nursing program vs. prerequisite courses?

BlessedRoseRN · Dec 12, 2008

I would have to agree. The pre-req's were hard to me but the nursing courses were easier. I made better grades in nursing school than I did in my pre-req. I think it was b/c I enjoyed the nursing classes rather than say Goverment.....And yea getting in is hard b/c 600 people are applying say for 100 openings. But once you get in work hard to stay in.

JAMIE__0421 · Dec 12, 2008

thanks! i was thinking the same thing about prereqs being hard and the competition to get in. my school has 65 openings avail each application period. and they say there is an average of 2-3 applicants trying to get each seat. my school takes the top 65 highest GPA's of all the applicants.

JAMIE__0421 · Dec 12, 2008

and im sure that taking classes you are actually interested in, like the nursing classes, makes it a lot easier than boring old english and math..haha!

BlessedRoseRN · Dec 12, 2008

Well good luck on your pre-req's and I hope you get in!!

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Dec 12, 2008

i am currently working at completing all the prerequisite courses for nursing. i have heard from others that getting through the prerequisites and then getting accepted into a nursing program is the hard part. and they say that getting through the nursing courses is the easier part. i am curious to know what your views are on this? thanks! :wink2:

i don't know what schools your friends are talking about. there is nothing easy about nursing school. i just graduated from a nursing program and did well and so i can safely say that your friends are wrong! :icon_roll

while taking pre-reqs i do not recall students running from classes crying, puking before arriving to class or clinicals because of nerves, living inside of a skills lab, staying up all night (almost every night), going to the hospital on the weekends and holidays to prep, breaking down in public over being chewed out again, or being friends with those you were competitive with or hated at one point (the list is endless)....

getting through pre-requisites with a 4.0 was a challenge and getting accepted can be difficult too, but those do not compare to nursing school. nothing does.... ok, maybe boot camp since i have experienced that too. :twocents:

-newly pinned new graduate nurse!

smartin13 · Dec 12, 2008

I can only tell you that at my school the pre req's were the easy part. My nursing class is much harder then any of the pre req's and most of them combined. We had about 20 drop/get kicked out of nursing this quarter, that was never the case in the pre reqs. I hope you do well and good luck!!!

Alternator81 · Dec 13, 2008

there is nothing easy about nursing school...while taking pre-reqs i do not recall students running from classes crying, puking before arriving to class or clinicals because of nerves, living inside of a skills lab, staying up all night (almost every night), going to the hospital on the weekends and holidays to prep, breaking down in public over being chewed out again, or being friends with those you were competitive with or hated at one point (the list is endless)

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haha... i was thinking the same thing! :lghmky: apparently the people writing that haven't taken much med/surg yet. yeah, writing careplans till midnight and being up at 5am the next day for a 9 hour at the hospital twice a week, being interrogated by the ci on your meds and plan of care-- ah, but don't forget about that 25 page paper due at the end of the week, and there is a test on monday.

life was fun when i did pre-req work. now my nursing school owns me.

chuckz, BSN, RN · Dec 13, 2008

I really miss the days of pre-reqs. I used to be able to study a little, work, spend time with my son and have a life. We tease each other about it..."Oh, to be able to do math and patho again..."

The prereqs are about building a foundation. When you get into nursing school you will use the majority of them, math, ap, science courses, psych, sociology, patho, English and the like to learn nursing based material. It all scaffolds on what you learned and it is application of it.

Nursing school is way harder than prereqs from my perspective.

mb1949 · Dec 13, 2008

Nursing school is hard, no if ands or buts about that. I think maybe your friends meant it is hard to take all these boring english, art, and history classes and then jumping through hoops to get your seat in the nursing department. When I started the clinical portion of nursing school I had a 3.98 gpa, I won't even tell anyone what it is now. The amount of information and skills you have to learn, retain and draw upon in future classes is overwhelming.

That said I am almost done, May 09 graduation (fingers crossed) and while this journey was hard, hard, hard, I loved every minute of it in a looking back kind of way

RhodyGirl, RN · Dec 13, 2008

Wrong. I am getting better grades in my nursing courses, but this is purely because I am interested in the material being covered. Prereqs are not the most difficult part of this degree, trust me. In prereqs you can (well, I could) do lots of memorization and do great....not in NS. You have to apply concepts and really know your stuff.

Yes, getting through prereqs and being accepted to NS is difficult, but it's only the first of many hurdles.

Wishing you luck on your journey.

scoacrafter, ASN, RN · Dec 13, 2008

The prereqs were very hard and there was so much pressure to get an A. Nursing school is a different kind of "hard". It is interesting, and I love it, but I am having to work hard to "get it" because it is stuff that I have to know and remember. I have no free time for fun stuff, but it will be worth it for me. Just keep plugging away and if you think that it will always be hard, you will be pleasantly surprised with the roller coaster ahead. :nurse: