Prerequisite(s) progress thread

On 4/8/2020 at 7:01 AM, Future_GA_nurse said:

It depends...well on your learning style and schedule. My 1st Chemistry with lab wasn't bad, I had that along with pathophysiology, which was doable.

Now that I have my Chem 2 with lab (much harder), along with med terms (a lot of reading and spelling for this course, and nutrition), I'm struggling a little bit. I will note that I'm working full time and have a little kid at home also doing 'digital learning', so I have to prioritize.

I'd suggest to you to see if you can get a copy of the syllabus for any of your upcoming courses and figure out due dates, etc to see if you can handle multiple classes/sequences.

Good luck!

Thankfully, these are self paced sufficiency courses. The school I want to go to is incredibly liberal with their prerequisites. I may end up doing traditional ra classes at the local CC in August when I qualify for in state tuition if I don’t get an acceptance to this school. Thankfully, prerequisites through straighterline cost almost nothing after discounts are applied. Something like $25 a credit for the non-lab courses assuming you complete two per month and use a different $50 off coupon after each monthly membership expires.

update: 28 hours into the Aleks gen Chem 1 program, mastered about half the topics so far, learned 2/3. Seriously slowed down on stoichiometry, these problems are just plain time consuming, no multiple choice, having to type the formulas in for everything. What a drudge. Going to finish the Aleks pie chart, finish reviewing my textbook(s) then start nailing away at the six Straighterline quizzes and final.

I’ve never taken any kind of Chemistry course so this is proving to be a real uphill battle. What a bear.

Took Easter off. 12 hrs more plugged in, finished the stoichiometry section, mastered 2/3 of the 253 topics in the Aleks pie chart, moving faster now. Simple reactions, gases, thermochemistry, etc to go. Over the hill on this, but still not where I want to be.

Approaching 50+ total hours of Chem 1 study now through Aleks. Covered 197/253 topics; roughly 78% of the material. Light at the end of the tunnel. Two-three more days and I should be ready to tackle the quizzes and final on straighterline.

11 hours ago, Future_GA_nurse said:

good luck to you. I'm also at the finish line for my chem class and I'm so wanting this to be OVER!

I will not have that many brain cells left after this semester to try and attempt another science pre-req. A girl needs a break!

I can only imagine. Math reliant science classes are a real drudge, at least for me. I’ve taken trig, college algebra, and statistics, but I still make stupid little errors all the time. Very frustrating. Squirrel mode engaged I suppose. good luck wrapping up Chem!

If I don’t get into the school I am shooting for that takes Straighterline credits I will end up taking these classes at my local community college. I don’t qualify for in state tuition until August, so a few hundred bucks to learn the material now with sufficiency exams seemed like a good use of my time. It takes me about 15 days on average to learn the material for a college level course from scratch. I can’t seem to do more than 5-8 hours a day of studying without burning out.

Burnout. Definitely hitting burnout. Can’t do anymore Chemistry problems, switching to pure reading for the next 2-3 days. Definitely hit a wall after 55+ hours in a week. Passed the first out of six straighterline quizzes. Easier than expected. 22/25 correct. Hope I can keep it up. I can’t wait t9 switch from this to Microbiology.

2 hours ago, Future_GA_nurse said:

you got this! After this semester I'm taking a break because brain fatigue/burnout is real..especially with the sciences and this online learning 'thing'. During the time, I'm going to focus on something entirely different. Then start back up. I would be finished with my pre-reqs but I have an outdated A&P 1 course I have to retake.

Defiantly pace yourself.

I wish I could. Straighterline is only cheap if you finish 2+ classes per monthly subscription period. I have 9 days left to finish Chem. I’m pretty sure I’ll have it by then. Took a break yesterday and added precalculus to my ace transcript by sufficiency in case I ever need it as a prerequisite for a higher math. Probably didn’t need it, but it was free and my Aleks subscription was going to end soon.

The goal for next subscription period will be Microbiology and A&P I. I already have the books so I can get a head start on both, perhaps study for two weeks before beginning the courses.

Straighterline Chemistry is far more involved than I would have expected. In retrospect I suspect clep may have been a better route. A real struggle to maintain 90’s.

3 quizzes down, 3 + final to go. Picked back up the pace. The section on hybridization of orbitals was poorly explained and required the blessing of Youtube to understand.

Bombed one of the Starighterline Chemistry quizzes. Took my average down from 92 to 86. Quiz number 5 on acids and bases is HORRIBLE. The material is absolutely insufficient preparation for the quiz. One quiz left plus the final. Just want to get this done.