Rio Salado Bio 156

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Help!!

Has anyone taken this class (4 hrs) and did you do the 8 wk or 16 wk?

I work full time,have two kids (13, 16) and I'm taking a pretty easy looking math 142 at ccc(3 hrs) and want to take Bio 156 online as well but I would love some feedback ahead of time on how much work this class is--- approx. how many hours a week, and is the material hard???

Thanks soooo much for any help you can offer.

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Specializes in OR, Telemetry, PCCU, Med/Surg.

Hi Tabby,

I took the regular 16 week BIO156 online at Rio Salado from May through August last year. It was probably one of the best learning experiences ever! The material is very interesting and will serve you well in following biology classes. However, it is a very time consuming class. Every week you have to either take a quiz or write an essay (2 essay questions/essay) and there's a lab pretty much every week (so a lab report every week). It comes down to a LOT of writing. If you put some time in it and turn in all your assignments on time and all that, you should do well.

I took this class while working fulltime together with a 1 credit Medical Terminology and after about 8 weeks I decided to add MAT142. I had to work for it but got straight A's in all three classes. I'm now taking BIO201, CHM130+LL and PSY101 at Rio as well. Just finished ENG101, too. I decided to go part-time for these three classes though, and I barely have time to finish everything every week. :) Rio Salado is a very flexible way of getting your pre-requisites done. Online classes however do not guarantee easy classes, on the contrary. They usually require a LOT more writing and reading. I honestly look forward to finally taking an in-person class this summer!

Be sure to let me know if you have any other questions, feel free to PM me as well. Good luck with your classes!

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thanks so much for responding!

Wow, sounds like you have a really hard course load this semester!

So, overall, would you say bio 156 had difficult material, or was it mainly just a lot of writing that made it hard? I haven't had biology since, seriously, 1979. Ugh!

I'm thinking I can do it if it is 10 hours a week or less. I think the math will be about 6-7 hrs a week.

I think that if it is as hard as you say, I will not do the accelerated 8 wk. version! Yikes.

Thanks so much for your input!!

Hi Tabby,

I took the regular 16 week BIO156 online at Rio Salado from May through August last year. It was probably one of the best learning experiences ever! The material is very interesting and will serve you well in following biology classes. However, it is a very time consuming class. Every week you have to either take a quiz or write an essay (2 essay questions/essay) and there's a lab pretty much every week (so a lab report every week). It comes down to a LOT of writing. If you put some time in it and turn in all your assignments on time and all that, you should do well.

I took this class while working fulltime together with a 1 credit Medical Terminology and after about 8 weeks I decided to add MAT142. I had to work for it but got straight A's in all three classes. I'm now taking BIO201, CHM130+LL and PSY101 at Rio as well. Just finished ENG101, too. I decided to go part-time for these three classes though, and I barely have time to finish everything every week. :) Rio Salado is a very flexible way of getting your pre-requisites done. Online classes however do not guarantee easy classes, on the contrary. They usually require a LOT more writing and reading. I honestly look forward to finally taking an in-person class this summer!

Be sure to let me know if you have any other questions, feel free to PM me as well. Good luck with your classes!

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Specializes in OR, Telemetry, PCCU, Med/Surg.

The material is not that hard, it's mainly about cell biology and genetics. It's all very, very interesting which makes it less hard. It's just a lot of writing (and you also need to come up with application paragraphes which can be really challenging!) and reading. You'll definitely get a good grade if you spend 8-10hrs/week on this class. That is the 16 week class. If you're combining it with work and other classes I would not recommend the accelerated version.

I spent about 3hrs/week on MAT142, but we only had a quiz every other week. That truly was the easiest math class I ever took! And it's all the math you'll ever need in real life!

The course load is really hard for me this semester and I'm actually growing tired of spending so much time on school! Haha! But the good news is that I can apply to the nursing program as soon as I'm done with PSY101, that's in March! That makes it all worth it! :) You do know about the changes to the MCC nursing program application, right? The only true pre-req's now are BIO201, PSY101, CHM130+lab, and MAT122 or higher. So you'll be ready to apply in another semester and a half! :)

Good luck, again! And it's nice sharing experiences with other Rio students!

