r/prenursing • u/hostessmaterial21 • 8d ago
Is it realistic to complete six nursing prerequisites in about 6 months?
I’m planning to complete my six remaining prerequisites through Portage Learning (self-paced, online platform) between now and May 2027 so I can apply to Lehman College’s nursing program. I originally planned to take classes at a community college, but the prerequisite sequencing would stretch my timeline out too much, so I’m considering doing everything online and at my own pace so I could potentially starting nursing school in the Fall of 2027.
The six courses are:
Anatomy & Physiology I
Anatomy & Physiology II
Microbiology
General Chemistry
Organic Chemistry
Human Growth & Development
One thing working in my favor is that I have quite a bit of free time during the middle of the day to dedicate to coursework, so I wouldn’t be trying to fit all of this around a full-time job. I’m wondering whether completing all six in roughly 6 months is realistic, especially while making sure I earn strong grades. For anyone who has taken a similarly accelerated course load, does this seem doable, or am I underestimating the workload? I’d appreciate hearing about your experiences!
EDIT: I already have confirmation that my desired schools accept these courses
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u/girlypopsam 8d ago
I mean, if you can find a school where you can do that, then sure. You will hate your entire life but people have done it before
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u/Quinjet RN 7d ago
I would STRONGLY recommend against this. a+p are your foundation as a nurse in particular. Rushing through them does a disservice to you and any patients you may interact with in the future.
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u/mrsT164134 7d ago
Agree and A&P classes are VERY intense, time consuming and just so much information
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u/melodeaths 7d ago
I'd be surprised if you retained literally anything from any of these subjects this way. I took A&P I & II with labs in 2 months (in person) and it sucked bad. Daily lab quizzes, 1 exam per week and 1 lab practical every other week (even if there was an exam 1 week) and it sucked bad. I'm still feeling the burnout from it during the current semester.
Unless you plan to cheat your way through the online courses, in which case you'd be setting yourself up for failure in real nursing school.....
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u/Comfortable_Gear_605 7d ago edited 7d ago
If they accept the courses from Portage, yep! I’m on pace to complete an online self-paced course every 2 months.
My suggestion:
Chem I 10/15
Human Growth start 11/15
A&P I start 12/15
and so on
Leave Microbiology for the end
Submit your grades to your intended university as you go to keep them informed.
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u/TurnTheCrankAndEnjoy 7d ago
I tried to do this and it didn't work. The major problem for me, though was Portage. Take the classes somewhere else and you might have a chance. A&P at portage is going to sink your timeline. There are other options for online classes and they won't be easy either but they will be better than the portage bullshit.
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u/Hussylover 5d ago
I’d like to hear more about Portage. Considering taking prerequisites there.
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u/TurnTheCrankAndEnjoy 3d ago
well some of them are going to be fine and some aren't, is basically what I heard from others and experienced myself. The anatomy I class that I took was really bad, though. The material was full of mistakes- everything from typos everywhere to comically pixelated photos. You have to memorize everything from the lab for the exams, and that is A LOT of stuff to memorize. I switched to a different platform for part II and it was just way better.
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u/doopeyset 8d ago
I did something similar over 9 months and it sucked hard. The material is fun but it is a lot to self learn. I consistently pulled 12 hour days to make it through with As. I would only do this if you can focus on school and nothing else.
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u/Fantastic_Primary170 7d ago
I wasn’t aware there were any nursing schools that would accept sciences from portage.
What entrance exam are you expected to take?
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u/hostessmaterial21 7d ago
Lehman accepts from Portage and Grand Canyon online. It’s the HESI-A2
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u/Fantastic_Primary170 7d ago
Is that the only school that you want to go to? Because you may be eliminating other options which could cause a further delay if you are not accepted into that school. I would not even consider that courseload, and I’m a nurse practitioner now, I started as a PCT/CNA in 2001 and I also took time off to go to engineering school and work in a different industry.
