Being “bored” and “unchallenged” are two different things.
It’s really important for you to master everything you’re learning at level 1&2 - aim for 95-100% in every course - even if you find the material boring. Think of it as a means to an end - you need to master the material, the process, the methodology, to the point they’re all automatic. Overcoming “natural boredom” will give you internal skills you’ll harness when you get to Organic chemistry.
Right now, your priority should be to get an A in calculus. Go to office hours by the end of the week and find a tutor, also by the end of the week.
Oh yes, thanks for clarifying that. I meant if a student has a D or F then it’s going to impact their free Pell grant eligilibility.
I have spoken to the Finiilai Aid department, they told me if a student fails a course one time they can retake it one only and if they fail again they have to pay out of pocket and the Pell grant will be effected. So far my Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is in good condition.
I should be more specific. After 15 hours of staying up, tires out a person easily.
[bI agree that you really need to speak immediately to an academic counselor.[/b]
It sounds like you don’t understand a lot of the workings of transitioning from a community college to an actual university.
University coursework will be even tougher. The courses will go much more rapidly.
The level of work and reading will increase significantly.
To be in the healthcare field you have to have a strong grasp of English skills and written language.
In the healthcare field you are constantly writing and documenting in patient charts.
You also need to have strong skills in math.
You also need to have strong or perfect grades for further education.
It takes a lot of work to be considered for medical school.
-perfect grades at a 4yr university,
-perfect MCAT scores,
-lots of money,
-perfect clinical experiences
Even then, many thousands of students do not get accepted to med school.
(I know from personal experience, with my daughter, how hard it is to get into a medical school.)
You will need about $300,000.
Most of med students use parent funding and loans, if they can qualify for those loans, to finance their med schools.
Medical Students are in debt for a very long time (think about ~20 years of debt).
They don’t start to make money right away so it really isn’t a money thing if you were looking for a career that would make you immediately wealthy.
If you currently have a PELL Grant that means it would be really hard for you to come up with the money to pay for med school.
I was confused about the CC and University transfer. Since I’m going to be very new to this whole university lifestyle, It’s better to ask questions now or else end up dropping out. My friend signed up for a university without even asking questions and now she regretted had to drop out and go back to talk to her CC advisor.
I should have added more details to this thread. AS and after completion of a BS degree. Not just AGS and AS.
Please tell your friend she’s not alone. Nationally, College Algebra is THE #1 reason why students have to drop out of CC, to the point some CC’s have been reviewing their math policy.
College Algebra is necessary for you to take Calculus. However it’s not necessary for Introductory or Basic statistics, which is a much more important class to take.
Not all colleges require College Algebra, BTW. I did fine with an “Art&Geometry” seminar and a basic statistics class that allowed us to talk about gerrymandering, polls, consumer studies, etc.
So, your friend could get back to college with a 2-step path:
Step1, review math on Khan Academy, starting with Intermediate Algebra. It’s at home, at her own pace, free, so even if it brings up bad memories, she should be able to keep track and master it, and you may want to help her keep going because it’ll likely be hard getting back into it.
Step2, look for a CC with alternatives to College Algebra* OR an innovative path for “math allergic” students. Then go back and slay that class Or, well, get a C.
Here’s a list of math classes students can take at a Chicago CC Mathematics (MATH) < City Colleges of Chicago
Placement seems to be tied to a SAT score or an ALEKS score: your friend just needs to get her SAT score to go up or improve her ALEKS score, and she can take a higher class. Or, if she doesn’t need that class, there are lots of others she can take: if she scored 61 on ALEKS or 560 on the SAT, she CAN take Calculus for Business, but she doesn’t HAVE TO, she can take any class with a lower level.
For you, though, there’s no choice. For the path you have chosen, you must get A’s in all your science and math classes.
Perhaps look into being a PA or a RN (with an eye toward NP): for that, too, you’ll need A’s, but you’ll have a rewarding job, you’ll make a lot of money, and you’ll make it much faster than as a doctor.
No, that won’t help. If you want to do medical school, then you’re wasting your money on an associates degree that won’t transfer. Some classes will, but most won’t. You don’t want to spend 6 years getting a 4 year bachelors degree.
Most community colleges have a transfer advisor. This person’s job is to help community college students understand their transfer options, and also potential schools and majors.
I very strongly suggest you set up a time to speak with the transfer advisor at your community college. That person should be a good resource for you.
What you aren’t absorbing is that more courses which don’t transfer to a four year university do NOT help you for your BA, and do NOT help you for med school. They are just courses which take time, money, and your energy. I know several students who discovered that many of the courses they thought would “help” them for the BA did not- a class they took at the CC called “Introductory Statistics” did not cover the same material as the university Intro stats course, or was a course designed for Ed majors but did not get them credit as a nursing student.
So that’s why I suggested initially- meet with the advisor. Your plans don’t seem to be on track to “save” you some time. And retaking courses once you get to a university for sure is going to be aggravating and expensive.
How do you see yourself earning a living a few years from now? Do you want to work in healthcare? Community college does not lead to med school or PA school, and it only leads to nursing school if you are doing specific prerequisites to apply to nursing school. If not, what other work would you like to do, and would a BA in Physics (if you can get one) prepare you for that? What would you do with a BA in Physics? What job would it qualify you for?
People who have the ability to get a BA in Physics have, as a given, very high math ability. They usually have finished two full years of Calculus before they enter college, with very high grades.
