Do I take the class over again?

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Okay first off I want to say this ahead so not one thinks I'm just here complaining about my situation cause I'm not. I am a freshman in college and when I started my first semester towards becoming a nurse I did not exactly plan accordingly. I decided to take one of the most important classes for nursing school during the summer semester along with another class. Anatomy and Physiology part one is the class I am talking about along with medical terminology. Medical terminology was not as hard as I thought it was cause I ended up with a 97% overall in the class but its the AP1 that I am worried about. During the time of taking this course in the summer semester I was working full-time at the fire department and taking care of my grandpa who came down with Alzheimer's. I did not get the proper studying I needed for this course cause instead of it being a 4 month course it ended up being only a month and a half course due to summer semester but Im a new college student and I didn't think about this honestly. Well long story short I only have a C in this class right now and the only way for me to get a B in this class is for me to basically ace this final exam. Of course I am going to study as hard as i can and try as hard as I can but who knows. I am currently thinking that if I end up with a C in this class that I should just retake it and do it over again cause I am worried that this will effect my GPA so much. I know I shouldn't be thinking about this but my long term goal is to get into nurse practitioner school and I am worried that this one C will lower my GPA so much and prevent me from getting in since this class is the foundation of nursing school. The reason why I am struggling in this class so much is not cause I am "dumb" but rather cause I went through a lot during this one semester. I lost my uncle, I crashed my car and it ended up getting totaled so I am without a car, My job fired me cause they didn't want to work around my schooling and I am also dealing with grandpa who has Alzheimer's. Before all this I had a low B in the class but the day before my exam I had to withdraw from the class cause my job was forcing me to come into work that day and I couldn't afford to miss the exam so it forced me to withdraw. The worse part was I got fired that next day and luckily the teacher aloud me to come back into the class but I was not thinking clearly and I should of just withdraw cause I just didn't feel prepared enough to finish the course and get the grade I wanted. Well I stayed in and I had only one day to study for the next exam which was all the muscles and how they function. I only got a 75 on the test which brought down my grade to a C and now I have to get basically a high 90 on this final exam just to make it to a B. I am currently at 289 points out of 400 for a B. Its such a crappy feeling cause I know I'm smarter than this but I can't use any of this as an excuse for my poor grades in this class.

My question to you all is do I retake this course for the upcoming semester to try and save my GPA or do I move on and do better in AP2? I know this is basically the meat before nursing school and thats what is bothering me so much. I hate it cause this makes me feel like crap honestly. Sorry if this sounded like complaining cause that was not my intention. I was just trying to insight on what do do from past nurses and current nurses. Thanks Everyone!

Specializes in Critical Care, Capacity/Bed Management.
Understood. Like I said in my previous comment. I think what I am going to do is withdraw from the class since it will come up as a withdraw passing and then retake the class. I just can't afford to have a C right now. Also my teacher old me a a couple weeks ago that getting a C in his class is good cause the nursing school looks as his class as the hardest class to take and they think getting a C in his class is like a B. I don't know but those are his words.

As someone who had a rough start to my nursing school career, just keep moving forward. Will you ever know something 100%, absolutely not. LPN1118 offered some great advice about auditing a class.

I received a C+ in Microbiology when doing pre-reqs and I sucked it up and kept going through the program. At graduation my final GPA was a 3.6, you have to know your weaknesses in subjects and focus on fixing them, in class and after. To succeed in nursing is to be a lifetime learner.

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Thank you for understanding and my school requires at least a C in all the pre reqs but there is only 7 and this one C will bring down my GPA below a 3.00 even if I get all A's. To even be considered into the program we need a C or better in all the classes and a 3.00 GPA or higher.

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Im not trying to sound rude when I say this but I wish you would of read my full post to kinda understand what lead me to getting a C. Its not exactly cause I don't know any of the material. Rather I think in my eyes Im lucky enough to know what I do know from my circumstances. I do agree with you about knowing this is vitally important cause its the foundation and thats why I am going to knock out AP2 this fall semester and then retake this class over again.

I simply didnt read it all bc I was falling asleep. All the best! Just the fact you are concerned either way shows you have the ambition which is highly needed!

Ps, I did skim through the rest, after having gotten half way through, so I got the gist, but now that I'm up I'm reading it :-)

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Regardless, 6 weeks for A&P....nope. Thst is not a class to take in that short amount if time.

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Your right? I guess my uncle's death was my fault as well and having to go back up to New York for the funeral for two weeks was my fault. I get that I did not master the material but the circumstances that I am going through are not making the class easier. You honestly believe anyone can go through all this and still manage to get an A in a summer semester. If so I would like to meet this person. Im not the smartest person by any means but I am also not dumb. I already talked to my school and they advised me that the class grade gets replaced but it does not replace it on the GPA. Listen I get that I messed up and due to life circumstances, taking this class now was a horrible idea. I'm honestly starting to think that it would be best to just let it all go and forget about this career honestly cause I really don't think its worth it to this extent.

