BA in psych w/o prereqs for med school. Can i take them in CC?

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Alwaysandforeverafter

AlwaysNForever
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Hi. So yeah. The idea never had occurred to me that there was the possibility that maybe i'd want to go to med school with a focus in psychiatry. The plan initially was to go get my MA in Clinical, work for a bit, and then go back to get my PsyD.
And then, the more i started to think about it, it dawned on me that med school may be the best route for what i want to do, which is to work psych in a hospital.
The only issue is the fact that i have absolutely none of the prereqs that are typically done premed, and i only have a semester left of my schooling before i graduate with a BA in Psych.
So, i guess my question is, would it look bad to schools if i go and get my prereqs (bio, ochem, chem, physics, etc.) at my local community college? It'd be way cheaper than going back to my university for an extra semester, but i don't want future med schools to think that i was taking the easy route and taking courses at CC. I mean, i'd have a BA from a good 4 year university, so it shows that i can do the work, and, with only a semester left, i currently have a 3.7, so it shows that i'm able to do the work and do it well.
Is CC a bad choice?

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I would get a copy of the MSAR to find out if the schools you are interested in will accept classes from community colleges. Many do, though some state it is accepted on a case by case basis. There is data from the AAMC that @DrMikeP mentioned has shown that community college students have slightly lower matriculation rates than those that just went to a 4 year university. How big (if any) an impact cc courses may have on an admission decision is not known. However, what is known is that medical schools receive hundreds of applications for each spot. It will be up to you to make a choice you can live with. For me personally, I took gen chem, bio, and calc at CC but o chem, physics, bio chem, and upper division bio at a 4 year.
 
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Some MD programs directly state that they are biased against CC courses, so going to a CC for req sciences could limit your options. Most if not all DO programs are ok with such, so as mentioned check with the med schools you'd most be interested in and see what they want. You will need to make A's and seriously rock the MCAT if you do the CC route.

I've heard a TON of people want to go into psychiatry but really have no clue what exactly it is really about in real patient care. Get a job as a psych tech in a public psych hospital and make sure psychiatry is the route you want to go!!!! I can't stress this enough, as I've seen/trained a lot of psychiatry and psychology students who were disillusioned quickly when they did their first rotation in such an environment. It isn't as a loving caring place like one would hope or imagine and you'll find patient stay is often governed by insurance vs mental health needs. Being a psych tech will also allow you to meet psychiatrists and find one that will let you shadow/give you a rec letter, even if psychiatry isn't your thing.

Psychologists work in psych hospitals as well and in some states with extra training can prescribe even, so what about psychiatry interests you that you couldn't do as a psychologist?

Having been there done that, I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Best of Luck!
 
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