Scheduling Help

College Majors Nursing Major
1

<p>I am currently a high school junior and we have to make our schedules for senior year. I am debating between the two options I have. Which would be more beneficial for me to get into a good program and ulitmately become a RN?</p>

<p>Option 1:</p>

<p>Pre-Calculus Honors
UMDNJ Medical Terminology/Emergency Care
Anatomy and Physiology HPA
AP English Literature and Composition
AP Psychology
AP Biology</p>

<p>Or...</p>

<p>Option 2:</p>

<p>Pre-Calculus Honors
AP Statistics
AP English Literature and Composition
AP Psychology
AP Biology
AP Chemistry</p>

<p>-Your "average" public school student
-GPA: 3.6 unweighted
-Class Rank: 22/449
-Play two sports and in several clubs
-Male from NJ</p>

<p>What are my chances of getting into a nursing program; namely, Rutgers or Penn State? Are their any other schools on the east coast that you recommend for nursing?</p>

<p>-Thank you for your responses, they would be greatly appriciated</p>

2

<p>Is precalc a requirement at your school? If not, then option 1 with stats instead of precalc.</p>

3

<p>IMHO…GPA & SAT / ACT scores are all that is important to PSU. Take which ever subjects you think will best prepare you for nursing…not what you think PSU wants. If you are in the blue on the chart below and apply early (Sept/Oct) then you’ll probably be accepted. Good luck.
<a href=“http://admissions.psu.edu/info/counselors/bubble_chart06.pdf[/url]”>http://admissions.psu.edu/info/counselors/bubble_chart06.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>SingDanceRunLife: Yeah, pre-calc is a requirement at my school. So, I have to take it regardless…</p>

<p>aglages: Thank you for the information on PSU, but I myself do not know what will best prepare me for nursing. Thats what I’m trying to find out, lol.</p>

5

<p>Take a well rounded schedule, in case you change your mind about majoring in Nursing. Can you handle all those APs? You have to be concerned keeping your gpa up while juggling all those APs, college applications, sports and senioritis.
Good Luck.</p>

6

<p>I think the anatomy/physiology course is a good idea, but I’m not too keen on the “medical terminology” course. </p>

<p>What science courses have you already taken?</p>

7

<p>Batllo: Thanks. I’m pretty set on nursing, but nevertheless…good advice. I figure I can keep up with the AP’s. I mean, their equivalent to a college introductory course, yes? I figure if I have to take those courses eventually, so why not take them in high school.</p>

<p>mrsref: Yeah, the anatomy course interests me a lot. An added perk of the class that in is run in conjunction with Seton Hall University for college credit/placement. Medical terminology is essentially a rush of vocabulary words, but I figured, “Hey, might as well become familiar with the lingo used” lol. Sciences I have taken include Honors biology, Honors chemistry, and AP environmental science.</p>

8

<p>Option 1 sounds amazing because of the emergency care course, but keep in mind that many nursing programs require their applicants to have taken chemistry. If you can, do option #2 to leave yourself open to those programs, and supplement by logging some volunteer hours at a nearby hospital or nursing home. That should make you a well rounded candidate that meets all the admissions requirements of any program!</p>

9

<p>Also, I realize you have already taken Honors Chem but I think an extra year of Chem will serve you well and will set you apart from the competition. Colleges DO care about what classes you take senior year!</p>

10

<p>Between practices and games for your sports plus all the homework for those APs you have listed, you’re not getting to bed early. Plus group projects are a nightmare to schedule, just saying…
But hey, you know your pain level.</p>

11

<p>smart.cookie: Thanks for your input! In your opinion; is AP Chemistry > AP Biology? I’m pretty good at both subjects, but I like to think of myself as more of the memorizing type of learner that biology calls for opposed to the conceptual learning chemistry is so heavily based on.</p>

<p>Batllo: I see where your coming from. I think about all the time how will my schooling affect my sports and vice versa, but I feel I’m up for the challenge. If worse comes to worse I am a student-athlete and school will always come first. Anyway, I think 3 years of varsity soccer, 2 years varsity tennis, along with the clubs I’m president of are fairly decent extracuriculars.</p>

12

<p>I would say that AP Chem is harder than AP Bio but worth it if you put in the necessary study time. AP Bio will also be extremely relevant as a nursing student, so if you have to choose between the two you should select the one you feel more confident in. Keep in mind, though, that the material in the class you don’t take will appear in college, so it might be nice to have a high school foundation in a class you feel somewhat less confident in…</p>

13

<p>

My daughter had to make this decision this year (senior). She decided to take AP Chemistry because she thought she was weaker in chemistry (although an A student in both) and the extra year might be beneficial to her next year as a nursing freshman. As much time as she has spent on labs and studying for this one class, I’d say it was a wise choice.</p>

14

<p>Some nursing schools don’t require chem…I know mine doesn’t. Be aware of that. If chem isn’t required, then definitely take AP bio.</p>

15

<p>This is unrelated to admissions but my d in nursing school found anatomy to be her toughest class and that many of the others had it in highschool and that really helped them.</p>

16

<p>Absolutely take anatomy and physiclogy, that class is what got me interested in nursing. Personally, I would take AP chemistry. So much of the body is about osmosis, diffusion and electrolytes that understanding chemistry will help you understand the process. As a nurse you need to calculate dilutions and titrate medication drips. If you are strong in chemistry and the math needed, this will be one area you will be more comfortable.</p>