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Pre-nursing major: How to Succeed in Your Science Classes
WHETHER or not you are good in science, almost everyone has their struggles when it comes to their core science classes.
My first semester as a pre-nursing major, I took two sciences at the same time. Yes, I know you gasped. "Two sciences?! Girl did you die?" Yes, I asked myself that same question too. Truthfully, I did not know what I was thinking at the time. My logic was, "A&P (Anatomy & Physiology) and Chemistry are two sequence classes. If I take both at the same time, I can finish them in the same year together!" It made sense... until the workload started to pile. Long story short, I finished A&P I and Chemistry I with an A-.
Here are some tips to help you succeed in your science prerequisites. FYI, remember that no matter how many tips are out there, none of them matter if you are not putting in the work. These tips are meant to make studying easier, and help you recall information better. Hard work+motivation+these tips = SUCCESS!
1. Stop trying to understand a whole chapter and try sections: One of the mistakes I made in my science classes was trying to take notes on a whole chapter. It did not help me to understand nor retain information. The textbooks in your college science classes are dense, so try to study a section of one chapter a day. For example, if an A&P chapter was about the cardiovascular system, I will just study the heart. Not the heart, blood, and vessel circulation. It is way too much information. Study in sections and studying will be easier.
2. In addition to tip #1, study a section, review the section the next day, and on the same day study a new section and repeat. This way, you are actually retaining information instead of studying and forgetting.
3. After you are done studying an entire chapter, get a blank piece of paper, and write down everything you know about that chapter. This helps you to see what you do not know, and you can go back an review sections that you may have forgotten.
4. Get in study groups *Ughh really Happiness* I passed my chemistry II class with an A because I studied with people who were getting 100s on the test. Study with people who are doing well in the class. Most times, these people may want to study with other people, and TRUST me, you will greatly benefit from learning from other people who are driven and determined to pass a class with a good grade. Two heads are better than one.
5. Do not be hard on yourself for not understanding the information. We tend to discouraged ourselves when we do not know a concept because we feel like we should know it, when in reality, that is not the right way to learn. Accept your confusion. We are not meant to know everything, and these science classes are meant to educate you, not enhance knowledge you do not have. That is what nursing school is for. Continue to expose yourself to difficult concepts every day. The more you look and skim over it, the more it starts to make sense.
-futurenursehappiness