Nervous about my sciences , how much time needed for studying?

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I am taking my prerequisite to obtain my BSN. I am pretty much done with all of them except for my sciences and stats. This fall semester will be A & P 1 and chem both with lab. I am a wife and mother if 3. Two of my kiddos go to school. My study time is basically when my 2 yo goes down for his nap, which is 3 hours, and when my kids go to bed at night, about 1 1/2 hours. I could take advantage of his nap time about 5 to 6 days a week and the 1 1/2 hours at night about 3 to 4 times a week. Is that enough study time for both A&P 1 and chem, both with labs? I am just nervous about the science classes.

Specializes in Behavioral health.

Former science teacher now RN. Hope my post can help.

AP & Chem. That's a tough load. If you had high school biology and chemistry that will help. Anatomy is memorization. Physiology is more conceptual. Chemistry is very abstract and quantitative.

1. Be organized. Know what is due and when it is due.

2. Don't procrastinate. Too easy to fall behind because life will get in the way. Get it done yesterday. Lab report especially can be time consuming.

3. Get a study buddy. Helps to spread the work and provide moral and academic support.

4. Do the textbook chapter exercises even if the teacher doesn't assign them. It really helps you learn and retain information.

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Former science teacher now RN. Hope my post can help.

AP & Chem. That's a tough load. If you had high school biology and chemistry that will help. Anatomy is memorization. Physiology is more conceptual. Chemistry is very abstract and quantitative.

1. Be organized. Know what is due and when it is due.

2. Don't procrastinate. Too easy to fall behind because life will get in the way. Get it done yesterday. Lab report especially can be time consuming.

3. Get a study buddy. Helps to spread the work and provide moral and academic support.

4. Do the textbook chapter exercises even if the teacher doesn't assign them. It really helps you learn and retain information.

Thank you. It has been 16 years since high school. I actually can't remember what sciences I took. Lol. I have been looking at they the end of chapter exercises and was thinking about incorporating them into my studying. Thanks for the advice.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Telemetry.

I too am an older student and can tell you that chem is no joke. You will be expected to already have a firm grasp on many math concepts used in chem; no time is spent on what your prof may consider fundamental basics. If you are not familiar with a scientific calculator and its functions, then just the math aspect of the class will be super challenging, not to mention the abstract madness of the chemistry content. My class was the lowest level possible for RN pre-req, as I was aware that chem is not my strong suit science, and I was thankful every day that my other class was no problem for me (Bio) as there was no way I could have made it otherwise (with acceptable grades). No kids here (unless you count my husband), but I also worked 40+ hours a week during the semester. For reference purposes, I was the valedictorian of my LVN school and an Art major before my first career 10+ years ago.

As far as study tips, youtube is amazing! Bozeman Biology is one of the best resources out there. Also I felt there was no need to go above and beyond homework in chem, as the tests were directly structured from study guides and assignments; knowing this can save you much time and brain power. IMO the first big test is the best resource for learning their testing style and getting a template for how to study for every subsequent one. Of course, every prof is different so YMMV.

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I too am an older student and can tell you that chem is no joke. You will be expected to already have a firm grasp on many math concepts used in chem; no time is spent on what your prof may consider fundamental basics. If you are not familiar with a scientific calculator and its functions, then just the math aspect of the class will be super challenging, not to mention the abstract madness of the chemistry content. My class was the lowest level possible for RN pre-req, as I was aware that chem is not my strong suit science, and I was thankful every day that my other class was no problem for me (Bio) as there was no way I could have made it otherwise (with acceptable grades). No kids here (unless you count my husband), but I also worked 40+ hours a week during the semester. For reference purposes, I was the valedictorian of my LVN school and an Art major before my first career 10+ years ago.

As far as study tips, youtube is amazing! Bozeman Biology is one of the best resources out there. Also I felt there was no need to go above and beyond homework in chem, as the tests were directly structured from study guides and assignments; knowing this can save you much time and brain power. IMO the first big test is the best resource for learning their testing style and getting a template for how to study for every subsequent one. Of course, every prof is different so YMMV.

I agree. Thanks for the youtube idea. Thought of looking into that but I will try out your resource you mentioned. I finished college algerbra with an A. Not a math wiz, just tried real hard. So I hope I can pick up the math for chem quickly. Thank you again.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Telemetry.

