how long did it take you to complete your pre-reqs?

tookewlandy · May 24, 2006

At my school you have the option to take the classes along with the Nursing classes, but you have to take the NLN pre entrance exam first and they pick 15 people from 2 combined NLN exams, they still advise people who get in that way to take as many of the core classes( almost the same as you have listed above) before starting the nursing classes. This is how i got in.After that they chose 85 people based on GPA and LPN transitioning to RN and such.

I am taking A&P 1 and 2 this summer, I would DEFINITELY recommend getting those out of the way before starting Nursing because they are Hard classes that need most of your time themselves. I am taking A&P 1 now and i could not imagine taking any nursing courses with this, and I'm sure A&p 2 will be even harder. I would not take Any Anatomy classes with Chemistry or other Bio classes either, as you know its so important to get a Good GPA and the more you can focus on the hard sciences the better you will do.

Most people i have heard from take about 2 years to complete there pr req's, but then there are those brave people who take maybe a year and do very well.

Andy

P.S-- I would take Chem before i took A&P because it will make it easier i wish i would have known that before

panamama · May 24, 2006

thank you andy. what is the NLN exam? at the CC closest to me i saw that chem is required before bio/microbio, and bio is required before A&P, so what you said about taking chem first makes sense.

you made me laugh saying "...the more you can focus on the hard sciences the better you will do."

all sciences seem hard to me. i never really did like science coming up in school. when i first started looking into nursing the list of courses terrified me! but i think i can do it. and i remembered that when i did take a bio course in college the first time around (just to fill a science requirement)...i loved it! it was 'the human body - anatomy and disease' or something like that. the book was humongous and the tests were incredibly difficult but i got an A and had so much fun learning in that class. how often do you say that about some elective you're taking just to get out of the way?

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · May 24, 2006

so...i researched all the universities in my area and was pleased to find several have the "second degree BSN" or "accelerated BSN" programs since i already have a bachelor's. this excited b/c they all seemed to be 2-year or less programs. then i start jotting down all the pre-reqs and i'm thinking...these are gonna take like another 2 years b/c they seem to follow one-another in sequence and cannot be taken concurrently for the most part. it seems i have to take:
A&P I
A&P II
chem 101
chem - organic
bio 101
microbio
human growth & development
nutrition
psych
and possibly abnormal psych (?)
bummer...but i will have to suck it up if i really want to do this. how long did it take you to complete your pre-reqs and is there anything you'd recommend NOT taking concurrently b/c it would be too much, or ABSOLUTELY taking concurrently b/c they compliment eachother?

I'd take the pre-reqs at a community college with accelerated sessions if this is available in your area. For example, if you could find a school with 5 week accelerated classes, then you could knock out chem, bio, and A&P I in one semester. If you are a full time student you could knock these out quickly. Part-time would take quite awhile. The recommended order that I have seen is this:

Science

Chemistry

Biology

A&PI and II

Microbiology

Organic Chem any time after Chem 101

Nutrition any time, but a tad easier after Biology and Chem 101

Others

Psych 101

Human Growth and Dev

Abnormal Psych

goingformydream · May 24, 2006

I started my journey in January of 2005. I will finish with my pre-reqs in December. I have 3 children, and wanted to make sure that I had all co-reqs, pre-reqs completed before I entered nursing school. I took this summer off.. tough decision to make...but I decided to take this time to enjoy my children.. and lose 20 lbs, before I begin classes again in the fall. oh, I just have AP2 left to complete for my pre-reqs.

I also wanted to make sure that I did my very best. I did not want to go on a waiting list. I have been able to maintain 4.0 (thank you Lord) I decided to start my journey by taking a biology class before AP. Best decision I ever made!

I have to say.. when I first started this journey I was eager to get it done immediately.. but Tweety and fun2Care's posts had me rethink this plan.. and to just enjoy the journey.. time is going to pass anyway.. might as well stay healthy while doing it...

THANK YOU TWEETY AND FUN2CARE!

:) C...

maliat · May 25, 2006

It took me a year and a half to complete all of my prerequisites. Here was my schedule:

Spring 2005: A&P 1 and Lab

Summer 2005: A&P 2 and lab; Soc 100

Fall 2005: Micro, Statistics & HWST 107

Spring 2006: Pharm, Organic Chem & Nutrition.

It can be done. It helped that I had some prerequisites done from my previous degree. It also helps if you balance some of the harder courses with the easier courses in the same semester. It also helps to ask around to find out the best instructors and easier classes. That really helped with Micro lab. I even changed sections and was very happy with the change.

Malia

panamama · May 25, 2006

yeah, i spent some time last night mapping out the sequence courses and what/where i could fit the others that don't have pre-reqs (i.e. nutrition, psychology, etc) and it came out to a year and a half minimum just because i have to take chem before bio and bio before A&P I, then of course A&P II. i'd figured something like what you posted, malia...just had it summer to summer instead of spring to spring. i would really love to do these in accelerated courses like multicollinarity mentioned, but don't see them offered in that format at the schools i've looked at (baltimore & DC areas). when i went back to school the last time - to complete my bachelors - i took almost all accelerated courses and it worked great b/c i was working FT too. being able to focus on only 2 classes at a time for 6-week periods, but still being able to knock out 6 or more classes in a semester rocked!

atrice, BSN, RN · May 25, 2006

It took me 2 yrs. to complete the prereq's.

crr277 · May 26, 2006

It'll take me 2 years. I rushed through my first degree and I hated it. I'm taking my time with this one while I save up money for nursing school.

Spring 2006: Chem 1

Summer 2006: Statistics

Fall 2006: Psych 101 (online)

Spring 2007: Sociology 101 (online)

Fall 2007: Chem 2, Micro, A&P I

Spring 2007: A&P II, Dev. Psych

WDWpixieRN, RN · May 26, 2006

Took me almost 2 years to get them all out of the way, but I was working full-time and couldn't handle more than the 2 nights a week it took for most classes....and I took Chem and Human Growth online....chem was a bit difficult as I had no metrics background, but Human Growth was a piece of cake and I relished having the time to study and read when *I* wanted to...the time flew and had I not taken the courses over the long haul like I did --

one.

step.

at.

a.

time.

but persevering......

I would not be starting the RN program at my community college in August and looking forward to my future instead of continuing being miserable in my cube for another 15+ years!! Yeah!!

Best wishes!

HeartsOpenWide, RN · May 26, 2006

Pre-reqs took me three semesters. But I had already taken nutritian (when I was working full-time, year before I took the major pre-requs) and Pych(for my CMA programs) earlier.

Physio

Micro

chem

life span development (psych)

anatomy

stats

Tweety, BSN, RN · May 26, 2006

Too many years as I took one class at a time, in a school that had quarters, and I took a quarter off here and there. I took all most of the courses at my school were co-reqs and I could have started nursing school many years earlier but because of work I got them all out of the way and took nursing by itself.