Prerequisite Question

jocy_anne · Mar 13, 2012

I am on the opposite coast (NJ), but around here it's pretty common for all the schools to require Anatomy & Physiology (2 semesters, or 1 semester of each if they're offered separately), Microbiology, Chemistry (at least 1 semester, sometimes 2), Nutrition, and Statistics. If I were you, I would start off with your first semester of A&P / Anatomy, since those courses are considered as the foundation of Nursing. You can't go wrong if you start there. Depending on the school, you may need to take a Biology course to get into A&P. If that's the case, then I would start with Biology.

I haven't ever looked into California programs, but is there something close to you that offers an accelerated BSN program? Since you have your Bachelors already, it would be something to consider if you can swing that. I'm trying to get into one of those programs over here. Good luck to you!

caliotter3 · Mar 13, 2012

If given a choice between two courses, for example, Chemistry 001 and 101, Chem 001 being three semester hours and described as being for 'allied health' majors, and Chem 101 being four semester hours with the words chemistry majors or premed, you usually can't go wrong by picking the course that gives more credit and sounds more rigorous. Why? Well, more credit, and likely to run into less problems getting this course to be accepted at more schools, for more purposes, at different points in time. You never know what you might want to do in the future. The transfer option is the bang for buck that you want to do your best on. Try to stay away from courses that offer no lab. Take the lab portion if it is separate. Almost all nursing schools want you to have the lab credit. If the school offers both a separate anatomy and a separate physiology course as well as a combined A&P course (or courses), take the separate courses. I asked my physio instructor about this one time. He said that schools are getting away from the combined format and it is more likely that a student would fulfill transfer requirements easier and more often, if they take anatomy, then physiology, as separate courses. I would write down all the required courses for each school in a column, then start taking the courses that will get you on track for the most schools. You know you will always have to have Freshman English, so take that first semester, and get it out of the way. If you need chem or intermediate algebra for several programs, get them out of the way too, especially if they are prerequisite to any of the others (which they might be). Don't overdo your courseload. You want A's. Some people take one course at a time to insure a 4.0 average and the best shot at admission. Get the gen ed courses out of the way first. Then you never have to look at them again, ever. Then, last, do your sciences (anat, physio, micro) because they usually have a five year time limit. As for which school to attend, I would go to the one closest to your home until it is time to start the actual nursing program. Then it is whichever program accepts you and you decide to attend. These are just some of the considerations to look at when planning. There are, of course, others. Good luck.

NikkiT · Mar 13, 2012

Calitotter3, this is a great idea! I will look into the closest college to me to start on any missing prereq's. Let me ask this... Does it look bad if I get my prereq's done in different schools? For instance, I know that I can take English, Math and Speech in the nearest school to me (Miramesa College), but will have to look into another school to get the sciences done most likely. Does this look bad when it comes time to apply for a nursing program, or does it just matter that the classes are successfully done?

NikkiT · Mar 13, 2012

jocy_anne thank you for your advice also. I will look into Biology. I feel like I NEED to get started on this as soon as possible. I am not getting any younger and have had nursing on the brain for years! Seems like forever. Let me ask you this, if I am not thee best at Math, is Nursing School gonna be harder for me to complete?

caliotter3 · Mar 13, 2012

No, I don't think it matters if you go to several different schools for the different courses. One acquaintance was attending five different campuses in the Los Angeles community college district because she couldn't get everything she needed at one school in a timely manner. Made lots of sense. Math is a course that you have to get through to get accepted at most nursing schools. In nursing school, you will need to learn dosage calculations and may have to pass a test at the 100% level in order to continue with the program. Get a book on math for nurses or dosage calculations and start learning this skill now. (If you are terrified of making a 100% on one test, you also might want to discreetly find out which nursing programs in your area have that requirement. Not all programs are that strict).

SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP · Mar 13, 2012

Why not look at the nursing section of each school's website you want to attend? Every program I've looked into has their pre-requisites listed on their website. Out of the 6 programs close to me, all had the following pre-reqs in common:

1. Anatomy (pre-req of Biology & Chemistry before attending this course)

2. Physiology (Anatomy pre-req)

3. Psychology

4. Human Growth & Development

5. Healthy Lifestyles (aka Nutrition)

6. Microbiology (lab mandatory)

7. Intermediate Algebra or higher

8. Freshman English

9. Communications elective (e.g. speech, writing, etc.)

10. Global Perspecitives elective (e.g. foreign language, humanities, sociology, etc.)

Some schools had additional pre-reqs like Statistics or Biochemistry, but those were specific to their BSN programs.

I highly suggest attending each school's pre-nursing seminar to hear more about their program. If they don't offer one (many do), then make an appointment with the nursing advisor. It can help you gauge if you feel the program will be a good fit for you.

Do your research!

jocy_anne · Mar 14, 2012

jocy_anne thank you for your advice also. I will look into Biology. I feel like I NEED to get started on this as soon as possible. I am not getting any younger and have had nursing on the brain for years! Seems like forever. Let me ask you this, if I am not thee best at Math, is Nursing School gonna be harder for me to complete?

From what I understand, math is an important part of nursing, since there are medication calculations and things like that. But I think the math is fairly basic (maybe I'm wrong, though). If you keep your ultimate goal in mind, math might come easier to you this time around. I wasn't the greatest science student in high school, but now I have a 4.0 in my science prereqs! I really do think that it's because I'm focused and have that ultimate goal of Nursing school in mind.

Also, I've never checked this out myself, but have heard wonderful things about Khan Academy. I hear you can go on there and learn just about anything! Maybe you can try the math portion and see if it helps? I'm sure you'll do well!!!

NikkiT · Mar 15, 2012

Thanks jocy_anne...i'll check it out tonight! :up:

msquaredthefirst · Mar 15, 2012

Have you looked into National University? The campus is in Rancho Bernardo and they offer an accelerated BSN program. I think they accept new students three times a year. The community colleges have a long wait list, and it's probably best to get a BSN instead of an ADN.

CDEWannaBe · Mar 15, 2012

All community colleges and universities have articulation agreements, which is a list of transfer classes they'll accept from each of the other schools. You can usually find these lists on the schools' websites or by contacting the academic advisement offices.

Like caliotter3 said, it's usually to your advantage to take the higher level class, because it's more likely to transfer.