How long did it take you to complete your prereqs?

Nursing Students General Students

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Just curious...

How long did it take you (or is it currently taking you) to finish all of your prereqs? I am so tempted to want to cram all of my prereqs into 3 semesters so I can apply for Fall 2011, but the 10 credit hours I'm taking right now during the 8 week Summer session is kicking my rear!!! I am starting to have second thoughts about taking 10 credits this Fall. :uhoh21:

Albeit, the 16 week Fall semester won't be quite as rushed and intense as what I'm doing right now, but I still wonder if 10 hours might be too much. I am just taking College Algebra, English Comp I, and Intro to Computer Info Systems right now and I am up until 2AM every night doing homework. :zzzzz This Fall, I am signed up for A&P I, Human Growth & Development, and English Comp II. I was planning on finishing everything up in the Spring with Micro and A&P II. That's 10 credits this Fall and 7 credits in the Spring to get all my prereqs done in time to apply for my CC's Nursing program Fall 2011. (I have a few credits that transfer from when I was in college 10 yrs ago, so this is what I have left)

If I try to spread it out any more, I will miss the deadline and will have to wait for the Spring of 2012 to apply for Fall 2012. Please someone, give me a big fat dose of patience and tell me to take it slow.....or tell me to go for it and chug full steam ahead through these classes. :D

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

Take it slow. There is no erasing it if you overstuff your schedule and make piddly grades. Go slow, make As and keep yourself from burning out before you even get there.

I personally took my pre-req's one per semester at night, but I work full time and have a family. It took me two and a half years. I just finished my first semester of nursing school and am headed into my second. Got in on my first application too. So to me, doing it slow was absolutely the right thing to do.

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I got all of my prereqs done in a year, taking 15-16 credits per semester. I could do it this way because I lost my job (read: I wasn't working). I have no kids (besides my husband, but he's somewhat self sufficient!). So, school was my full time job. If I was working or had other committments, I wouldn't have been able to take that many credits per semester.

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Go for it! I think your summer is really bad, but after that I think it is do-able! Plus it will get you ready for the nonstop studying of nursing school!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.

Four semesters/1 year: 4 hours (bio), 8 hours (AP I, chem), 14 hours (stats, AP II, micro, computer class), 6 hours (nutrition, lifespan psych)

I already have a BA, so I didn't need to do sociology, English, etc.

The length of time depends on a few of things. Do you work? Do you get A's on pre-reqs easily? What are your chances of being accepted at your school of choice with less than straight A's? Do you want to take it slow now so that you don't burn out prior to entering nursing school? How many years can you wait before you must earn professional-level money? Are you currently accepting loans that are more than your tuition so that you have money to live on, thereby increasing your total borrowed amount over time?

Everyone's story and decision-making processes will be different. Maybe answer some of the questions I posed to you in order to think of all the different consequences of any decision you make. Good luck!

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Assuming your school is like most, having 8 week summer terms and 16 week fall and spring terms - your 10 summer credits are the equivelent of taking 20 credits in fall or spring. You will find your 10 fall credits much, much, much more, much more doable than your current 10 summer credits.

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2 years of prereqs and whole bunch of filler classes (high five philosophy class!) for prereqs ... for BSN

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3 years but that's only because my school required that pre-reqs and core classes be done before nursing (like history, philosophy, english lit) so basically it was about 22 classes in 6 semesters (25 technically but three of my classes didn't come over when I transfered and were useless)

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I got all of my prereqs done in a year, taking 15-16 credits per semester. I could do it this way because I lost my job (read: I wasn't working). I have no kids (besides my husband, but he's somewhat self sufficient!). So, school was my full time job. If I was working or had other committments, I wouldn't have been able to take that many credits per semester.

My info was probably a little misleading. I already have a Bachelor's degree, so I already had the general education requirements taken care of. It took me a year for just the nursing program prereqs.

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Specializes in School Nursing.

I think your plans are definitely doable. The summer is hard for one class, let alone a whole load. 10 hours in a fall or spring semester is not bad at all! I took 16 hours last semester and ended up the dean's list. (Not nursing prereqs)

In the fall I'm taking- AP1, Lifespan, Nutrition, Stats. In the spring I plan on taking-AP2, Micro, Chem. It's going to be challenging but doable, imo.

Good luck for fall '11- I'm hoping to get into a BSN program for then as well.

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I started this summer with 3 classes and had to drop one. I was planning on having my prereqs done in two years, by taking 2-3 classes each semester. I was overwhelmed in the beginning of the summer session when it turned out my pottery class (need art credit) required about 6 hours of my time outside the classroom (8 hours of class) each week. I am praying I don't have to retake it. Entrance to nursing school at my community college is solely based on GPA, so I really can't afford a B. And I'm really bad at pottery.

I bet you will find the fall semester much less stressful since it is more spread out. Accelerated classes can really take over your life!

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I finished mine in 3 semester (16 credits per semester)

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