Tips for bringing my grades up

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Hi,

I'm currently taking my prereqs at a community college with the hopes of getting into an ABSN course in the next year or two. I only have a few classes left to complete but I'm feeling frustrated that I'm becoming a mostly B student. I work full time and I study very hard but I keep missing A's by just a point or two and my GPA is close to dropping below a 3.5 for my prereqs (though my GPA from my BA is well above a 3.5). My school is on a quarter system and I only have A&P III, Microbiology, and stats left to take. I would love to make A's in these course but need tips. Did anyone find "A&P for Dummies" or "A&P Made Easy" helpful? Are there other sites besides khan academy that people found really helpful? Does anyone else have this problem? Can I have mostly B's in biology and still get into ABSN programs? Should I retake some bio classes that I made B's in?

I know it's a ton of questions but if you answer any of these I'd be really grateful

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For working full time, you are doing very well! While I will say that nursing schools are really focused on GPA, there are other areas to an applicant. Sadly, grades are very important. Anatomy is all about memorization!!!! When I took anatomy, I was given a HUGE amount of information at once and our exam for that unit was only fifty questions. It's really all about memorization. Make up funny ways of remembering things. For cranial nerves, there are many naughty ways to remember all twelve. Also, don't wait until last minute to study. I used to make flash cards and practice while walking to class everyday. It was simple and it helped.

Hope this helped.

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Thanks for the tips and the encouragement, Colli646! I've taken A&P I and II and now all I have is the third and final quarter, which I think focuses on mostly reproductive and GI systems. I'm pretty confident about my abilities in the Anatomy portion it's mostly physiology that I need to work on. I'm feeling frustrated because I keep get just below an A for my final grade by a point or two and it's driving me crazy. I'm not sure if it's my testing skills or my studying techniques but I just need to pump it up a little more to get the grades I need and I'm wondering if there's a resource I just havent found yet.

I've also heard that microbiology can be pretty difficult and I'm wondering if there's a way to pre-study for it so I'm a little ahead before I take it.

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I did use the "made easy" series of books for A&P and for Microbiology. I would read the section that corresponded with the chapters we were studying in the "easy" book first, then read the text book. It made understanding the text a bit easier.

I plan on using some books from the same series while in nursing school. I like the way that it breaks down the concepts in "plain english"

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Have you ever figured out HOW you learn? Everyone learns differently. For example, I remember things better if I teach them to someone else. I found someone in my cohort that learned best by listening to lectures and we studied together on skype every night. I "taught" her all the material from school. It worked for both of us.

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Specializes in Allergy/ENT, Occ Health, LTC/Skilled.

Betting its your learning style. I worked full time with 3 kids during pre reqs and let me tell you I'm no genius lol and I had all A's. I finally figured out in A&P 1 that I needed to understand the big picture first. For example for A&P 2 on the cardiovascular system I needed to see overall what the heart was doing for the rest of the body before I got down into the little details that makes it actually beat the way its supposed to. I myself utilized Khan academy a lot but I also liked boundless and general you tube videos for explanations. Also concept maps are a must for me!

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