I’m going to be attending Nicholls State University for their Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. The (35 hours) prerequisite Freshman classes are:
About 18 hours a semester seems like a lot, from what I’ve heard. But only two of those classes are in the 200s (Biology 205 & OIS), the rest are in the 100s level. I have a 3.7 GPA in high school right now and I take 7 classes a day, including AP classes; none of my grades are below a B, and most of them are As.
I don’t party or go out much, and I’m very dedicated to my studies. I’m not into any sports or band.
Opinions would be greatly appreciated ^-^
I wouldn’t do it. You need good grades in nursing. Some of these tend to be “weeder” classes at a lot of schools, too. What is a normal full load to stay on track for graduation in 4 years? Go with that number of credits (around 15 at most schools).
I’d also advise against it if you have the option of taking a lighter load the first semester. Even strong students sometimes struggle during the first semester. In addition to classes, you have to adapt to a new environment, a roommate, etc. That can also take a toll on you.
35 hours your freshman year? That’s weird. They might have been expecting you to come in with credit from high school for some of those classes. Either that, or the classes altogether are manageable. You should talk to your advisor and ask if that’s a normal schedule.
This seems strange to me. Is this the freshman course sequence, or is this just some kind of GenEd core? That sounds like a lot of credits for a freshman.
I don’t know about nursing, but I have 35 credits my freshman year in CS, and it doesn’t seem weird or overloaded at all. The bio and chem is a lot, I would take those two together in S2. 18 isn’t nearly as bad as say 20 or 22.
18 hours does seem like a lot for a freshman… I’ve only ever taken 16 a semester and will be taking 20 this upcoming semester as a junior, so I can’t really comment on the extra work. However, I can say that I only took 12 my first semester of college and that was just enough. I had to adjust to living on my own since I was dorming there at the time, and I think 18 would’ve completely overwhelmed me.
Are you sure all freshman have to take 35 hours? And can it be extended to the summer after freshman year? If it were me, I’d take 16 and 16 for 32 and then take a 3 credit class and a lab over the summer if it were feasible. Or hopefully you can get one of those courses out of the way with AP or dual enrollment credits
It’s typical for Science oriented majors to take 18 credits a semester. For nursing you have to fulfill all the pre-requisite courses before you can move on to your clinicals. If you are worried about it, see if you can take two classes over the summer either at Nicholls State or your local CC. Make sure Nicholls will accept the credits. You will need to take them this summer (2015) as all of the pre-reqs must be finished by the end of the Spring semester. Nursing is a rigorous program and they do want to weed out candidates that can’t handle the work.
If that’s what’s recommended to stay on track at your school’s nursing program, then I would recommend taking it. If it’s recommended, clearly students are able to handle it, or they would have stopped recommending it years ago (unless your school’s nursing program is very new). 18 hours doesn’t seem unusual or unreasonable for a pre-professional program. Just go in with your eyes open. Forget how many classes you took in high school. Taking seven classes in high school does not equal taking seven classes in college (or even six or five), and taking being in class all day in high school is not the same as having multiple college courses back to back in college.
If you’re worried about it, then see if you can take a course or two over the summer (perhaps, one of your non-nursing related classes like history or humanities?). Ask your advisor about your plan to make sure you aren’t adding in more requirements your freshman year than you actually need to take (perhaps, one of the classes can be pushed to later and still keep you on track). Can you get AP credit for any of the courses? That would also lighten your load. Know what the drop deadline is so if you are still unsure of the workload at the beginning of the semester, you can drop a class. What you don’t want to happen is to happen is to trash your GPA unnecessarily and then find out that nursing is not for you.
To those of you telling the OP not to do it, this is the REQUIRED course sequence for the first year of the nursing program at Nicholls State. He/She has to take this courseload in order to continue on in the nursing program Sophomore year. It’s a very typical schedule for Nursing programs. But as Baktrax and I mentioned, if you feel it’s going to be overwhelming then plan to take some summer courses this summer. Nicholls State has mandatory information sessions for their nursing majors and you can ask any questions you have at that time most likely. You can also contact your adviser and discuss this with him/her to see what courses would be better for you to take in the summer. (I’m in agreement that it would probably be the non-nursing classes). Keep yourself organized, go to tutoring and extra study sessions, form some study groups, review your notes nightly and practice good time management. Nursing is a demanding major and college programs must meet state guidelines. You’ll be fine as long as you keep on top of your academics. Good luck!
(side note, my son is a Freshman and took 17 credits last semester and was bored so he’s taking 22 in the spring. He found he had too much time. But he is not a science major so he didn’t have labs to contend with)