A heavy course load...advice?

mindofmidwifery, ADN · Jan 15, 2017

I personally would not take such a heavy course load. What about organic chem, A&P I, and psych in the Spring

Human development, nutrition and stats in the Summer

And A&P II and micro in the Fall

SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP · Jan 15, 2017

If your school's Organic Chem is anything like the course I took, definitely do *NOT* add in A&P. It was the hardest Chem class I've ever had. I enjoyed the lab very much, but the lecture portion had incredibly difficult exams.

Moving A&P to your Spring semester doesn't speed up your process at all, it just loads you down with a LOT of work. If you're going to take 3 semesters' worth of courses, leave them spaced out so you have time to devote your full attention to each subject and earn a good grade. If you don't earn a good grade in your science pre-reqs, you won't have much luck getting in to a nursing program.

crossfitandnursing · Jan 21, 2017

Here's the thing- everyone learns differently and at a different pace. For some, your new Spring 2017 semester would be totally doable and they could easily comes out with all A's. For others, however, the load would be too much, they wouldn't be able to keep up/retain all of the information, and grades would suffer as a result. I know several pre-med/biomedical science majors whose semesters look like:

Molecular Biology + lab

Organic Chem II + lab

Physics II + lab

Genetics

10-20 hours of working in the research lab

maybe another job or tutoring

And they're able to pull a 4.0. But others couldn't handle it. That doesn't mean that they're any less intelligent or anything, just that they learn/retain at a different pace. That being said, I think only you can answer whether or not you can handle those courses in one semester! Personally I'm taking A&P I + lab, Micro + lab, Chem + lab this semester while also working 25 hours/week and training/competing as a long-distance runner. It's a lot but I'm also used to carrying a lot at one time. So for me, it's doable. Stressful, but doable. haha If you think you can handle it, I say go for it! But there's also no harm in spreading things out and taking a bit longer too. :up:

FutureNurseInfo · Jan 21, 2017

Here's the thing- everyone learns differently and at a different pace. For some, your new Spring 2017 semester would be totally doable and they could easily comes out with all A's. For others, however, the load would be too much, they wouldn't be able to keep up/retain all of the information, and grades would suffer as a result. I know several pre-med/biomedical science majors whose semesters look like:
Molecular Biology + lab
Organic Chem II + lab
Physics II + lab
Genetics
10-20 hours of working in the research lab
maybe another job or tutoring
And they're able to pull a 4.0. But others couldn't handle it. That doesn't mean that they're any less intelligent or anything, just that they learn/retain at a different pace. That being said, I think only you can answer whether or not you can handle those courses in one semester! Personally I'm taking A&P I + lab, Micro + lab, Chem + lab this semester while also working 25 hours/week and training/competing as a long-distance runner. It's a lot but I'm also used to carrying a lot at one time. So for me, it's doable. Stressful, but doable. haha If you think you can handle it, I say go for it! But there's also no harm in spreading things out and taking a bit longer too.

Thank you for your thoughtful response! I do feel like I can do it! In my other college career (when I was getting my teaching degree) I was, at once, taking 19 credits. I know it is nothing like science courses, but I think I can do it. If I am approved to take the A&P 1, I will do it :-)

ItsThatJenGirl, CNA · Jan 21, 2017

My only hesitation is that you've been out of school for a while. It's easy to forget how challenging a full schedule can be - and your grades really matter.

I don't think I would take Organic Chem, Stats and A&P I in one semester, but that's a personal thing. Having taken all of those courses, here's what I'd recommend:

Spring 2017:

Organic Chem

A&P I

Nutrition

Summer 2017:

Psych

Statistics

Human Dev

Fall 2017:

A&P II

Micro bio

I found that nutrition and A&P I complement each other nicely - they cover several of the same topics, so it's just reinforcement on things you already know.

Whatever you decide, good luck!