Does it matter which school to take pre-reqs- PLEASE HELP

MsCRC · Jun 22, 2011

Thank you for all your input.. I really needed this information...

blueharlequin · Jun 22, 2011

Uh, this is not accurate...at all. I would say you were very lucky.
This is the procedure you need to follow if you want to take your pre-reqs at another college than the one you plan on attending for nursing school.
1. Get a college from the school you want to take your pre-reqs from..or print out the FULL course description from the courses you want to take.
2. Set up an appointment with an advisor from the college that you want to attend...YES, they will do this even if you are not a student yet.
3. The goal: To get them to review the course description to see IF they will accept the course for transfer...BEFORE you even take it.
Many students are 100% unaware that colleges offer this type of advising and it is critical if you know in advance you are going to transfer. Some colleges have odd requirements such as the fact that there are certain courses that you HAVE to take there...my nursing school had a very specific math course that you could not have transferred in, etc.
However, just because you take a course at one college doesn't automatically mean it will transfer to another...nor will they tell you it will. They have to look at the courses in order to make that determination.

This is VERY good advise that I wanted to second and add to. I'm at GTC and I already have a BA, but they wouldn't accept any of my coursework for GE's (and I got my BA in 2006, so I don't think it has to do with time passage). GTC was not on the semester system at the time (they are switching this fall), which I think was part of it. University systems in general, whether a 2-year, 4-year, or full university, tend to just be picky with what they will and will not accept. In terms of the school's name (ie, politics), I think that's not as important when transferring to SOME state schools. Private schools tend to be different, though, as do big name public universities (if they are known for a certain program). This is something you'd be able to pick up on a bit when speaking with someone from the department. This also will be narrowed (a bit) by the schools they will accept transfer credits from. Depending on where you want to go and how competitive the entry process is, it would be a good idea to pay close attention to how the department member talks about this.

The other really good thing about meeting with an adviser is they get to know you a bit more than just at an entrance interview. More familiarity is better in a really competitive process. But BabyLady gave some extremely good advice regarding coursework transfers and I think a lot of people can relate personal experiences with this kind of situation.