So far, you have taken what are considered to be remedial math classes at a community college. You’re now taking Calc 1, and getting a B in it. You need to think realistically. The fact is that you probably could get into nursing school at a community college, maybe at a four year state college. An RN or BSN can earn a good living, and there are other things that you can move onto - it’s not a dead end degree, like an LPN is. You also could get into many other ancillary medical fields. X-ray tech, radiation therapist all require some understanding of physics. Respiratory therapy requires some understanding of math, ratios, etc. These are fields that would allow you to make a decent living pretty quickly.
If you want to get an AS in Physics because this is what you love, sure, go ahead. But it does not move you forward toward any career in healthcare, or any career that I know of. If you’re finding community college Calc 1 to be a challenge, you would have difficulty getting a BA in Physics.
If you do decide to go down the nursing path, you may want to consider the associates degree and RN in nursing at the community college first. Then you could work is nursing as needed, and/or go to a 4-year school for an RN-to-BSN program (which may be less competitive than a regular BSN program).
Of course, nursing is a different path from physician (MD or DO), so you should only go down the nursing path if you want to go into nursing rather than physician.
Calc 1 is very easy once you get used to the concepts. So far I got moved up to an A now due to my 100% in homework. I like to spend time on the course and understand why this number comes up and how this problem got built. But working is not an option.
I remember I asked my advisor; is it possible to work and take 6 classes per semester at my CC, he told me you’ll burn out from work and heavy coursework. being a part-time student maybe yes. I chose not to work during my CC because maintaining 6 classes was a full-time job alone.
The only thing that is remedial is math 018 and English 097 that won’t get accepted for a BS degree. I have played around with Transferology it’s this site that’s connected to my student portal and some college will accept intro to stat and some do not. It requires additional coursework.
I still have time to choose what BS degree I want to pursue, med school was just a thought and wanted to get an idea of it.
I disagree with your statement most physics majors had 2 years of calculus in HS. Very few do overall (not on College Confidential but in real HS) and even fewer who start at Community college. Yet you can get to a BS or BA in physics from a community college.
OP, with health issues and a GED, likely first gen, has managed to get into a calculus class and is doing well (when most communitycollege students, nationally, struggle in algebra). It’s a big deal.
However, we don’t know why Op is getting a B: may s/he think it’s sufficient? Doesnt think it’s sufficient but has never dared attend office hours to ask questions? Regularly attendd office hours and is doing his/her best effort for that B? Is s/he struggling to get a B or just never realized the goal had to be an A?
That being said, Physics is indeed very mathy.
So, whether for a Physics major or a premed intention in college, this one class is THE test: getting an A in it is essential.
Thanks once we got deep into Calc 1 that’s where the physics started to hit the course, most student’s dropped from the course like 3 cause it’s very hard for them. I told them Khan Academy is very good, I watched lot’s of Calc videos before even joining the Calc 1 course or else I would be doomed. Always have preparation ready in case.
Oh yeah for the GED math, I have taken it and most of it is mixed with Pre-Calc questions.
Most problems need to be built and once you build the problem, you’ll have problem 1 and problem 2 that needs to be solved separately and then equate the numbers again and then solve to get the answer it’s very long arithmetic. They changed the test to a new version years ago.
Health issues well I just get sick a lot from the cold or flu, if someone is sick, I have to stay away from them, it takes me months to feel better. I don’t want people to frown on me cause I get sick a lot or be judged
My friend went straight to a CC finished her general studies degree and got a AS in dental hygiene after that went to major in BS in Biology.
She has two associates and 1 BS degree. Stopped there. She works as a RDH now.
Those gens and ed’s transferred to a AS easily after that she told me she took a few classes being part time student since most courses transferred easily. Mostly biology courses and just did some additional course work. I wanted to ask a new question but I’ll keep it here
I have spoken to many dentists and they told me sometimes it’s not worth it med and pre dentistry since. Dentists are going to be the new pharmacy tech, where they will get paid low in the future and best to move somewhere higher.
Your friend got an AS in dental hygiene and became a registered dental hygienist. I think that in many, if not all, states, this is moving to a 4 year degree, but it’s still a good return on investment, if you think you’d like to become a dental hygienist.
Dental school admission requires the same high achievement in the same prerequisite classes as for med school and PA school. It’s also very competitive to get into, plus you need to do well on the DAT entry test, which measures, in addition to mastery of the premed curriculum, visual-spatial aptitude, which is really tough to acquire, if you don’t have it naturally. An AS is not a route to pre-dentistry, pre-med, or pre-PA. However, dentists will continue to do well financially, since they have successfully fought encroachment upon the role of the dentist by dental hygienists and assistants, and have drastically cut dental school class sizes, in response to the implementation of fluoridated public water supplies, which has drastically diminished tooth decay in those born in the US.
I think what’s more important is that you see that your friend got a certification that allows her to make a living. Go speak with a counselor at the community college you attend, and find out what your options are, either for a certification or AS that will allow you to work in healthcare, or to transfer to a 4 year program that will allow you to work in healthcare, or for a route to an AS that transfers directly to a 4 year state college for the degree that you want.
I have spoken to her she told me an AS and BS in dental hygiene is the same. It just plays a small scenario. A student would get hired quickly if they had a BS in RDH then an AS that’s the only difference. ‘More Job Opportunity. A four-year degree in dental hygiene will provide more opportunity than an associate’s degree.’
