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I am 37 years old and in college for the first time. I will be applying to the Nursing program in May for consideration for the Fall 10 and Spring 11 terms. My school uses a point system when considering students for the Nursing program. In order to have enough "points" to be considered, I will have to have Anatomy and Physiology AND Microbiology completed by the end of the Spring 10 semester. My ONLY hope is to take them both at the same time.

My question is to those who are familiar with these courses. Would you recommend doing this or not. So far, my GPA is a cummulative 3.7 and I really want to keep it there or better but I do not want to have to wait a full year (Fall 11) to start the Nursing program. Should I attempt to take both classes or wait?? Please help.

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Specializes in Neonatal ICU.

Are you working? How strong are you in regards to sciences? Those are 2 big factors that will determine if you will be successful taking both courses at the same time. If you aren't working or working part-time, I say go for it. Both classes will require a huge time requirement and in my experience, a lot of memorization. Also, A&P will set your foundation for nursing school, so it is best if you know that stuff very well.

If you do not have the time to devote to the classes, it may hurt you in the long run if you get a bad grade. So, it just depends on your situation. Good luck!

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Specializes in NICU.

Time will be the main concern, if you won't have TONS of time to devote to the classes, I wouldn't recommend it. Wouldn't want to hurt that great gpa!

Last fall I took a&p II, Micro, Medical Terminology, and Public Speaking (I needed to be full time for a scholarship). I worked part time, about 20-30 hours and definitely had 0 social life. (It helped that both my boyfriend and best friend were an hour away each at school - I had no distractions!)

My days usually consisted of 2-3 classes until 4pm, studying, working 6pm-10pm, COFFEE, home and studying/homework until 3-4am.

I'll tell you one thing, if you're not organized, it teaches you to be! I am such a better student now than I was before taking those classes because I HAD to be.

I agree with the above questions. Whether or not you're working and how good you are in sciences should affect your decision, but don't be intimidated. Both classes are extremely interesting so I think that made it easier.

Honestly, it's doable - there are a lot of people on here doing the same exact thing. Even with the best planning a&p and micro always seem to be stuck together! haha

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Thank you both so much for your input. I think I am going to go for it. I think it will be the best. I would much rather spend 4 months putting my heart and soul into these two classes than to wait for a year to get into the program. Thank you again for your comments!!

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