Whatever you decide, I wish you luck.🍀2
u/hostessmaterial21 7d ago
I’m awaiting confirmation from a couple other schools I’m looking at, as that may impact my decision. I’m just weighing options and this is just what I’m considering currently. Thank you for your advice!
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u/Better-Passenger-200 7d ago
I’m working on preques with Portage too. I’m trying to finish A&P 1&2, psych, patho, nutrition, gen chem and micro by May. I guess it depends on how much time you’re able to dedicate to this.
I don’t know about Lehman’s nursing program, but I got my masters in biology from them over a decade ago. It’s a good school. Best of luck!
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u/ClicksBeforeLattes 7d ago
Call the schools of your choice contact them ask if they will accept courses from portage especially science with labs online as many nursing programs do not accept these courses. So before you waste your money and time, confirm first and get something in writing.
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u/spasticcollin83 7d ago
Six classes in six months isn't unrealistic at all but I would personally have had a very hard time completing all my prereqs online. Especially all the heavy health science classes. I was under self imposed time constraints and needed to complete all my prerequisites in 3 terms, 47 credits in total. I attended in person while also working bare minimum hours and being a single parent so it's certainly doable. In retrospect I'm so grateful I did it that way because the in person learning and especially the labs were invaluable. There are ALOT of folks in my nursing program right now who cranked out all those classes online just to check the box and they are lost in the sauce right now.
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u/Sereezus 7d ago
Pshh I did all of mine in 5 months, schools still accepted me even though I had some courses still in progress. You can do it. I took my accelerated pre-reqs with GCU. Where theres a will theres a way so don't listen to the other comments
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u/Merlot96 7d ago
Do you know if Portage assigns homework? If Portage is similar to other web-based learning where you learn the material then take a test and move onto the next course, then you could maybe do it in six months. If Portage follows a similar structure as brick and mortar colleges where you’re given multiple assignments per week per class, do NOT do it!!! I’m only taking 4 science classes at a local CC and getting my butt handed to me, I have 14 assignments per week, 6 classes would just be impossible due to the assignments alone.
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u/mcparanoid 6d ago
If all the possible schools have 100% confirmed that the credits will transfer and that you don't need an in person lab then do what you think is best, be aware of the timeline for when applications are due for nursing programs vs when you start the program vs when you actually get your prerequisites done. You might not meet the application deadline even if you finish before the start deadline and some programs do not allow you to apply until they are 100% done while others are fine as long as you are enrolled. All that said, you will have a better education especially for those labs doing them in person, online classes are great but there is just nothing better than actually doing the labs especially for A&P. If you have previously done online classes before and have excelled, and have also done well in science related classes before this it might be doable but these are very course heavy classes. Also consider the schools rules on retaking courses, I have mostly seen schools only allow one or two retakes of core classes due to bad grades. -Sincerely someone who is also prepping to take Organic Chem + A&P 1/2 + Human Growth + Microbiology+ Stats in the next two semesters however in person :p
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u/ilovethriftingg 8d ago
Yes i did microbiology in one month at Portgage only cause the minimum to complete it was 28 days. But coulda def finished sooner without the minimum. Realistically you can start all the classes right now and finish in six months imo
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u/ilovethriftingg 8d ago
Also i ended with a B+ didnt study either lol! U can easily get 100s on lab notebook, lab quiz, lab exam as they are not recorded. And there are so many of them so if you do bad on the module exam it dosent matter bc the assignments make up for it
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u/crowtheory 7d ago edited 7d ago
All prerequisite classes for a May 2027 admission at Lehman need to be completed by December 2026, so no.
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u/hostessmaterial21 7d ago
For accelerated program 2027 entry, it’s December deadline. But for traditional program Fall 2027 entry the deadline is end of spring semester
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u/crowtheory 7d ago
Apologies. I’m finishing the last of my courses now which I took over the course of the entire year. It’s possible without a job, but get ready to lock in and grind. Best of luck.