It wasn't my fault either when in nursing school, I personally got sick, had surgery and had to drop out of nursing school and wait an entire year to back in and even had to retake the class I had been 2 weeks away from finishing when I got sick. I sucked it up. Decided the career was still important to me, spent that year studying and got myself accepted back in the program. No one was telling you your circumstances were your fault. Simply that, no matter the circumstance, you do not know enough A&P to be as successful in nursing school as you need to be. Period. It doesn't matter if your IQ is 180 and you got a C just bc you didn't get a chance to study. You don't know the material enough, period.

And I had a devastating death in my family at that time as well and was MISERABLY living with my MIL. Point is, you are not so special that the world stops turning when your world is turned upside down. It sucks, badly. But we have to do what is necessary to achieve our goals, even if it means having to retake a class, setting us back some.

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I understand. Right now from what I calculated I need 100 points out of 120 on my final exam to receive a B for the class. That is an 83 or higher on the final exam which i feel like I can do and have a pretty good chance. I been studying and will continue to study to try my hardest to receive that B.

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I understand. Right now from what I calculated I need 100 points out of 120 on my final exam to receive a B for the class. That is an 83 or higher on the final exam which i feel like I can do and have a pretty good chance. I been studying and will continue to study to try my hardest to receive that B.

That's great. I encourage you to study it on your own even after the class is done and over with. Really make sure you know your stuff. The class portion of nursing school will be kind if a breeze for you if you do, while your classmates are going crazy í ½í¸‰

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It is not worth to get a C because many programs I looked want a B/B- or better in the prerequisites especially in anatomy and physiology. In my personal experience, it's better to take a W than a C but you should not make a habit out of it. Also, with everything going on you probably didn't learn the material well enough and this class is important for nursing school and basis for many other nursing classes so it will better to retake it and learn the information.

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I understand that and I can't withdraw from the class after talking to the school or it will be a WF. Worse case scenario I would have to take this class over again and just get the grade replaced but I'm not planning on that. I am planning on getting a good grade on this final and end up with a B for the class. Believe it or not though here in Georgia there have been many people get into the nursing school with a C in one of the classes but am I saying I am happy with that C? Heck no I'm searching for that B and I will try my hardest for it.

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NYNative21,

It sounds like you bit off more than you could chew with everything that is going on in your life. Learn from your mistakes and be accountable for your actions instead of being defensive of criticism. Now, to my advice on your question, anatomy and physiology classes are hard but not as hard as nursing classes. You need to retake your class because not all nursing programs take Cs to get into their programs. You want to do well on your prerequisite courses because they help to determine if you even get into nursing school. Secondly, get into nursing school and pass that before worrying about being an NP. Furthermore, if you want to be a nurse, you need to be able to take a serious amount of time to study (8-12 hours daily). Pick where your focus lies and remember that you cannot do it all. People who work too much in nursing school and college can flunk due to not studying long enough or putting enough effort into their goals. You want to be a nurse look for part-time work because you just are not a juggler of many tasks. Good luck!!

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Lol sometimes I find it really funny how people give advice sometimes. I bit off more than I can chew? Sometimes in life things happen and they are "un-controllable." For example when I signed up for the class I couldn't predict that my uncle was going to die within that time frame. Could I of prevented a drunk driver from hitting my vehicle and damaging it to the point of not being able to fix it? How am I supposed to know that my old job was going to fire me for going to school. Listen I understand that I didn't learn enough of the material to "be the best nurse ever" but to say I bit more off than I can chew is just disrespectful.

People who thinks this class is hard in my view are not trying or not cut out for it personally. For me to be able to still achieve high 70's and one 85 on all my tests from barley being able to study for a couple hours before each exam in my view is pretty good. I could of easily got an A in this class if I had the appropriate amount of time. Keep in mind too I am also taking one of the hardest teachers for this class within the county.

I completely disagree with that a person needs to study 8-12 hours a day to become a nurse. I think that is completely and utterly wrong. Whoever needs to study that amount of time a day is not studying correctly. I've had many friends who put in at most four hours a day of studying in medical school and graduated at the top of there class. Everyone has different learning styles and the human brain can only study for so long before eventually it stops retaining information. Thats why we are taught after learning lecture you study that material you just learned 2 hours after and your brain can retain 80% of that information.

I also disagree with you statement about people who work to hard can flunk in college. This girl in my class is a single mom with two kids and is working two full-time jobs. Guess what... her grade is an A and she is killing it. Your right though she should quit her job and focus more on her studies.

I also appreciate that you think you know me very well by saying I am not a juggler of many tasks. Please advise me of anything else I may not know of myself cause you seem like you have a pretty good grip on that.

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Just wanted to let everyone know that I finished the class off with a B plus. I worked my butt off for that B and I am proud of myself even though it was not an A. My GPA so far is a 3.33 out of the three classes. A,B,B.

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