jennlaVICIOUS

at the health sciences office in the applied arts building. i believe they are currently relocated at the temporary buildings behind CSUB though, where the sheriffs academy is.

"Don't be afraid to say..'I don't know.'"

this SUCKS. keep your heads up, everyone. there's still a chance that things change for the better.

The dean always pushes for as many seats as possible. Our base was 60 students, but I believe we took in 71 total. Back in my pre-req days, the base was 80 students a semester. Students were waiting one or two semesters max. Then budget cuts came about and I believe it was Fall of 09 that they cut their base in half. It was only 40 for that one semester, but it did affect some students in that they did wait for an entire three semesters. I was lucky enough to only have to wait two. I was speaking with a classmate earlier and she had mentioned she had spoken with the secretaries about what would happen if a 1st student semester failed. They pretty much told her not to because she'd be put right back at the end of the waiting list and to expect an even longer wait since they did confirm their base was being reduced to 40 for next sem. If this is the case, I would hope it would only affect one semester.

Quick question. There are so many rumors regarding AVC's nursing program, but the most recent I've heard is that they've reduced their base acceptance number for Fall of 2011 to 40 students!! Has anybody else heard about this?? Oh, and regarding cost...after tuition, I spent about $1000 more or less on books, supplies, and my uniform. I bought my books off of Amazon and saved about $200 that way and that went towards my uniform. Good luck to everyone again!

This is true. There are a few students in my class who were literally called two weeks before the program started to see if they wanted to take spots that were reserved for students that didn't follow through.

In my room or the campus library. I really get in the zone in the library though. I especially love hooking up with friends and renting out one of the study rooms our library offers for a few hours. I really have no idea how people are able to study at coffee shops or places like Barnes and Noble! Too much hustle and bustle for my liking.

Well, I'm slated to start first semester NEXT WEEK. I turned in my application in December of 2009 and was also given an estimate of 3 semesters. I only waited 2. I realize there will always be a he said/she said type deal when it comes to any program, but I've only heard good things about AVC's nursing program. In fact, here is the link to the BON's NCLEX pass rate for all nursing programs in California. AVC has a pretty impressive passing rate at close to 95% for the 2009/2010 school year. http://www.rn.ca.gov/schools/passrates.shtml Anyways, clinicals are done at AV hospital and most recently the newly opened Palmdale hospital. Also, AVC will begin using the TEAS version 5 so study accordingly. Good luck, everyone!

I'm sorry, dear. This is exactly why i packed my bags and left the bay area. colleges were way too impacted when it came to the nursing program. have you thought about working on your transfers and just transferring to San Jose State for their BSN program? I've been told that that was an easier route than waiting around for the community colleges AND you'd get your BSN vs. ADN. Keep your chin up. It's all going to happen in due time. Good luck.

I always tell high school kids that high school is only hard because YOU make it that way. Looking back, high school SHOULD have been a cake walk, but like you I was more concerned with boys and, well, not going to school. lol I dropped out of high school my junior year and had my son at 17. I enrolled in my local college a year and a half later and let me tell you, the first day was more frightening than going into labor! lol I also had to take remedial math courses before taking on college level math, but it was best that way. I definitely needed that refreshing! Here I am now, just finished my first degree in liberal arts (magna cum laude honors) and am slated to start the nursing program next month! I know it's difficult not too look back and point out what you should have and shouldn't have done, but just as long as you're taking the initiative to fix things NOW. That's all that matters, imo. You'll do great. I know it.

Stay on top of your anatomy, especially physiology. Also, my CC offers a credit/no credit course in dosage calculations and math for nurses. Maybe you can find similar courses in your area. Wouldn't hurt to be ahead of the game once you do start the program. As for the journals, I don't think that's a bad idea. Sometimes it's those heart felt nursing stories that really remind me why I'm getting into this field and kinda recharges my battery so to speak. Good luck!

MY CC's ADN program had a wait of at least 2 semesters, sometimes three. I didn't want to sit around and twiddle my thumbs while I waited to be accepted, so I used that time to work on transfer courses and even managed to receive a degree in Liberal Arts. I'd go this route if you knew you had a wait only because you really want to put most of your focus on those pre-req classes! Good luck!

This brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for sharing.

I've asked my family to donate to my first semester of nursing school fund. So note to the wise pre-nursing student, start saving your pennies now!

Antelope Valley = major saturation of nurses. Period. There's like a career/tech school on every block in that area! Not only that, but there isn't much work out there. I've heard that Antelope Valley Hospital has completely phased out their LVN's for RN's. I'd just take the $16/hour and work with it!

My school has a similar requirement. I had a friend who did not make the 2.5 and was given a 'challenge form' from the nursing sciences office. He basically challenged their required GPA, gave a reason as to why he was not able to make it, and they waived the necessary 2.5 for him. I know other people who have done the same. HouTX is right. Requirements are more skewed than programs make them out to seem. Does your school offer anything similar?

