A&P 1 &2 in the summer. Am I crazy?

[AspiringNurseMW]

Hey everyone. I am 25, have a 2 year old daughter and due to a loss of job yet again I am trying to get into nursing school for Fall 2014. That leaves me the summer, Fall & spring semesters to complete my pre-reqs.

I will not be working while going to school and I think Ill be able to get my daughter in day care for a full 45 hrs.

Am I crazy to try and take AP 1 &2 during the summer sessions? I soak up info pretty easily. I always had A's in school without really trying or studying. (not that I wont have to with A&P but Im pretty smart) And as a bonus school is only about 5 blocks from my house (community college).

Since I would start in June is there any recommended reading I should get a head start with?? I think Ill have to take another class along with it to qualify for financial aid so I think im taking English or something like that. That would leave me with Chem, eng, math & pysch & microbiology for the spring & fall classes. I kinda just wanna get a&p out of the way.

[AspiringNurseMW]

It's not both at the same time. You can't do that. It's 2 summer sessions so I'd take A&P 1 during the first and A&P 2 during the second

[readyforachangenow]

I also took a&p 1&2 in the summer plus I worked part time. I ended up making B's for both classes. It is definitely doable.

[queserasera, RN]

I plan on taking A&P 2 and Chemistry over the summer. I think it's doable.

So far, everything we've learned in A&P 1 over the past few weeks I think could've been done at a quicker pace.

[zoe92]

Eh, it depends. They aren't at the same time but how long are the sessions? 5 weeks are pretty short.

[Exhaustipated, ADN, BSN]

I honestly think it depends on your school and your instructors. I took and intense A&P 2 class last summer and it kicked my butt. I did nothing but A&P from the moment I got up in the morning until I went to bed at night. I spent every possible moment in Open Lab. I give a tremendous amount of credit to my mother, who stayed with us for the summer and took care of my house and my family (including cooking all the meals, doing all the shopping, and taking my kids where they needed to go), leaving me available to eat, sleep, and breathe A&P. If I were to be totally truthful, I would have to say I would never do that again. And even if I wanted to, my husband wouldn't allow it.

I will say I'm a bit older than you are, as are my children. I'm in my 40s and my kids are teenagers.

I passed with a high A, and I'm proud to say I did it, but it left me absolutely exhausted. I would suggest talking to other students at your school, especially those who have done it in the past.

[double_minority]

Well I am, was, a student who's done it, AP 1&2 + micro and psych2, not all at the same time, at her school, CUNY City Tech only during summers and my advice again is that it is not impossible but challenging. To me OP, from your writings and other posts, you are highly motivated!

My .02 :-)

[kiasr10]

My advice to the OP is this. At the end of the day the only person who can answer the question is you. If you believe in yourself and know that your going to put the work in to do what you have to do then go for it !! :) If you have any doubts I wouldn't do it. And also the fact taht you have kids you would have to make sure they will be taken care of at all times. Not only that prepared for any emergencies like if they get sick or just anything? If you have that taken care of, and extra money in the bank. Go for it!

[combsj25]

Anything you set your mind to is doable. However, because you have the time I don't understand your need to take AP 1 and 2 in an accelerated fashion. AP is tough, but it is also very interesting and will be the back bone of your entire nursing program. I personally wouldn't want to rush through those (unless I had to). I think you could end up cramming too much versus learning. These are of course only my thoughts and opinions, but if it were me and since you have the time I would receommend the following:

- AP1 and another required class or 2 (like Psych and Math) this summer.

- AP 2 and Chemistry in Fall

- and Micro and English in Spring

(or some combination of this, but bottom line AP1 traditional format one semester and AP2 traditional the following...and spread out the sciences as much as possible. I too am an A student - and had a hard time with balancing AP1 with Micro last semester. Earned an A in AP1 and B+ in Micro)

At any rate Good Luck whatever you decide to do.

And now I really should get off this forum and go study for my AP2 exam 2!!

[AspiringNurseMW]

Actually ive been looking into another school and I would have 5 pre-reqs: English, Math, Bio, Psych & A&P 1. I would however have to take all of them during the 2 summer sessions in order to get into the January 2014 nursing program.

[niikkayx]

I would suggest spreading them out. Is there other pre req that you need? Such as general psychology? It may be a better option to take say, a & p 1 and psych over the summer then in the fall take a & p 2 and sociology or something. You will be extremely exhausted and possibly miss you child a lot over the summer if you cram that much into it.

[MykRTstudent]

I'm thinking of taking A&P 1 over the summer too. I don't have any kids though. I'd say go for it if you're good at managing your time. Best of luck.