken any college level biology except for AP Bio in high school and I found it to be pretty basic and alot of people have told me similar things about HA&P, but microbiology is supposed to be killer at times) best of luck.
You need to be very good at bio and anatomy and related subjects. If you don’t have much aptitude in chemistry, try to pick a program that does not require more than one semester of chemistry. Most nursing programs post their BSN curriculum online.
In addition, if chemistry is not your strong suit, you may want to avoid a highly competitive university where the nursing students have to take chemistry classes with highly competitive pre-meds.