Hi~ I have a question about getting into the nursing program in Canada. During one of my years at high school, I went through a lot of stuff I'd rather not get into in too much detail on this post. I will say that I was seriously depressed/anxious and was worried about my heart for a while. Because of that, I obviously didn't do as well as I would have had I been preforming at my norm. Therefore, I was wondering, is there any way I can let universities know that I was not preforming at my best that semester on my application? If not, is there any chance I can get into any of the following schools? Below are my required grades/classes and average. English- 91% (English course required) Data- 88% (Only one math course required) Biology- 76% (Bio required, taken twice, also got a 73% but they will take highest) Chemistry- ~80% (Required, haven't finished class yet so can't be certain) Comm Tech- 92% (extra top 6) World Issues- 97% (extra top 6) Average: 87% (I am going to try and get 93% for my last class I am taking, which would bring me to a 88% average) School choice #1 desired average: 87-90% School choice #2 desired average: 85-90% School choice #3 desired average: 87% School choice #4 desired average: 85% School choice #5 desired average: 80-83% ---------- Post added 14th Jan 2014 at 08:04 PM ---------- Forgot to mention. The semester I am worried about is the one where I received a 53% in advanced functions and a 76% in biology. I have been told that the 53% does not matter, as I have the 88% in data and they only take your best math. Yet I still worry that seeing the 53% will give them pause, and want to explain myself. Same as the biology. When life was going fine for me, I had a 90% in grade 11 bio which I took a year early even!
Hi there! Unfortunately, and unless there is a written component (such as a statement of intent or a personal statement where you can explain as to why you would like to attend a nursing program, in which you could bring in some of your personal experiences) that you have to submit with your application, there is not much you can do to indicate that there was one semester where you didn't do as well. Given that it seems that you are meeting the minimum entry grade requirements, I'd still encourage you to apply to the schools/programs you would like to attend. I would suggest that you keep trying your best in the current semester, and if you can maintain or bump the average up by that one percentage point; that should be good. Try not to place more pressure on yourself by worrying about the courses where you didn't perform as well, and retook. If somebody has a look at the reports and sees the 53%, in conjunction with all other grade reports, it will be clear that it was an anomaly.
