Anyone doing their prereqs at Pasadena City College?

suzanne in hawaii · May 26, 2008

Talk to a counseler and see if they still have a program called academic renewal. :nurse:

More to Learn · May 31, 2008

Greetings and congrats on going back to school. I went back to school after many, many years and just finished my prereqs at PCC. I worked very hard and managed to finish with a 3.9 GPA and just received my acceptance letter into the PCC RN program a few days ago. From what I understand, PCC now takes your completetion success rate (F's and W's) into consideration when choosing applicants, so you may need to apply at a different school for the nursing program. Suggestion: contact other schools in the area; Glendale, Citrus, LA Trade Tech (to name a few) and find out what their critera is for consideration first and when you find a school that will not look at your F's & W's, look at their pre-reqs because the requirements are slightly different at each school. You can then take your pre-reqs at PCC but then apply for the nursing program at the other school. Alternatively, I hear that if you work towards the PCC LVN program and complete it first, you can then apply for the LVN ladder to RN program which is a lot less competitive to get into. I've talked to several students who decided to do this because of their grades.

Other suggestions: always read the chapter before attending class for the lecture. On the same day as the lecture, spend an hour reviewing your notes. Use post-it notes all over your house to help you remember anatomy vocab. There are lab rooms for just about every class - go there for tutoring. If you don't like the tutor, go on another day and find one you like. Go talk to the teacher during their office hours. They can be helpful on a one to one basis and appreciate it seeing you make an attempt when you are struggling. Show up for class - if you can't make it, get someone else's notes (try to meet someone in the first few days of class who is willing to exchange info - get their email or phone number). Buy a voice recorder - record the lecture even when you attend class. This way you can review the lecture - especially for those teachers who talk to fast to take good notes.

Remember: You'll need to pass the prereqs with a 2.5 average but depending on which school you apply at, you may need a better average to compete.

I suggest you make an appointment with the counselor - there is a special nursing program counselor, I can't remember her name but she is asian. Just tell the clerk when making the appt. - they know who she is.

I hope I am not discouraging you because you can do it! I had tons of F's and W's from my past but was lucky that they were from so many years ago that I think they were not counted.

Good luck to you!! Let me know if you have any questions. I'd be happy to help with suggestion for teachers, etc.

Thanks, PCCLancer