Taking A&P 1 for the summer quarter

mrphil79 · Jun 15, 2016

I took intro to chem (with lab) last semester.

I think you might regret taking a short semester of A&P - but I think you're going to be VERY busy taking it with Chem, as chem can have a good bit of memorization and lab prep-work involved depending on your instructor.

After having completed all of my pre-reqs, the 2 I would NEVER suggest taking in a shortened semester are A&P1 and A&P2. Microbiology would be a very close third.

At this point, do yourself a favor and absolutely do no underestimate the amount of time you will need to successfully pull of A&P - especially a condensed version.

I only took full semester A&P classes, and I spent a bare minimum of 15 hours a week studying for those classes - in a test week, that easily doubled. (Paid off though, I ended with 99% and 97% in the two classes.)

You're going to need AT LEAST that much time every week since you're taking it in the summer.

Yunikat, BSN, CNA, RN · Jun 15, 2016

Since you don't worry about Chem,

I would definitely recommend you to keep continue to take A&P I.

I understand your situation because I was also taking anatomy with another course (Math) during last summer. I was working part-time as well.

Maybe it is a little different story because my junior college has Anatomy and Physiology separately.

So I took anatomy during summer.

Yes, It was fast-paced course.

They don't skip any materials during summer because it is fast-paced course.

I am 99.9% sure that you are going to learn everything as same as students who take A &P I during Fall and Spring .

I was very worried about anatomy class before I was taking anatomy because everyone told me tons of horrible stories.

Like, they failed so they need to retake.... hard. need to study a lot. etc.

And I also heard that physiology will be worse than anatomy from other people while I was taking anatomy. ( I was like wow. I will be dying)

but guess what, I liked physiology more than anatomy. Physiology was easier for me because I did not have to memorize new stuff lol you just have to understand how the mechanisms are working and their pathways.

Try to engage with your professor as much as possible!

Unfortunately, I did not have a good professor so I tried to go opening lab as much as possible because a tutor was very good at anatomy so she helped me a lot.

So try to engage with someone who knows A&P stuff, and ask questions as much as possible!

you are learning to there, so there is nothing to be embarrassed of.

I colored my materials and it helped me a lot!

Try to take notes or write things with your hands , instead of using devices.

More writing, you are more practicing terms.

I lost weight while I was taking anatomy because I was just so focusing on studying lol

I had test anatomy test every other week ( 4 chapters for each).

My other summer class test was always coming up 2 days after my anatomy test

So I could not have enough sleep during this test week ( every other week)

well, because it was summer courses . So it was very fast-paced.

of course, I got stressed by this, so I managed stress to read encouraged and positive quotes when I get over-stressed.

Those quotes totally helped me to go through anatomy course

and I still have those quotes on my wall.

I made A' on both summer course at that time, so it was totally worth it!

I am not going to lie, you REALLY need to put yourself to study.

During this summer I was only studying, working, and doing a little working out.

I did not have any time to meet friends or having free time.

Because I was planning to apply to nursing program in UT Austin ( my dream school) and so I must had a good grade.

so I was very determined to make A's, so I went to opening lab or school when I had free time. ( I did not even contact to my boyfriend for studying, so we had several fights during this time. I know it is crazy lol but he understood me)

If I can do, You can do it! ( by the way, English is not my native language)

Don't listen to what people say about this course

It is all depends on your determination and your aspiration :)

Good luck on all your summer courses and hope you can finish your course A's with happy face in the end!! :)

tropicalyeti · Jun 15, 2016

I took AP 2 during Summer quarter while working full time and there were no problems. Having only one class really let me dedicate my full studying attention to AP 2 which made it a lot easier. If you are already feeling confident about Chem, I think you'll do just fine. Of course the AP classes depend a lot on your professors and whether you are able to study with some classmates. Mine was an online hybrid so lectures were video-recorded and we have 4 hr lab 1x/week. This worked perfect for my learning style. Best of luck!

NerdyKnitter, CNA · Jun 15, 2016

How competitive is the program you're applying to? Do you need stellar grades? Those are questions to consider, no need to actually answer.

I just finished Chem 121 for spring quarter and I can't imagine doing it condensed with A&P and work. Do you have a family on top of all that? Some people can handle huge workloads. If you're one of them - lucky you and you'll rock it :)

danyoon1019 · Jun 16, 2016

@lifeissnow11 - I am currently at a junior college with the intent to transfer to a BSN program. Up until now, I haven't really studied hard so my overall GPA is not that great - it's a 3.47. After speaking to multiple admissions counsellors from multiple universities that I am interested in transferring to, they all recommended that I do the best I can (preferably all A's but at a maximum of 1 or 2 B's). I haven't taken any of my nursing prereqs yet so it is important that I manage my prereq GPA as much as I can. I am unmarried and only have school and work (maximum of 20hrs/week) to focus on.

@tropicalyeti, @mrphil79 - thanks for your input! Do you have any study tips you found to be helpful while taking A&P?

@yunikat - Thank you for your detailed response and for the encouragement! I actually moved from Texas to California recently (from Houston) so social life won't be an issue for me since I don't have anyone I know here. Is there any other tips you have for studying for A&P? Thanks again and I wish you the best of luck (hope you get into UT Austin!)