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Discussion

Advice on classes please :) *also any saddleback students out there?

hello, everyone,

i'm very happy to be here! i'm a 32 year old single mom going back to school for the first time in years and would love some advice on the classes i plan to take this coming semester.

thankfully, i have a lot of help from my soon-to-be ex husband and my mother with watching my toddler, and we've also moved into my mom's house to make it so i won't have to work while i'm in school for the next few years.

i've got most of my igetc done from cal state long beach and basically have math to take and a speech class, other than that, my ad is done, but none of my classes were for nursing/science, as i was a business major way back then!

sooooooo .......

the classes i have to choose from or that i would like to take at the local cc in my area (and which i've successfully registered a few) are:

intro to chemistry 108 = 4

intro to biology 20 = 4

math = 5

lifecycle (1 & 2) = 3 units

anatomy = 4

speech 5 = 3

microbiology = 5

physiology = 4

on the school site, it recommends to take the intro to bio and chemistry classes if you haven't had biology in years. so, my question is this: for all of you students, do you really believe this is the case? i mean, i will study myself crazy and have had biology (it was just 15 years ago :cry: )! if i don't take any of my prerequisites this spring, that means, i can only take anatomy this summer, if i can even get in to the class, and then at best double up in the fall with microbiology and physiology (which the school doe not recommend anyway)! :banghead:

so, i would love some advice from students who have done this/are doing this, etc. also, i will need to take a math class in the fall as well since i'm behind in my math - so, my load will not be as light with just science and it looks like i will have between 14-16 units the next year while doing my prerequisites, which, i can handle, i just would love some guidance from fellow students!

thanks so much!

** if any saddleback students are here and have advice, it would be lovely, too! :heartbeat

Featured Replies

I would reccommend the Biology as quite a bit has changed in the past years. I just finished it at St louis community college and my professor has been teaching it for 30 years, she says that they have added alot of stuff. It might be beneficial to you to take it anyway and since you have had it before you should breeze through it anyway.

  • Author

would it be a bad idea to take biology and anatomy at the same time?

i just hate the idea of NOT taking any prerequisites when i feel so focused and ready to study and do this.

also, i'm on a bit of a time line with my living situation (newly divorced single mom with a certain amount of savings, etc.) - i just don't want to live with my mom forever into my mid thirties and pray my son and i can someday be on our own again - not sure why i feel like time is a ticking time bomb, but i'll just try and relax for now and take it for what it is! yikes! :heartbeat

Having a decent understanding of the related biology and chemistry is definitely very helpful, especially in Physiology and Micro. The teachers will expect you to know things from these classes, and may skim over important material because they expect that you have already covered it. Also, the processes just make more sense if you have the background to understand them. Rather than having to memorize seemingly random details, it all fits together better if you understand the chemical basis.

I feel I did much better in my prerequisite science classes for having taken Chemistry first (and Biology way back when) than I would have if I hadn't.

That said, if the classes are recommended, not required, you can probably get by fine if you're willing and able to do some self-study, especially if you've had those subjects in the past and just need a refresher. There's a lot of information and depth included in the intro Chem and Bio courses that isn't going to be directly relevant, and you can probably cover the most relevant info on your own in a much shorter time.

  • Author
Having a decent understanding of the related biology and chemistry is definitely very helpful, especially in Physiology and Micro. The teachers will expect you to know things from these classes, and may skim over important material because they expect that you have already covered it. Also, the processes just make more sense if you have the background to understand them. Rather than having to memorize seemingly random details, it all fits together better if you understand the chemical basis.

I feel I did much better in my prerequisite science classes for having taken Chemistry first (and Biology way back when) than I would have if I hadn't.

That said, if the classes are recommended, not required, you can probably get by fine if you're willing and able to do some self-study, especially if you've had those subjects in the past and just need a refresher. There's a lot of information and depth included in the intro Chem and Bio courses that isn't going to be directly relevant, and you can probably cover the most relevant info on your own in a much shorter time.

jess,

you are awesome, thanks so much for taking the time to read my post, and your kind, well thought out response! you make many good points!

thanks again! :heartbeat

nm

I hadn't taken Biology in 25 years, and still got A's in all my prerequisites. I recently took Chemistry and, although I liked it, it didn't have anything that I hadn't already learned in Micro and Physiology. However, if you are planning on applying to Saddleback, they're now making it mandatory that you take their Chem 108 class. The Math requirement is also increasing to Intermediate Algebra.

I totally agree with Jess6.

It may help but if it's not required then, yes, you can get by

just fine without those classes. I had been out of HS for almost

10yrs. when I first started my pre-req's and A&P1 was one of my

first classes. It took some dedication, but I pulled an A. It CAN be

done and YOU can do it.

Best of luck!!

I hadn't taken Bio since HS 20+ years ago. We had Intro to Bio as a pre-req for A&P. Honestly, I'm glad I had that course, it was slower and much easier to follow. AP has tons of info and I am remembering things from the Bio class all the time.

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