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Thanks so much for the info! I think math 142 looks really easy too. I am planning to apply to Coconino Community College up here in Flagstaff in Fall of '09. At this rate, I need to take 2 classes a semester to reach my goal. I think it's do-able, but I'm nervous about taking A and P while working full time , along with developmental psych. Maybe I'll go to part time next fall. I am taking Chem 130 and my CNA class this summer.

Sounds like you are doing great! Congratulations on all your a's. Have you heard anything about the hesi test? Up here, you have to get 85% or better to get an interview for nursing.

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Specializes in OR, Telemetry, PCCU, Med/Surg.

I haven't taken the HESI test yet. I have an appointment with an advisor in Prescott in two weeks, I'll then schedule to take the HESI in March. It's kind of hard getting all that stuff done up in Prescott since I live in the Phoenix area! However, I think Yavapai offers a great program and I'd be so happy to get in if I don't get into the Banner Nurse Fellows cohort for July.

I have no idea what Yavapai's requirements are on the HESI test - I'd think it's quite competitive since they accept admissions solely depending on how the applicant did on the HESI. I've bought the study guide though and it doesn't appear to be too hard.

I think you'll do great taking two classes per semester while working full-time. A&P isn't easy but if you put your mind to it and make time to read everything it's absolutely do-able. I think combining it with developmental psychology is a good idea.

Oh also, if you go onto the UPeers provided by Rio Salado, there's a Nursing Student page you can post some of your experiences on. :) I hope everything works out great for you!

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I just wanted to chime in to say that I loved Rio Salado. I took AP2 and Micro there.. the instructors were great. The workload was intense and I remember being "in the land of essays"

Good luck! Just wanted to reassure you this is a great school

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What's this MAT142? I haven't ever looked at that class. I can barely get into 091....Please enlighten me!

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Specializes in OR, Telemetry, PCCU, Med/Surg.

MAT142 is College Mathematics. It's all applied math, from finance to geometry. I think about 7 different subjects in 14 weeks. At Rio it involved online homework and an online quiz every other week.

Honestly, from what I've heard about MAT120, I'd rather study for the placement test and take MAT142. I used the Kaplan SAT prep book for my assessment tests. I nearly failed math in high school but got placed in MAT152 on the assessment test.

Here's the course description from Rio: http://www.riosalado.edu/ci/syllabus/current/MAT/MAT142/010708start_inter.shtml

Hope this helps!

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Specializes in Cardiac Care.

I'm doing my pre-req's with Rio as well. I have one class in person at CAC and that class is like a cake walk compared to Rio. Pretty tough but the time thing works the best for me. I take 3 classes every 14weeks. I was doing Psy101, Eng 101 and somehow Bio156 Accelerated. I must have clicked on the wrong link I guess.

Now that was tough. So much writing!!!! Not recommended to take those all together.

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I did this class accelerated last spring so I could get into Micro as fast as possible. I took developmental psycho and Nutrition at the same time.

Your old bio class will help but, there have been many discoveries in bio since then (I took my bio in '77). The new data made the course more interesting and other than taking time the labs were straight forward. The only problem was doing the essays and lab reports well.

The accelerated class demanded a lot more time than the other 2 classes... maybe because you finished at least; 2 chapters, 1 or 2 labs, 1 essay and a quiz per week.

Mark

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Man that class was HARD! I don't know... maybe it's just me but I hadn't taken bio since sophomore year in High School and that was in 1980. It was probably more work than I have ever had to do for a class and I have a degree in psychology and child development from University of Illinois!!

Maybe it's because it was all so new to me and unfamiliar. There is soooo much writing- I spent 20 hours a week on that class approximately. I did get an A, but it was a HUGE amt. of work!! Teaching myself science does not work well for me- I need a professor right there. I will not take any more online science classes. I did learn a lot though. I just don't think it fits my learning style.

Anyone taking Chem 130 this summer? I start July 1....

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