Pre-Requisites Anyone?

No, my school does it this way as well (same as yours). I am going part-time though, so for me, it was easier to finish my pre-req's first and then try for my spot in the program. I work full-time and have an almost 2 year old, so that just worked better for me.

It may be that some of the other schools require it if you go part-time? Not really sure. (I was actually wondering the same thing myself) But for my school, you can continue taking other classes while taking nursing if your going part-time, but I wouldn't want to do that considering my already busy schedule!

Lori

My college expects us to finish all pre-reqs before we start our nursing program. I think the nursing program itself is very time consuming with lecture and clinicals that it is wise to finish the other courses first.

Maybe it depends on what type of college you are going to?

For ADN programs at community colleges, you have to have certain classes before you can apply, (in my case AP and the NET test) and then you get put on a loooooooong list. You need to have AP II, micro and some chemistry before you start, so you have pleanty of time.

For the accelerated programs, you need to finish all of the prereqs before you can apply (or have them finished before the program begins, depending on the college). They only take so many people in each class.

I don't know if you are attending a university and going for a BSN - maybe you start right off in the program and they guide you through? In some cases, you may have to apply as in the other schools. I'm not sure, though, probably depends on the college.

At any rate, there are some classes that really need to be finished before starting others, such as biology before AP and Micro, AP before the more specific nursing classes, etc.

I am just finishing my 3rd semester in an ADN program. It is a weekend/evening program for those of us who have to work full time and attend school. As far as admission requirements for this particular program, it was STRONGLY encouraged to get the pre-reqs done first. I am very glad I did. I do think it is better to have all of the pre-req's done before you start the nursing program. The nursing program alone is extremely challenging and time consuming, so it is worthwhile for me to be able to concentrate solely on my nursing classes and clinicals. The very best of luck to you!

annmarie

Maybe it depends on what type of college you are going to?

For ADN programs at community colleges, you have to have certain classes before you can apply, (in my case AP and the NET test) and then you get put on a loooooooong list. You need to have AP II, micro and some chemistry before you start, so you have pleanty of time.

For the accelerated programs, you need to finish all of the prereqs before you can apply (or have them finished before the program begins, depending on the college). They only take so many people in each class.

I don't know if you are attending a university and going for a BSN - maybe you start right off in the program and they guide you through? In some cases, you may have to apply as in the other schools. I'm not sure, though, probably depends on the college.

At any rate, there are some classes that really need to be finished before starting others, such as biology before AP and Micro, AP before the more specific nursing classes, etc.

Thanks for the reply! I am attending a private Catholic college, 2 yr. ADN program. The only thing that you must have before entry is chemistry and algebra, then of course the NLN with minimum grades of 50 in all areas. The program at my college is very specific: You take certain courses WHILE taking nursing core courses. Also, I read so many other people on these boards saying that they begin clinicals 4-6 weeks into their Nursing Fundamentals course. Well, our college begins them in the very first week! We have our orientation to clinicals the first week, where we will receive our first assignments. We are to begin at the clinical sites immediately. I don't know of any other day programs here in my state that do not work this way. Perhaps it is different for those going half-time or p/t or even evenings. But full-time day program nursing slots are filled with people who MUST take a full course load or you cannot have your slot. So this means that it is impossible for me to only take Nursing Fundamentals and still qualify for the day program and thus, the financial aid as well. Am I the only one in this situation?

Hi, I am somewhat confused regarding pre-requisites. I hear sooooo many people on these boards talking about having to take ALL pre-reqs before they can even take nursing courses or even apply to schools. My college is very different from what I am reading. I am enrolled f/t right now. I took an extra semester (in Spring) to take Intro. to Sociology, Intro. to Psych, literature elective, bioethics, and english. I was told that I had to have a minimum of 12 credits each semester in order to retain my 'spot' in the f/t program. So all the other incoming students in the fall are going to be taking the following courses: Nursing Fundamentals, english, intro. to soc., anatomy & phys I, english, and a first year study seminar. The pre-reqs are built into our f/t Nursing program, they are not done BEFORE entry. Is my school the only one who does this?

