What courses should I take in high school if I want to major in nursing?

College Majors Nursing Major
1

Hi! I’m a junior in high school and I was wondering what classes I should take to prepare for nursing. For science courses, I have taken multiple anatomy classes, honors biology, honors chemistry, and next year I will be taking AP biology. I’m also taking AP statistics and psychology next year.
My guidance counselor put me in honors physics next year as well, but I am not sure if I should actually take it.

Thanks!

2

Colleges do not expect you to specialize while in HS so you should take 3-4 years of Science including Chemistry/Biology/Physics (Anatomy/Physiology helpful), 4 years English, 4 years Math with Stats being helpful, 2-3 years of History and Social science (Psychology is a good elective) and 2-4 years of a Foreign Language. All these core classes will fulfill any requirements needed to get into a Nursing program.

It looks like you have a good schedule.

3

Your schedule looks good. At this point you might look at how to demonstrate interest in a nursing career through extracurriculars like HOSA if your school has it. And doing volunteer work/internships in some sort of health care setting. That will also set you up to write good admissions essays and such.

4

My D is just completing her 2nd year of SDSU nursing. She says that taking Poli Sci dual enrollment in high school got her out of more than one class at state. Also AP Stats is generally recommended for nursing.

5

Consider starting with the college prep base curriculum: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/high-school-life/2055289-faq-high-school-college-prep-base-curriculum.html

Your electives in psychology and statistics can be useful as a nursing major.

For additional electives in high school or college[1], consider:

  • a common foreign language in your area, taken to reach a decent enough level of listening and speaking proficiency – can be helpful if you encounter patients with limited English ability but know that language
  • physical education including strength training and general fitness and endurance – nurses may need strength to assist patients or move patients who cannot move themselves

[1] Nursing major programs may not have much space for free electives, but if foreign language is a general education requirement or can satisfy less-specific general education requirements, you may be able to fit in additional foreign language courses in college. Physical education in college is typically only a few hours per week, though you could obviously do more of the activity outside of that class time if you want.