Is this too many courses???

Nurses General Nursing

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In the fall I was planning on taking Gen Chem, Eng 101, Psych 100, and MAT 056. But the Math course is 6 non degree credits, so that puts me at 16 credits. I have two children... 9 and 3, support from mom and fiance, and will be working 11-7 shifts 3 days a week on the weekends. Is it doable? If I should drop a course, which should it be?:o

Specializes in CT stepdown, hospice, psych, ortho.

Depends on you. Chemistry is the subject I have to study most for, it has a great deal of math. I'm suprised they are letting you take it if you are in a non degree math course (unless its not developmental), English will probably require a great deal of reading and writing, psychology is one of my favorites so to me it was easy but some people hate it. If you must drop one, I recommend seeing your counselor to see which ones you need to further your prerequisites, for instance it is probably important to get that english and math out of the way. My gut feeling says if that math is developmental to wait on chemistry, if it is not developmental, I would wait on Psych unless it is going to slow your progression in your path of studies. If you are disciplined, have a great deal of support, and generally make good grades you can probably take all of them if you are willing to dedicate most of your free time to studying and coursework. Good luck

Specializes in 3 yrs CNA.

Yes, if the math is a developmental math course, I would definitely wait on the chemistry. Chemistry teachers usually warn you that math skills are what hold people back and keep them from doing chemistry. In my humble opinion, you need to have at least algebra II level math skills to be able to succeed in chemistry without wanting to kill yourself. Is this your first term of school in a while? If it is, let yourself acclimate! Like cb_rn says, if you have a lot of support, are disciplined, and are very, very organized and committed, then you should totally be able to do this! Best of luck!

Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.

I think it's doable, when I was doing Pre Reqs my school had quarters not semesters and I often took 17 credits per quarter, I took Chem and A&P 1 in the same quarter (with another one) and Organic Chem and A&P 2 and another class in another quarter. It's pretty dependent on the person though as well. The Chem and A&P classes were 6 credits each because of how we only had a quarter to fit it in and their was a lab with them, my English Comp and Psych class were 5 credits each and my Math Class was also 5 credits each. Pretty much all my non science classes outside of a Physical fitness class I took (that one was 3 credits) were 5 credits each.

I think you can do it just fine. I had 20 hours this past semester including a chem and a&p2. The chemistry isn't as bad as you think it will be. The other two will just require writing papers every once in awhile. Good luck either way you decide to go!

Specializes in ED.

It seems like a lot to me. If you are taking chemistry you are probably taking a lab too right? Math and chemistry usually have a lot of homework with the class and finding time to do that with the reading from the other two classes is going to be tough. Not to mention having kids!

I'm not saying you can't do it but that is a lot. I tried to take 4 non-nursing classes in one semester and I ended up having to drop one. That was a significant amount of money wasted and I could have easily waited to take it in the first place.

m

Yep, I just took chemistry last fall and chem is math. My school requires you to have had intermediate algebra before taking chemistry. If you're still in a less than 100 level math course, you may find it overwhelming. If, on the other hand, you have strong math skills and are just taking math 056 to fulfill some school requirement then you should be fine.

English 101 is a lot of writing. Mostly short papers, maybe one bigger research paper but if I remember right, that was more in the 200 level english class. General psych I thought was pretty interesting so that made it easier. There is some writing involved in there as well though. And I had high school AP credit that got me out of math up to calculus so I can't help you there. Again, chem is mostly math.

If possible, schedule all your classes on MWF and take TTh to study (or vice versa). It's harder with kids but I have 5 and have been able to do it. You can too!

Specializes in Geriatrics.

I think you can handle it, since your only working on the weekend...and plus the support of family. You just have to be focused

Specializes in Pediatrics.

I would wait on the Chem untill you have your math behind you. I took math classes for aolmost 2 years MTH 20 - statistics before I took chem. Chemistry is a lot of math and it trips people up. But it is up to you, I know that when I took my pre-reqs there were a couple of terms that I had 16 credits and managed okay. Just when you start your core preqs like A&P don't take as many so you can really focus on the class.

Specializes in Health Information Management.

It really depends on you: your recent experience level with classes, your personal willpower and discipline when it comes to organization and studying, your family's ability and likelihood to respect your coursework boundaries, and your academic strengths and weaknesses.

From the sound of those classes, I'm guessing this is your first semester back. If that's the case, I'd hedge your bets on one class (probably the chem) until you have a semester to work out the kinks in your work/school/home life. As others have noted, you do need decent math skills to fully understand a lot of chemistry, so that would probably be my pick for the put-off class. However, if you are strong in math and science but have trouble with the humanities or more socially-oriented science like psych, put off the English or psych class. It really is dependent on your strengths and weaknesses; do your best to take classes that play to your abilities and interests your first round back. Once you get used to managing all the stuff on your plate, then you can bump up your semester-hour totals and take more challenging courses.

For instance, I took 15 hours my first semester back at school, with a mix of entry-level major courses and a couple of non-major-course program requirements that interested me (one of which was medical ethics, which I found fascinating). I don't presently work outside my home, but I'm the primary caregiver for my preschooler and I'm also severely physically disabled, which slows me down a bit when it comes to being able to take care of the housework. I used my first term back to test the waters and managed to get into a good schoolwork/housework/family life rhythm before I started take a lot of in-depth major classes in subsequent semesters.

Whatever you decide to do, I hope you enjoy your classes!

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