Really need some great advice

ThatBigGuy · Jun 12, 2014

Before you try finding loopholes in order to boost your GPA, you need to self-evaluate and figure out why you have two C's and two withdrawals. Odds are you won't be able to get in, much less pass nursing school if you cannot identify and eliminate your "personal reasons."

If you honestly feel that you've addressed your personal issues and taken the steps to remove those influences from your life, or at least learned better coping mechanisms for them, then you can take the next steps to bump your GPA. Go down to the advising offices in person. It's summer for these folks, too, so they're not going to be on their A games. Emails and phone messages will slip through the cracks, but in-person visits tend to get things accomplished much quicker.

Once you are face to face with an advisor, be honest with them. Tell them (don't whine or complain) that you've had issues that have affected your grades, and that you're here to make an effort at turning the page and improving your grades. They'll jump at the chance to help a motivated student.

pmabraham, BSN, RN · Jun 13, 2014

Good day, Ms.Frank:

I was thinking about this situation. ThatBigGuy hits a lot on the head of the nail. Some questions came to mind that may help you work through things as I'm not sure you will find a case where lab can be taken separately from lecture:

1. Are you making it to every single class and every single lab?

2. Are you spending the entire time allowed in lab (i.e. if lab runs two hours, are you there for the entire two hours)?

3. If your school has a learning / tutoring center, were you using it?

4. Do you know your learning style -- auditory, kinesthetic, visual, combination?

5. When you got your first exam where you did poorly, did you make it a point to see the professor in person to go over the exam, your notes, your study habits, etc?

6. How many hours per week where you putting into studying lecture material?

7. How many hours per week where you putting in studying lab material?

https://allnurses.com/pre-nursing-student/how-get-any-846733.html offers a lot of great advice for every single class. I found that doing well in Anatomy and Physiology (as well as any class with a lab component) to do the following:

A. Treat lecture and lab as two separate, three credit classes in terms of being able to estimate how much time to put into studying for lecture and lab. While for non science classes I would use the two hours of study per credit (so a 3 credit class would mean 6 hours of study per week), for science based classes the actual study time was between 3 and 4 hours per credit. So for AP1 and AP2, I was looking at a minimum of nine hours of study time for lectures, and 9 hours of study time per lab. More often than not, it was twelve hours for lecture, and nine to twelve for lab.

B. I got permission to record every lecture and recitation; then I made it a point to listen often. I created playlists based on exam units, and would listen to the playlist for several days before an exam. This was in addition to taking notes, re-reading notes, as well as reading the lecture material.

C. For lab, whether there was a lab book or not, I created my own scrapbook of pictures I would label for review. I would spend the entire time in lab; typically it was the professor, myself, and a small handful (sometimes just another) student(s) who would stay until the very end. I would ask questions such as "on a lab practical, how would you word a question looking for this ____ (point to geographic area on the mode)?" I would spend time in the learning center going over the models.

D. I would do my best to participate in class because either A) I would be wrong -- and then benefit from having a bad thought process corrected quickly or B) I would reinforce a good thought process.

E. Since I'm a combination learning style, I would use combinations to study. I would speak out hard stuff to memorize out loud, or sing it, or yell it. I would purposely pace sometimes while doing so for the kinetics or drum my pen/stylus while I read. I would also read, look up videos on youtube.com, look up charts, diagrams, etc. on google images...

Yes, all of this took a huge investment of time... but in pre-nursing, while all classes matter... your sciences are your core classes where acing them gives you the very best shot at getting into clinicals.

Ms.Frank, I don't know you; and I'm not sure of why you ran into certain issues. What I do know is that while we live, we have hope, we can dream, and we can engage. If this is your dream to conquer these areas, consider what ThatBigGuy wrote, ask yourself the questions I asked -- more if more come to your mind (introspection is a great tool), and then see what it might be possible to change in yourself, your circumstances, etc. to press forward. Then do so -- engage, press forward, make the changes, move on.

Thank you.

504 medic · Jun 13, 2014

Medicine is a life of learning. While it can take a while with A&P to really start to get it, as the other posters mentioned, take an objective look at what you want to be doing, because it doesn't get any easier from here. In a nursing school environment, the subjects will be detailed, and fast paced. The other students will have strong backgrounds in biology, A&P, etc, perhaps former Paramedics/EMTs. If you are repeating those classes to learn more, to become a more knowledgeable person and prepare yourself to excel in nursing school, then do so, and study very, very hard. If you repeat them just the look better on paper, there are other careers which might be more suitable for you.

RunBabyRN · Jun 13, 2014

In addition to what the other posters have said, you need to check the repeat policies at schools. Many will not allow repeats, or limit how many you may have. Also, as Cs are considered passing grades, you may have difficulty repeating them in CA. Most nursing schools list their repeat policies on their websites. Be sure to comb through that page thoroughly before contacting them again, but if you do need to contact them, go in person.

I FULLY agree that you need to look at WHY you earned Cs in both courses. Remember that the people with whom you're competing often have As and Bs in these classes, and your instructors expect that you have a strong understanding of human anatomy and physiology, and will not hold your hand when you're struggling to understand how meds are metabolized or what glomerulonephritis is. A&P is like taking the bus to your destination. Nursing school is like taking a bullet train. It moves fast, and it's easy for people to feel left behind.

Ms.Frank, LVN · Jun 14, 2014

Thank you all for your advice . I was definitely in a bad situation during those times and have took the steps towards bettering my personal life. I am in a better place and I want to keep going forward in my career. I have faith that if one way doesn't work another one will. I really asked myself the questions @ThatBigGuy and @pmabraham have asked. No I wasn't able to make it to every lecture when I did attend class I stayed until the end. At my college there is only one grade for lecture and lab. So whatever you get in lecture you get in lab.

