pre reqs

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so I am a pre nursing student just starting out. I go to a community college and hope to eventually transfer in a year with hopes to get into a nursing school. I am just now in the process starting out my science courses. The problem is I got a D in english and sociology, i dont know how. I called university of maryland college park nursing and they advised me to get very good grades in all my other courses and if i did , then those D's wouldn't be as big of a deal. do you guys think i should retake sociology and english, one or the other ?,

my second question is that do you think i should pick up volunteer hours in the ER at the hospital next to my school. Would that boost my chances ?

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As far as I'm concerned, you HAVE to retake them. Depending on the requirements of your nursing program, you must have at LEAST C's. But you said your college doesn't care, so I guess you don't have to. However, it is very risky putting all your eggs in one basket to this college. To be eligible at most schools, you'll likely have to have a C or better in those. I know for my pre reqs (which include English and Sociology), I needed C's or above.

With that being said, I'm a bit worried you are getting D's in English and Sociology. When you say "I don't know how", do you mean you do not know quite literally how? Or did you slack off? Miss an exam and not make it up?

How are your other grades or is this your first semester?

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hey ! thanks for responding

for sociology i was doing great , but it was an online class and i thought the midterm was actually online and ended up missing it which tanked my grade and it was difficult to bring back up. for english i got into a car accident and well the stress took over. I'm wondering if i can take another english class. idk , to be on the safe side I will probably retake it sometime. The really annoying thing is the limitd on credits I can take at my community college. If not i would have picked up sociology or something. And my past classes didnt matter. They were just classes the college makes freshman take. The classes i am signed up for now is , microbiology, psychology, humanities, nutrition, and math.

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Specializes in Early Intervention, Nsg. Education.

Some community colleges allow students to retake a class to earn a higher grade. The previous attempt stays on the transcript, but the grade of the retake is the one counted in the GPA. This can only be done once per class.

I earned my ADN in 2 years, but this was 27 years ago (and I had already completed a hospital LPN school.) in order to keep up with the work and graduate on time, I took as many CLEP exams as I could, and I took the few courses that I couldn't CLEP and might impact my GPA at a different CC and transferred the credits to my RN program.

Here's the link to info about CLEP exams: CLEP - College Level Examination Program (CLEP) -Save Time. Save Money. Take CLEP | College Board CLEP Site

Here's the link to DSST, another exam program similar to CLEP but focuses more on business classes, which aren't as easy to apply except as electives, or could help if you're eventually hoping to get into the business end of nursing: http://getcollegecredit.com/assets/pdf/DSST_Exam_List.pdf

Before taking CLEP exams, check with your college to see if they award credits for completed exams or if they only count them as exemptions, without credits awarded. In addition, the exams are pass/fail, so if it's a course that you know will boost your GPA you'd probably be better off taking it online or at a brick-and-mortar college.

Many online businesses offer "prep courses" for CLEP exams, which seems like it kinda defeats the purpose of taking the exams, which is to save money and time. (CLEP exams cost $80 for a 3 to 4 credit course.). If you feel like you need a quick review of the subject before the exam, check open courseware to find a free review. If you're learning entirely new material, then the CLEP exam isn't the way to go.

Good luck! [emoji4]

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I'd retake those classes if I were you. Even though your school doesn't seem to care now, when they have to decide who to let in their program, the student with the better grades will be their first choice.

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Specializes in PACU.

Unless you got it in writing that they would overlook the two Ds, I would retake them both. There are NO guarantees in nursing school.

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I'd definitely retake the classes you'd earned a D in, those grades will haunt your record. Are you taking micro, psych, hum, nutrition, and math all at once? Either you're one superhuman or you're taking on too much imo. I've never been comfortable going over 12cr hours though.

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They may have TOLD you that it's no big deal on the phone, but at my school you wouldn't have gotten in with two D's. Considering that a C is basically a failing grade when you're trying to compete for a spot into a nursing program, a D is really not something you want to submit on an application. I'd retake them, no matter what anyone said.

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Yea sounds crazy doesn't but I'm ready to really go all in plus volunteer at the hospital , not sure if ill be able to have a part time job on top of that, I don't want to over work myself. but i think i am capable of excelling in my classes. It is all about time management. My only problem was procrasination and having way too much time on my hands.

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Yea sounds crazy doesn't but I'm ready to really go all in plus volunteer at the hospital , not sure if ill be able to have a part time job on top of that, I don't want to over work myself. but i think i am capable of excelling in my classes. It is all about time management. My only problem was procrasination and having way too much time on my hands.

Keep in mind that most schools don't consider volunteer work anymore when making admission decisions. The thought process behind this is that it isn't fair to the single parents/people who HAVE to work their 40 hours to pay their bills and feed themselves and their children. That's why your grades are everything in pre-nursing. Nobody really looks or cares about anything else.

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Be careful cause that's a lot of classes at one time and microbiology comes with a lab so that's 6 or mor exams for just that class alone and you need atleast a b in that class. I know you might want to hurry up and get the classes over with but you don't want to get bad grades in those prerequisites. It might take more time if you lower your amount of classes, but the good grades of B's and A's is what your aiming for

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Specializes in Nephrology Home Therapies, Wound Care, Foot Care..
hey ! thanks for responding

for sociology i was doing great , but it was an online class and i thought the midterm was actually online and ended up missing it which tanked my grade and it was difficult to bring back up. for english i got into a car accident and well the stress took over. I'm wondering if i can take another english class. idk , to be on the safe side I will probably retake it sometime. The really annoying thing is the limitd on credits I can take at my community college. If not i would have picked up sociology or something. And my past classes didnt matter. They were just classes the college makes freshman take. The classes i am signed up for now is , microbiology, psychology, humanities, nutrition, and math.

All your classes "matter ", because they all contribute to your GPA. I'd say to retake those classes NOW, learn to manage time and stay on top of when you need to be where before you take the harder classes. And if you really think English doesn't matter, look into it. At my college your English 1A grade holds EQUAL weight to Physio, Micro, and Anatomy COMBINED. And in my Nursing 312 class, I understand why-very heavy writing skills required. At this stage of the game you need to be eating, breathing, dreaming A's.

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