Mike1957

I actually started out as a pre-med major....switched to biology...then EE/Physics...and never got my degree. I've been working as an engineer for years and my doctor/best running buddy tried to convince me to take the M-CATs 10 years ago...I should have listened to him. He was a registered pharmacist and 38 years old when he started medical school. When the telecom market crashed about 5 years back, I started thinking about this path and with the help, pushing, prodding and begging of my little sister Gauge14IV...I finally got my hindquarters in gear. She knew what I needed to be and do before I did. For my classmates...and dear friends Amy & Dee Dee....they won't be too far behind me. I just took the jump a bit faster than they did. Thanks to all of them and a few really great instructors at Eastfield...a color blind (shhhh...don't tell them at El Centro) electrical engineer is making a change. Mike

Congratulations to you!! I got my letter today too. I got accepted to El Centro. I'll see your fifteen years and raise it 16. Last summer, we had our 30th reunion for the Class of 1975 of North Garland High School. Mike

So what blanks did you draw? What was on the quiz? Mean, median, mode, midrange, variance and standard deviation? Is your instructor giving you the formulae or are you supposed to pull them from the deep, dark recesses of what used to be your brain? Talk to me...tell me what's going on and maybe I can help.

The NET is not the only entrance test out there folks. Brookhaven College, part of the Dallas County Community College District, uses a HESI test that includes A&P info as well as the basic "can you read?" and "can you count past 20 with all of your clothes on?" math.

Only 101%??? SLACKER!!! May I grovel at your feet? I'm impressed!!!

Re-read my post...I've edited and added... Mike

OK..so in my statistics class, 80% are nursing types. I will be willing to bet that no more than 10% of them get A's. In my A&P 2 class, there were 12% A's, in my A&P 1 class, there was one A...MINE. These classes are weed-out classes just as calculus is a weed-out course in an engineering program. The cream always rises to the top....just because there are 75% of class members "heading for nursing school" doesn't mean that we have that much to worry about. The motivated win by persevering....the non-motivated and incapable get left behind. What is "motivated"? I had a 96.5 (917 out of 950 points) average in my A&P 2 class and was exempt for the final exam. When I walked into class to take the final, I was greeted with "What the HELL are YOU doing here???" by my classmates. When my instructor showed up, she said, "Mike, you don't have to do this." I said that "I paid for this course and if your are giving a test, I'm going to take it." The final grade would replace my lowest test grade for the semester. I walked out of the final 1 hour later...with 927.5 out of 950 points. It was still an A but it was a higher A ...but I didn't do it for the instructor or for my classmates. I did it for ME. THAT IS MOTIVATION. Hard-assed old man that I am...that's the realistic point of view.

It may take a while to hear from her. She took over a week to get the application to me. There are well over 100 folks ahead of me in line for this and she said that the program is just about out of money. They hope to recharge the coffers soon.

tis better to dissect a cat than to be dissected by one

By the way, I took my NET yesterday. I'm sorry but "buy a study guide" for that thing??? If you can add and subtract 4 digit numbers, deal with decimal conversions, fractions and be able to reduce what.....6 I think....algebraic equations....that's all the math there is to it. I scored a 97% (99th percentile) on the math and 85% (95th percentile) on the reading. Their "main idea of passage" was my downfall in the reading. I only bested the "national average score" with a 71% versus 69% on that....48% is "passing". The part that looks like it will haunt you is the psych. profile about stress levels. I scored over 4X the average on stress about grades...but then my goal is a perfect score in every class. Little Sis Gauge14IV gives me crap about that...." B's get degrees!! "

Hey Jenn, Tom Cunningham is pretty good. I had him for Micro. in Spring 2005. The only problem is that he doesn't take charge of the class really well and can, at times, let some of the students sorta run over things. He's a very good teacher and really knows his stuff. He is also very soft spoken and in the labs in the new science building, the ventilating fans in the overhead tended to drown out his voice. Carl Knight is a great teacher but you are correct that he can be led astray pretty easily...and worse...once he's astray, you have a helluva time getting him back on target....and you'll still be responsible for the material that he should have covered. I had Carl for A&P and Invertebrate Zoo back in 1976-77 and still go to him for advice and help when I need it.

Well I took the NET today. I posted my score over in the "I Hate Math" thread. I really am disappointed that I didn't ace the math portion of the test. You'll note that my little sister/mentor Gauge14IV has joined us. She's an RN (ADN, BSN) and currently a F-NP student. She's a big reason why I'm here with you guys and heading where we're all heading. "There is no body cavity that can't be reached with a 14 Gauge needle and a good strong arm" ---One of the rules of The House of God

Hi Sis....no I didn't tell them what I made on the NET yet, I just got home from chemistry. Since I pretty much remember the break down of the questions...how many of each of the different types... and the print out says what I made on each section. I got in a hurry and missed one. That just pisses me off. 97% on the math I was disappointed with my reading score. I got an 85% on that. The percentile works out pretty will, NET Composite score of 91% and 99 percentile. I love the social interaction/stress level stuff at the end....they seem to think I'm aggressive for some reason...can't quite figure that one out. I started the test at 12:21:33 and finished it at 13:50:03. I took my print out in to the ADN office across the hall from the El Centro testing center to confirm what I was supposed to do with the print out in my admissions package. The girl asked if she could look at my score....her eyes got really big and she said: "You did REALLY good on the math!!" I sorta grinned...

You'll be fine....trust me...and if there is anything that I can help with, you know where to find me.

Hey Kiddo...did you read the course description on the books or just assume that you needed all four of them? My 1405 course listed 4 books....2 required and 2 "recommended". I looked at the recommended books and decided that my money would be better spent else where....perhaps on a case of wine or a tank of gas or 3. Does your scholarship pay for all books too?