Prereqs at Community College

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Hi all. I already have a Bachelor's Degree from 2010, but I need to take many of the prereqs that are required for Dental Program admission. I was wondering if you can take these science prereqs at a community college because that is about all I can afford at this time and I want to pay for them out of pocket.

Originally Posted by ginaw623

Hi all. I already have a Bachelor's Degree from 2010, but I need to take many of the prereqs that are required for Dental Program admission. I was wondering if you can take these science prereqs at a community college because that is about all I can afford at this time and I want to pay for them out of pocket.

Depends on the school. If you do a search here on the forums or visiting the school sites you can find which schools will/will not accept pre-reqs from a community college.

But yes, there are schools that will not accept any pre-reqs completed at a community college.

Here for example is the pre-reqs for BU dental school:

"Up to 30 credits of community college work will be accepted, but community college coursework may not be applied to science prerequisites (biology, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, physics). Science prerequisite courses must be completed at a four-year U.S./Canadian college or university. If you have community college science credits, you should take upper-level courses in the relevant field of study at a four-year institution to earn sufficient prerequisite credits in the topic. It is not necessary to re-take the basic course at a four-year institution if you have advanced coursework in the topic from a four-year institution"

Why do people always think it's OK to take prereqs at community college?! Go to a legit univ and get some solid grades. Hell, a 3.4 average at a university is better than a 4.0 at a community college. I am dead serious.

Originally Posted by tothepark

Depends on the school. If you do a search here on the forums or visiting the school sites you can find which schools will/will not accept pre-reqs from a community college.

But yes, there are schools that will not accept any pre-reqs completed at a community college.

Here for example is the pre-reqs for BU dental school:

"Up to 30 credits of community college work will be accepted, but community college coursework may not be applied to science prerequisites (biology, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, physics). Science prerequisite courses must be completed at a four-year U.S./Canadian college or university. If you have community college science credits, you should take upper-level courses in the relevant field of study at a four-year institution to earn sufficient prerequisite credits in the topic. It is not necessary to re-take the basic course at a four-year institution if you have advanced coursework in the topic from a four-year institution"

+1

Originally Posted by KittySquared

Why do people always think it's OK to take prereqs at community college?! Go to a legit univ and get some solid grades. Hell, a 3.4 average at a university is better than a 4.0 at a community college. I am dead serious.

You cannot be serious right now...

Originally Posted by KittySquared

Why do people always think it's OK to take prereqs at community college?! Go to a legit univ and get some solid grades. Hell, a 3.4 average at a university is better than a 4.0 at a community college. I am dead serious.

lol, even though I agree.. I am sure there are other factors for people attending community colleges. Such as cost of credits, proximity to school, availability of classes for part-time students/night classes, etc.

Originally Posted by KittySquared

Why do people always think it's OK to take prereqs at community college?! Go to a legit univ and get some solid grades. Hell, a 3.4 average at a university is better than a 4.0 at a community college. I am dead serious.

There is no problem with taking some courses at a CC, then transferring out to a University. In fact this is what I did before I transferred out. I wouldn't take the pre-reqs at a CC though as most adcoms will look at it like you took the easy way out.
Good luck OP!

Don't do it

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Haha I already do have a degree (from Ohio State University to be exact) with a 3.4 cum. My reasoning for taking courses at a community college is I have a few outstanding prereqs and I obviously do not have the money to shell out to take them at a 4-year institution...(hence me going back to school). But thanks anyway kittysquared for the completely unhelpful and smug comment .

I HIGHLY recommend you take pre-reqs at a 4 year university. Not only does adcom look down on cc courses, but they will not prepare you as well as a university for the DAT and dental school. I know with the economy, money is a big factor for everyone. You don't want to work so hard only to get rejected because someone with the same stats took courses at a uni.

You need to decide for yourself. If your GPA is fine and you think you will do fine on the DAT then take the chance and save money by going to cc. I recommend going to your state uni. Dental school is an investment. Debt follows everyone. It's ideal to be debt free for undergrad, but that doesn't work for everyone.

Sarcasm or intended rudeness? I'm not sure. Kittysquared is not wrong.

Obviously the OP has not been on this board long enough to be familiar with my sarcasm, but I stand by my point. Going to CC is like going down a gradient. You don't have to believe me if you don't want to, but I've had a similar conversation with an admissions officer at a dental school near by. He didn't recommend taking CC classes at all. He said it doesn't do anything to your app at all. Yes, it's something, but it's not at all meaningful, as CC classes tend to be VERY easy. Shelling out the loans for solid grades at a university is worth the money if it gives you that much boost.

But do what you want, if the honesty is too ****ty to deal with. Most threads like this are started by people who only want confirmation on what they ultimately are going to do any way. G'luck

You would be better off taking the classes at a 4 year school, but there are lots of people on SDN that have been accepted to dental schools having taken the prereqs at a CC. I think if you get solid grades, get 20s on the DAT, and have a decent amount of EC, you should be able to get some interviews. Granted, there are schools that either don't accept CC credits, or have limits on the # of hours, but there is an easy way around this: don't apply to those schools.

Go to a 4 year university if you can. I don't think it looks good to go back to CC once you have enrolled at a university.

On the other hand, I believe it is ok if you start at CC then continue to take upper level science courses at the university and maintain a good GPA.

good luck!

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=527335