Retaking Classes at a Community College

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woozy

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I know there are craploads of threads on this topic and I'm pretty sure I've read them all. It seems to me like the general consensus is that retaking pre req's at a community college after you've graduated from a university is okay, AS LONG as there is a justified reason behind it. Does this sound correct to most of you?

I've been calling and emailing and researching all the schools around my area (NorCal) and it looks like the only schools that are on quarter system (so that I can replace an entire science series like Chem A-B-C) are CSU East Bay, and a couple community colleges in San Jose. With that being, I've called CSU East Bay and they will not allow me to take classes a la carte unless it is through their Open University Program which is insanely expensive per unit, considering I will be retaking around 6-8 classes at 5 units per class. My only other option is to take them at a community college, but I'm very worried that most schools will look down on this :/ Touro emailed me back saying that this is fine, but I'm still worried that other schools will not approve of this (since I'll be applying broadly), however it is my only option :/ any ideas?

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After you have a BS it does not matter where you take classes. Especially if you have a good reason for it. You need to make sure the number of credits matches or it will not count.

I took four of my five most recent classes at a CC. Intro to Immunology, and the entire year of A&P (three quarters). The only class recently that I had at a university was biochemistry.

I have been accepted to two schools, on the wait list for two more, and hope to hear back soon from my state school. I canceled several more interviews because of where I was accepted. Check my MDApps if you are more interested.

dsoz
 
Looking for further confirmation of this. My only options are to retake at CC or the same school. CC would make life so much easier...
 
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i did a retake at CC, don't worry it's not a deal breaker at all, if you show them you can handle university courses and do well, then taking classes at a CC isnt a big deal...
 
i did a retake at CC, don't worry it's not a deal breaker at all, if you show them you can handle university courses and do well, then taking classes at a CC isnt a big deal...

Well the rest of my upper div's at my university are all A's and B's, so I can def handle the advanced material. Only reason the basic sciences are so low is because I was still experiencing college at the time :( have you had any interviews/acceptances yet? Did it ever come up in the interview?
 
So if I retook Cell Bio at a JC, which was 5 units, and I initially took it at my university for 4 units, it won't replace the grade?
 
So if I retook Cell Bio at a JC, which was 5 units, and I initially took it at my university for 4 units, it won't replace the grade?

it does replace it as long as it is the same amount or more units.
 
Well the rest of my upper div's at my university are all A's and B's, so I can def handle the advanced material. Only reason the basic sciences are so low is because I was still experiencing college at the time :( have you had any interviews/acceptances yet? Did it ever come up in the interview?

As long as you showed you can handle upper div material you are fine! I have friends who took pre reqs like ochem and physics at a CC and are now in MD schools. No one said a word... so i doubt a lower division retake would bring any red flags to schools. I personally am most likely reapplying due to mcat so I cannot tell you from personal experience but from the people I know, all of them have been successful with retaking and no questions asked. They also do not usually scrutinize you based off a bad freshman year as long as you have that upward trend, which it seems you do! So you are on the right track :)
 
im currently taking all my sciences at my CC (except for gen chem) while being enrolled at my university. I plan on just doing really well on the mcat (fingers cross) ;)


I'd say as long as you do well in them, it should be good.
 
I retook two semesters of gen chem with lab, organic 1 lecture, physics 1 lecture and lab, and biology 1 with lab at CC. Take a look at my mdapps and decide if it has been a hindrance.

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I retook two semesters of gen chem with lab, organic 1 lecture, physics 1 lecture and lab, and biology 1 with lab at CC. Take a look at my mdapps and decide if it has been a hindrance.

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Wow, congrats man! That's definitely the route I'll be taking since I have a handful of lower division's to retake at a CC (~6 classes). How long did it take you to retake all those classes, a year? My goal is to finish these retakes within a year so I can apply the next cycle.

May I ask why you didn't take the lab for organic 1? Did that come up in the interviews at all? I'll be taking gen chem, gen bio, and ochem in one semester and at my CC, each of those classes has 2 labs a week (6 labs a week total :( ) so If I can avoid taking the lab for at least one of those classes and not be penalized by ADCOMS for it, then it would definitely allow me to focus on some research outside of school. I've already taken all the labs for these classes, so do you know if ADCOMS will allow me to only take the lectures? (Being that the lectures are of equal or greater units than the original class)
 
Wow, congrats man! That's definitely the route I'll be taking since I have a handful of lower division's to retake at a CC (~6 classes). How long did it take you to retake all those classes, a year? My goal is to finish these retakes within a year so I can apply the next cycle.

May I ask why you didn't take the lab for organic 1? Did that come up in the interviews at all? I'll be taking gen chem, gen bio, and ochem in one semester and at my CC, each of those classes has 2 labs a week (6 labs a week total :( ) so If I can avoid taking the lab for at least one of those classes and not be penalized by ADCOMS for it, then it would definitely allow me to focus on some research outside of school. I've already taken all the labs for these classes, so do you know if ADCOMS will allow me to only take the lectures? (Being that the lectures are of equal or greater units than the original class)

I got an A in Organic lab so there was no reason to retake it. I retook all those classes and also took microbiology, two semesters of Anatomy and Physiology, psychology, and pathophysiology in two summers, one fall and one spring semester. I'm doing the bio retake this semester. I also worked full time while taking those classes.

I've only had one open file interview so far. It was at an MD school and they did not question me about doing community college classes. The only thing they cared about was that I have maintained a 4.0 in post bacc.


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I got an A in Organic lab so there was no reason to retake it. I retook all those classes and also took microbiology, two semesters of Anatomy and Physiology, psychology, and pathophysiology in two summers, one fall and one spring semester. I'm doing the bio retake this semester. I also worked full time while taking those classes.

I've only had one open file interview so far. It was at an MD school and they did not question me about doing community college classes. The only thing they cared about was that I have maintained a 4.0 in post bacc.


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Ohh okay. Was your organic lab considered a separate class from your lecture during the 1st time you took organic? Sorry for the super specific questions, just trying to assess my situation. These courses you took are part of your informal post-bacc you designed for yourself I'm assuming, right?

So are you going to be attending NSU come fall semester? That's really exciting, congratulations man. And may I ask what your undergrad stats were? I was under the impression that MD schools average the original and retake class. This must not have bumped your stats up too much for MD schools, no?
 
Ohh okay. Was your organic lab considered a separate class from your lecture during the 1st time you took organic? Sorry for the super specific questions, just trying to assess my situation. These courses you took are part of your informal post-bacc you designed for yourself I'm assuming, right?

So are you going to be attending NSU come fall semester? That's really exciting, congratulations man. And may I ask what your undergrad stats were? I was under the impression that MD schools average the original and retake class. This must not have bumped your stats up too much for MD schools, no?

Yup they were separate.

I finished undergraduate with a 2.65sGPA and around a 2.8cGPA. My AACOMAS after retakes are 3.28s/3.24c. AMCAS BCPM is 3.04 and AO is 3.11 or something.

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Yup they were separate.

I finished undergraduate with a 2.65sGPA and around a 2.8cGPA. My AACOMAS after retakes are 3.28s/3.24c. AMCAS BCPM is 3.04 and AO is 3.11 or something.

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Nice, good job man. I'm in the exact same position you were in haha. Gives me hope. Best of luck to you and thanks for your help.
 
Nice, good job man. I'm in the exact same position you were in haha. Gives me hope. Best of luck to you and thanks for your help.

Thanks. It's definitely possible to make a come back :) best of luck to you.

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