Would doing a post bacc at community college decrease my chance getting into medical school?

[jrooks13]

I spent 7-8 years in undergrad because I change my major like 7 times and was part-time some of those semesters. I only graduated with a 2.7GPA, and this includes lots of retakes and several W's. This is not a good representation of my ability. I know because I didn't take college seriously, partied a lot, and never realized I needed good grades when I first decided I wanted to do medicine.

During my time at university, I did take all my pre-med classes. I got C's and B's in all my pre-med work except physics 2, which I got an A-.
So I decided to do a post-bacc. After calculating my medical school GPA, I need 90 credits of post-back to reach exactly 3.0 GPA in both cumulative and the science GPA.
So this is what I am working on right now.

I took 20 credits last semester and got all A's. I am going to take another 20 credits this semester, and then finish off in the spring. MCAT is in 5-6 months which I am trying to study for but kind of hard taking 20 credits AND having a full-time job.

Another thing is that I can not take any classes at university because they are too expensive. So I am taking all 90 credits at different community colleges. I know that I have to take advanced courses, but community colleges only have 100-200 level classes. Since I am a non-trad student, I get last priority picking classes, so I have to go to multiple community colleges to get into available classes.

Classes i have taken so at community colleges
-Anatomy and Physiology 1: A
-Anatomy and Physiology 2: A-
-Basic Pathophysiology: A
-Human Biology: A
-Human Biology and Nutrition: A
-Zoology: A
-Botany: A
-Technical Physics: A
-Microbiology and infectious diseases: B+
-Immunology: A
-Pathology: A
-Cellular neurobiology: A
-Genetics/Biotechnology/Human Affairs: A
-Human Genetics: A
-Evolution and behavior: A
-Human Ecology: A

Post-bacc GPA: 3.9

So doing this do you think I have a chance or not since all of these classes are at community college?

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[jamaica jan sun princess]

The purpose of a postbac is to improve your GPA and show that you can handle medical school. You've done the former but not the latter. Personally, I would want to take classes at a four-year university before applying to maximize my chances. If you can't get student loans for additional undergrad courses, look into a graduate program that allows you to work as a graduate teaching assistant in exchange for tuition and a stipend. My program was an SMP-lite, basically a non-thesis biology master's with access to a committee letter- and premed advising. It paid enough to live like a typical student.

 

[KnightDoc]

The purpose of a postbac is to improve your GPA and show that you can handle medical school. You've done the former but not the latter. Personally, I would want to take classes at a four-year university before applying to maximize my chances. If you can't get student loans for additional undergrad courses, look into a graduate program that allows you to work as a graduate teaching assistant in exchange for tuition and a stipend. My program was an SMP-lite, basically a non-thesis biology master's with access to a committee letter- and premed advising. It paid enough to live like a typical student.

This^^^^^^^^^^^^^. Doing well in community college post-bacc classes is great, but is simply not going to rehabilitate a poor GPA, which is the whole point.

I urge you to reach out to a few schools to take their temperature on this strategy before investing any more time or money into it, or ask someone like @Goro, who is the resident SDN reinvention guru. After graduating college with a 2.7, I'm not sure getting As in a bunch of community college classes is going to provide the evidence adcoms are looking for that you will able to handle medical school, which is really the objective, rather than simply getting your GPA to 3.0. Good luck.

 

[M3_SixSpeed]

I been through this too bud. I hope it pays off. For me doing an SMP allowed me to showcase my true potential and erase any doubts. My program was first year medical school coursework. Apples to apples comparison is best. I spent alot of money and time with a DIY post bacc before the smp with no success.
Sorry for horrible sentence structure I'm like half asleep 😅

 

[jrooks13]

This^^^^^^^^^^^^^. Doing well in community college post-bacc classes is great, but is simply not going to rehabilitate a poor GPA, which is the whole point.

I urge you to reach out to a few schools to take their temperature on this strategy before investing any more time or money into it, or ask someone like @Goro, who is the resident SDN reinvention guru. After graduating college with a 2.7, I'm not sure getting As in a bunch of community college classes is going to provide the evidence adcoms are looking for that you will able to handle medical school, which is really the objective, rather than simply getting your GPA to 3.0. Go

The purpose of a postbac is to improve your GPA and show that you can handle medical school. You've done the former but not the latter. Personally, I would want to take classes at a four-year university before applying to maximize my chances. If you can't get student loans for additional undergrad courses, look into a graduate program that allows you to work as a graduate teaching assistant in exchange for tuition and a stipend. My program was an SMP-lite, basically a non-thesis biology master's with access to a committee letter- and premed advising. It paid enough to live like a typical student.

After being at both university and community college for years, I don't understand how one is more difficult than the other?? Community college courses are just as difficult, sometimes even harder than a university class. The difficulty depends on the professor teaching the courses and not community college Vs. University. The cellular neurobiology class that I have taken was actually from a university, this class was a lot easier than Pathology and immunology that I took at a community college.

 

[KnightDoc]

After being at both university and community college for years, I don't understand how one is more rigorous than the other?? Community college courses are just as difficult, sometimes even harder than a university class. The difficulty depends on the professor teaching the courses and not community college Vs. University. The cellular neurobiology class that I have taken was actually from a university, this class was a lot easier than Pathology and immunology that I took at a community college.

Explain that to the adcoms. It's their bias, not ours. In general, community colleges are a lot easier to get into (many are open enrollment), and many classes, at all schools, are curved.

Sure, orgo is orgo, but if the class cannot keep up, many professors will slow down to accommodate. Also, it is simply easier to do well when there is less competition if you are being graded against the rest of the class. As a result, community college just does not receive the respect a 4 year school does.

Ultimately, do what you have to do. But don't be shocked if a 4.0 in a community college post-bacc doesn't impress an adcom into looking past a 2.7 cGPA.

 

[Bwesternn]

After being at both university and community college for years, I don't understand how one is more difficult than the other?? Community college courses are just as difficult, sometimes even harder than a university class. The difficulty depends on the professor teaching the courses and not community college Vs. University. The cellular neurobiology class that I have taken was actually from a university, this class was a lot easier than Pathology and immunology that I took at a community college.

It's not fair, sure, but it's the reality of the game that is med school admissions. CC success is not seen as an indicator that you will be able to handle the vigor of med school classes.