about pre-reqs

Gump · Jul 24, 2003

B.T.H

I know about ten CRNAs who took pre reqs at a jr college, just be sure to make A's in all math /science/nursing courses!!

dianacs · Jul 24, 2003

Most if not all of my sciences have been and will be at the cc. Financially and logistically this is the best way for me to work these in. I have never heard of a situation where cc classes were looked down upon. They are certainly as rigorous and challenging as anything I've ever taken at a university!

MICU RN · Jul 24, 2003

You should be okay as long as you do well in those classes. However, having spoken to admissions officers in anesthesia programs and medical school, cc classes are not considered as tough as university classes in general. You must remember you are now competing with people who have at least a bachelors degree and many have all their credits from universities. IN addition, many of these students have degrees from highly regarded private or top state universities. So, just make sure you ace your cc classes and possibly be prepared to take questions about the difficulty of your classes. I got accepted into a crna program and had many cc classes and the subject did not come up; however, I had two undergrad nursing degrees ( ADN/BSN) from the same nursing college, which is considered one of the toughest in my state.

B.T.H · Jul 24, 2003

First off, thanks for all your reply's.

CH3CH2- I'm hoping that I will get all A's in all the classes, not just in the math,science and nursing classes( later) since even getting into a nursing program now is competitive(in CO at least).

Dianetics- Hope you don't think I'm degrading the CC education by my questions. Just worried about the level of competition later when applying to CRNA programs. From doing a little research, it seems that the competition is intense to get in and the level of the competitors are high. I'm 36 now, and having spent the last 10 years pursuing another goal, I have to choose the most practical and direct path to this goal as possible. With a family and 2 kids now and having spent so much time and effort in pursuing the other goal. I feel like I have one shot at this, so I have to make it count.

I enjoy my CC college and would not make light of the education or experience I'm getting, just worried because of the competition is all.

Anthony- I hope to finish the pre-reqs with a 4.0 to off-set the CC background. I'm planning on applying to the University of Health and Sciences in CO (the biggest teaching hospital in CO) for my BSN so hopefully that will meet the requirements, as far as the bachelors degree is concerned. I'm hoping to get my ICU experience from the same hospital after graduation.

I realize that competition is high so I was worried about the CC background. Your different posts have answered my questions. Thanks again for your different replies. B.T.H

SCHMEGGA · Jul 25, 2003

Getting your pre-req at a cc is a very smart move! It will not hurt you one single bit.

keermie · Jul 25, 2003

I completly agree. By going to a cc, you are saving money and getting essentially the same education. It' s not like they are NOT gonna teach you certain material because you paid less. I wish I had done it that way. Not only that but science classes are heavy indicators, so I think you're smart with you current plan. Just think, you'll be saving all that $ for anesthesia school!

nilepoc · Jul 25, 2003

I took about 1/3 of my course work at a CC. It worked out fine, and I have no complaints. My one suggestion, is do not take just the fluff classes required by a nursing program. Take the real chemistry, and organic, and biochem. Then, you will have a solid foundation to work from.

Craig

PilotJim68 · Jul 25, 2003

Nilepoc,

I think you just answered one of my questions. The cc I go to, as well as the affiliated university offers certain "medical" classes geared toward the medical profession. For example, they offer Physics and Chem for the medical profession. Is it wise to take these classes or just bite the biullet and take the "general" physics and chem classes.

BTW, I have the same concern over the cc classes being looked down by universities. We have an AWESOME A&P tutor who is a pharmacy major at University of Florida and they told him that some of his science classes from the cc would not be good enough because they werent considered "university" level. I want to avoid all chances of being told something like that in the future so I was planning on taking my higher sciences and maths at the university instead of the cc just to avoid questions such as that. I would rather take them at the cc because of cost and I know those classes are just as tough as the universities. :cool:

dianacs · Jul 25, 2003

I'm willing to take my chances...if the difference between me getting in and not getting is the fact that I took some classes at a cc, so be it. Surely I will have a lot more going for me than where I did or didn't take classes. I really don't see cc as a liability anyway.

B.T.H · Jul 25, 2003

Hi Jim,

It sounds like the CC background could be off-set if we get our BSN from a good, well reputed school. From the different replies, I'm getting the impression that a lot of other people have CC backgrounds as well, so maybe it doesn't matter as much as I feared it would. I think I will stick to the CC for the pre-reqs to get into the BSN program. I will then try to get into the best reputed BSN program in state; after that, I can take Bio & Organic chemistry, as well as physics at the university level before I apply to the different CRNA programs(I think taking these 3 classes just before entering,"hopefully," the program will make understanding the information in the program itself easier). This way it's cheaper, and I will have had 3 of the major science classes at the university level as well. The rest is good grades, high test scores, experience for ICU requirements at a good teaching hospital, etc, etc.

Niepoc- thanks for the advice, hopefully taking the 3 major science courses at the university level will satisfy the different programs requirements for the pre-reqs. Will try to stay away from the "fluff classes" also(although they do make the GPA look good though he,he).

On another note, thanks for sharing with all of us CRNA wanna-be's your experiences on your website. It gives us a good picture of what the 2-3 years of hell is going to be like and what to expect and prepare for. I Will continue to work to join the fraternity one day, one step at a time. B.T.H

nilepoc · Jul 25, 2003

Pilot,

Your instinct is correct, do not take the classes geared for a major. Tey are usually dumbed down, and only cover a subset of what a more general two semster class would cover. You will be better off taking the two semester general chemestry, and not the health major one. I had to go back and retake chemistry, and biochem because the health oriented ones I took were not enough.

good luck.

Craig