Got dismissed from school

Hello,

I got dismissed from school because I was on probation for 3 quarters at college. I am having a 2.0 GPA but my quarter GPA was really low. I just knew that today I have to take a year off from school. I am extremely worried right now and I am seeking for advice.

I am a transfer student and I completely messed up my first year in college because I couldn’t find a balance between social life and school. My friends and I would party from 9pm to 7am during WEEKDAYS. I was trying really hard to fit in and to make friends so I joined all the parties and ended up ruining my GPA.
Now I have to take a year off from school and I am considering new options.
I really really want to a nurse and I am aware how competitive those programs are. I came up with a few options and I hope you guys can give me some realistic opinions.
I know I am capable of my own limits and I think I might be able to achieve straight As but I have to sacrifice everything (which I am willing to).

1.[ONE YEAR OFF]
I can work until Jan, go to a community college for one semester to take all the lower div classes(spring sem)
Then, I will go back to college to finish my bachelor ->go to nursing school- ABSN programs (my gpa for is currently 2.0 - i need get straight As for the incoming year to get a 3.5.

  • I only have one more year left in college.
  1. quit University, start fresh in a community college-> i can just go to a cc and get an associate in nursing (RN)and enroll in a RN->BSN (bachelor) program in a university to obtain my bachelor in nursing

I don’t see where your problem is!!! Now you don’t have to stop partying at 7am because school is getting in the way. But it may not work out, something like a job and the “real world” may get in your way.

Didn’t being on probation alert you to a problem?

To think you can just turn around and get all A’s after not learning much so far is ludicrous.

Get a job, learn to be responsible and then maybe someday in the future you’ll be ready to try college again.

I think you could choose either route at the CC to eventually get your 4 year degree in nursing. It is not unusual for students to have a rough start to college, take a break, and try again. You might get really good grades at the CC if you decide you are really motivated. Perhaps the second choice - enrolling directly in a cc program that leads to a RN might be less risky because in the first option, even after you complete classes at the cc, you would still need to find a BSN program that will accept you.

I agree with HPuck. You have a lot of growing up to do. Nothing like a real job to help that happen.

Why didn’t a bad grade on your first test alert you that things weren’t going well?
Why didn’t your first semester grades alert you?

Keep in mind you can’t just “start over”…I mean you can take classes again, but all classes you ever took in college count for your college GPA.

I would start in CC…don’t take too many classes and have your goal to be to get A’s. Then see where you are at.

I was in your situation … it’s called “rustication.” Suspended from school for a year due to bad grades. My parents were disappointed but supportive. I moved back home, got a 9-5 office job, and signed up for night school (extension school at an Ivy) to take the four required courses to get back into my “real” school. Everything came together, I did well in both my job and night school classes, still had a social life, and enjoyed spending more time with my family. The $$ I earned during my year off made things easier after I returned to my “real” school.

I never stopped partying and kept getting bad grades after my rustication, but stuck it out and graduated. I’ve had an amazing career and nobody in the work world ever gave a rat’s posterior about what grades I got in college.

Now, if you aspire to become a nurse, and to be admitted to a competitive grad program, it’s possible you may already have blown it due to your performance so far, if 3.5 GPA is required. However, I just did a quick google on ABSN grade requirements, and I saw a range of minimum GPA from 2.5 to 3.2. So, you don’t need straight As from now on. Straight Bs could work too. Your situation is a temporary setback, not a catastrophic failure. GL to you.

I would pick plan B. I am an ADN nurse. If you can actually get into a nursing program at a CC and complete it you would have no problem doing a bridge program to a BSN later (there are plenty of online programs that are affordable now). Where I work (hospital) new hires with ADN degrees must sign a contract to complete their BSN within 5 years.

I agree that plan 2 is your best bet. I appreciate that @morningsider is trying to give you a real-life perspective, but continuing to party hard can cause long-term damage to your health in ways you will not understand until you hit middle age. I suggest you find healthier friends going forward.

I have a friend whose son started at Cornell. He was very into the robotics program, but not into his school work. He was also told to take classes elsewhere for a year. So he took classes at another local state college for a year. After a year he decided to finish his schooling at that state college . He now works in robotics at Amazon.
So maybe returning to your college is the way to go, or you might find another college to be more your speed.

I wouldn’t bank on making straight As. If you haven’t made straight As up until now, the chances of you making them later is…not high. There’s nothing saying you can’t clean up your act and do really well, but putting your hopes into straight As might be aiming unnecessarily high and setting yourself up for not reaching yoru goal.

Either route is a fine one to get you to your career goals. With option 2, you can also work after you get your ADN and do the RN → BSN program part time - so this may be a less expensive plan overall. It also may be a little more realistic; although the minimums in some ABSN programs may be lower than you’d expect, some of those programs are actually quite competitive.