Putting off A&P1 due to professor options?

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Hi all!

I have been stalking these boards for a little while now but haven't posted until now. I am working on my prerequisites right now. I already took A&P1 once but I did pretty badly for a variety of reasons and I want to take it again to get the grade I want (and am capable of).

I was planning on taking it this summer at a new community college because I am moving to Texas from Colorado and have been waiting for all the transcripts from my previous institutions to arrive before I could register for the course. This ended up taking longer than I expected because one of my transcripts never arrived and I had to order another copy to be sent. In the time that I was waiting, the section I was hoping to register for has reached capacity. I had chosen that section because it was at a good time for me and the professor had a pretty good rating online. Now the only sections available are with professors with really poor ratings online. I know that you can only take online professor ratings with a grain of salt but I am worried about risking my grade with a bad professor considering that I've already struggled with the course in the past. My circumstances are different this time around, but it is still very important to me to do well in the course.

My question is whether or not I should register and take the course with the professor that has received bad ratings and hope that I can make my way through the course okay and get a good grade or if I should put it off until the fall and hope that I can get into a better section? If I wait until the fall I'll be pushing back my application into the nursing program another semester, which I would prefer not to do if I don't have to.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

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The professor I took for A&P 1 had negative reviews online, but the main reason was because of her thick Indian accent - she ended up being my favorite professor that semester; she was truly amazing!

If the negative reviews are lots of "OMG DO NOT TAKE THIS PROFESSOR" and give a valid reason as to why, then I'd wait it out and register with a better professor next semester - you've got to remember that you're paying money for this, so make sure you spend it wisely.

If the reviews aren't quite so harsh but sound like they were written by folks that are lashing out after getting a poor grade, then take 'em with a grain of salt.

Is there any way you could chat with advising? Sometimes colleges have wait lists for their classes, or even wait for a purge at the beginning of the semester and see if you can get in then - don't give up hope :D!

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I'd consider the content of the bad reviews - if they don't give much detail, I'd dismiss them. If there are valid, detailed concerns, I'd pay attention to them.

I ignored the reviews for my Government professor and I deeply regret it. I did choose my A&P I professor based on reviews and she's the best teacher I've ever had.

Just as an aside, you might want to make sure that your hopeful nursing school allows retakes. I'm in Texas and mine doesn't. They only count the first grade you received.

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You can always register and start. After a few days or so, you will be able to tell if you want to remain with the instructor. If not, drop the course before the deadline to miss getting a W. A trial run won't hurt.

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I would never take a class with a bad professor, ESPECIALLY for a subject like anatomy. They tend to make things 10x harder than they should be.

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I took Physiology with a professor that had bad reviews because the other classes had reached capacity. I ended up with an A and it was definitely a struggle, but it wasn't as bad as the reviewers made it out to be. If you can wait another semester and pick a better professor, then do so. I wanted to get my prereqs done asap, so I went with this option.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

Here's something to think about: are people more likely to compliment or complain? Complain, right? So if someone had a great time in this professor's class, it's not likely they're going to take the time to post a review. What do those negative reviews say? A lot of the time, you can figure out that it wasn't the professor but rather that the person writing the review isn't accepting responsibility for their own action or inaction.

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You took A&P 1 but failed for a variety of reasons, and are now looking for a class with good professor reviews so you can get a good grade.

I'm reading more into that than I probably should.

Wait for the professor you want, wait for the class you feel most likely to get the best possible grade. Postponing your application by a semester would be better than not being able to submit an application at all.

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A&P is a hard course. Add in a professor that could be equally hard and it might not turn out well for you. What are the reviews saying? I like to gauge those reviews based on the context. Did they write a bad review because they didn't put in the work themselves (i.e. "I can't believe this professor wants you to come to every class and doesn't give extra credit!")? Or are they more "He/She doesn't explain things very well and the tests aren't on anything that was covered."? If it's the latter, I would avoid the class.

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The professor I took for A&P 1 had negative reviews online, but the main reason was because of her thick Indian accent - she ended up being my favorite professor that semester; she was truly amazing!

If the negative reviews are lots of "OMG DO NOT TAKE THIS PROFESSOR" and give a valid reason as to why, then I'd wait it out and register with a better professor next semester - you've got to remember that you're paying money for this, so make sure you spend it wisely.

If the reviews aren't quite so harsh but sound like they were written by folks that are lashing out after getting a poor grade, then take 'em with a grain of salt.

Is there any way you could chat with advising? Sometimes colleges have wait lists for their classes, or even wait for a purge at the beginning of the semester and see if you can get in then - don't give up hope :D!

I had the same experience and I loved her. She didn't just give out reviews with the answers she gave you a sheet of questions and had you read the book. Her accent actually helped me remember things because I had to concentrate more to understand. I had her for A&P 1 as well, maybe we had the same teacher.

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It really all depends on the the comments of the ratings, and how many have reviewed the professor. If only a few people made comments I wouldn't worry, but a lot of people, where there's smoke, there's fire. My AP2 professor had a lot of reviewers, and had horrible ratings, but the comments were in depth, and basically nailed it perfectly of how she was for my class. I ended up adjusting how I study, and take notes to work around her lack of "teaching", plus I like a challenge.

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