I just decided that I want to go into nursing. I am switching over from a Business major. Thissemester I took English 101, next semester I am taking Algebra/Psychology/English 102. After that semester I will be switching over and I plan on starting A&P I.
How hard is it really? Is it as bad as they say?
Also, I currently work full time and will be taking classes at night. When I take A&P I, should I take it with a language class or anyother child psychology instead of with another science, would it be too much?
I agree. I will compare my community college science teachers to university teachers any day! I go to a lot of websites from big universities and to their practice chem tests, tutorials, etc. I always know how to do the problems. I am learning the same stuff -- for a lot less bucks!
:chuckle
I totally agree. I can say this from experience, because I have done both. I went to a big university, barely ever went to class, and made B's and C's. My professors were pretty horrible. Most of them were overwhelmed with the amount of students and were very unwilling to help. My point is, I passed the classes without attending often and without understanding the material.
Needless to say, I HATED it there and moved home to attend community college. I'm not gonna lie... I thought the same things about community college... but it was my only option at the time. Community college whipped my butt into shape! Lol I had to attend class every day, do my work, study daily, and actually understand the concepts before I took a test! I have found that I get a much fuller education at my community college than at a university. I'm sure this is not the case exclusively, some universities may be very rigorous academically while some community colleges allow students to skate through. However, my experience has been the contrary. Don't knock it until you've tried it! I love my CC and am soooooo glad I transferred.
I think the reason many people say community college is not "real college" is because most of the time in cc you are taking mostly ge courses. Sometimes if you take a semester of only ge classes without any labs, its can seem VERY easy. My brother and I joke that our CC isn't real college because last semester neither of us very difficult or intense courses (they were college level classes, but just not very hard) such as anatomy or anything, and it seemed very very slow.
Also, if you are a smart student who does well in school and you're going to a community college without ever having been to a university, it may seem like cc it's not "real college" because they have never been to "real college" and expect it to be harder than they would expeirence it, simply because they are smart in general and do well in school.
Plus, for example, when students are in high school taking AP courses, they are very hard, very stressful classes that make you expect that college is going to be that excessively demanding, which usually is not true. I would much rather take a semester of english in college and not stress out, rather than take a year of AP english in high school and spend all of my energy on it for an entire year.
For what it's worth, I went to a fairly prestigious undergrad liberal arts college for my first Bachelor's (in music) and a very prestigious college (Johns Hopkins University) for my graduate degree, and I can tell you that the nursing prereqs that I'm taking at my community college are as good as any courses I've taken anywhere.
I would say spend a lot of time on finding a way to learn all of the material. For me it was flashcards- boring but it worked. I would make them the day after the class and carry them around all week studying them at any chance I got (ex the bus) until I knew them. Of course I studied other ways as well, but being able to quickly learn a lot of info that way helped me get an A in the class.
You will do really well in A&P if you study hard and ask questions when you need to- good luck! It is not as bad as a lot of people say
For what it's worth, I went to a fairly prestigious undergrad liberal arts college for my first Bachelor's (in music) and a very prestigious college (Johns Hopkins University) for my graduate degree, and I can tell you that the nursing prereqs that I'm taking at my community college are as good as any courses I've taken anywhere.
I have to agree. I have a Ph.D. from a large university, and my community college science courses have challenged me in ways I never imagined!
I have to agree. I have a Ph.D. from a large university, and my community college science courses have challenged me in ways I never imagined!
I would go farther and say that my experience in community college was in a lot of ways better and more in-depth than at the large university where my bachelor's degree came from. My uni used graduate assistants to teach a lot of the undergrad classes and they weren't always of the best quality. Some were great, some were awful, and some I just couldn't understand due to their lack of language skills (non-native English speakers). YMMV of course. My comunity college courses were all taught by actual professors, some with 30+ years of teaching experience and all with a great enthusiasm for the subject matter they taught.
Hey Jason. I took A&P I along with Gen Psych, and the next semester I ended up taking A&P II with Microbiology in addition to a one credit online nutrition class. The A&P I and Psych combo wasn't bad at all. As far as taking A&P II and Micro, the only thing I noticed is that there was a lot of coursework for each class. Since finishing that semester, I figure that's why they say not to take two sciences in one semester, cause it'll wear you out! As far as the actual material went, if anything, taking them together helped me. I can remember learning about how a certain pathogen affected a certain body system in Micro, and I had just covered that body system a few weeks prior in A&P so it made it more understandable. Its not like you're learning two opposing theories in each class, and you're going to screw yourself up if you accidentally confuse the material you learn in one class with the stuff you learned in another. I hope that makes sense. Long story short, just be careful that you're not taking more than you can handle. I was okay with the two sciences but I don't know your learning style. Its definitely possible though, just be prepared for a busy semester. Hope that helps
I would go farther and say that my experience in community college was in a lot of ways better and more in-depth than at the large university where my bachelor's degree came from. My uni used graduate assistants to teach a lot of the undergrad classes and they weren't always of the best quality. Some were great, some were awful, and some I just couldn't understand due to their lack of language skills (non-native English speakers). YMMV of course. My comunity college courses were all taught by actual professors, some with 30+ years of teaching experience and all with a great enthusiasm for the subject matter they taught.
You're right. And I love the small class sizes in community colleges. My science courses have a maximum of 24 students. That means my teachers get to know all of their students. And yes, no graduate assistants, although I was once one of them. :)
serendipity123
192 Posts
I'm glad that you asked because I'm worried about it too! I start in 25 days!