Also a great resource for me : ChemTeam: Main Menu

And really truly understand the concept of mol; so much is only that much harder until you totally "get" its quantitative importance.

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Kahn University is a great free site online. He has plenty of videos to explain a host of different topics. Also, I forgot to mention in my previous post, I did A&P online and was assigned, on average, 100 research questions per week plus a 50 question chapter weekly. Many of the questions were actually multiple questions rolled into one. Additionally, I got behind when my mom went into the ICU and passed away three days later. This happened the first week of the semester. I was able to catch up by midterm, which was right before Spring Break. The instructor made a mistake posting our assignment due dates ( wrong year) during the week of Spring Break and the system would not let us submit assignments because it thought they were past due. (E-Learners don't get a spring break at my school, but the Instructor does) We had to wait for him to come back from Spring Break to correct the dates, once again I was a week behind. Long story short, I had to study / complete assignments for around 2-3 hours a day. Under normal circumstances, or if I went to class at the campus, my study time would have been less at home. I also work FT, Home School my two daughters, and coach a Fast Pitch softball team for my youngest daughter's team. I "eeked" out an "A" in A&P :-)

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Also a great resource for me : ChemTeam: Main Menu

And really truly understand the concept of mol; so much is only that much harder until you totally "get" its quantitative importance.

Thanks saraleigh. Looked at the site and looks great. Saved it to my favorites!

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Kahn University is a great free site online. He has plenty of videos to explain a host of different topics. Also I forgot to mention in my previous post, I did A&P online and was assigned, on average, 100 research questions per week plus a 50 question chapter weekly. Many of the questions were actually multiple questions rolled into one. Additionally, I got behind when my mom went into the ICU and passed away three days later. This happened the first week of the semester. I was able to catch up by midterm, which was right before Spring Break. The instructor made a mistake posting our assignment due dates ( wrong year) during the week of Spring Break and the system would not let us submit assignments because it thought they were past due. (E-Learners don't get a spring break at my school, but the Instructor does) We had to wait for him to come back from Spring Break to correct the dates, once again I was a week behind. Long story short, I had to study / complete assignments for around 2-3 hours a day. Under normal circumstances, or if I went to class at the campus, my study time would have been less at home. I also work FT, Home School my two daughters, and coach a Fast Pitch softball team for my youngest daughter's team. I "eeked" out an "A" in A&P :-)[/quote']

Great for you on getting an A. I took every class online except my maths and English 1302. After taking 1301 online with tons and tons of writing, I decided to take English 1302 on campus. Still plenty of writing but not near the amout as my online 1301 English. All my sciences will be on campus (except nutrition), I don't want to figure everthing out without much help. Thanks for your response.

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I am a stay at home mom and found that planning isn't enough. There are many times when kids have to stay home from school sick or we get sick, or someone has to go to the doctor, dentist, etc. I started studying ahead of time to help compensate for the times when I might get behind. I was able to download the syllabus a week or two prior to class and start reading. This helped me at least get ahead in my reading so when my son was home sick from school for a week, I didn't fall behind...then I got sick too. So, work ahead as much as you can to help compensate for those times that you may fall behind due to life circumstances. That is what worked for me last year when I was taking accelerated courses.

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It can be done. I had a lot of late nights. I started two years ago and I am a mom of four kids. My best times were after classes and at night when they are in bed. But the sciences are hard but if you put the time in you will do fine. I made it through all of the including micro

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I am a stay at home mom and found that planning isn't enough. There are many times when kids have to stay home from school sick or we get sick or someone has to go to the doctor, dentist, etc. I started studying ahead of time to help compensate for the times when I might get behind. I was able to download the syllabus a week or two prior to class and start reading. This helped me at least get ahead in my reading so when my son was home sick from school for a week, I didn't fall behind...then I got sick too. So, work ahead as much as you can to help compensate for those times that you may fall behind due to life circumstances. That is what worked for me last year when I was taking accelerated courses.[/quote']

Thanks so much for your post. Life sure does get in the way of school. Crossing fingers that my kiddos and family and myself stay healthy and saine. Lol.

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It can be done. I had a lot of late nights. I started two years ago and I am a mom of four kids. My best times were after classes and at night when they are in bed. But the sciences are hard but if you put the time in you will do fine. I made it through all of the including micro

Naptime and bedtime are my prime time to study as well. Thank you for the response.

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