Prereq recommendations

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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I'm a recent college graduate and will be taking prereq courses next spring towards a bsn. I visited the admissions site and they have a list of science (2 anatomy and physiology with labs, microbiology with lab, chem 1 and 2, nutrition) and math (algebra, stats) courses to take prior to applying.

My question is, does anyone have a recommendation of a particular order to take these classes. I'm wanting to take 12-15 hours per semester. I would like all these classes done in three semesters (spring, summer, fall) if not, four.

Is it ok to take a&p in the same semester as chem1 or microbiology w/ lab? Should I take one class with a lab per semester? Thoughts and opinions are greatly appreciated!

If you have the time I'd suggest taking one science class with lab at a time. Especially until you get the hang of the science classes if you aren't strong in it. I am current spending 20-35 hrs per week on A&P2 for a summer session with studying.

Specializes in PICU, Sedation/Radiology, PACU.

I recommend:

Spring: A&P 1, Chem 1, algebra.

Fall: A&P 2, Chem 2, stats

Summer: nutrition, microbiology

I think it's a good idea to take two courses in the summer, to give yourself a little break. I found nutrition to be one of the easier classes I took, and micro was certainly manageable for a summer class. A&P and chem actually overlap a little bit, especially in the intro course. Those groupings are exactly what my nursing school curriculum was like.

I tried not to take more than 2 classes with labs in the same semester. So you could take A&P 1, Micro, and algebra in the first semester.

A&P 2 is more challenging, IMO, but you could take it with nutrition and chem 1.

Then in your third semester, take chem 2 and stats.

If you feel comfortable with math and science, I think you could tackle a schedule like this. If not, then spread it over 4 semesters.

I took A&P 1 with General Biology and did well. Surprisingly, A&P 1 was easy to me! I received an A in the lecture and lab. In General Biology, I received a B in the class and an A in the lab. I don't know why but General Biology was way more complex and challenging to me than A&P. You would think that Biology is easy. Autotrophs, Kingdom Plantae, Kingdom Fungi, and etc. But in college Bio is really more than that! I think it's about taking classes that compliment each other. What we learned in A&P one week, we learned in Biology the next. In other words, I was able to pass because I had just went over it earlier. But you could most definitely take two lab classes together. I only suggest two though. You can do it! I'm going to take Microbiology, Chemistry, Statistics, and Nutrition next Spring. I have to because those are the only classes I have to take before nursing school! It's amazing how it's only 14 hours but the most challenging classes of my curriculum. Good luck!

Thank you all for the suggestions! They are very helpful to me. @brenay good luck to you!!

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