Don't know where to start.....

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Hello all, please any advice would be helpful.

After talking to my family I've decided to go back to school for nursing. After looking at some Universities and what not, I noticed that I will need to take some pre-requisites. Seems to be the norm as I've been reading threads on here about people taking microbiology, nutrion etc. This is where I get lost.

Say, I live in Chicago (cause I do), but plan on trying to get into school in Missouri. Could I just take some classes some where in Chicago? If so, would I have to "apply" to a local school here? I mean, when I look into schools here it seems that if I were an Undergrad, Transfer, or Foriegn Exchange student, I'd have plenty of information. But as a gradute of another school, I don't seem to fit into any of those "classifications".

I guess, what I am asking, is how I can go about taking those pre-requisite classes that I know I'll sooner or later have to take? Do I apply to a local university as a freshman? Transfer? Or *gulp* gradutate? I've been out of school for about 10 years and am so lost :uhoh3: .

Can anyone please help? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

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Well, you can take classes at another college. Try a community college in Chicago to save money. Then you shouldn't have any problems transferring those credits. The school you chose in Chi should have a degree program called General Transfer Studies or something of the sort which would give you an array of classes you can take. I am not sure what you already have but you will need the basics like Intro Bio before you can A&P or Mirco (unless you've taken a significant amount in highschool). Then, of course, math classes - up to Stats if you are going for a BSN. I'm not to sure on your "classification" questions. The school you apply to should be able to help. That really shouldn't affect you in taking your required classes. However, when you transfer to a University here, you would then be an out of state transfer student.

Hope this help. Good Luck!

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Thank you so very much! So that was part of my question as well. Say a pre-req says "Chemistry - 2 credit hours (does not require a lab) ". That pretty much means that I'll need to take an Intro to Chem class perhaps right? Or does the intro to Chem class offered here count as a 2 credit hour class?

Its just that most pre-reqs are not really specific as to what type of class I need to take. Another example: "Nutrition or Diet Therapy - 3 credit hours ". Does that mean I could walk into a college here and ask that I take aany Nutrition class? Or is there a specific Nutrition class?

Thanks, any more information would be very helpful!

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I've taken individual classes at community colleges, one or two here, one or two there, with no intention of getting a degree from that particular college. When I registered, I stated that my area of concentration (or major) was "transfer" or "pre-nursing" or "undecided".

Since you are just starting out, you will probably have to take assessment exams for placement in English and math. Most colleges require this. Everyone has to take at least the first freshman English comp class for any program. You may or may not have to take college algebra depending on whatever nursing program(s) you apply to. This class is sometimes a prerequisite for some of the science classes. If you plan on getting into a BSN program you might need statistics. The other prerequisites are usually pretty standard: anatomy, physiology, microbiology, psychology, sociology, chemistry, speech, human development, nutrition.

Go to the community colleges near you and see a counselor to find out how to get started or you can also access their catalogs and schedules of classes online to get an idea of what classes to start with. You should also access the website of the school in Missouri that you want to transfer to. You can find out what the specific requirements of their School of Nursing are and use that as a guideline for what to take at the schools in Chicago. Good luck.

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Thank you so very much! So that was part of my question as well. Say a pre-req says "Chemistry - 2 credit hours (does not require a lab) ". That pretty much means that I'll need to take an Intro to Chem class perhaps right? Or does the intro to Chem class offered here count as a 2 credit hour class?

Its just that most pre-reqs are not really specific as to what type of class I need to take. Another example: "Nutrition or Diet Therapy - 3 credit hours ". Does that mean I could walk into a college here and ask that I take aany Nutrition class? Or is there a specific Nutrition class?

Thanks, any more information would be very helpful!

It depends. Are you looking at the prereq list for schools in missourri? That maybe the name of the class for that particular college. Each school can vary on what the class name is.

The best thing to do is call the colleges you're looking at in missourri and ask them what classes would be best to take in Chicago. That way there's no confusion and you won't take the wrong classes.

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The best thing to do is call the colleges you're looking at in missourri and ask them what classes would be best to take in Chicago. That way there's no confusion and you won't take the wrong classes.

That is a great idea. I've been calling for two days so hopefully I'll get a call back soon .

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I agree that the colleges that you are going to be applying to is the first place to go. They will tell you what classes that are prereqs. and which ones will transfer. Also in California we can look up transferable classes through Assist.org but I am not sure if that is for all states. I know for my nursing school Chemistry with a lab is a requirement, and most nursing schools also require Microbiology (mine also required a lab) Anatomy and Physiology either apart or as API and AP2

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