Taking 1 Class At A Time

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

Published

I started my pre-reqs in August & plan on taking one class at a time, and as much on-line as possible.

My "goal" is to have all pre-reqs done so I can apply for Nursing School as early as Fall 09, but no later than Fall '10.

I have two kids (6 & 2), have an in-home daycare where I have kids 50 hours a week, plus my husband works crazy hours/days...

Anyone else taken this approach? If so, did you feel as if it was taking forever? Or did you savor having the time & opportunity to get the best possible grade you could for that One class each semester? I know it is very competitive to get in to the program here locally....I'm thinking that even if it takes me 3 or 4 years to finish pre-reqs, it will be worth it.

I'm taking Algerbra right now & currently have a 98 in it with about 6 weeks left...Next semester I will be taking Int. Algebra....Not sure what I'll take over the summer....

Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

You guys are doing great. I'm sure you guys have checked into it, but some schools only accept classes for 5 years. Good luck.

I have just taken 2 classes per semester, and it has worked out really good. I am applying in January, so if I had taken any more per semester than I have, I would have had to take either classes which wouldnt have benefitted me or taken a semster off. I took a few classes that were required 20 years ago, so that got those out of the way.

Good luck to you.

This is my story too! LOL

I actually met all the pre-req's with my HS courses from 1990, so I started taking co-req's in January, and took 2 classes Spring semester, 2 over the summer and 2 this fall. I start Nursing School in Jan 2007 and all I have left is nursing courses-NO liberal arts (earned many of these credits with my 1st degree)

Plus, I won't be working during Nursing school, so basically I wanted to set myself up for success in nursing school as much as possible.

If it takes longer for you to get the pre-req's done by taking 1 per semester, then so be it b/c one thing you don't want to do is bite off more than you can chew. Been there- done that!

Good Luck!

Thanks so much for all your replies!!

Glad to hear I'm not the only one who has chosen this route!!

Taking 1 class has worked out really well so far, because it really doesn't interfere with my kids....I go and take an exam every other week & leave them home with their dad for a couple of hours....All the rest I either do on-line or I fax...

I do have my days I stress & pray that when I get thru this I'll be able to do it...But usually, when I start stressing too much, I know I need to get some rest & usually once I have I good nights sleep, I'm more at ease!

Good Luck to you all!!

Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

For a while I took two classes at a time, then I switched to one class at a time and it took about five years to finish my ADN with this approach. Plus I sat out a few semesters. I'm getting my BSN that way too, one class a time. It's what works best with my lifestyles and maximizes my learning and retention.

Good luck to you!

The only problem I've seen with students that take only 1 or 2 classes per semester is that by the time they've finished all their pre-reqs, they've forgotten everything from the classes that they took earlier in their career. If you have a good memory, go for it, but if you want to have everything fresh in your mind, it may not be a good idea.

The only problem I've seen with students that take only 1 or 2 classes per semester is that by the time they've finished all their pre-reqs, they've forgotten everything from the classes that they took earlier in their career. If you have a good memory, go for it, but if you want to have everything fresh in your mind, it may not be a good idea.

Are you on drugs..... where have you seen such thing, according to your age you haven't even been alive long enough let alone be in the 'working' world long enough to come to such a conclusion.

The knowledge that I aquired 10 years ago way before I decided to go for nursing is just fine. As a matter of fact most of my prerequisites come from that era.....I don't need to know word for word what it is that I learned in my Government, Psych, English or algebra, and other prerequisite classes. Maybe A&P and Micro are those classes where it is wise to keep your notes as references, but once again, you don't need to retain EVERY last bit of information to be able to do well in nursing school. Exposure to the material will be adequate enough.

Please people, dont let this ridiculous statement slow you down one bit. Take those classes at your pace. At least it shows some character, commitment and tremendous courage in people who try very hard to puzzle an education together over time. And in many cases it would be easy to say, it's not worth it...it takes too long and they still go on..... Most people need to do other things and don't have the luxury to be a full time student.

I started my pre-reqs in August & plan on taking one class at a time, and as much on-line as possible.

My "goal" is to have all pre-reqs done so I can apply for Nursing School as early as Fall 09, but no later than Fall '10.

I have two kids (6 & 2), have an in-home daycare where I have kids 50 hours a week, plus my husband works crazy hours/days...

Anyone else taken this approach? If so, did you feel as if it was taking forever? Or did you savor having the time & opportunity to get the best possible grade you could for that One class each semester? I know it is very competitive to get in to the program here locally....I'm thinking that even if it takes me 3 or 4 years to finish pre-reqs, it will be worth it.

I'm taking Algerbra right now & currently have a 98 in it with about 6 weeks left...Next semester I will be taking Int. Algebra....Not sure what I'll take over the summer....

If I could, I would take my Pre-req's one class at a time, but with only 4 of them for most of the ADN schools around me, I figure I can handle 2 at a time and get them done in two semesters and take the summer off, and apply then rather than having to wait a whole 2 years before applying.

Summer is just insane to take something as major as Anatomy & Physiology that really needs a bunch of weeks to get all the stuff you need instead of 5 weeks.

I admire your dedication to the cause. I'm young and single with no dependants and still have to do them two at a time.

