Help: Finished with BA, wanting to take pre-med pre-reqs at a Community College

[guamgurl]

Hello!

I completed my Bachelor's in Business from a regionally accredited 4-year school, the University of Guam, with a 3.5 GPA for a BA in Business Administration.

I am now here in Connecticut and would like to take my pre-requisites for medical school (physics, organic chemistry, calculus, general chemistry - all lower level courses) at Three Rivers Community College because they offer an AA called Biomolecular Science option (see http://www.trcc.commnet.edu/div_academics/admin/associate.shtml) that includes the pre-requisites in it's degree plan.

The reason why I am choosing this route is because the military has a financial aid program for spouses (MyCAA) that will pay for the AA. As you can see, I am trying not to get myself into a bundle of student debt once again...

I plan on enrolling May. Any advice on going backwards from a 4-year to a 2-year to complete the pre-requisites to get into medical school?

I keep reading other posts that it's not a good idea, but I haven't seen any posts about going backwards from a 4-year to a 2-year.

And just in case, no I do not have any upper-level courses in any sciences.

Any help (or advice) is greatly appreciated!

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[TriagePreMed]

There have been many doctors that have done 4 year and then became career changers that went to a community college for prerequisites. I personally know 2 who later attended medical school at UCSF and Stanford. Since your GPA was acceptable at a 4 year, you'll have less trouble compared to someone that did poorly at the 4 year. Many will say it's best to do it at a 4-year, and I generally agree with them, but I think the 2-year college option will not destroy your chances. Just be aware that something around the ballpark of 6-10% of MD schools don't accept CC credits, whereas I have yet to see any DO school that doesn't accept them.

 

[Weewee]

I did it and didn't have any problems. I worked with an adcom and his advice was to take an upper level science at a four year to prove that my good grades were warranted and not just because the courses weren't as rigorous.

I also worked full-time while completing my prereqs so it wasn't a problem that I was only taking two to three classes (with labs) at a time at a CC. It showed that it was my best option and made the most sense for me to take classes there.

 

[syoung]

See if you can't do some sort of extension program at a 4-year concurrently to take upper div sciences.

 

[guamgurl]

Thank you for your response everyone. I am interested in the DO program because I'd like to practice gynecology.
Well, I don't want to risk getting rejected because I feel this is my one-time shot. Therefore, perhaps it'd be best to do a year of sciences at a CC school (because the application deadline for a 4-year post-bacc pre-med program has passed - March 1st), then transfer into UCONN for their post-bacc program designed for those who have a degree but need the pre-requisites for med school.
By doing this, UCONN says on their website students have a higher chance of networking for purposes of LORs and getting into med school.
Well, wish me luck and I'm going to try to do my best.