A+ in A and P 1 with Lab , Is it possible?

[2L8]

I took Human A&P1 and 2 in 2010.  From what I remember, I made a 94 average in 1 and 97 average in 2.  My advisor at the time told me it was going to be a very difficult course due to the amount of material and complexity.  I absolutely had to get an A in order to get into the nursing program...so I was somewhat motivated.  He highly recommended taking the courses alone.  And that's exactly what I did.  

I always studied ahead of my instructor by 1 lesson.  In other words, what ever he was teaching for the day, I had already studied the lesson the day before.  One hour before the class started, I studied the same lesson again.  I kept doing this until exam time.  I was very diligent in my study patterns.  I didn't go to the next lesson until I absolutely understood what I was trying to learn.  Repetition in studying the same lesson/material for 3 or more days in a row is key....this is true for any subject, but especially biology.  Things began to make better sense by day 3 of studying the same material.  

I generally studied 3 hours a day for 7 seven days a week.  When I studied, I studied in 30-45 minute increments...no more than this.  Then I would do something else...like watch t.v. or yard work.  Then I would study again.  

You need to be able to VISUALIZE many of the processes and functions of the body...don't just memorize them...this is key.  You need to be able to speak out these processes as well.   Many times I would recite everything that I learned to my wife.  I stayed away from study groups...they were more of a slow distraction.      

Find an instructor who you can understand 100 percent and has a great attitude.  I had to drop microbiology on day 1  because my instructor was a foreigner ( I could only understand 25 percent of what he was saying ), and he wasn't very friendly at all.  

I camped out in the lab all the time.  In human A&P 1, it was all about memorizing bones and locations on bones.  In 2, it was about muscles and internal organs.  I stayed in the lab for about 1 hour per day, 4 days per week.  It always amazed me how empty the lab was for the entire semester until just before the lab exams.  There was no way they could learn that much stuff in just a few days.  My instructor at the time was always preaching to make sure we studied in the lab in our off-time away from class.  Average grade for the first lab exam was in the 30s...I made an A+.  My instructor gave everybody who failed a 70...I shook my head.

There is one part of the course that I simply couldn't grasp very well...it was the bicarbonate formula.  I just memorized it the best I could.  I really stink at chemistry for whatever reason...it's just a boring class for me.  I wish I was interested in it, but I just can't seem to want to learn it.      

I really hope you do well in the course.  It is possible to get an A+...I'm walking proof...and I'm not a genius by no means...just make sure you study a lot and understand the material very clearly.  You can do this....Good luck!

  This is giving me motivation . But asking for quick advice due to registration coming up do you think 2 classes is enough for the semester?