Mr. Beef

Yes, some people can take a full load and still make the grades. I knew a guy like that in my first semester back taking classes and one lady who took a full load and worked full time too and still made A's, but I just didnt think I would be very successful, and besides, like I said, I finished just in time to apply one year later.

This is my story too! LOL

I actually met all the pre-req's with my HS courses from 1990, so I started taking co-req's in January, and took 2 classes Spring semester, 2 over the summer and 2 this fall. I start Nursing School in Jan 2007 and all I have left is nursing courses-NO liberal arts (earned many of these credits with my 1st degree)

Plus, I won't be working during Nursing school, so basically I wanted to set myself up for success in nursing school as much as possible.

If it takes longer for you to get the pre-req's done by taking 1 per semester, then so be it b/c one thing you don't want to do is bite off more than you can chew. Been there- done that!

Good Luck!

Yes, some people can take a full load and still make the grades. I knew a guy like that in my first semester back taking classes and one lady who took a full load and worked full time too and still made A's, but I just didnt think I would be very successful, and besides, like I said, I finished just in time to apply one year later.

I have been going the one class at a time route since fall of 04 this is my frist semester taking two (ap 101 and chem) I am getting A's in both so far, next semester will be my real test I am taking AP 102 and Micro. I don't want to break them up to one at a time because it would put me behind a whole year I want to apply in the fall for the spring semester (they don't let you in my school apply until your finished all pre reqs and grades are on the transcript). I think I can do it though only because I see the "light" at the end of the tunnel its my last huge hurdle before entering nursing and I am very excited about.

little scared but excited.

Specializes in Neuro.
Are you on drugs..... where have you seen such thing, according to your age you haven't even been alive long enough let alone be in the 'working' world long enough to come to such a conclusion.

The knowledge that I aquired 10 years ago way before I decided to go for nursing is just fine. As a matter of fact most of my prerequisites come from that era.....I don't need to know word for word what it is that I learned in my Government, Psych, English or algebra, and other prerequisite classes. Maybe A&P and Micro are those classes where it is wise to keep your notes as references, but once again, you don't need to retain EVERY last bit of information to be able to do well in nursing school. Exposure to the material will be adequate enough.

From my personal experience, I have found that the person you quoted is at least partly right. I took chemistry back in fall of 2001, my first semester of college. I hated chemistry with a bloody passion, barely scraped by with a B, and promptly erased all knowledge of chemistry from my brain. Now I sit in med-surg and patho and my professors rattle off things about osmolality and chemical reactions and when I ask questions about it all I am told is "You should remember this stuff from chemistry".

Sooo, while I apparently have been exposed to that info before, it isn't doing me a lick of good now because I don't remember what I learned 5 years ago.

Obviously classes like English or History or whatever you can get by with having been exposed to it, but for things like sciences I think it's better to have a working knowledge of the concepts so you can more easily apply them to the nursing content.

And before you harp on me for my age and lack of experience, I have gone both routes: I took a full load every semester during my undergrad, and after graduation started taking prereqs one or two at a time for a year. I enjoyed taking them one at a time because it allowed me to work and to focus on succeeding in those courses, but again, I do wish I had taken a few of my prereqs more recently because I simply do not remember things I am being held responsible for.

From my personal experience, I have found that the person you quoted is at least partly right. I took chemistry back in fall of 2001, my first semester of college. I hated chemistry with a bloody passion, barely scraped by with a B, and promptly erased all knowledge of chemistry from my brain. Now I sit in med-surg and patho and my professors rattle off things about osmolality and chemical reactions and when I ask questions about it all I am told is "You should remember this stuff from chemistry".

Sooo, while I apparently have been exposed to that info before, it isn't doing me a lick of good now because I don't remember what I learned 5 years ago.

Obviously classes like English or History or whatever you can get by with having been exposed to it, but for things like sciences I think it's better to have a working knowledge of the concepts so you can more easily apply them to the nursing content.

And before you harp on me for my age and lack of experience, I have gone both routes: I took a full load every semester during my undergrad, and after graduation started taking prereqs one or two at a time for a year. I enjoyed taking them one at a time because it allowed me to work and to focus on succeeding in those courses, but again, I do wish I had taken a few of my prereqs more recently because I simply do not remember things I am being held responsible for.

Five years is not that long. Maybe the quality of your prerequisite classes wasn't that good and you didn't learn what you need to suceed in nursing school. There is a very self-defeating trend in our college district to hunt for easy A's since the only thing that matters to get into nursing school is GPA. Many of those students end up struggling in nursing school.

I agree, that is one of the down falls of taking classes one at a time, you start to forget if it's been over a year or two. Like i'm in psych100 right now,one of my last classes before applying. All of my sciences have already been done, chem100,101, bio100,206, a&p220,221. Since my class now is so easy, I spend a lot of time going over my a&p notes, making sure I really know physiological processes. My medical dictionary is also my best friend, I'm in there literaly every day. I also picked up lippincotts nclex review with the cd, and test myself regularly, anytime I see a word or disorder, or procedure I don't know, I write it down and look it up in the medical dictionary.

+ Add a Comment