sunnyfish

I took a science course the past semester and we all worked in groups during lab which we're allowed to share experimental data, however, we're expected to do our own homework. One day, I got this email from one of my lab partners asking for help on the homework because her diabetic son had some health issues and she didn't have the time to finish. I understand that taking classes on top of a family and a job can be really stressful so I helped her on the homework, but I didn't expect that it would create a dependence. Long story short, the 3 others in my group were copying from me throughout the semester... I tried to put them off by saying that I haven't finished it yet and they should try the problems first *hint hint*, but they didn't even make an attempt. I know I'm also to blame by not flatly rejecting them, but I didn't because we're in the same class, and if I alienate them, then it would take me many more hours to do the labs on my own. Also, we're all Nursing majors (and they're older than me) so I didn't want to make enemies from the people that could be my future classmates or coworkers. I think I'm a nice person, but I also don't want to be a doormat because I did spend quite a lot of effort on that class. In the end, 2 of the girls asked about my grade and expressed their annoyance that they received lower grades than me (they thought they would get an A since "they" did well in lab), but it wasn't favoritism or anything because I scored higher in exams. Overall, what should I do to avoid this situation from happening again? Am I being over dramatic over this copying issue?

@imtoonice - Yes, unfortunately the reply did come from CSULA's absn, lol... I heard that they have a very good nursing program but they also have a stricter standard to make sure the applicants can keep up with the accelerated program. Did you apply to CSUSM or CSULA? What was your experience like? If you are looking for other nursing programs, perhaps look into CSULB (Long Beach) - they require all science courses be completed within the last 5 years, I don't know if that would work in your favor... Or maybe MSMU, but it's a more expensive option since it's a private school. If you did well in your science pre-reqs, CSUF does not have an expiration date on classes, and CSUN accepts pre-reqs done within the last 10 years.

Thank you all for these great suggestions! They are more than what I hoped for! Can you tell how worried I was by my angst-filled title and the increasing number of question marks, haha.... I've received some responses from nursing programs and some said they were willing to take the more recent chem course and another said that chem was a part of their GE but not a part of their admission requirement. Although, I did get a response from a nursing advisor saying that I would not qualify for their program since I repeated chem, but it was still good to know because it helped me narrow down my choices. There're too many people to thank here, but I read every single one of your comments and your experiences and advice has been immensely helpful! I'll learn from my mistakes and work harder so someday I'll end up in the same field as you (I'll definitely pay it forward)! Good luck to those of you working towards a higher degree and have a great day!

Ohhh, I see! Thank you so much Nicu and Kris! Your advice has been very helpful!!! In my area, the lottery system has mostly been phased out now in favor of the point system. The nearest program near me ended their lottery system back in 2013. So far, I only know of one ADN program in my area that still uses the lottery system, but applicants still need at least a 2.5 GPA in Anatomy, Physio, and Micro to be eligible to be put into the lottery. For ADN, I'm not as(?) concerned because I was able to find programs that only look at Anatomy, Physio, and Micro for the science pre-req portion. At my school, chem is a pre-req for physio, but it's not a pre-req for the ADN program. So, I'm more concerned about my eligibility for RN-BSN programs because they DO require chem for their admission. @SopranoKris - I took chem in 2013, so it's 4 years old now! Which reminds me, I should probably look into programs that do have a time-limit on their science pre-reqs... I'm sorry to hear that you had to repeat all those classes, it must have been a real pain! Over here, I found some schools, such as CSULA, that don't have an expiration date on those classes, and a couple of other schools that have a 5-10 year time-limit. Yes, I've been looking at different schools, their school policies, and even emailed a couple nursing advisors to ask about the repeats. I did hear about people repeating their classes on this forum, but it's from older posts, and some schools only allow 1 repeat now or they don't specify it on their page. I heard about for-profit schools, such as Chamberlain, that may be more lax in their requirements, but they should only be a last resort because apparently they charge $675 per credit hour. Yikes! I'll continue to look at other online RN-BSN programs available. By the way, @Nicuismylife and @SopranoKris, did you look at the "reputation" of your schools for your degrees? Do employers even care where you got your degrees from or they just look at your experience in the field? I'm asking because I was thinking of applying to a nearby CC (community college) for my ADN because it's cheaper and closer, but a family member is kinda frowning upon CCs and think that I should go to a CSU (state university) instead because they have a better reputation. Does she have a valid point? Should I get my ADN from a CSU instead?? Anyways, thank you, thank you, thank you, again Nicu and Kris!!! It has been driving me crazy for a while now but your advice made me more optimistic!

Don't all nursing programs request transcripts from all colleges attended? Then the admissions will notice that I repeated chem once before?

Long story - I experienced some bumps along the way during my undergrad years, but now those mistakes may haunt me forever! So during my freshmen year of college, I took chem + lab at a UC and got a "D" in class and a "C" in lab. The following summer, I retook the lecture portion again and received a "C-". In retrospect, I had poor foresight in the road I would be taking after graduation and rushed to finish my classes instead. At the time, I did not think that I would be applying to nursing programs nor that they would be looking at my 1 chem class that I took. I only thought of major pre-reqs like anatomy, physio, and microbio and did not do deep enough research or else I would have not taken it that time or at least have taken it during the semester. Now, after graduation, I'm planning take a couple more classes to apply for ADN, and then bridge ADN-BSN eventually because I do want more job opportunities in nursing. However, as I'm looking at BSN programs, they have a chem pre-req, and unfortunately, the chemistry class I took is widely transferable.....! Even though I don't WANT to transfer it and instead retake chem again at a CC, I don't think I have an option since nursing programs will evaluate my transcript and see that I already (partially) repeated chem once before. I live in the Los Angeles area of CA and it seems like every BSN program that I look at requires chem, and that the minimum grade must be a "B" with only 1 repeat allowed. The more I look at it, the more it seems like an ADN degree will be the highest step I can take on the degree ladder, and I feel so hopeless because I do want degree advancement, and also I've been hearing more and more that employers will hire BSNs before they even look at ADNs. Overall, I'm just worried about the job prospect in a highly competitive metropolitan area. Anyways, I would love to hear your thoughts about this, especially from anyone that has been through this path before or can give more insight to my dilemma. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!