Which classes should I take to increase my chance of getting into a nursing program?

[katiiiee31]

I will be a senior in high school next year. My high school offer a nursing assistant course, which is actually at a career center in our city but we will be given credits toward graduation and also sit for state certification. However, this course take up 2 periods on my schedule, which I'm planning to take AP Psychology and Anatomy. So I'm stuck between which courses I should take. I'm hoping to get into a nursing program, I really want to get into csulb 2 years program, but it seem really competitive and I won't know what to do after 2 years of pre-nursing if I don't get into the program, nursing is my passion and I don't want to major in anything else.

[Hmarie12]

Hey there! I'd say you have a few things to think about. First, you should check out the pre-requisite requirements for several different nursing programs you might attend. Psych and Anatomy will most likely both be required, and if the programs will accept AP credits then it would give you a head start to take them now. Even if they won't accept them, they will look good on your transcript and help you out a lot if you have to take them again in college. Second, how likely are you to get A's in these classes? Grades are really important for getting into nursing school - most programs require a 3.0 in all pre-reqs and many applicants have close to 4.0s. If you are likely to do well then you should take these classes and take a CNA class separately. Many CNA schools have evening hours for people who work or attend class during the day (for example, I took my CNA class from 6-10 at night a few days a week while I was in school). If you think this would be too much for your schedule and that your grades would suffer though, your best bet would probably be to take the AP classes and maybe the CNA class over the summer when you have more time :) Good luck!