How many hours did you study A&P and what grade did you get?

js408 · Jun 6, 2009

on a non-test week i studied for around 20-25 hours per week. on a test-week i studied around 25-30 hours during the week. i got an a in the class.

the people in my class who made an a were the people who live, eat, and breath anatomy. when we slept, we had dreams about anatomy. when we ate meat, we were identifying the cell types, tunics, tissue types, bones, and muscles of the foods we ate. we were always in the library, lab, or study room. whatever else was going on in our lives stopped and became about anatomy.

everyone else got a b, c, or f.

here is an excerpt from our syllabus dealing with study time:

study time

:

for each hour spent in class, students should expect to spend at least 2 to 3 hours outside of class studying in order to achieve an average grade ©. (note this estimate is for the average student to earn an average grade for this class is 18 – 27 hours per week!) you should find yourself studying, reviewing and preparing for class and lab

each day of the week

! (basically eat, breath, and sleep anatomy 47!).

note:

be careful not to confuse

quantity

studying with

quality

study. simply spending time with your books and materials will not earn you a better grade. only hours of directed, motivated studying will work toward earning you a better grade!

i start a&p in the fall and i was curious about how many hours you typically spent studying and what grade you got. i know everyone is different but i am just wanting the average. thanks.

back2thebooks · Jun 6, 2009

I forgot to tell you one of the best things you can do for yourself is find out the type of learner you are. Previously, I have always been a visual learner, so I just assumed I still was. I went online to take the learner profile test anyway, and boy, was I surprised. I am a read/write style of learner. I really embraced that---I used the read/write techniques and it made a HUGE difference. Here's the test: http://www.vark-learn.com/english/index.asp

Also, don't memorize information. Strive to learn it/read it in a way that you truly understand it. It will make a big difference in your success, since our education is cumulative and each concept builds upon the previous!!!!

choc0late · Jun 6, 2009

JS408- I LMAO when I read your post! That is so true! I also got an A on A&P 2, and lived,breathed and slept it! I'm taking A&P 1 now over the summer and dream of bone and process names, lol! Yeah, I got an A by ignoring my hubby, kids, housework, phone calls, etc! Yup! Was it worth it? Oh yeah!

CrunchyMama, ASN, RN · Jun 6, 2009

JS408- I LMAO when I read your post! That is so true! I also got an A on A&P 2, and lived,breathed and slept it! I'm taking A&P 1 now over the summer and dream of bone and process names, lol! Yeah, I got an A by ignoring my hubby, kids, housework, phone calls, etc! Yup! Was it worth it? Oh yeah!

Your school allows you to take A&P2 first? I mean, obviously if you're doing it, lol...but that's weird, never heard of that being done.

S.vincent · Jun 6, 2009

I studied as much as I could maybe over 6 hrs a day ( 3 hrs before and 3 hrs after the class) I got A+ in A&P I and II. I studied until I could give a speech to myself. Good luck!!

Christina08 · Jun 6, 2009

I really started to study for AP tests only several days to the due. I passed both AP with A's. I saw some people write some notes and do audio recording, but they still ended up with B's or lower.

However, I really do not recommend to study just several days before the test day. It is a bad habit and everything in a hurry.

I wanted to add that with AP2 I also took 3 more classes (microbiology, abnormal psychology, and religion as one of humanities).

smellyacres, BSN, RN · Jun 7, 2009

I studied probably about 10 hrs a week. My college has one of the hardest science department in the country and I had the hardest Anatomy instructer at my school. The class started out with 50 people and ended up with 18, half of which were not passing. There was 1 A. I got a C, and I count myself lucky because I was also doing a 20hr a week CNA program, going to school full time, and working on 2 plays. I was very upset with my grade though because I am normally an A student, but in the end it is one grade, and there is nothing you can do once the class is over but try really hard to do better in your other prereqs and not overload yourself with other classes and activities outside of your prereqs.

Good luck

NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN · Jun 8, 2009

I studied about 10-15 hours a week. I got an A in AP 2 and this was a fast track course which means what I learned in 8 weeks what would usually take a full semester.

dcgrrl, ASN, RN · Jun 8, 2009

I averaged an hour to two hours per day except Saturdays. I studied closer to 2 hours per day when it was a few days before a test. I took class once a week on Saturdays from 9-3p (lab and lecture combined). Saturdays were my ABSOLUTE "day off" from studying. It worked for me--- I got an A. But as other posters have mentioned - - - it's not about quantity but quality. Find out what your studying style is (if you haven't done so) and be consistent w/ reviewing your notes. You may be like some of the ladies in my class who studied half as much as I did and still busted As. Just don't wait to the last minute.

bluechick112 · Jun 8, 2009

I see that a bazillion people have already replied, but I figured i'd toss my two cents in as well.

My school offers A&P as separate classes. So I took Anatomy first (it's a prerequisite to Physio so you have to do it in that order). I decided to take Anatomy as an accelerated, short-term class over the summer. It was 9 weeks and we went to class M-F 9am-3pm (but we'd always get out of class early). We had what was called "open lab" on Saturdays and Sundays, which were basically review days and were completely optional, and had two tests (lab & lecture) every Monday. I did open lab every Saturday morning and studied the ENTIRE weekend (non-stop, morning til night) for the tests on Mondays. Therefore, I was basically in school 7 days a week. We also had field trips like autopsies which were optional for extra credit. Not to mention the hours we'd put in on our own time doing dissections on our cadaver. But anyway, after basically throwing my life away and dedicating it to my Anatomy class that summer, I got a 97% A.

Then the next semester (last fall) I took my Physio class. I had an EXCELLENT teacher. Our tests were probably about once every 3 weeks...we had lab tests once every three weeks and then lecture tests which fell on the week after lab tests (also spaced about every 3 weeks). I studied my little butt off for all lecture and lab tests. However, this class was spaced out since it was the length of a full semester instead of a short-term summer class, so there were weeks when I didn't have any studying to do. We were also required to write a 12 page essay and give a ppt presentation as well as do a lab report which ranged from about 8-12 pages. For the most part, I only had to study about 2-3 days before each test (if I crammed), so most of my time was free time. I ended up getting a 98% in the class. HOWEVER, it's important to note that this class was EXTREMELY hard. Really. I'm just a crammer, so I didn't spend as much time as everyone else did studying.

I'd also note that flashcards are completely not worth it in these kinds of classes. I live by flash cards normally, but honestly just reading over lecture notes and reading the book a bazillion times is the best way to study. if you made flash cards you'd literally have a million and will probably miss vital pieces of information on them.

GOODLUCK :)

js408 · Jun 8, 2009

I used flash cards a lot during the first month of class to help me memorize terms like body regions and one-word definitions. After the first month the flash cards weren't helping

I'd also note that flashcards are completely not worth it in these kinds of classes. I live by flash cards normally, but honestly just reading over lecture notes and reading the book a bazillion times is the best way to study. if you made flash cards you'd literally have a million and will probably miss vital pieces of information on them.
GOODLUCK :)

BreatheFree · Jun 8, 2009

Thanks for all of the replies. :)