Pre-requisites

At my school, you have to either take Bio or Chem 101 as pre reqs to A&P 1,2 or microbiology. Personally, I would recommend taking chemistry & nutrition together because they are not that bad and can be the foundation to your other more advanced pre reqs. In my A & P class, our first unit was a review of chemistry/nutrition topics.

I think Chem is "good to have" but doesn't really help you much in A&P and Micro. Bio 1, on the other hand, is going to give you a very solid foundation for A&P and Micro. Also, the studying approach for Bio is very similar to that for A&P and Micro; whereas Chem is more similar to studying math. So if you aren't too confident in science, I think taking Bio 1 is a good idea and can give you a preview on what's to come in A&P and Micro. It's better to test things out with Bio first than to go right into A&P/Micro because your grades in A&P and Micro are very important when applying to nursing school.

Thank you both for your reply.

I agree with your husband because the required classes will give you all the foundation you need. I agree that chem gives a foundation for later classes but the lab doesn't add much as far as giving you more foundation.... unless you are a strongly hands-on learner and even then you can make props to manipulate that will do much of what the lab does. I agree taking biology would mean you would already have some of the things you will learn in A&P and in Micro but what difference does it make if you learn it in a class called biology or in a class called microbiology? And to get that bit of prelearned material you have to learn a lot of totally nonapplicable things such as photosynthesis and the differences between plant cells and animal cells. Not that there is anything wrong with learning them but I'd rather spend time on them some other year when I wasn't on a track toward a nursing degree. Besides, if you think it would help to get a head start, you can learn those sections on your own through your textbooks, other textbooks, and websites such as the Khanacademy.com.

I'm assuming your husband says to take the fast track because he knows you well enough to know you can do it (you have the smarts, discipline, study skills, etc).

You are much more likely to do well now than you did in high school. You have a whole bachelors - you've probably figured out how to chose classes, how to study, when and how to get help when you need, ect. You've probably gained enough maturity to do what you need to do whether or not you like the material or the teacher or the whatever. And to not be derailed by boyfriends (yours or others) and whatnot.

That said, there are still reasons for taking the chemistry lab - mostly that most nursing programs require it. So, if there is any chance you will apply to other schools, you might save yourself a lot of trouble by having the lab... it is hard to take the lab without taking the lecture part at the same time. And it isn't much more work as most of the material is learned in the lecture. Another reason is that some schools have the minimum requirements but they also consider the other classes you have and the lab and/or biology would look good. The advisors should know but you might have to ask a couple of different advisors and/or word the question a couple of different ways. Another reason is that it gives you something to talk about on the essay - if your school incorporates essays or letters of intent into the application process.

Saysfaa, thank you for your reply and advice. You have helped me make up my mind about taking the chem lab. I will do a personal review for bio. thank you again.