What is harder A&P or Micro?

Nursing Students Student Assist

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Hello All!

I have 3 quarters left to finish my prereqs. I still have to take A&P I & II, Microbiology and English100. So I'll be taking one science for each quarter and I need to decide which quarter to take English100. So which science course would you say is the easiest?? Thanks!

I'd say A&P is harder. Micro was fascinating! I hate rote memorization, which seems to be the crux of anatomy.

I disagree with most of this post.

Very rarely will getting an A in a class correlate with mastery of the material. More frequently the threshold for an A-level grade will occur before one becomes an expert in that subject. I believe the professor makes very little difference on whether the student learns anything at all. For students not at the top of the academic food chain a professor can make the difference between the letter grade that ends up on a transcript, but I do not think there is a huge correlation between quality of professor and amount of material able to be learned.

A student should very rarely be introduced to a new concept or hear new material for the first time from the professor. It is a common misconception that the professor is supposed to "teach" the material to the student via verbal lecture. Instead, it is the professor's job to clarify confusing parts of the material and be a resource for questions.

Students at the top of the food chain will get As regardless of the professor because they're already studying at an appropriate level. Students directly below this level benefit none by choosing a more "difficult" professor other than potentially damaging their GPA unnecessarily. A more rigorous professor may require more reading, grade on a harder scale, or have more thorough exams, but none of this should change the study habits of a student significantly if they are trying to master the material.

A very bright student may benefit from a hard professor because of the nature of the student-teacher relationship while enrolled in a class. They will have unlimited access to the professor to pick their brains about advanced topics or side research. They also have the opportunity to network with the professor and make a good impression which can prove valuable later when needing letters of recommendation, or if you would like to become part of their research. A student not at the forefront of their class (most people) do not receive any of these benefits and choosing a difficult professor will only make their lives more difficult.

Damn! this might be the most insightful post I have ever read on this site....what an intelligent comment! I'm back in school going for a second bachelor's and I totally agree with your sentiments.

I respectfully disagree.

"It is a common misconception that the professor is supposed to "teach" the material to the student via verbal lecture. Instead, it is the professor's job to clarify confusing parts of the material and be a resource for questions."

That may be your view on the subject, and that method of learning may fit a very small sliver of students (or hell, maybe a large sliver; my higher education up until now has been public...) but I feel that an instructor's job is to present the material in a way that engages and challenges her/his students. And yes, they are supposed to stand up there for a few hours a week and present something I may not know. Or put a spin on something I may have an idea about. My favorite, and by far BEST instructor of my career (and I've been at this a long time) WRITES on the board because he wants to "engage our mirror neurons." He could make up a power point like everyone else, but he doesn't. He is passionate and interesting. He actually cares about what he's teaching and that his students understand the subject. He doesn't do the work for us, but he sets us up for success by making it engaging and interesting, bless his heart.

We're paying them to teach us, not be a resource for the books they assign.

That being said, students need to step up to the learning process. Do the reading, look for clarification and answers when they don't come popping out of the book. Be curious and committed to the subject matter. A wonderful teacher can make all the difference.

I've had spectacular instructors for both micro and A&P and I'd still say Micro was the bomb! But then again, I like the creepy crawly not-quite-alive-but-deadly part of Micro a lot! :lol2:

I thought micro was harder, but I had a famously difficult teacher. It requires memorization and then critical thinking, whereas A/P is mostly memorization.

Specializes in ICU /ED.

I definitely think A&P was harder. Micro was probably the most easy of all the science classes I have ever taken. I loved micro. But my micro teacher was absoletutely phenomonal. It just really depends on the person. Good Luck with both

Specializes in LTC/Rehab.

the sheer volume of information in A & P makes it more challenging. i took a & p and micro in the same semester. i'm a glutton for punishment.

Specializes in ED.

I think it's totally subjective. I kind of hate biology and prefer chemistry and love A&P. Finding it easier as it's easy for me to get myself to study. Microbiology seems to be never ending to me. I am only a third of the way through my Microbiology and feel like it's never going to end.

I will say it's easier to take remember if you take A&PII immediately after A&PI.

I'm a part time student and I only need to take pre-reqs. I'm taking 1 class this semester, 1 accelerated class over summer and plan to take micro with another class in the fall. I keep flip flopping on whether I want to take human development or nutrition. I am leaning towards human development.

As far as things like ratemyprofessor, I think it can be a valuable tool but you also have to read between the lines. I chose my Bio professor based on reviews and he had some mixed reviews on the site but overall seemed to have positive ratings. I am getting a high A in the class but half of the class dropped already and there are some students who stayed but are failing. So it isn't an easy class but I think it suited me well.

For Micro, I've met the teacher that I will be taking and she is tough but her reviews are pretty fair in that they indicate the class is tough but she is helpful. On the other hand, some other professors have really bad ratings all around.

I have taken all 3 and I personally feel Microbiology was very much harder than A/P because of the depth of knowledge

Specializes in MedSurg, OR, Cardiac step down.

I liked them all and got A+'s in all. But I love those subjects! :) Why I am picking nursing ;)

i thought micro was pretty easy, the lab was a lot of memorization (of reactions) for tests, but not too bad. anatomy was a separate class than physio for my school, but I say anatomy was hardest of the three classes. I took micro and physio in the same semester - took finals 2 weeks early due to pre eclampsia w/ pregnancy... still got an A & B. Anatomy I got a low B - but hardly went to the lab because of morning sickness w/ smell of cadavers and the multiple disections.

IMO

good luck, whichever path you choose

The answer is subjective. So many things come into play with this. The answer for YOU is based on your teacher, your syllabus, and your own ability to learn sciences. I found A&P I to be much easier than A&P II, and I find MB to be easier than both. That being said, Eng Comp was a cakewalk for me, but I struggled with Chem. I have great teachers (except Chem; she taught like you already knew what she was talking about and having been out of high school for twenty years, I was clueless!) but found the A&P II syllabus to be really cramming too much information into too little time - although we did have several snow days which didn't help.

Go with your instinct. Only YOU know your capabilities and the reputation of the school you are attending and its teachers.

Good luck! :)

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