For my next step I do want to boost my science gpa, have anyone had this problem and care to share any advice?I do plan to talk to a counselor next week but I do want to see if anyone else had a similar experience.

Thanks again for your time

pmabraham, BSN, RN · Jun 14, 2014

Good day, Ms.Frank:

If you have an opportunity to take Human Biology, it may help. At my college, that class was 3 credits including lab. The lab provided the foundations for using a microscope, a little histology, etc. and the lecture provided a good foundation for AP1, AP2, Microbiology, and Nutritional Science (in so far as the macronutrients breakdown as well as understanding certain physiological areas). Be open to learning your weaknesses, then work on strengthening them. For instance, in my first few labs with a microscope, I noticed how horrendously slow I was compared to other students. Often times I would not get a chance to do any of the extra (fun) work such as optional cheek swaps and analysis because I was just finishing the required work (this was in a two hour lab). So then picked myself up, found a microscope in the learning center, and would spend hours just working through the best way to focus fast, find specimens on the slide fast, etc.

For AP1, it was all contact time for the lab work. When my professor shared she used to caress the bones, I tried not to laugh. Then I started doing as she did... just feeling them... getting to know each bone not just visually, but by texture, feeling the markings, etc. That towards the end, I really felt that I could be handed a bone blind folded and asked to identify the bones and the markings. So when lab practical came, and we just had 60 seconds to identify and write down the bone and/or marking, it wasn't nerve wracking.

I found for each lab practical, I needed to work through a modification of how I learned from the past; there was no constant -- "do this and it works all the time". Anyway, before I ramble on too much more... if you run into questions, ask for help early and often -- doing so, shows you care about the subject and want to improve. It shows you have courage to be in your own skin, and that you will not let the fear of asking get in the way of the eventual fun of learning.

Ms.Frank, we are here to make mistakes, and to learn from them. You can do this if you put your mind to it.

Thank you.

Natasha A., CNA, LVN · Jun 14, 2014

@pmabraham You've listed some valuable stuff. Thank you for sharing. :)

Natasha A., CNA, LVN · Jun 14, 2014

pmabraham You've listed some valuable stuff. Thank you for sharing. :)I have a question off subject to ask. My weakness is English writing essays. I created a study haabit for chemistry, but what kind of practice can I do to strengthen my writing and essay structure? I've heard to read newspapers may help. My first essay outline is due next week and I'm taking a long time to write anything. I know to brainstorm, but writer's block and lack of confidence in writing gets the best of me. Anytime youtube videos or excersise reviews?

Natasha A., CNA, LVN · Jun 14, 2014

@msfrank

I attend a community college in CA right now taking prereqs and I took anatomy/phys back in 2007 and received a (D). Now seven years later, I'm at it again. Now I know after five years, science courses expire and I recently set up a counseling meeting to talk about academic renewal/foregivness. Also, emailed an academic extra credit review letter with attached previous letter of recommendations from my job that I've been at for five years to the Dean. (I'm a CNA and worked at a mental health hospital since 2009). This shows my quality of dedication professionally and personally. I'm going to give it a week to follow up. What I put in the essay wasn't a "sob" story and I didn't have any "personal issue" I just was a young kid wilding out. Lol

I stated that I had poor time management , over-commited to more classes I can handle and never used the valuable resources. I admitted my weakness and shown I've have matured and committed to using an organizer now.I've stated my goals and who I am as a person.

ATBStudent · Jun 14, 2014

OP my advice to you would be to continue on. Retake courses if you can - but don't quit. I got a C in a&p 1 and FAILED a&p 2 the first time I took it. I later retook it and got a B. I have a ton of withdrawals on my record and my overall GPA is a 3.0.... But I'm starting in a very selective associates to bachelors program this fall that will let me get my BSN in 2.5 years while concurrently getting my ASN. My school has a 93% 1st time pass rate for the NCLEX and an awesome reputation in the community. Show the admissions committee that you're dedicated, that you don't give up, and that you know how to adapt to your learning environment... That's really all you can do.

pmabraham, BSN, RN · Jun 14, 2014

Good day, tasha92337:

When I came back to college, I was 50; so it was over 30 years for any college material including English and writing. What helped me, was doing the actual writing (the old saying, practice makes perfect), then reading it out loud (as if for a speech) to hear what didn't sound right. Then adjust. That would often lead me through five or six drafts before I was finished. Until I felt more comfortable about writing, I would then take one of the latter drafts (no earlier than the 3rd draft) to the learning center to have it reviewed by an expert. There, I would get advice on what needed to be consolidated, changed, etc. What also helped is my wife is a grammar Nazi; she would review the draft before the learning center trip to make sure most (if not all) of the grammar mistakes were removed. Any she missed would be caught by the learning center.

It might be different for everyone in terms of what's best to remove writers block. I find pacing while throwing a tennis ball between my hands (sometimes hard on purpose) helps as I go through a thought process. It drives my wife nuts; but, it also helps me formulate my thoughts.

I find that as I go through drafts -- speaking out loud each draft several times before moving to the next -- that I end up asking myself questions. For example, I'm on my final draft of a persuasive speech outline for a speech due this Wednesday. As I was speaking out loud the draft on the one portion of six degrees of separation and how many locals are impacted by unplanned pregnancy, I wondered what is the population of the county.... side trek, wow, close to half the population in our county is impacted (when taking into account the 6 degrees theory)... so that adds in some more depth into the outline.

The other thing I do is that when I get towards a stable draft (where any changes from then on will be minimal -- word here or there etc), I ask if the teacher has time to review it to see if I'm on the right track. Sometimes they say no, sometimes they say one review per semester, etc. But anytime they say yes, take the opportunity as their input helps you focus on learning what they want from you.

Thank you.