Getting All A's In Pre-Req's

U.S.A. Michigan

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I just went to speak to a counselor at the Highland Lakes Campus @ Oakland Community College, to get started on my Nursing (RN) Pre-reqs.

He told me pretty much everything that I have been reading in the blogs/forums. He said the GPA needed is 3.89. He said getting pretty much all "A"s is what I should shoot for. Once accepted into the nursing program, there really isn't a 'Part Time'.

I am almost 43 and I have been taking some classes (Only a couple count towards the nursing pre-reqs), and I have gotten all A's, but when I look at the Chemistry and Biology classes, I get a little worried. Heck, PASSING the chemistry seems like a hurdle, let alone getting an A. :eek:

I know that I can always get tutoring to help with any class I'm having probs with, but the pressure of having to get ALL A's is alot, but I guess it isn't compared to Nursing School.

I'm motivated and plan on giving it 110% and I know that everyone that has been accepted into the Nursing Program aren't all Math/Science Geniuses....:cool:

Can anyone give me any pointers on how to do well in Math/Science when I really haven't, up to this point, been a person that does very well in this area?

Any advise would be really appreciated!!!

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well there are no math prereqs for the ADN program. As for the sciences, take them with less demanding classes (something nonscience). I took 2 classes at a time and that seemed to do the trick. When I took 3 or more my grades reflected it. I retook nutrition and a&p 1 because I got Bs.

Just read the chapters, take notes, and use a voice recorder to tape lectures so you can go over what's said later....and always ask professors for help when you dont get something! Forming a study group has been helpful for many of us too.

I went back to school at 31. Im a better student then I was in high school and Im enjoying it much more this time around.

Good Luck!

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I have to add something here. As 'bad' as this may sound, I have to say that try really hard to get good teachers. Some teachers are much more difficult than others. Some are much more random than others. Some are just terrible teachers. My point is, when registering for classes see if you can get courses with teachers that have good ratings on ratemyprof or similar websites/word of mouth that let you know they are good teachers! This is really important and not always the easiest thing to do, because big shock a lot of people have caught onto this plan and the 'good teacher' classes tend to fill up first.

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Some people manage to maintain all As by only taking one course at a time. Sure it takes longer but the end result seems to be worth it.

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i totally agree with want2B, teachers are the most important thing. if you get easy (not always good) profs you can make it through your prereqs and still get A's. i would have to say that it would be hard to get the rest of your pre reqs done by the end of this year. so if your shooting for 2013, i would say still shoot for all A's, but in a two year period a lot of things can change for admission into the program

anyway i am no great student by any means, so try to find out from other students who they had for prereq classes. oh and chem all you need is a C, it doesnt count as one of the prereqs, even though you have to take it.

a good example is taking a prof whose last name starts with ------ for a&p he teaches out of auburn hills campus. i thought he was easy

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I was at school last night (Royal Oak Campus) and they had a ton of other colleges there; offering transfer info, etc. Madonna University and Davenport seemed like good schools and their GPA is ALOT lower than OCC but they only offer 4 year (Bachelor) degrees.

My plan is, I'm going to stick it out here at OCC, I really like the school, and do my absolute best. I do plan on taking 1 or 2 classes a semester, because I work full time at this point. Plus, it may take me longer, but I agree with caliotter3, the end result is getting a better GPA and that is what I'm aiming for.

Thanks so much for all the advise. I really appreciate it. ;)

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I agree, picking the right instructors are very important. I don't know if ratemyprofessor is very accurate because I have had some teachers that were very good and others that were not so good and some of the comments made on there contradicted with what I would have said about that certain professor. By the way, I also heard about professor -----. and will be retaking him for A&P 1, although it is very hard to get into his class. Already his classes for the summer are full and there is even a waitlist to get into his classes. So in my opinion, the best way to find out about who to take, is to talk to others on campus. That is what I did to register for this summer because your GPA is so important you don't want to make the mistake I did. When I had returned to school in the Fall of 2009, I had no clue about the professors and just randomly picked one. Unfortunely, my teacher for A&P1 was new and had never taught A&P, as a matter of fact, her degree was biochemistry. Her teaching was bad and her test were insane. I ended up with a A-(which I worked very hard for) and that I was happy with that at the time because there were very few of us who received an A or A- in that class. But unfortunately, it looks like next year GPA cutoff is going to be a 4.0 or close to it and A-(3.7) is just not going to make the cut.

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MarieFitz, if you could msg me/email me with the name of the A&P professor, I would appreciate it. It was deleted when your msg/post was added.

I would hate to get a bad professor for a hard class, it would only make the class more difficult. :eek:

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I agree about the teachers as well. I never had an 'easy' teacher. All of my teachers were exceptionally difficult and only ended up passing out mabye 5 A in classes of 35. (started out that size, but 1 of my classes finished up with 10 people in it) I managed, but it was with so much work and stress. Anatomy should not take up 30+ hours a week to study to get an A, but if you get a difficult teacher they will make your class a full time job literally to get an A. It is mentally and emotionally draining. I did see many people cry in the pre-reqs. Too bad it has come down to this.

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anne36 as you and i both know if your crying in a prereq class you will be in the mental ward within a month at nursing school.

Gpa admission is still the best way to go. a lot of schools have lower gpa's but they also have a 3yr waiting list. the great thing about occ is they are hooked up with OU so as soon as you grad from OCC you can transfer to OU. NO waiting list, no admit process, nothing.

even the schools that dont have waiting lists have an interview you have to ace to get into school. i dont about the rest of you but i wouldnt want a panel of 5 people deciding my fate based on an interview.

Kimberly that prof's last name starts with a ----------. he's awesome.

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Kimberly that prof's last name starts with a ------. he's awesome.
:lol2:

Thats funny whos, I'm actually taking a spanish class now. Thanks for the heads up.

Well, I would LOVE to be done with all my pre-req's in a year (or less) and the more I think about it and listen/read the posts, I do want to do whatever I can to get all A's and taking less of a load would help me with that, but I think I can handle a few of the easier classes a couple at a time (One hard class and one easier class). Any advise on which classes are the easiest? I'm a pretty good student in general....

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Found the instructor that whos mentioned. Thanks for the heads up....I'll keep his name handy :up:

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