FCCJ pre-reqs for nursing school

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I just enrolled into fccj for the nursing program and ive been curious how difficult are these classes going to be. I have to take college algebra, humanities, A&P 1 & 2, chemistry, microbiology, english comp, phsycology, & human growth and development. I also have to take some communications class? (anybody know what the communications class is?) anyway how should i sort my semesters with these classes. how did all of you do it. I heard its best to mix hard classes with the easy ones. anyway also ive been reading other thread and have been alittle confused about the "points" for applying into the nursing program. i hear its competitive but what are these points and how do you get them? by simply making A's or what? thank you -Susan

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The difficulty of the classes depends on a lot of things - which professor, your academic level, how much time you have, etc. My Human Growth & Development class was really easy. Anatomy & Physiology is more difficult, but doable. The main thing is you need to stay organized, and be willing to do the work.

The Communications class sounds like speech, but as far as I know, it's not required for the AS. It is required for the AA.

How you sort your classes will depend on if you need to take any remedial classes or not, and how much time you have to devote to your studies. Would you feel comfortable taking some accelerated classes online? If you have been out of school for a long time, I would recommend not taking a full load your first semester, otherwise you may get overwhelmed. Besides, with how competitive the program is, you need all the GPA points you can get. Better to go slower and get all A's than rush through and get C's.

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I agree with everything that SaraFl said.

I took A&P 1 and Chemistry and then A&P II,Micro and Human growth. Micro was the hardest of these in my opinion. I would take the English, human growth and psychology at the same time. These classes will have the most writing and research where the sciences are more memorization and "learning".

Call FSCJ North campus and they can send you a packet that will explain the point system. Basically it is a combination of grades and the PSB-NAT test score. So yes to be competitive you need to do really well in ALL your classes. Fall 09 had 600+ applicants for 168 spots.

Good Luck.

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Thanks so much guys. The information you gave really helped me. Right now im taking a math class along with communications and reading class. Somehow i scored low on reading on the CPT. I'm not sure how cause I had a college reading level in highschool. They tried telling me I should re take the test, but I told them I really didnt mind taking a reading class. It dont bother me. Anyway. I do want to try and go full time. If I go full time how long do you think it will take me? Still 2 years? Also is it better to do LPN and bridge over to RN cause alot of people have been telling me thats the way to go? any details on that? whats the difference?

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The difficulty of the classes depends on a lot of things - which professor, your academic level, how much time you have, etc. My Human Growth & Development class was really easy. Anatomy & Physiology is more difficult, but doable. The main thing is you need to stay organized, and be willing to do the work.

The Communications class sounds like speech, but as far as I know, it's not required for the AS. It is required for the AA.

How you sort your classes will depend on if you need to take any remedial classes or not, and how much time you have to devote to your studies. Would you feel comfortable taking some accelerated classes online? If you have been out of school for a long time, I would recommend not taking a full load your first semester, otherwise you may get overwhelmed. Besides, with how competitive the program is, you need all the GPA points you can get. Better to go slower and get all A's than rush through and get C's.

What exactly are accelerated classes? how do i do them and will it be benificiary for me?

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I don't know anything about the LPN so I can't help you there. What I have heard though is that employers are phasing out LPN's and going to all RN's.

The RN route usually takes longer than the typical "2 years". You're earning like 72 credits as opposed to 60 credits for the AA degree.

Accelerated classes are condensed, you get through them quicker. Your options for classes (and not all have all the options) are 16 weeks, 12 weeks, 8 weeks, and the occasional 4 weeks. I have taken several accelerated/condensed classes now and they are not that much harder than regular classes. I would NOT take science classes any shorter than 12 weeks though, because there's so much to memorize. That's just my opinion, though I'm sure it can be done with the right motivation and enough time to study.

As far as figuring out how long it will take you, this is what I did. I listed every single class I would need to take before starting the nursing program. That includes any remedial classes. Then make a list. Make a column for each semester: Fall 2009, Spring 2010, etc. Then start plugging your classes in. Certain classes have to be taken in a certain order, so put those on the paper first. It was really nice to see exactly what needed to be done and start checking them off my list.

Trying this link to see if I can post my list so you can see an example. Mine will look different than yours because I'm getting my AA also.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a72/fireflysa/classes.jpg

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Thank you so much! So this is pretty much how i planned it. Tell me if you would do anything different.

FALL 09'

-Basic Math

-Communications

-Reading 08

Winter 10'

-Elementary Algebra

-Reading 10

-English Comp B

-Human growth & development

Spring 10'

-Intermediate Algebra

-Human Anatomy and Physiology 1

-English Comp 1

-General Psychology

Summer 10' (only doing 3 classes this semester cause they seem hard)

-College Algebra

-Human Anatomy and Physiology 2

-Chemistry

Fall 10'

-Microbiology

-Intro to Sociology

-Humanities

okay so how does this plan sound to you? would you do it differently. and how?

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Looks good to me! You'll be done in a little over a year and ready to learn to be a nurse! Exciting, right? :)

I would run that by the advisor just to make sure, but that is pretty similar to what I'm doing.

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Why are you taking so many math classes? Do you have an issue with algebra?

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FLmomof5, she probably just tested into the Basic Math for a bit of a refresher. It's not uncommon. Then she has to follow the order of class progression to get to college algebra.

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The only thing I have to add is for the summer you're taking A&PII, Chem & College Algebra together, I hope you have nothing else planned, no other commitments (job, children, etc...) Those are each very tough (at least for a non-math, non-science person like me). I took Chemistry & A&PI this summer and it was extremely difficult with two children at home. I know it probably won't hold a candle to how challenging the nursing program is, but it was awful and if I had any idea of how much work it would be, I would not have taken these two classes together. Just my two cents... :)

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okay so i am taking a&p 1 this semester but it absolutly sucks!!! I have the worse teacher ever...I MEAN EVER!!!

but i am still passing so i wanted to know does A&P II piggy back A&P I... because if so i will not know anything for the class...so i was wondering do i jus take it again or stick it out...PLEASE HELP

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