My school is a bit different as well.. They actually require no pre requisites, of course, if you have them then it looks better for you on your application. But you can take the courses as corequisites -english, psychology, AP I & II, sociology, nutrition, clinical math and then take the nursing clsses while youre taking them. They routinely accept students out of High School, so I guess thats why they dont require pre reqs.

I am just finishing my 3rd semester in an ADN program. It is a weekend/evening program for those of us who have to work full time and attend school. As far as admission requirements for this particular program, it was STRONGLY encouraged to get the pre-reqs done first. I am very glad I did. I do think it is better to have all of the pre-req's done before you start the nursing program. The nursing program alone is extremely challenging and time consuming, so it is worthwhile for me to be able to concentrate solely on my nursing classes and clinicals. The very best of luck to you!

annmarie

Thank you for the reply! The fact that you are enrolled part-time and in the evening program makes complete sense to me. Of course, you would want to get done the pre-reqs before advancing to the more complex nursing core courses. But perhaps this is where my confusion lies. I think the DAY nursing programs are much different than the evening ones. I was told right up front that I had to maintain a minimum of 12 credits each semester to retain my full-time status, and thus my precious day nursing slot. The day program is VERY difficult to get into, whereas the evening p/t is much easier to get into. Because of this, I was told that I could not take too many of the pre-req courses or I would fall below the required 12 semester credits needed to maintain my full-time courseload. There are no nursing core courses which are 12 credits, so it is not even possible to just take nursing courses in my college and still be eligible to have a coveted day nursing spot. Are all the people with pre-reqs just p/t or are there f/t day students who this applies to? How do you maintain your full-time status if you've taken all the pre-reqs?

At the CC I will be attending in the fall it works a little differently also. You can only start the np in the fall. You only apply to the nursing program until Feb of the year you want to start. You need to have a passing grade in Chem in order to apply. The other "pre-reqs" are that Eng comp 2 is part of the nursing degree so if you dont qualify to take comp2 then technically I guess Comp one would be a prereq..

I hope that all made sense because I'm kind of sleepy and I can't tell if I just rambled on or not..lol

Kim

I am applying to a 2 year CC program. You must have Intro to Psych, A&P 1, English 1, and Chemistry completed with pretty much all A's. In addition you get points for having completed End of life issues, Dosage Calculations, Spanish, Patho, Pharm, Micro, A&P 2, Dev Psych and Speech. You have to have the first four done before you even apply, and of course before you can take A&P you have to take Biology. I have been told that even though you can apply without the other course the applicants who get in have completed ALL or almost all of them. They look at these classes and your Hesi entrance score exam.

Once I get into the program I will only have 9 classes left to take and my clinicals so its not so bad.

I've noticed a lot of schools say that you can complete A&P or Chem during the program... but with the competiveness of todays nursing schools, it is almost impossible to get accepted without having those courses completed.

HTH's

I've noticed a lot of schools say that you can complete A&P or Chem during the program... but with the competiveness of todays nursing schools, it is almost impossible to get accepted without having those courses completed.

HTH's

I think that it is different up here in New England than it is in many other states. I also think that the majority of the people who must have the pre-reqs done before entry into the nursing program are ones attending community colleges. We cannot even start a semester early. As I mentioned previously, I took 5 pre-reqs last semester...if you call them that (bioethics, lit. elective, sociology, psych, english). I was told that I must not take any more because I have to maintain 12 credits each semester in order to keep my f/t spot. At our college, we also cannot graduate any earlier. We must complete a 2 yr. complete program.

Its the same here with completing the full two years. The original program (after the prereqs) is 17 classes (45 credit hours) and 13 credit hours of clinicals over a two year four semester period. With the prereqs its 72 credit hours not to mention the 4 credit hours of Biology, and the remedial Algebra I had to take first. When I enter I will only need 9 classes (21 credit hours), and 13 hours of clinicals, but they will still make me go the full two years.