How Hard Were the Prerequisites For You?

[Willie Pep]

Well, dropped the bomb to my family last night that I want to try to go to PT school next year, and that I'll start taking classes at the local CC this summer to get the prerequisites out of the way. My only question is how hard were the prereqs for you guys? Which class did you find hardest in particular? I'm starting out with Anatomy and Physiology.

I'm slightly nervous because I'm gonna feel very dumb for telling my family I want to do this if I can't even get through the prerequisites.

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[wrennywren]

Well, dropped the bomb to my family last night that I want to try to go to PT school next year, and that I'll start taking classes at the local CC this summer to get the prerequisites out of the way. My only question is how hard were the prereqs for you guys? Which class did you find hardest in particular? I'm starting out with Anatomy and Physiology.

I'm slightly nervous because I'm gonna feel very dumb for telling my family I want to do this if I can't even get through the prerequisites.

Anatomy and phys are the hardest for sure (for me anyway). I had horrid grades in undergrad so I was unsure about going back to school. I ended up getting a 3.91 on my pre reqs. You can do it!

 

[vapt]

^^^ Haha- goes to show how different everyone's brains are. My A&P classes are my favorite/easiest compared to physics and chemistry for me. My A&P profs expect(ed) a lot out of you, but it's something that makes sense to me since I've always been so bad at math. Chem and physics for me are a nightmare (currently studying for last physics exam to be taken in 3 hrs...yikes). Just figure out what your weaknesses are before signing up so that you can know where you'll need to spend the most time. I did chem in the summer so I could focus on it and see a tutor. Don't be swayed- I changed my plans from pt and thought long and hard for a year. One night I decided I was going for it, and now I'm gearing up for DPT class of 2013! Good luck- I'm sure you'll do just fine.

 

[wrennywren]

^^^ Haha- goes to show how different everyone's brains are. My A&P classes are my favorite/easiest compared to physics and chemistry for me. My A&P profs expect(ed) a lot out of you, but it's something that makes sense to me since I've always been so bad at math. Chem and physics for me are a nightmare (currently studying for last physics exam to be taken in 3 hrs...yikes). Just figure out what your weaknesses are before signing up so that you can know where you'll need to spend the most time. I did chem in the summer so I could focus on it and see a tutor. Don't be swayed- I changed my plans from pt and thought long and hard for a year. One night I decided I was going for it, and now I'm gearing up for DPT class of 2013! Good luck- I'm sure you'll do just fine.

A&P were my favorite pre reqs by far. I loved em. But they were the most challenging for sure. Chem and physics were absolute cake for me, I didn't work at all in those classes. The teacher didn't demand much and the tests were easy.

 

[vapt]

A&P were my favorite pre reqs by far. I loved em. But they were the most challenging for sure. Chem and physics were absolute cake for me, I didn't work at all in those classes. The teacher didn't demand much and the tests were easy.

Hence the power of sites like "Rate my Professor" in the pre-req process. Wish I had your teachers Back to studying...

 

[johncronejr]

The hardest for me were Physiological Chem 2 & Structure/Function 2. Chem just because it was a ton of information and S&F because I have a professor who said that he doesn't design his tests after his notes or his lectures, so his tests are rather difficult. But, I have a 4.0 gpa for prereqs thus far. I am taking Physics 1 & 2 this summer so we will see how the 4.0 gpa holds up LOL......All in all, they haven't been terribly hard.

 

[honker23]

My words of advice.....for what it's worth...
If you don't like anatomy (not saying you don't!) you may want to reconsider PT. That is our backbone and you will use it every day for the rest of your life. So I also recommend learning it for yourself, not just to make a grade. Good Luck!

 

[MJHUSKERS]

Gen. Chem, especially Gen Chem II was by far the worst for me; it was the only bad grade I earned in college career thus far. Although, I took it as a stupid freshman when I thought my major was baseball and I would be playing in the MLB within a few years. I loved A&P and would read my text for fun! I also loved physics and all the biomechanics/exercise science courses I took and thus got A's in all of them.

The pre-reqs aren't bad as long as you decide you want to do well. It's really that simple...just DECIDE. You can beat out anyone that's smarter than you if you're willing to dedicate and outwork them. I've proven this time and time again and I will continue to prove this through PT school. I can sleep in 2013. Unfortunately, all the hard work in the world didn't get me drafted in the MLB, but maybe I'll work as a PT in the MLB.

Keep GRINDIN' SON

 

[Willie Pep]

Right on, thanks guys. I'm glad I'm taking anatomy and physiology first now since it will be a good indication of whether or not I'll like PT. I don't know if I'll get straight As, but I'll definitely leave no doubt that I did my best.

 

[milo07]

I absolutely loved A&P, but chem and phys are the most challenging by far. I was never great at math and have no interest in chem or phys at all. It just means I have to work harder in those and remember what I am working towards...acceptance into a PT program!

Hopefully my A's in A&P, psych and other courses will balance my not so great grades for chem and phys.

 

[Willie Pep]

were some of you guys not even taking biology or what? or was that just not nearly as hard as chem and physics?

 

[vapt]

were some of you guys not even taking biology or what? or was that just not nearly as hard as chem and physics?

