Applications & transferrings credits

[snow_bear]

I am currently working on my nursing pre-reqs at a community college in a suburban county. I will be applying to this school's nursing program, but there are two others that I am also interested in. One in the city in which clinicals will be held in large, teaching hospitals and another in the area in which I would eventually like to relocate to.

My dilemma is these two other schools in which I am not currently attending have different prereqs and credit requirements than my current school. For example, I will be taking College Algebra in the fall for 3 credits. The bigger school requires a 4 credit math class, but it doesn't necessarily have to be algebra. That school also has biology has a prereq for their A&P classes, but there is no biology prereq where I'm at now and I will have A&P I completed before I apply to the various nursing programs. I don't have time to take a biology class before I apply. Most of their chemistry classes are 4 credits, but I took Biochemistry for 3 credits.

The out-of-state school also has required classes with different credits than what I have. Their Sociology course is 4 credits, whereas I took it for 3. They also require a 2 credit "Healthy Lifestyles" course which is not even available where I'm at now. My school offers a 1 credit "Health & Wellness" class.

Aaargh!!! Is it even worth it for me to apply to these other schools or should I transfer now and finish my prereqs at the larger, city school which may set me back a year?

[leenak]

Ask them to review your transcripts? I can't imagine they wouldn't take your AP class. uUless they specifically name Bio as a pre-req, then I don't think they'd care. The only way to know is to ask them.

[emajine]

Our local universities have this issue as well. The only way to know for sure is to schedule a meeting with the nursing advisor at each of the places you are considering.

I recently did this. Not because I necessarily wanted to transfer, but because I was considering what would happen if I didn't get in to my program and had to find a way to wait a year to reapply. What I found out was that some schools were more open to transfer credits than others, and some had additional requirements for consideration, such as the TEAS, while others allowed you to take the TEAS after you were accepted.

Another consideration: some pre-req courses are easier at some schools than others. A competitive gpa at the local community college for pre nursing is around 3.8-3.9, while at the university where I study it's more like 3.3-3.7. That said, a lot of the cc credits will not transfer.

So it's best to hear it straight from the horse's mouth. There's a lot of hearsay in our field of study, and a lot of it is meant to psych us out. Good luck!