Need some advice for pre-med route

[Domn]

Hi everyone. I am currently senior in high school. My college GPA with 75 credits is 3.38, and my science GPA is a lackluster 2.66 . I have taken all of my classes at a community college which is about an hour and a half bus ride from my high school. This was done during my junior and senior year.

Science Classes thus far:
1.5 in Pre-Calculus 1, 3.0 in Calculus, 2.4 in Calculus 2, 3.1 in the second class in the Biology sequence, and a 3.3 in intro to chemistry.

I was recently accepted to the University of Washington for pre-engineering. The University of Washington was my first choice of school, and they have given me a decent sized grant, however in this economy I don't wish to take out the loans needed to pursue an education there. I am also having very large doubts about a major in engineering due to my lack of interest in the subject matter. Lately, I have been having a strong interest in the field of medicine namely: family practice, and internal medicine.

I have had two plans rolling through my mind lately. One would be to move to Seattle next year, switch my major to biology, and do all of my pre-reqs for medical school at the University of Washington. Plan B would be to stay at the community college I have attended for the last two years for one more year to do the biology sequence, chemistry sequence, and algebra based physics sequence there. After doing this, I would reapply to the University of Washington, or I would apply to a four year university in Washington State. This would give me time to do my pre-reqs in a smaller environment (better student to teacher ratio), and would cost less money than it would to go to the University of Washington.

I am open to the idea of applying to both osteopathic, and allopathic medical schools after my bachelor degree. I was just wondering if any of you guys had any advice on which direction I should go with my life. So far, reading through this forum, it appears that generally, medical schools could care less whether I took my pre-reqs at a community college or a university. Thank you guys in advance for any advice you have.

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[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Math doesn't count for science gpa for DO, so you're sgpa is a 3.2.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Also don't major in engineering and start getting A's in your classes. MD will require a lot of upper level science to get your gpa up. For DO you should be fine since they don't count math.

 

[Iliketoytles]

Go with Plan B. Stay at your community college and save some extra money. You're right... schools don't really care too much whether you went to a community college or state university.

As far as whether you should go DO or MD... you can worry about that later. Your interests in family practice and internal medicine (although these may change) make you an ideal student at a DO school... there is little resistance going these routes when it comes to the whole MD/DO residency discussion... so yeah. You may want to consider MD schools if you do well on your MCAT (31+) and have a decent GPA (3.6+) with some good research/ECs. Otherwise, go DO. But again, worry about this later when you have a better idea of what your GPA is closer to applying.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Why would you stay at a community college when it is an hour away and you've reached your 60 credit transfer ceiling? It seems like a lot of time wasting, especially when you're easily 2 years away from a bachelors.

 

[Chimpanzee]

You can take them a CC even if you've reached 60 units. Doesn't matter - take whatever you're most comfortable with and will guarantee an A.

 

[Domn]

Thank you all for your advice thus far. I received a letter today from Eastern Washington University. It will only cost a thousand dollars to go there tuition wise than my community college due to a grant I received. Is there a lot of bias in medical school admittance that favors university done pre-reqs over community college? Also does anyone have any knowledge on the quality of Eastern's education?

 

[impervious0ne]

Thank you all for your advice thus far. I received a letter today from Eastern Washington University. It will only cost a thousand dollars to go there tuition wise than my community college due to a grant I received. Is there a lot of bias in medical school admittance that favors university done pre-reqs over community college? Also does anyone have any knowledge on the quality of Eastern's education?

It is generally frowned upon doing pre-reqs in a community college rather than in your current institution. I would take U dubs imo. Despite what others may say about the importance of attending the right undergrad, it is imperative that you get into a quality school. You will definitely notice the difference in the type of students as well as the strength of the programs - classes, EC's, etc.

 

[Domn]

It is generally frowned upon doing pre-reqs in a community college rather than in your current institution. I would take U dubs imo. Despite what others may say about the importance of attending the right undergrad, it is imperative that you get into a quality school. You will definitely notice the difference in the type of students as well as the strength of the programs - classes, EC's, etc.

So it would be worth the extra money in order to attend the University of Washington over a lower tier undergraduate institution like Eastern Washington University? I understand where you're coming from speaking on the "kind of student", but it would appear to me that no matter where you go, there will be pockets of intelligence, and pockets of stupidity. I just fear that if things do not go right, I will be sitting with a larger pile of debt, and when compiling that with the current state of our economy, the future is quite bleak.

 

[shaggybill]

Despite what others may say about the importance of attending the right undergrad, it is imperative that you get into a quality school. You will definitely notice the difference in the type of students as well as the strength of the programs - classes, EC's, etc.

Wow, this is not true at all. That's like saying colleges care where you went to HS. Med schools don't care where your bachelors is completed. They want two things: good grades and a demonstrated passion for altruism through various ECs.