Honestly bio is a cakewalk compared to those, but it just depends on how you are at math. Don't get too worked up about pre-req's, you'll do fine. And I think that you're making the right decision to do A&P first to feel out your education plan.

 

[DHJunkie]

A&P aren't easy, but there's no reason you can't do well in them if you spend the time studying/memorizing. For me, I found the PT prerequisites a lot more interesting than all the biochem and genetics courses I had to take for my major. For me, I've always been good at chem and physics, so they weren't a big issue......however, I had friends, who wound up in med school, that struggled to get through them big time. Just put in a valiant effort, and you should be just fine.

 

[yevgeny]

physics by far was the worst. I wasn't necessarily bad at it, but I just found it to be incredibly difficult to comprehend, and tons of studying and solving homework problems. Just a miserable experience for me.I guess it depends on where you take it and with what professor. my advice is take a class like that during the summer break so you can get it over with first. IMO, physics is the most grueling of all the sciences, but chemistry isnt too far behind

 

[DancerFutureDPT]

bio is usually a prereq for A&P, so if you get through A&P bio should be cake.

I loved A&P, but I worked my butt off. I probably could have gotten a decent grade by doing less work, but I knew I'd need to know it anyway in the future, so I devoted a lot of extra time to really learning the material so I would know it, not just be able to spit it off on a test and then forget it.

Physics I and Chem I were easy. Chem II was hard conceptually, but I got an A because my prof was cool. I got a 52% on the midterm. hahah. The labs saved me, and quiz corrections.

Physics II is tearing me a new one right now. I hate it. I really don't see the connection to PT. It's interesting, I guess, when you learn about relativity and some of the mind-blowing stuff, but electrical circuits and magnetic forces did nothing for me. Lots of equations and math in that class.

All the psych courses were super easy, but it was my minor so maybe that's why.

If you're starting from scratch, my suggestion is this: try to take Physics I/II, Chem I/II, etc., in order....I took physics I in spring of 2009 and am taking physics II currently....having 2 semesters off (summer and fall) between the sequence may have hurt me a little. If you can take them sequentially I'd recommend it....especially in physics and A&P when a lot of things build off of what you learned before. Chem didn't seem to have as much carry over between the two, and I took two totally random bio classes for that requirement (intro and micro), so the order of those didn't matter.

Good luck!

 

[Bricktop]

depending on who you get for a professor for A&P I and II this course can not be so bad or on the other hand be very stressful but in general it requires alot, alot of studying! The exams are very detailed and in depth so make sure you don't fool around and research your prof before you select them! ... But by far, General Chem is a pain in the ass.

 

[MJHUSKERS]

Thank God General Chem has nothing to do with PT school.

 

[Willie Pep]

what is it about chem that you guys found particularly bad?

 

[vapt]

what is it about chem that you guys found particularly bad?

Lots of activity on the board tonight. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one that has a hard time wrapping my brain around chem. I think that phyics makes more sense to a lot of us b/c it involves motion, torque, etc. especially in terms of observation...unlike chem which involves particles and atoms, and a whole lot of things that I don't get (b/c you can't even witness it...redox reactions..grrrrrrrrrr!!!!). I'm done. Just a hurdle right?..

 

[Willie Pep]

all right, last question. did any of you guys take a lecture one semester, and then the lab for it the following semester? I'm having seriously infuriating scheduling issues at my community college because there are several lecture classes that still have openings, but the labs for them are all full. The prospect of not being able to start banging these prereqs out this summer is so frustrating.

 

[kcgregor]

If you can, I highly recommend taking physics, chemistry, and biology before taking physiology since it incorporates a little bit of each. Physics was definitely the worst prereq but you suprisingly use more of it than you realize when you take the class. Also taking anatomy and physiology at the same time is a great idea because they have similar material.

 

[Willie Pep]

all right, last question. did any of you guys take a lecture one semester, and then the lab for it the following semester? I'm having seriously infuriating scheduling issues at my community college because there are several lecture classes that still have openings, but the labs for them are all full. The prospect of not being able to start banging these prereqs out this summer is so frustrating.

anyone?

 

[vapt]

anyone?

I'd give you info if I could, but only the 4 year schools here break up labs and class. All of my pre-req's I've done at CC, and they all combine lecture and lab for a total of 4 credits. Not sure if it's better or not..My A&P class this semester gets counted like that, yet we've only handed in 4 lab reports, and no in-class labs whatsoever (may be due to it being the only CC that I've heard of that has a concurrent cadaver dissection lab b/c of them offering a funeral services AS). Some here may disagree with me, but I wouldn't worry about doing them seperately. Get done with what you can when you can, and make sure to save your notes for later usage.

 

[Bricktop]

To answer your question, Lab and Lectures A&P are combined into 1 course section- its 4 credits for both lecture and lab with one Total grade however, Chem is two seperate course codes with two seperate grades. 1 grade for the lecture portion and 1 grade for the lab portion. When you register for the course, your going to have to register seperately for both the lab and lecture. I highly reccomended you be careful on what classes u select during the semester when your taking chem because its alot, alot of work!!.. and the chem labs can be long and tedious. Good luck... oh and yea, what makes "General" chem hard for some people is becuase many people have not took chem before and this particular course jumps right to the gun and you have to be familiar with soo many formulas for just one exam.