Community College to get basics out of the way?

[LHS Student]

I might want to be a doctor but I am only a Sophomore in High school so I'm just looking at my options. I take AP classes and am a High B, or A average student. My family has no money to pay for my college, and my brother went to college a couple years ago and applied for FASFA and grants and got little to no money. Two years in to college he couldn't afford to pay for his classes and is temp. out of school. I'm trying to get a big Scholarship to go to college but the chances of that are slim to be realistic. So my real question is with my situation, I have talked to my brother and other adults and they say to go to community college for the first two years and work to save up money and just get my basics out of the way such as math,eng,his, etc and then transfer to a major university. I dont have much of a choice inless I get a Scholarship to go to a major university all 4 years(which i will still try). I don't want to go to a major university then have to put it on pause because of money. Will this affect me getting into med school and such? And is there any advice to give me with my situation.

Thanks for your input!
Andrew

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[PsxDcSquall]

There is nothing wrong with going to a community college just try and take only the basics and as few of the med school pre reqs there. If it financially makes the most sense then do it.

Remember there are always loans you can take out if you need to. I know going into debt is not the nicest thought but if you go to med school you are going to have to take out big loans anyway. But yeah don't let something as stupid as money stop you from going to college/medical school.

Also are there any universities near you? I live about 30 minutes from the school I ended up going to so I ended up commuting for 2 years then getting a house off campus with some friends my last 2 years. It saved me a lot of money and I still got to go to a 4 year university for all 4 years.

 

[slight365]

Try to find a CC that is near and aligned with a university in the area. They will often share staff and have a solid transfer chart so one can prove equivalents. No shame in going to CC's and no shame in not having the financial means.

I will also tell you that a graduate with a 2 year degree will have significant advantages, in terms of recruitment and various scholarships, and research programs (especially as under-represented minorities) into a 4 year to finish out.

 

[seelee]

This is not necessarily directed to the OP but CCs can also be a good "start over" point. I dicked around in HS and after taking a few years off, went to a CC and got A's in all my classes. Got a full ride to a major university, graduated cum laude there, and now I am an M1 in medical school.

I did take all of my gen ed classes as well as the majority of my pre reqs at the CC. Although, I was a chem major and I performed well in my upper level science courses at the university so i was able to demonstrate to the medical schools that I could handle the tougher courses.

 

[Vicviper]

Yeah, there's nothing really wrong with going to a CC, it worked for me, and it's really a financially viable option. In California it's only 20 bucks a unit.

I took more or less all of my pre-reqs at my CC before I transferred, and as long as you can prove yourself in upper division classes, and do decently on your MCAT/DAT/PCAT etc, you'll do just fine.

Good luck!

 

[ILikeDrugs]

I went to cc and uni and I can honestly say English 100 at a uni is the exact same thing as a cc. 100 classes can only get oh so "complicated". Save yourself some money if you really want to .

 

[FutureCTDoc]

If you are going to go and do your pre-reqs at a CC you should follow up on them at a university. I.e. Bio 101 and 102 at CC, 200 or 300 level bio at a university. Honestly a 3.5 at a CC is not equal to a 3.5 at a university and if forced to choose a medical school would prefer someone who spent 4 years at a university. If you're a good student apply to state universities and to colleges that are "beneath you" if you are above all the medians think having a 4.0, 1400 and applying to a school with a 3.0, 1100. I'm in a dual admit BS/DO where I was above medians, I have a 3/4 scholarship. Find somewhere where you'll be a top pick student and go for it. Alternatively, go and just take out the loans, if you want an MD/DO you'll need to.

 

[LHS Student]

Thank you everyone for your input!