Is my courseload reasonable?

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I am currently enrolled in Microbiology, Anatomy (we have Anatomy and Physiology in 2 separate courses here not A&P 1 and A&P2), and Statistics for the Spring 2014 semester. I am really just getting started with my pre-reqs but I took A&P and Med Term 2 semesters ago to learn, prepare, and freshen up on the topics before I start the actual classes that I HAVE to do amazing in.

I am pretty good at math so I am not so worried about Statistics other than that I am taking it online. I am just concerned if it is reasonable to take Microbiology and Anatomy at the same time. Science was not my strong point in high school but that was mostly because I was very uninterested in the teacher and more interested in sports, however, I did really enjoy taking A&P and learning the basics of the human body in that class. I just don't know what the course load is and I don't want to take on too much and end up screwing up both grades.

I have 2 children and work 4 nights a week at a hospital answering calls but have ALOT of downtime (like 5-6 hours a night) so I am thinking that this time will be the opportune time for me to take advantage of the quiet and get some good studying in.

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Yes! Yet, at the same time we must what we have to do to stay ahead. Yes, you can be superwoman, but you can do a little too much too soon. Being that math is your strong point, I say stick w/ Stats. Anat and Phys are 2 separate courses. Can you pick between the 2 to choose which you want to take first? Then Micro wouldn't be so bad to balance if you had an idea or a path for the coursework. Long story short, things happen, your mama first, everything else comes second, you have to work, and lastly will be sleep deprived. Create a track plan, but remain reasonable and realistic. If you do 4 of the 5 courses can you still apply to the nursing school of your choice?

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No, I have to take Anatomy first, then Physiology (and technically, Anatomy is also a pre-req for Microbiology but A&P also counts because LVN students dont have to take the full Anatomy and Physiology classes in 2 semesters). And, no, I have to take Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology, Pharmacology, and Statistics before I can apply. I already had college algebra but they changed the requirement so that you are now required to have Statistics as your math :/

I am just wanting to get all of these pre-reqs out of the way so that I can apply to the program. The program here is OUTRAGEOUSLY competetive and I am fairly positive that I will be on a waitlist a couple of semesters so I don't want to have to wait any longer than I already have.

I have ADHD but even when I dont take my medication I am a pretty good student just with fairly bad study habits but I plan to take my meds religiously from here on out to help keep me focused in class and outside of class.

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Specializes in CRNA.

That doesn't seem like a bad load for the semester. I am taking Anatomy and Physiology, my school has A&P combined for the ADN but then you have to take Anatomy and Physiology as two separate classes for the BSN, Microbiology, and Pharmacology. It is 12 credit hours with A&P being 5, Micro 4, and Pharm 3.

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All 3 of the classes you're considering are really time consuming. I'd tell you it was too much if you didn't have so much down time at work. But if you have about 20 hours a week to devote to your study/homework/quizes you should be okay.

Know that you aren't just trying to finish the courses, you need A's in the courses to really have a shot at being accepted into nursing school. So do whatever you have to in order to be successful.

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Specializes in None.
Yes! Yet, at the same time we must what we have to do to stay ahead. Yes, you can be superwoman, but you can do a little too much too soon. Being that math is your strong point, I say stick w/ Stats. Anat and Phys are 2 separate courses. Can you pick between the 2 to choose which you want to take first? Then Micro wouldn't be so bad to balance if you had an idea or a path for the coursework. Long story short, things happen, your mama first, everything else comes second, you have to work, and lastly will be sleep deprived. Create a track plan, but remain reasonable and realistic. If you do 4 of the 5 courses can you still apply to the nursing school of your choice?

I agree with this. I would take the math and Anatomy and Physiology and maybe another class (Pharm?) besides Microbiology. From my personal experience, i'm taking micro now(the only class I have) and it is hard enough by itself. However, we are all different.

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I am just wanting to get all of these pre-reqs out of the way so that I can apply to the program. The program here is OUTRAGEOUSLY competetive and I am fairly positive that I will be on a waitlist a couple of semesters so I don't want to have to wait any longer than I already have.

I know that there is a HUGE desire to get it done and get it done quick. But like someone else mentioned, you need to get 4.0s in nearly ALL of your classes to even get into the program. I'm in about the same boat. I am married with 4 kids and I just want to get through school and either into the nursing program or even done with the program and working in the field. But the competitive nature of getting in really isn't a joke. Straight Bs won't cut it. 3.8 was the average GPA of the cohort that just recently got accepted at the school I'm looking at. I don't know how typical that is, but I would guess pretty.

Stats is tricky for a lot of people. Seems straight forward, but really messes with your head at the end there! lol I would think you could juggle two science courses, but adding the third math class seems like its asking for things to fall through the cracks. That is just me though.

Good luck!

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Here is the class situation as the course schedules sit now. I have to take Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology, Pharmacology, and Statistics. I have to take Anatomy before I can take Physiology. Physiology is not offered in a summer course this upcoming summer. Once I finish all of my classes I will have to take one semester off from classes as this is the semester that I apply for the RN program however, my school only starts RN programs in the Fall. So, having said all of that, I have to take Anatomy this semester and Physiology in Fall 2014. Everything else, I need to get done between Spring 2014, Summer 2014, and Fall 2014 so that my semester off to apply for the program will be Spring 2015 and with a little luck, a well worded essay, and 4 very good letters of recommendation, I will be able to start in Fall 2015.

So, this is why I feel rushed to cram 3 classes into this semester. I definately do not want to take Micro or Pharm in the summer as our summer semesters are 10 wks (not including exam week) and I took A&P (not the real one, just the basic A&P) during the summer semester and it was tough. We were covering 3-4 topics a week and the amount of memorization we had to have done at the end of every week for things like organ systems, cell functions, etc. was OUTRAGEOUS!

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I, too, crammed as many classes as I could to be able to apply. What I did was went to 2 different schools... the one I was going to apply to then went to another school as a 'non-degree seeking student' (ie there to take classes only) to pick up the classes that my school didn't offer when I needed them. This put me ahead by a year in my application and I was able to start nursing sooner rather than later...

Is that an option for you?

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It will take more than one semester, so you have plenty of time to complete the classes you need to with some version of this schedule.

Spring: Anatomy, Microbiology

Summer: Statistics

Fall: Physiology, Pharmacology

Your timeline really is ideal because the deadline to apply to nursing school will be sometime in the fall/winter. Then you can have the Spring semester of next year to take any advanced classes and get your financial aid in order.

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