Crazy Load?

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Is this load too crazy for Fall semester? They are telling me I need it:

A&P 1 w/Lab (4)

Micro w/Lab (4)

Statistics (3)

Ethics (3)

Fine Arts (not to sure what yet) (3)

=17 credits.

Plus I volunteer 4-12 hours a week, I'm actively involved in my Church, I work ~8-15 hours a week off and on (daycare/babysit) and I don't study on the Sabbath or do any work. So that leaves 6 days a week.

I don't have kids, (other than the little angels I watch :p) and I don't have to fully support myself other than gas, food, toiletries etc.. (my rent and car payment/insurence are being paid for).

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That's a really heavy load. Micro and A&P I are pretty important classes and need good grades to get into nursing programs usually, so my fear would be one (or both) grades might slack due to not enough time to learn the material putting your GPA at risk. It's possible, but you'd have to have REALLY good study habits and be REALLY dedicated. Good luck with whatever you decide!

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Any Lab class feels like 2 classes to me. The exams are independant of the lecture and there is usually more material covered than in lecture. I couldnt do it, but mabye you can.

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Anne is right, forgot to add that part, classes with labs will have double tests, more like two classes with over-lapping material.

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Specializes in Ortho/Trauma.

Kind of heavy. Two labs is a lot, but I know a lot of people who did it successfully. I would try to do the ethics and fine-arts in the summer to lessen the load in the fall because those are probably GE classes? Or I'd do micro in the summer. It's very doable compared to anatomy in the summer.

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Specializes in ICU hopeful!.

Agreed. You know your study habits better than anyone else, however, I think thats a pretty heave course load, even for a studious person.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Clinical Documentation Specialist.

I agree with the majority, I think you need to slim that down. I took AP2, Micro and psych together last summer and it was all I did. 18 hour AP lab write-ups were not an exaggeration. I just finished stats this semester and it can be rough if you don't care for math. Personally, I'd do the AP1, Micro and the fine arts in the fall and do the other two in the summer.

I have one week to go to finish off this spring semester and I took 18 credits. But, it didn't have any sciences. I'm putting in a lot of hours every day, and I have a family. If you don't lessen that load your taking a gamble with your grades in not just one class, but all of them. If you slim it down, and add a summer semester instead, you can concentrate on maintaining a high GPA, in every class.

Which ever you decide, good luck! Micro was my favorite class! :)

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Thanks yall for the reply. This summer I'm swamped with Chem, Bio, Nutrition, and another Humanities. So thats out of the question. I'm going to see if I can hold the fine arts of though, until spring. Thanks! :)

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It's not impossible. You just need to manage your time really well and stay on top of all that comes with A&P and Micro. If you think you can handle the challenge, give it a shot. Just beware of how important grades are for those two classes alone when applying to nursing schools. Good luck!

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Specializes in cardiac-telemetry, hospice, ICU.

I consider myself a 'professional student'. That being said I think that load is too much. Be aware that many (if not most) nursing programs are admitting students with 3.5+. I know I would have to devote around 50 hours/ week study time to keep up with a schedule like that and get those grades. Your call! Good luck in any event.

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Specializes in Cardiac.

It depends on what your goals are and how much of your free time you want to dedicate to school.

One semester in my old life (as an engineering major) I took 22 credits and finished with a 3.6. I barely missed a 4.0 as the two Bs I got were less than 1% away from As. A lot of my peers (mostly chemical and mechanical engineers) took a few 20 credit semesters and while they were busy, it certainly is far from impossible.

At the time we were all full time students, so all of our time could be devoted to school. Although I might add with just school, I didn't feel busy with this course load and wasted my fair share of time on college activities.

In my second life I have to work full time (40+ hours), so I've limited myself to around 14 credits as to not go completely insane.

As a full time student that only works part time with no kids, I think 16 credits is pretty average for a good student. I don't think your schedule is unreasonable, but during a few "peek" weeks during the semester you may have to cut your other obligations back a little bit.

To put this many classes into perspective, some people are able to take 30-40 credits per semester and still maintain mostly As. These are productivity and statistical abnormalities, but it certainly is a quintessential example of what is possible for one person to do.

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There is no way I would ever do Statistics with A&P and Micro. I would take Fine Arts with the A&P and Micro, then take Stats with Ethics. I don't see the point of cramming so many classes in one semester then only having like 1 class the next, since you are already dividing the classes up. It is better to take it slow and get good grades then rush, be stressed, and get not as good grades.

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