Starting NS w/ no prereqs = suicide?

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Hello everyone. Today I am sending in my application for nursing school. :yeah:This particular school will accept people that haven't taken any prereqs (A&P 1 &2, Micro, Psych etc.) and from the way they describe the selection process (they say it's just numbers - full GPA and SAT scores) I stand a decent chance. I haven't taken these classes so my first semester schedule would be Nursing Fundamentals (8 credit hours), AP1 (4 hours) and Medical Terminology (1 hr) ... possibly college math (3 hrs) too, but I think I can get transfer credit for that. Is it suicide to try this? I mean, obviously it's not impossible since it's THEIR program, but is it crazy to actually do? Is that their attempt to weed out? Also, I have a toddler that I will have to care for evenings and weekends. So nursing students, what do you think? I am in a hurry b/c I HATE my current job and it's a contractor position so it could end in the blink of an eye. Also, more importantly, I am almost 33 and would like to expand my family. The sooner I finish NS, the sooner I can do this. If I put things off too long, it could be too late. My hubby is in his forties and the older he gets the more relucant he is to discuss a second (or third LOL) child. Please give me your feedback. Thanks!

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Specializes in Utilization Management.

Personally...I think it's crazy! I've known people who have quit their jobs just to take A&P1...by itself. Do you have any healthcare experience? Are you going to be working in addition to school? A&P1 is a beast on its own, not to mention A&P2 and Micro. I couldn't imagine having to deal with those plus nursing classes. Either you will be able to handle it and progress, or you won't be able to handle it and it could end up being an even bigger setback, as far as your plans for expanding your family. Good luck! :up:

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

A lot of programs are designed for students to begin "from scratch," without pre-req's. So, that isn't necessarily a bad thing at all.

As for the workload of that particular program, you'll have to talk with them and/or with previous students to determine how much of your time it will take each week -- and to help you decide whether or not you have that much time to give.

I would be sure to ask them about how many students fail to complete their degrees within the original amount of time ... how many have to repeat classes ... etc. Schools mak a lot of money on students who sign up for more work than they can handle and then have to repeat classes or quit or fail out. They won't necessarily tell you how hard it is. Try to find out the actual numbers if you can. How many drop out? How many graduate on time? etc.

The fact that you have a child AND a job AND and are planning to work while attending school full time may require more of you than you are willing to give. That's why so many people in your situation either quit their jobs or go to school part time.

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Specializes in New Critical care NP, Critical care, Med-surg, LTC.

Sure, it could be done. You have to decide whether the potential drawbacks would be outweighed by the benefits. Putting it off one year to complete pre-requisites like A&P and micro would make you one year older at graduation, yes. But is ONE year a make or break amount of time? If you don't need to have all pre-reqs finished, I'd recommend at least getting the lab classes finished ahead of time. Those are time intensive as it is, and in addition to the nursing classes, it will be very challenging to juggle and maintain your sanity and time with your child. Ultimately, you know what you can handle- or at least think you can handle, good luck with whatever you decide.

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Here's my take. If at all possible, GET A&P I OUT OF THE WAY FIRST. Just take one semester and get it out of the way and take something else with it that's not too hard. For example, I took A&P I and CNA during the same semester. Spent 99% of my time on A&P I, lol. If your school accepts Fall and Spring starts then you will only delay your goal by one semster. Something I think you can deal with and that will help to solidify your goal which is to actually graduate!!

And yea, even then, your gonna have pull off a little super woman to manage your study time among Nursing 101 and other courses, BUT there will be a summer semester in there which you can use to knock out some of those pre-req's and possible co-req's. So if you can make it through the first two semesters and the summer, then it make get considerably easier. Good luck!!!

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Last semester I took Nursing Fundamentals & pathophys together while working FT (M-F 8:30-5:00 w/ a 45 minute one way commute) and I have a 4 y/o at home.

Our fundies class had a 100% self study med term class built into it (i.e. we bought the book and they told us when tests would be but no class time was devoted to it).

For me, Pathophys was 10X's harder than A&PI was so I don't think I would have had an issue w/ the schedule you stated. Adding Math to that may have been tricky for me just because of the homework time involved. I like my sleep! ;)

I can understand why only a one year delay would not be desireable. I'm 27 and have dreams of going on to finish this ADN, then my BSN and eventually become an APN. At 27 I need to get my booty moving. ;)

What it comes down to though is how well you feel you can organize, you study habits, how you handle stress, and how much support you have. School (bookwork at least) has always came a bit easy for me so I necessarily put in the study hours that I know others do. I do most of my studying when my son is in bed but I know that if I had something I really needed to go over I have the option of locking myself in the office while my husband gladly runs herd over the boy.

So, not saying it will be anything but difficult, but I think it's doable.

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Specializes in mental health, military nursing.

Don't sweat it! So many of the prereqs are a piece of cake to CLEP - English Comp I and II, Psych, Human Growth and Development - 60 bucks and a few hours of studying and you're done (that's what I did)! The sciences are harder, and will give you much of your grounding for nursing - take them in person. Many community colleges offer accelerated summer sciences where you go for four hours on a Saturday morning for six-to-eight weeks -not too bad, really.

Will it be hard? Yes, of course - getting anything done in life is hard. It can be done, though - I did that, and worked full time in the evenings, which seems similar to having a small child while in school ;-) Good luck, and have faith!

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Hi llg... I'm gutsy, but not crazy! LOL. I will *gulp* quit my job if I get in. Sorry I didn't clarify that point. I hope to work part time as a CNA or something my second year though. By then all the heavy duty science classes will be out of the way. Would it be more feasible as a FT student my first year?

Thanks everyone else too. You've given me a lot to think about. Now there's just the minor detail of getting in :).

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thanks lauraecompton for the clep idea. i never would have thought about that, but that is a great idea!

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
Hi llg... I'm gutsy, but not crazy! LOL. I will *gulp* quit my job if I get in. Sorry I didn't clarify that point. I hope to work part time as a CNA or something my second year though. By then all the heavy duty science classes will be out of the way. Would it be more feasible as a FT student my first year?

Thanks everyone else too. You've given me a lot to think about. Now there's just the minor detail of getting in :).

I'm happy to read that you are still sane. It's a pet peeve of mine that so many students believe that a high quality professional-level education is something you can squeeze into an already busy life -- and they expect someone else to pay for it!

Going to school full time should be the rough equivalent of a full time job. If you're a good student and the program is reasonable in its expectations, it should be doable (but perhaps really difficult with a child to take care of). If your family needs and a part time job are going to place a lot of demands on you, then I would suggest part time.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

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I was looking into a similar school but found it to be too much. I have two kids and getting through 2 classes was tough enough much less a bunch of science courses with a toddler. Unless you have the time, this would be more stressfull to me.

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Why is everyone so afraid of A&P? I haven't taken physiology, but I did take a 6 credit hour stand alone anatomy course with a partial human dissection lab with intense lab practicals and I didn't think it was all that diffcult... I barely studied and ended up with an 88%. Is it the physiology that makes the course so scary and hard?

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