AP biology

dorkypanda · Nov 17, 2014

Sounds like you are in hs. If you continue on you'll need to eventually take the ap test and try to get a 3 or better. Im not sure if this 3 score will guarantee you to skip a college gen bio course though you have to check with the school you're going to apply to in the future.

gen bio is a prereq to other sciences you'll need like micro, anatomy and physio .

If you feel like you don't understand you need to take more time in reading and trying to get the material. Talk to your classmates about how they study and what you don't understand. Have you tried talking to the ap bio teacher about this?

dorkypanda · Nov 17, 2014

Ap bio isn't for the soft.

i would imagine if you were enrolled and stayed in ap bio and gone through the first semester of it you should have known how to study and get into your groove about things. Are you in second semester?

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Nov 17, 2014

i am having some difficulties with AP biology not that i am not getting it, but i just cant seem to study and understand it

Then you need to speak to your instructor about it; you said "AP" which tells me "high school". You can pick up study tips by reviewing the forums here, but in the end you need to pass the course the way the instructor has designed it. Make the appointment.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Nov 17, 2014

...try to get a 3 or better. Im not sure if this 3 score will guarantee you to skip a college gen bio course though you have to check with the school you're going to apply to in the future...

A 3 all but guarantees the OP WON'T skip Bio in college. Schools that will consider an AP course to skip won't consider less than a 4; even then, it's not suggested that Biology be the course to skip if furthering oneself in a science curriculum is expected.

I'd be very wary of a school that accepted a 3 on an AP high school course to replace college Biology.

dorkypanda · Nov 17, 2014

A 3 all but guarantees the OP WON'T skip Bio in college. Schools that will consider an AP course to skip won't consider less than a 4; even then, it's not suggested that Biology be the course to skip if furthering oneself in a science curriculum is expected.
I'd be very wary of a school that accepted a 3 on an AP high school course to replace college Biology.

you bring up a very good point. college bio is the essentials of foundation to the other required bio courses.

it also depends on the nursing program too if they even accept ap scores in lieu of the college course that is required.

RNsRWe - how much more difficult is NS compared to the difficulty of the prereqs such as micro, human anatomy and physiology?

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Nov 17, 2014

RNsRWe - how much more difficult is NS compared to the difficulty of the prereqs such as micro, human anatomy and physiology?

Difficulty is.....difficult to assess, really, when it comes to comparisons between pre-req science classes and core nursing classes.

In the hard sciences, it's more about the ability to retain info and spit it back out; while no one wants to see rote memorization without good comprehension, it is more possible than not to do just that. Kind of a blanket statement, true, but overall that's the idea: learn the knowledge/content at the pre-requisite level.

Nursing classes are designed more to apply the knowledge that one has learned/is learning. Once you have the content down, you will be learning what to DO with that knowledge, what one thing has to do with another when it comes to assessing a whole human being.

So....difficulty really depends on the individual. Some people utilize critical thinking nearly as an innate tool, one that requires little redirection, and "get it". Others need to learn those critical thinking skills that are so...well...CRITICAL to connecting all the dots.

And then there's the human contact component: some people handle the textbook end of things beautifully but approach a real person as though that person were a tree stump. The ability to react, respond, connect with live patients is something that is easy for some, and more of a challenge for others.

Does that help put it into perspective?

dorkypanda · Nov 17, 2014

Difficulty is.....difficult to assess, really, when it comes to comparisons between pre-req science classes and core nursing classes.
In the hard sciences, it's more about the ability to retain info and spit it back out; while no one wants to see rote memorization without good comprehension, it is more possible than not to do just that. Kind of a blanket statement, true, but overall that's the idea: learn the knowledge/content at the pre-requisite level.
Nursing classes are designed more to apply the knowledge that one has learned/is learning. Once you have the content down, you will be learning what to DO with that knowledge, what one thing has to do with another when it comes to assessing a whole human being.
So....difficulty really depends on the individual. Some people utilize critical thinking nearly as an innate tool, one that requires little redirection, and "get it". Others need to learn those critical thinking skills that are so...well...CRITICAL to connecting all the dots.
And then there's the human contact component: some people handle the textbook end of things beautifully but approach a real person as though that person were a tree stump. The ability to react, respond, connect with live patients is something that is easy for some, and more of a challenge for others.
Does that help put it into perspective?

The way you put it does make more sense.

thank you :yes:

SoniaReb · Nov 17, 2014

I have a general question: Is it better to do AP courses or Dual Enrollment Classes (if qualified and available in your State) at a nearby Community College (CC)? Doing a class at a CC pretty much guarantee that a passing grade (C or better) will be transferable to a 4-year college, while getting a grade of 2 (or even 3) or less makes that AP Course almost worthless. I also read that some/most Universities will not accept AP scores as a requirement for Graduate School (for example, taking AP Statistics) and students will have to take a College level Course to meet their requirements. Not to mention that a lot of Community College instructors at much better prepared than their High School counterparts and tend to do an excellent job at teaching a lot of these introductory College courses (IMHO).

From experience, I notice that a lot of High School Guidance Counselors are "forcing" their High School Students in to AP Classes, as oppose to encouraging these students to Dual Enrollment Classes at a nearby Community College. In most States that offer Dual Enrollment, the cost of the CC Courses, Fees and books, are paid for by the State/local school board. Why are more students not taking advantage of Dual Enrollment instead of doing AP Courses....I don't get? You can take up to 60 credits while in High School, which is equivalent to two years of College education for free!

ThatOneDude822 · Nov 18, 2014

A 3 all but guarantees the OP WON'T skip Bio in college. Schools that will consider an AP course to skip won't consider less than a 4; even then, it's not suggested that Biology be the course to skip if furthering oneself in a science curriculum is expected.
I'd be very wary of a school that accepted a 3 on an AP high school course to replace college Biology.

Wow, what state are you in? Here in CA, almost all schools accept a 3 for credit for any AP course, including bio. The BSN programs at the CSUs (at least the ones I've researched) don't even require general bio as a prereq, and neither do any of the other prereqs such as anatomy or micro (micro only requires chem) - there are people taking anatomy who have no prior biological knowledge except for a regular high school course. I got a 3 on the Bio exam and I'm doing pretty well in my prereqs. I actually have the third highest grade in my Anatomy section.

I don't think the AP exam (esp. since they changed to this 'new' version) is really a great gauge on how much Biological knowledge you have - when I took the new version of the exam, there was definitely an emphasis on scientific method and mathematical/statistical interpretation and it was lacking questions on actual biology (transcription/translation, body systems, genetics, cell function, etc). Any questions that actually were about Biology were usually ecology/evolution questions. VERY few questions were purely on molecular Biology.

From what I've seen the old exam is a much better gauge. You could go in without knowing anything about the exam, and as long as you knew Biology you could do pretty well. The new exam, however, is definitely an exam you have to be TAUGHT HOW to take, much like the SAT. If you've never studied the format of the SAT, you probably won't do well on it, and that's how the new AP Bio exam is. In my opinion, a 3 on the new exam is sufficient to be able to do well in the Bio prereqs.