Taking a course without pre-reqs?? WHY!!!!!!

[abraxas20]

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Why are half my students taking my class without its pre-req? And why are they incredulous that they are behind??? I wanna hit something!!!!

I teach linguistics. No one would take second semester Chemistry without first semester (or some kind of previous chemistry class) and expect not to play catch up. Why is it ok to assume that you can do that in a non-science class. Their advisors told them to!!!

Why, oh why, would you do this??

 

[CanuckRazorback]

Why are half my students taking my class without its pre-req? And why are they incredulous that they are behind??? I wanna hit something!!!!

I teach linguistics. No one would take second semester Chemistry without first semester (or some kind of previous chemistry class) and expect not to play catch up. Why is it ok to assume that you can do that in a non-science class. Their advisors told them to!!!

Why, oh why, would you do this??

I can't believe they are able to register for a class with missing pre-reqs. We need an overwrite by the faculty member to register for a class in this type of situation.

 

[AthensBeth]

It was easy for me to do. I took my premed classes post-undergrad as a "non-degree-seeking student," so I didn't even have an advisor. I just registered for anything I wanted. I ended up taking Gen. Chemistry II (a prereq for Organic), Organic Chem I (a prereq for Biochemistry), and Biochemistry in one semester. Hardest semester of my life, but I made it!

 

[abraxas20]

Athens -

yeah, but didn't you expect that you might be behind on some things?

 

[NiteOwl]

I took general chemistry 1 without the prereq. You are supposed to have pre-cal algebra for it but an advisor (from the science dep) told me that it really wasnt needed. That was last semester and I was only in College Algebra which is before precal algebra. He asked how I was doing in that class and I had an A. He said that if I felt I was doing well in that class and as long as I knew how to do a basic equations, then I would probably have no problems in that chemistry class. He was right. I am taking the chemistry class now along with precalculus. The types of math used in precal is completely different than what is used in chemistry. Chemistry involves stuff like finding specific heat, specific gravity, density, etc... Pretty basic math like multipy, divide, add, subtract. The stupid precal class on the other hand is a lot harder and the stuff I learn in there doesnt have much to do with chemistry!

 

[AthensBeth]

Of course I excpected that. I just studied the background for each subject on my own, concurrently with class topics. I made As in all three. The people in your class are silly not to expet a challenge.

 

[abraxas20]

Thanks - I needed to know I wasn't crazy. I think they are catching on, if only by force.

Makes me neurotic though. 😱

 

[DianaLynne]

I've been taking most of my biology classes without ever having taken general biology. There were certainly some moments of panic like, "What's an N-terminus? What's a C-terminus?" But with some patience and willingness to read, I was able to catch up.

Of course, this is from a cocky student perspective. For the OP, I can see why it would be such a challenge for you and how it could be frustrating backing up and presenting material they should have had before. Maybe save those questions for office hours...

 

[rcd]

i'm not sure anyone really takes 101 pre-reqs too seriously.

 

[abraxas20]

i'm not sure anyone really takes 101 pre-reqs too seriously.

I agree with that. and sometimes it is too bad. some of my students are simply going to struggle with material that isn't too terribly hard because they have to learn it at the same time as the material for my class. I hate that their advisors are telling them to take the class before its pre-req. But I hate even more that they are listening....

S

 

[Sunflower189]

Some classes here have optional review sessions at the beginning of the semester. This happens a lot with interdepartmental classes, where they bring each major aside and teach them what they should know about the other ones, or classes that require some long-forgotten specialized math.

Too late for this semester, probably - but if you do this again, it might make it easier for the prereq-averse, and for the poor prereqful chumps who don't want to take the same class again under a different name.

(but prereqs are for pansies. fight the man.)

 

[anothertbmember]

Personally, having gone to a large state school, it wasn't worth my time to try to bend the rules and get around the pre-reqs. I would have had to see an advisor (which I did once in all of undergrad, to change from a math major to a microbiology major) and do God knows what sort of garbage to get them to see that I was a brilliant man. The computer system does not allow you to register for anything you don't have the prereq's. Besides, I didn't need to. Why would I want to rush school? Why would I want to rush to med school only halfway understanding basic concepts? Seems silly to me. They have the pre-reqs because it makes sense to learn the simple stuff before the complex stuff. What a concept! But to each his own. Gun away.

edit: yes, yes, I know I'm wasting my time in the pre-req courses, but am I really, I would have to learn the stuff anyway

 

[tigress]

At my undergrad this was a huge problem. People would be taking advanced level biology classes without the pre-reqs, so the profs would have to do very basic review in every class, and it cut time out of learning the important stuff for those of us who actually took the pre-reqs. But if they profs decided not to do the review, all the women in the class who didn't take the pre-reqs would start whining and whining about how unfair it all was. I went to a very whiny school where most of the students thought everything should revolve around them, and that they should get an A just for being in the class. It really sucked for those of us who were serious students and wanted to learn.

don't get me wrong, in lots of ways it was a great school...but the pre-req thing was a huge problem and it wasn't resolved while I was there. For some reason they couldn't get the computer to keep people from registering or something. I think it was mostly because if they did there would be such an uproar among the students. In the end, my education suffered because of it.

 

[mdsadler]

I skipped over a pre-intro Immunology course required for intro Immunology because otherwise I would be held back a year and would not qualify for an honors degree. It all came down to timetabling and courses being offered at limited times. However, I did horribly in the intro course but must admit that some of this was my own fault.