Picking a minor

203bravo, MSN, APRN · Jul 3, 2015

You state that you are starting in August -- are you starting the actual Nursing courses and you will be a Jr. or you starting as a Pre-Nursing major and will be a Freshman??

Keep in mind that the Women's/Gender Studies is 18 semester hours.... and the entire 9 semesters that Texas A&M has mapped out for Nursing majors is already jam packed -- so the question would be where exactly are you going to fit these extra classes? Could you do them over the summers?? Would you stay an extra semester or two (since the course would for the minor would need to be completed prior to graduation)..

Just some questions that you need to ask yourself before making such a commitment.. Best of luck.

NurseGirl525, ASN, RN · Jul 3, 2015

You state that you are starting in August -- are you starting the actual Nursing courses and you will be a Jr. or you starting as a Pre-Nursing major and will be a Freshman??
Keep in mind that the Women's/Gender Studies is 18 semester hours.... and the entire 9 semesters that Texas A&M has mapped out for Nursing majors is already jam packed -- so the question would be where exactly are you going to fit these extra classes? Could you do them over the summers?? Would you stay an extra semester or two (since the course would for the minor would need to be completed prior to graduation)..
Just some questions that you need to ask yourself before making such a commitment.. Best of luck.

I agree with the above. If you are a freshman, you are considered pre-nursing. You need to get excellent grades in your prereqs to even get into the program. It's going to be a big adjustment going to college. You definitely will have a hard trying to do it once you are in the program. Nursing school is hard and rigorous work. What would you do with this minor anyway? I would not even worry about having a minor. I think it's a way for schools to scam more money out of you by adding more credits.

beekee · Jul 3, 2015

No one cares about minors. I wouldn't bother, unless you have the interest, time and money. And by interest, I don't mean interest to help get a job (because it won't help). I mean interest as in personal fulfillment.

msannaa · Jul 3, 2015

I am a junior. I begin nursing courses this August.

203bravo, MSN, APRN · Jul 3, 2015

I am a junior. I begin nursing courses this August.

Oh wow -- you would need to check your schedule very carefully then, most nursing programs do not structure their schedules like typical college classes.. meaning that while a course may be 3 hours in credit it does not usually meet Mon, Wed, Fri or Tues, Thur such as most other 3 hour classes do.. it usually meets only 1 time a week for the full 3 hours so that the lab and clinical days can also be scheduled..

you would also need to have a plan in the event that you have clinical on say a Tuesday and one of the classes that you needed for this minor meet on Tues, Thur.. how could you handle this situation if you are needing to miss one of the lectures every week??

That was the reason that I asked about your classification.. this would have been at least a littler easier if you were starting as a Freshman.

direw0lf, BSN · Jul 4, 2015

No one cares about minors. I wouldn't bother, unless you have the interest, time and money. And by interest, I don't mean interest to help get a job (because it won't help). I mean interest as in personal fulfillment.

This is really what it's about - personal fulfillment. I have 3 years to go so I double majored in bio because I love it. I did poor in high school and didn't bother to do studying or homework. It's going to take me 5 years for my bsn but I really fell in love with learning in college and want every opportunity I can get. I feel like I got a second chance. I even considered a minor (humanities or religion) although I can't do it but I'm still going to take an advanced religion class next spring anyway. So I support a decision to minor in what you want and women and gender excites you! It can not hurt your advanced degree pursuing in nursing midwifery. Just know what the other replies said that it likely won't help for a job just for you taking courses required for a higher degree. I was also told humanities is liked because it shows diversity, but I wouldn't count it really helping. Anyway I replied because I am passionate about more than one degree obviously and it's going to cost less an undergraduate to take classes so I encourage and support this as long as it won't interfere in your nursing classes. Even if you can't get a degree/minor take the classes you want to explore..

neurodude, MSN, NP · Jul 4, 2015

I would definitely caution against taking other non-nursing courses during your program. I would think most schools would prohibit that as it is extremely difficult.

If you have the money for it- go for it, but I would prioritize the actual nursing program above anything else.

Dogen · Jul 4, 2015

When I did my psych degree I minored in philosophy because I viewed myself as exploring the human mind from two angles (the science of how we think and the product of our thoughts)... but as PP said, no one cares about your minor. It won't help you get a job, and in order to stay in good academic standing you still have to do well in those classes. I like learning enough that I would do it because I enjoy doing difficult things, but if you have other obligations (work, for instance) it might be too much.

If your school publishes academic schedules you could sit down and figure out the dates and times of the classes you'd need to finish the minor for the next few semesters and lay that over your nursing schedule (bearing in mind that clinical days may not be on the schedule).

In the event that you decide to do it, psychology may help you understand your patients better... and most nursing schools don't have psych in the curriculum to any significant degree (even though everyone is a psych nurse at some point in their career). Gender studies is a cool subject, though, and the important thing is that if you're going to take classes above your nursing curriculum they might as well be ones you'll actually study for.

Snafu13 · Jul 5, 2015

I'm actually in the same boat!! I plan on pursuing my degree in nurse midwifery and my minor is in women's studies. I took all but one of my required courses before entering the nursing program, otherwise, it would've been impossible to finish. I'm not sure if it will help me get into graduate school, but since I don't plan on applying for a few years, I'm thinking it won't sway the admission decision very much at all. However, I think the knowledge I've gained from the courses I took is immensely valuable for my future.

Tumbler · Jul 5, 2015

I minored in psych because I really liked it, probably would have majored in it if I hadn't chosen nursing. I also and room for music lessons every semester and took some extra chem/bio classes,too. People telling you that the nursing curriculum is really full aren't kidding. I was only able to do as much as I did because I walked in the door with some gen Ed credits from dual enrollment and I took summer courses after freshman and sophomore years to make room for more during the year. My college also had a J-term, and I took advantage of that.

Nobody asked about my minor when I was interviewing. I don't think it mattered. I would say don't minor in the hopes that it'll help you land a job. Minor in something that interests you.

MsCupcakes · Jul 5, 2015

I chose a Psych minor for two reasons. First, I needed extra classes to remain at full-time and my funding requires them to be part of a degree plan. Second, several of the pre-reqs for nursing counted towards my Psych minor, so it only required an additional 3 classes for completion. If your course schedule is light, and you are doing it for personal enrichment, then go for it. Just don't bog yourself down with unnecessary classes if you have a heavy course load.