Online classes aren't easier per-say, but they do give you some slack to work with as far you schedule works out. It's important to be self disciplined if you decide to take online courses. I've had online classes that required very little work and other online classes that had me glued to the computer for hours. This is when self discipline comes in handy because then you won't be tempted to..I don't know..have a tab open for Facebook and another for Allnurses. lol

My counselor actually told me it was suicide to take micro during the summer, but fear not! I did it 2 summers ago and here I am, alive and well. :) The schedule was intense! I was on campus Monday-Thursday for 2 hour lectures and 3 hour labs. Everything seemed so fast paced and condensed, but I didn't find it any more difficult than any other bio course. Actually, I took physiology that following fall semester and found that 16 weeks of phys was more difficult than 8 weeks of condensed micro! Looking back, micro was fun! That might have been the reason why I didn't find it all that difficult. I loved the lab! Growing and identifying bacteria was way more fun than poking at...dead things. lol Anywho enough of my ranting! If I had to choose between micro and biochem, it'd be micro all the way. It's definitely doable.

In my school anatomy and physiology were two separate classes as well, but one had to complete anatomy before they could take physiology. Anyways, it all depends on you. I am extremely good at memorizing so anatomy was a cake walk for me. It was time consuming and even tedious at times, but easy all in all. Physiology, on the other hand, is actually learning and putting things together. You're basically taking what you memorized in anatomy and learning how they work....down to the molecular level. DEATH. There's no memorizing in physiology. You know it or you don't and everything links together into a bigger picture. You NEED to know the material before you can move on because what you learned in a previous chapter will be a fundamental aspect for the next..and so forth. But that's just me. I had friends who were the opposite. They did better in physiology than anatomy. So, it boils down to whether you're better at memorizing or actually learning and teaching yourself systems on a molecular level.

Eh, it happens. I took anatomy during the spring, microbiology that summer, and then physiology that following fall. I was soooo burned the heck out when it came to bio, but I knew I wanted to get done ASAP! I figure it's a matter of 'keeping your eyes on the prize.' Honestly, I can't be out of school for that long. I get bored. I finished my pre-nursing classes last fall and instead of taking a break while I twiddled my thumbs waiting to be accepted into a nursing program, I took classes towards my liberal arts degree. I'll be completing that after this semester and am slated to start an ADN program in February. :) I was thinking of taking the winter off, but like I said, I get bored. Dosage calculations, maybe? lol But like I said, eyes on the prize! It's way too easy to drop the ball when you're feeling burnt out. I would know. Good luck!

Jenn + Math = all bad. lol To put it in perspective, my school's nursing program requires the completion of Math 102 (intermediate algebra) to graduate with your ADN. I started in Math 60, then 70, and finally 102. Mind you, 60 and 70 were credit/no credit classes and covered the basics of most basics like adding and subtracting! Now, here I am. I've taken the aforementioned math classes PLUS statistics and am currently taking college algebra. I've aced all my graded math classes thus far and it's all because of practice practice practice! Math is all about repetition. I would literally do a given practice test 3-5 times before taking the actual test. As for the kind of math I've done in my pre-reqs, it has always been basic stuff like conversions. So the use of multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction were used. You won't actually calculate when John and Jill meet up if one leaves at 60 mph 2 hours earlier than the other who leaves at 40 mph against a wind of 5 mph in anatomy and physiology. lol But you've got the basics, ask questions and take advantage of any kind of tutoring! Good luck!

Ah, I remember this all to well, but perhaps I had it easier since I started school when my son was about 18 months. Either way, I understand the difficulty of being a mother AND a diligent student. I sympathize with you and am even in awe that you manage to do so with a newborn at that! For me, it was a matter of using my son's schedule. I took advantage of every nap, every feeding time, and every moment something or somebody else caught his attention. It's difficult, even tedious, but it works. If even later you still feel overwhelmed, maybe you should think about dropping A&P? I completely understand the want to get pre-reqs done ASAP, but is it worth your sanity or a not so great mark on your transcripts? Slow down, relax, enjoy your baby. I know in my school not many people dare take other classes alongside with their major biology courses, let alone another biology class! Oh, and as for your scatterbrain, I think that's just a case of mommybrain. :] It's not you and it's completely normal! So, you either bite the bullet and keep doing what you're doing. Like a previous poster said, short term pain for long term gain. Or you prioritize and cut your workload. Either way, you'll get where you're wanting to go in due time! Congrats on the baby and good luck!

I took stats in a regular classroom setting, but honestly, that class was cake. The actual math is basic. There's just new terminology to learn as well as simple formulas. You also learn how to properly interpret/draw different types of graphs and well...statistics. Good luck! :)

I took my chemistry class having no previous background in chem and having only completed beginning algebra. I still managed to ace the course and I do not consider myself math savvy at all. The actual math of the course is basic-- multiplying, dividing, adding and subtracting. You've just got to learn when and how to use them to solve problems. The problems themselves consisted of word problems, equations, and conversions. Don't let the fancy shmancy chemistry terminology intimidate you because when it comes right to it, the math is a piece of cake. I'm sure you'll do fine. Good luck. :)