Taking prerequisites while still in high school -- advice?

[tritowin]

Hi everyone!

I'm currently a sophomore in high school in the wonderful state of Colorado. I've been interested in becoming a nurse for a long time. As of now, I am ready to begin seriously preparing for nursing school. I'm mainly interested in a BSN from UC Denver (ridiculously competitive), but Regis University and Denver School of Nursing are two other schools I'm also interested in (although they're very expensive since they are private schools).

I have great grades. The only B I've gotten is one in my second semester in last year's math III. I'm currently in a senior class, math analysis (trigonometry/pre-calculus), which is two levels above the math class other sophomores are taking. Next year I will be taking CP Anatomy and Physiology, (there are no regular or AP options). I will also be taking a class called Intro to Health Care Professions at the technical education center offered through my school. Upon completion of this class I will have my First Aid/CPR certification. During my senior year I will take the MedPrep class from the same technical education center, and upon completion of this course I will be eligible for certification and employment as a CNA. (I'm not sure how important high school is in regard to nursing school, but it can't hurt!)

Now for my real dilemma...

I would like to begin taking the nursing prerequisites in the summer. My best option would be to take them online. I've read some other posts on this site and I know UC Denver will accept online credits from CCCOnline, but is that all they will accept? What about credits taken online from out-of-state institutions? I don't think high school students can enroll in classes at CCCOnline. What are my options for taking online courses? I know that EduKan is one of them, but again, I'm not sure if UC Denver will accept that since it's out-of-state. What are Regis' and DSN's policies on this? It's alright if I can't take a class online, but is it possible to enroll in a course at a community college during the summer as a high school student?

Also, I know that UC Denver requires these prerequisites, but is it the same for Regis and DSN? I read somewhere that Regis' nursing school is direct-entry (not sure if this is true or not). Is DSN direct-entry? So far I have found the whole process to be confusing.

Any input or advice is greatly appreciated! I would love to get a head start and complete most or all of these prerequisites while still in high school and get my BSN in less time. If I understand correctly from the information I have gathered on this site and other online sources, this will equate to my first two years of college? What I have read is that most people enroll as a freshman in their college of choice, complete the prerequisites, and then apply the nursing program as a sophomore or junior. Is this correct? Just want to make sure I have all my facts straight.

Thank you in advance!! :)

[Sand_Dollar, BSN]

Colorado has a program called "Post-Secondary Enrollment Options" that will let you take college classes while still in HS (link is below). I assume much of your post is about EduKan or similar program because you are paying the cost yourself. You definitely want to look into this program because it will pay for your college classes AND books.

My daughter is probably close to your age (16), and is technically a Senior in her HS. She just finished her second college semester through the PSEO program. Rather than take HS classes, she is taking strictly college classes and gets dual credit for them. So for one class of college history, she is given a year of HS credit. Next year, since you will be a Junior, you will be eligible to enter the program. It may be something to consider instead of taking advanced HS classes.

Rather than take classes on campus, my daughter does them through ccconline. Because it's online, the sciences have a labpaq that need to be purchased, but I don't have a problem paying for the additional stuff when all the rest is already covered. She is not taking classes through the summer, but could appeal to the school to take them if she wanted to.

The first thing you should do is talk to your counselor at school. Since it is the school board who is paying for it, you will need them to take care of the paperwork. The counselor, my daughter and I have her entire A.A. degree planned out and all we pretty much do is keep him updated on her grades and tell him when it's time to register for the next set of classes. I also have to meet with the college high school liaison to sign paperwork on occasion, but its very easy. Oh, her school also has a policy that is she gets less than a C, we are responsible for repaying the school for that class. That hasn't been an issue since the lowest grade she has gotten so far is a B in one class.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to message me. You will have to have 15 posts on the board to be able to do that, but it's easy to get up to that number. Or, you can also just reply to this post, I will keep an eye out for it.

I hope this information gives you a place to start.

Good luck!

~Sand Dollar :)

Post-Secondary Enrollment Options.

[hope3456, ASN, RN]

Wow! what an awesome opportunity! I wonder how many CO h.s, students take advantage of getting free college credits????

[caliotter3]

Start out with the general ed courses like English and math. Save the sciences for last, in the unforeseen circumstance that you might be delayed in being admitted to nursing school. You want your science courses to be the freshest in terms of date because most schools now require that they be no older than five years. Even with the best of academic records, it is conceivable that you might spend some time on a waiting list, so you want to plan to your best advantage. Best wishes to you. It is so refreshing to read about someone who is a high achiever.

[tritowin]

Thank you for your quick replies, Sand Dollar, Hope3456, and Caliotter3. I apologize for the long delay in replying.

Sand Dollar -- the post-secondary enrollment option sounds like a great opportunity, but there's a bit of a problem. I'd have to talk to my counselor about it, and I'm not so sure she would certify me as fit to fly, so to speak. Long story short, I enrolled in AP US history last spring and was supposed to take it this year. However, during the summer I realized that signing up was a huge mistake and a college credit in history wouldn't benefit me very much. They refused to transfer me to a regular class, so I had to lie through my teeth and tell them I was having a very hard time in my life. I even had to CRY in their offices to make my story believable because they were completely against letting me transfer out. After a month my counselor and the assistant principal transferred me to a regular class. Is there any other way I could get credits? I will have a new counselor next year but I'm sure he would have gotten word about what happened. The whole thing is a mess.

Caliotter -- that's what I was thinking of myself. I'd really like to get English and math out of the way as they are my least favorite subjects. Although I'm a "phenomenal writer" (as all of my English teachers have said), I loathe writing. Thank you for the advice. I'm actually excited for the science courses so I want to save the best for last.