pre-req frustration....anyone else

mariedoreen · May 27, 2004

Same story where I live too! A & P and Micro and Chem are nightmares to get into. We have advanced registration here for all returning students. You go see a counselor and tell them what classes you want to take and they give you the okay to register at a time that's not open to everyone else. You still have to compete for entry but only with the other advanced registered students. For example, ours is now on-line registration opening up the first day at 4 am. Everyone sets their alarm early, logs on, has all their class numbers ready to plug in, and registers at the exact stroke of 4:00. Then we all go back to bed. It's crazy, but it's the only way around here.

EMTtoRN · May 27, 2004

I go to a small CC and science classes are offered 1 timeslot ONLY!! So you have 20 people for each class and all the pre nursing and vet-tech people trying to get in. We have priority registration days. This for returning students only and starts at 10am. Needless to say I was camped out there at 7am becasue I HAD to register for Chem and A&P 1. Both classes filled within the first hour of registration!

jenrninmi, MSN, RN · May 27, 2004

I've never had this happen to me, and I'm on my 6th college. I've never had any problems registering for the classes I needed.

youknowho · May 27, 2004

Find out what you need to do to get priority registration. Here disabled, honors and some other group gets the first day and then they have the continuing students. All the CCs around here are having that same problem.

sabrn2006 · May 27, 2004

I had the same problem when trying to get into A&P I this past spring. It is not offered this summer, so I have to take it with my nursing classes in the fall. This was not what I wanted to do, but now I have no choice. I will muddle through it somehow.

I have to say, though, that I got into a different class (Life Span Development) by begging. Fortunately I had done well in a class with this professor 7 years prior.

Keep trying. Pull whatever strings you can find.

smk1, LPN · May 27, 2004

what really irks me is the fact that i have overheard a few students saying they don't need to take a&p but are going to take it for personal enrichment or as a preliminary course for their premed studies. In view of the fact that some people who are REQUIRED to take these classes to get their degree or even get into a program, I think anyone who is not required to be in these classes for their degree should not have priority. I know they pay their money the same as anyone else but when people have been waiting over A YEAR to get into their required classes, other people should not be allowed to fill these classes up "just because". .....getting off of my soapbox now.

Nurse-o-Matic · Jun 1, 2004

I just kept going to class, dropping by the instructor's office, bugging them to let me in. People always gave up after the first day, but I just kept pestering them. I'd go to every section too, not just one. Any section I could get into.
I'd even visit the instructor before registration just so I'd be a familiar face if I needed to add (which usually was the case). Then I'd go to the head of the department, just to see if they might put in a good word. I always got into classes that way.

Lizz, I've been guilty of this myself. I have always introduced myself to the instructor and basically made a pest of myself until I was accepted into the course. This has always worked for me, too!

bbear · Jun 1, 2004

what really irks me is the fact that i have overheard a few students saying they don't need to take a&p but are going to take it for personal enrichment or as a preliminary course for their premed studies. In view of the fact that some people who are REQUIRED to take these classes to get their degree or even get into a program, I think anyone who is not required to be in these classes for their degree should not have priority. I know they pay their money the same as anyone else but when people have been waiting over A YEAR to get into their required classes, other people should not be allowed to fill these classes up "just because". .....getting off of my soapbox now.

While I understand your frustration, a college education isn't meant to be limited to only those courses which are pre-requisites or degree requirements. Rather, it is meant to include a broad array of classes which result in a well-rounded education.

Hang in there, you'll get your classes in. But take it easy on the others taking the class, even if it's not a pre-req for them. They're just getting the best education they can.

PCGrad06 · Jun 1, 2004

i know people who are 2 semesters in school and trying to get in bio part 2.it looks like the schools would have a better idea of who needs what class. there are math classes with like 14 students i say make them wait and give us more bio and chem professors!

is anyone else finding it impossible to get into those bio and chem classes. it seems there is no hope in sight! the professors aren't even doing a waiting list.... any suggestions? or shall i just around and eat bon-bons?

z's playa · Jun 1, 2004

I just spent a good 2 years of my life at an adult highschool getting the pre reqs for the pre reqs.

I GUEEEEEES it was worth it. :chuckle

smk1, LPN · Jun 1, 2004

While I understand your frustration, a college education isn't meant to be limited to only those courses which are pre-requisites or degree requirements. Rather, it is meant to include a broad array of classes which result in a well-rounded education.
Hang in there, you'll get your classes in. But take it easy on the others taking the class, even if it's not a pre-req for them. They're just getting the best education they can.

on the one hand i understand what you are saying, but then think about all of the other classes that you aren't just "allowed" to take, you have to be accepted into a specific program. I can't just "decide to take one of the paramedic courses for personal enrichment, i have to be in the program, i can't just register for a phlebotomy course, i have to apply and get accepted into a "program" same with cooking, machinery etc.. all classes can't be open for "personal enrichment. If there is room then hey i would have no problem, my issue with the a&p courses is that it has become far too difficult for those who NEED these classes to get into them and so they need to start prioritizing for students in the degree paths who are required to take these classes. when students are waiting over a year or more to get into the class maybe it is time to change the rules.

bbear · Jun 1, 2004

There's a big difference between a job training class and a general education course. Paramedic, nursing, and similar courses are structured to teach students specific material related to a job function. Therefore, they have little value to a person who has no intention of working in the profession and the school may rightfully exclude students who don't need those courses. Anatomy, Physiology, Micribiology, and Chemistry are general science courses designed to give ALL students a better understanding of their own bodies and the world in which they live.

Who's to say your need for the course is greater than a non-nursing student? Sure, you will use the information in your everyday nursing practice--so the information you learn will benefit your patients. But if an engineering student takes A&P and realizes 5 years down the road that their child may have a ruptured appendix due to the fact that they are having lower right quadrant pain with rebound tenderness, then doesn't that engineering student and their child similarly benefit from the course? Or, in case that is too extreme an example, if that engineering student ends up living a longer and healthier life because he/she learned that exercise causes Acetyl Coenzyme A to convert more organic molecules to ATP rather than to cholesterol and fatty acids, then hasn't that engineering student equally benefitted from the course?

I guess what I'm saying is that these general science courses benefit all students--not just those students entering the health professions. I therefore believe it would be a grave disservice to limit any student's access to these courses. If your're having problems getting into these courses, you might express your frustration to the Dean of Academic Services. Also, you might get a petition started requesting more science sections be offered, have as many students sign it as you can, and then give the petition to your student council. I would think that having more science sections added would be far preferable to limiting student access to these courses.