Microbiology Course

pristock230 · Jul 30, 2009

MassBay in Framingham and Wellesley offers it day. night or weekend

ERICA57 · Jul 30, 2009

I DO NOT recommend Mass Bay (for anything). I took many of my nursing prerqs there and the poor teachers vastly outnumber the good. Better to take Micro at Bunker Hill (if you can still register for it).

MsKaz · Jul 31, 2009

I DO NOT recommend Mass Bay (for anything). I took many of my nursing prerqs there and the poor teachers vastly outnumber the good. Better to take Micro at Bunker Hill (if you can still register for it).

Wow really? What makes the teachers at Mass Bay so bad? I'll look into Bunker Hill.

Tozz · Jul 31, 2009

"Good" courses are much more instructor dependent than they are school dependent.

It also depends upon what you are looking for. Do you want an easy "A," thereby pushing your real challenges off to nursing school or Real Life? Or do you want to be challenged by someone who really knows the material (thereby increasing the chance that you won't get an "A," and possibly putting nursing school out of reach). It's a difficult decision. You also need to let us know where you reside.

Most of my pre-req instructors were so-so, but I can recommend a couple of excellent professors for both Micro and A&P in a great Boston community college. They are both demanding, but superb. My microbio professor spent most of her career in the Mass Dept of Public Health Infectious Disease lab in JP, and knows her stuff.

I don't think forum rules permit naming professors--PM me if you're interested.

ERICA57 · Jul 31, 2009

Yes, it's true that you can't determine whether a professor is effective or poor simply by their academic affiliation. However, it's also true that administration (hiring practices, faculty supervision) of the community colleges varies widely, and this is absolutely evident in the quality of science courses. For example, the Microbiology lab at Bunker Hill was wonderfully organized, well stocked and challenging. This was not the case in the A & P lab at Mass Bay..the supplies were so lacking that my A & P l professor told us we could "skip" lab altogether. And, when we asked our A & P ll teacher for help with dissection after trying to make sense of the lab manual, she told us to "figure it out for ourselves".

My own personal experience at Mass Bay (which is what I based my counsel on) was that I encountered a number of very poor teachers. There are some good ones there to be sure. On the whole, however, my experience is that the science program at Bunker Hill is much better run. A comparative review of evaluations of Microbiology and

A & P courses at each school on Rate My Professor supports this assertion: it will show many more satisfied students in these courses at BHCC!

Tozz · Aug 1, 2009

I wasn't dissin' your suggestion, Erica. My only point was that the original poster's search for a "good" micro course would probably be more successful if she concentrated more on the right professor rather than a particular school.

I hear great things about Bunker Hill--it seems to be the de facto flagship of Mass community colleges. I attended what I thought to be a poorly run community college, but managed to luck out with my micro and A&P professors. For what it's worth, both were staff rather than adjunct.

Yes, it's true that you can't determine whether a professor is effective or poor simply by their academic affiliation. However, it's also true that administration (hiring practices, faculty supervision) of the community colleges varies widely, and this is absolutely evident in the quality of science courses.

ERICA57 · Aug 1, 2009

I agree with you..ultimately it all comes down to the teacher! :)

MsKaz · Aug 3, 2009

I'm from Boston, MA so any programs in boston, the south shore, or newton and surrounding areas will be fine.

My teacher was very good, I give him that. He was indepth and although my lecture grade doesn't show, I've learned a lot. So to be honest, I'm looking for an easy instructor this time around. One that can be strictly about memorizing terms and even gives homework. I don't mind writing papers either...I just don't want an indepth instructor this time around.

One of my classmates reccommended an instructor like that but he is in plymouth

Ill will pm you for some names. Thanks for replying.

"Good" courses are much more instructor dependent than they are school dependent.
It also depends upon what you are looking for. Do you want an easy "A," thereby pushing your real challenges off to nursing school or Real Life? Or do you want to be challenged by someone who really knows the material (thereby increasing the chance that you won't get an "A," and possibly putting nursing school out of reach). It's a difficult decision. You also need to let us know where you reside.
Most of my pre-req instructors were so-so, but I can recommend a couple of excellent professors for both Micro and A&P in a great Boston community college. They are both demanding, but superb. My microbio professor spent most of her career in the Mass Dept of Public Health Infectious Disease lab in JP, and knows her stuff.
I don't think forum rules permit naming professors--PM me if you're interested.

MsKaz · Aug 3, 2009

I wasn't dissin' your suggestion, Erica. My only point was that the original poster's search for a "good" micro course would probably be more successful if she concentrated more on the right professor rather than a particular school.
I hear great things about Bunker Hill--it seems to be the de facto flagship of Mass community colleges. I attended what I thought to be a poorly run community college, but managed to luck out with my micro and A&P professors. For what it's worth, both were staff rather than adjunct.

Yes this is correct. I should have been more clear. What I am truly looking for is the right professor.

fay. · Aug 31, 2010

I semi-agree with the Mass bay nursing professors..Chem professor was my favorite.. My A&P I prof was EXCELLENT! But A&P II, she was horrible. Our lab was just an extension of lecture.. ALL POWER POINTS. We did no labs whatsoever. I honestly learned NOTHING in that class and the only reason I passed were the online quizzes brought my grade up. Micro class.. my teacher was SUPER intelligent but to the point where he taught at HIS level.. he expected us to know things that were out of our educational level and didn't explain things very well. He was a good man but very hard as a teacher. I agre 100% that the school isnt what makes the classes decent it's if you get the right professor. But all my other teachers I thought weere great.. English, Math, Psych, Spanish, Humanities courses.. I'd take every class again from the same teach except Micro and A&P II.

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