OP, some schools might look down on completing your pre-reqs at a CC, but that's hit or miss. Some really don't care as long as you have a good reason for choosing to do so. You seem like a pretty smart person so if I were you I would go ahead and transfer to a 4-year university. No med school in the country is going to care if it's UW, W-state, or whatever, so go with whatever is the cheapest and most convenient.

 

[DrMaximus]

Wow, this is not true at all. That's like saying colleges care where you went to HS. Med schools don't care where your bachelors is completed. They want two things: good grades and a demonstrated passion for altruism through various ECs.

OP, some schools might look down on completing your pre-reqs at a CC, but that's hit or miss. Some really don't care as long as you have a good reason for choosing to do so. You seem like a pretty smart person so if I were you I would go ahead and transfer to a 4-year university. No med school in the country is going to care if it's UW, W-state, or whatever, so go with whatever is the cheapest and most convenient.

Yeah, I agree with this for the most part. The only thing I would worry about going to a CC is that there is little to no research. Granted, one doesn't need research to get accepted, however, it does look nice.

Other than that, if you decide to go to your CC, you should be fine. Just buckle down and kick ass while you're there to bring that sGPA up.

 

[shaggybill]

Yeah, I agree with this for the most part. The only thing I would worry about going to a CC is that there is little to no research. Granted, one doesn't need research to get accepted, however, it does look nice.

Could be mistaken, but I think the OP was saying that he just wanted to complete some of his pre-reqs at a CC along with some other classes, then move on to a university to finish his degree, where he could then pick up research (if he wanted). Other than research, the vast majority of good EC's can be done just about anywhere.

 

[DrMaximus]

Could be mistaken, but I think the OP was saying that he just wanted to complete some of his pre-reqs at a CC along with some other classes, then move on to a university to finish his degree, where he could then pick up research (if he wanted). Other than research, the vast majority of good EC's can be done just about anywhere.

Whoops. Totally missed that. Carry on.

 

[Iliketoytles]

Wow, this is not true at all. That's like saying colleges care where you went to HS. Med schools don't care where your bachelors is completed. They want two things: good grades and a demonstrated passion for altruism through various ECs.

OP, some schools might look down on completing your pre-reqs at a CC, but that's hit or miss. Some really don't care as long as you have a good reason for choosing to do so. You seem like a pretty smart person so if I were you I would go ahead and transfer to a 4-year university. No med school in the country is going to care if it's UW, W-state, or whatever, so go with whatever is the cheapest and most convenient.

+1 to this. Good advice.

 

[Domn]

Changing directions slightly, here are a few thoughts, some of which are contradictory solely to make sure you have an understanding of all options

1) You indicated that you were going to switch from engineering to biology. Was that just to complete your prereqs. medical schools do not care what you major as long as you have the required prereqs. Indeed, engineers tend to well on the MCAT physical science section.

2) Med schools do care about GPA and engineering in a notoriously difficult major; you wont get an brownie points for being in a a bitch of a major.

3) Deciding on a college major solely for enhancing your chances to medical school is perhaps not the best course. You are going to spend 4 years in college and it should be doing something that you like doing, your good at, and, most importantly, that you would want to do for the rest of your life. That is because less the half of all students get into DO or MD school. The selectivity (increasing GPA and MCAT scores) and competitiveness (applicants to 1st year seat ratios) are steadily increasing. This is not said to dissuade anyone but to make sure that a real understanding is had by all.

Correction, I have changed my desire from engineering to biology due to my change of interest in the subject. I have no intention ongoing any further in math, and do not wish to be constrained in a tension filled workplace with career I do not feel any satisfaction being a part of. I also believe that biology will help me better prepare for the difficulty of medical school. Worst case scenario, science teachers currently have a decent demand right now, so a degree within the sciences will set me up for plan B if the need arises.

Thank you all for your advice, I shall heed your words. On a different note, is Chemistry, and the Biology sequence during my first year at university, and physics/organic the second year a good tactic to use? I'm trying to set myself up to hopefully be able to buff my GPA while I still have the opportunity to do so.

 

[Iliketoytles]

Correction, I have changed my desire from engineering to biology due to my change of interest in the subject. I have no intention ongoing any further in math, and do not wish to be constrained in a tension filled workplace with career I do not feel any satisfaction being a part of. I also believe that biology will help me better prepare for the difficulty of medical school. Worst case scenario, science teachers currently have a decent demand right now, so a degree within the sciences will set me up for plan B if the need arises.

Thank you all for your advice, I shall heed your words. On a different note, is Chemistry, and the Biology sequence during my first year at university, and physics/organic the second year a good tactic to use? I'm trying to set myself up to hopefully be able to buff my GPA while I still have the opportunity to do so.

If I'm understanding your question correctly... usually people will take their basic general chemistry and general biology classes their first year. Physics and organic second year will be fine.

 

[Domn]

If I'm understanding your question correctly... usually people will take their basic general chemistry and general biology classes their first year. Physics and organic second year will be fine.

Thanks for the fast reply . Yeah that was the question.