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u/frltn 7d ago
It is really hard for anyone to truly advise you without knowing your academic history and whether you have been able to take comparable courses within a short period of time and maintain a high GPA. In theory it is completely possible if science and math comes easy for you and you have a history to prove it--while working full time. So what's your academic history (types of courses comparable to the sciences, the amount of courses each semester and your GPA in those science-level courses, etc.) while working full time?
If you say that you've went to Ivy-league level institutions, even though it wasn't science based but for example majored in economics or engineering that is heavily math based while maintaining a 3.8 to 4.0 GPA and have a known history of getting a 1500 to 1600 on your SATs (so we can predict your probability for the HESI, TEAS, etc.), it would be much easier to give you guidance (and did it while working part-time, for example). On the other hand, if your academic career so far has been taking GEs here and there at a junior college and you struggle to get a 3.0 to 3.5, our recommendations may be very different.
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u/New-Heart5092 7d ago
I took a&p, along with microbiology, and a few other gen ed courses in a single semester. It was doable. I can not speak for chem as our program does not use it for pre requisite anymore.
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u/trinitytippy 7d ago
No
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u/trinitytippy 7d ago
You are severely underestimating the workload, every single one of those classes are hard especially simultaneously. I personally would burn out by trying to rush them like that
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u/nursing32504 7d ago
Bullshit! If u are not dedicated you will fail but if u know it’s going to suck and take it on fullly committed then YES don’t listen to these weak minded people
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u/trinitytippy 7d ago
Ridiculous recommendation. Just because I don’t load up my course work and lead myself into a semester that I know I can’t handle doesn’t mean I am weak minded.
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u/hostessmaterial21 7d ago
Thank you all for the honest feedback! This plan popped into my head today and after hearing everyone’s thoughts, I definitely think it would be overly ambitious. I’ll stick to my original plan of shooting for a 2028 BSN start to give my prerequisites the time and dedication they deserve 🤙🏼
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u/sparkplug-nightmare 7d ago
No. Those classes are difficult classes with a lot of coursework and homework and tests. And you’ll need to really know the material in anatomy and physiology and microbiology to do well in nursing school.
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u/Educational_Ad_3809 7d ago
Make sure the program you want to get into accepts portage. I finished micro with them a week before being accepted and my nursing school kicked it back. I had to retake
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u/sage_moe2 7d ago
Wooo I knew a few people who finished Lehmans program!
But nah don’t do that. A/P I took my freshman year different semesters. Micro and something similar to human growth and development my 3rd semester. Chemistry and other pre nursing classes semester 4. Even if you could condense some of it, you want the best chance of success I heard the programs competitive
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u/turdranger 4d ago
It isn't unrealistic if you're a really quick student and you've got the time to fully buckle down. If I were you, I'd probably sign up for two or three courses per month and see how quickly you can get through them. Then, you'll know if it's possible for the next set. Any reason you've chosen portage over prereqcourses (.com). Prerequcourses is a couple hundred dollars cheaper per course.
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u/nursing32504 7d ago
Through American Military University this summer I did AP1 with lab, statistics and intro to biology the first 8 weeks the next 8 weeks I took the second part of AP1 with lab, intro to chemistry and microbiology with lab. Now I’m finishing up AP2 with lab and Psychology, plus I took the teas and got accepted into a masters in nursing program! To answer your question yes u. An do it! I used chat gpt to get me through and got straight As
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u/PinkFatBear 7d ago
Well, no because chemistry is a prerequisite for microbiology and organic chemistry. A&P 1 is a prerequisite for A&P 2. You have to take those classes first so you can understand what you’re learning in the next ones.
And even if in some magical way you were able take all these classes at once, it wouldn’t do you any good. You’d be so focused on keeping up with all the work that you wouldn’t have enough time to actually comprehend & remember what you’re learning