Community College?

i thought schools wanted you to take the requirements at a 4 year college

The general rule is that it does not hurt you. They would prefer if you take your reqs at the 4yr, but its okay if you did take your reqs at a CC. Try to save a few required classes for the 4yr to show that you can do well there too. Otherwise I would take a few upper level Biology/Chemistry/Physics just to show your aptitude.

Realize that your 4yr grades are incredibly important if you did 2 years in a community college. If you received a 4.0 GPA in your CC, then went on to get a 3.0 at your 4yr university, your 4.0 grades would mean very little. However, if you continue to do well at a 4 year university, being form a CC does not hurt you.

CC-->university-->med school isn't the optimal path but it's a possible one.

mestizo212 said:

Did any of you attend a community college? or know any doctor or medical student that has done so??
can people from a 2 year college that transfer to 4 year college and then apply to medical school get accepted the same as someone who starts off at a 4 year college?
or are they looked down upon and have a disadvantage?

assuming they have the proper gpa and mcat scores.

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No sweat (the naysayers are perpetuating an urban legend)...

mestizo212 said:

Did any of you attend a community college? or know any doctor or medical student that has done so??
can people from a 2 year college that transfer to 4 year college and then apply to medical school get accepted the same as someone who starts off at a 4 year college?
or are they looked down upon and have a disadvantage?

assuming they have the proper gpa and mcat scores.

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I read in a book about community colleges that a former surgeon general of the united states went to a community college.

The former Dean of the med school in Buffalo was also a graduate of a community college.

It is possible to make it part of the path to med school. For some economically disadvantaged applicants it is the only way they can make it through school. Med schools recognize that and take it into consideration.

Taking a difficult pre-req in a community college summer school (even when the course is hard, as some of you have reported) is something that adcoms might notice and think poorly of.

I attend a community college for a year and a half before transferring to a competitive 4 year school. It's incredibly important to be prepared to buckle down when you transfer, I had to work twice as hard to get the same grade as my classmates as I didn't have the study habits and background knowledge that they had. After a semester or two I learned what worked and didn't need to continue the absurd hours I started at.

Also do your best to go beyond what you think you should be doing at a community college. I volunteered at a hospital, clinical exposure is looked very favorably on. Get to know a few of your professors well enough that you can ask for a letter of recommendation. Other than that be prepared to have to work a little harder on the MCAT as well.

BigRedPremed said:

CC-->university-->med school isn't the optimal path but it's a possible one.

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Meh, it's not as frowned upon as you think.

BigRedPremed said:

CC-->university-->med school isn't the optimal path but it's a possible one.

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This is the bad path you should avoid:

Big, prestigious, widely known university --> CC or State U to do almost all prereqs during the summer --> Back to big, prestigious, widely known university --> Graduate --> Off to med school?

Except the "off to med school" part might not happen because they often catch onto your plan and count it against you.

There will always be people around who equate attending a CC with being unqualified to go straight to a 4 year, just as there will be those who demean the students who attend anything other than what they consider a big name university.

The truth is, there are many reasons for attending a CC. The learning experience will be what the student makes of it, as it is anywhere else.

I've been attending a CC. My science profs, and several others, also teach at the university. We're using the same materials for the same courses, same tests. I've even had instructors tell us exactly how our scores compared to those of the university students. If anything, I think we've had the upper hand in quality of classroom education. They have hundreds of students in a lecture hall. We have twenty. The profs actually know us, our individual strengths, abilities, and attitudes.

I took a boatload of credits over this summer because there are so many upper level classes at the university that I want to have room for. Most of the enrollees were home for the summer from various universities. Some came in with very cocky attitudes, assuming their school status had endowed them with a superiority. I'll admit that I felt a bit of satisfaction as those same students struggled in what they had anticipated being snap courses & easy GPA boosts, and one by one dropped the classes. It seemed like the ones who came to learn got what they came for, and the ones who came with attitude couldn't hack the fast pace and heavier workload of summer classes.

One difficulty inherent with CC is the lack of research opportunities and even guidance for finding them for those who are drawn in that direction. I overcame that by seeking and obtaining my own appropriate niche. It takes a bit more initiative, but it can be done.

I don't think that it's so much where you go, as it is what you make of it, what you carry from it, and your own attitude.

TheRealMD said:

This is the bad path you should avoid:

Big, prestigious, widely known university --> CC or State U to do almost all prereqs during the summer --> Back to big, prestigious, widely known university --> Graduate --> Off to med school?

Except the "off to med school" part might not happen because they often catch onto your plan and count it against you.

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In either path, you will be doing your prereq's at a community college. That's the disadvantage. Like I said, CC credits are accepted by almost all medical schools but the perception is that CC courses are not as rigorous as those at 4-year universities. If you can take upper level science courses at your university and do well, then great. But you're still forced to have to take upper level science courses to prove yourself whereas an English major premed starting out in a 4-year university only has to take intro science courses. Hence, not optimal.

I recently had an interview with my premed advisor and he asked why I went to a community college instead of a university. I explained to him that the nearest one to home is 2 hours away. I also explained how I have paid for my entire college education on my own, which explained the cheaper tuition and also my living at home for as long as possible. He said that a lot of medical schools look highly upon independence and supporting yourself through many endeavors. Just make sure that you do well in all of your classes, no matter where they are taken.

"I don't think that it's so much where you go, as it is what you make of it, what you carry from it, and your own attitude."

I totally agree. Besides I am in the same boat as you. I read here that Medical schools don't like CC and got panicked so I called all four of our state universities with medical schools. To ask..... They all said the same thing.....
Make sure you do good in your CC classes. ( high GPA)
Make sure when you transfer to a 4 year university your GPA does not just drop.
Good Mcat scores.
and If possible take upper level classes at the university.


Also only USF admission person said that try not to take all of them specially OChem at the CC. but feel free to take the classes you need to get in to the major you want to get in to at a 4 year university.

So don't sweat it.......



Good Luck

mestizo212 said:

Did any of you attend a community college? or know any doctor or medical student that has done so??
can people from a 2 year college that transfer to 4 year college and then apply to medical school get accepted the same as someone who starts off at a 4 year college?
or are they looked down upon and have a disadvantage?

assuming they have the proper gpa and mcat scores.

Click to expand...

I already have a 4 year degree and am taking my last pre-req at CC now. I don't have any other choice because I work full-time and there are no 4-year colleges where I live that offer night courses. I don't see how schools could possibly give me a hard time for this. If I were doing it to try and take the easy way - then maybe, but I think if you're working full-time and taking classes, then that shows you are willing to put a lot of effort and long hours, and I think that would be a good thing.

I sent back to school at CC and got my Associates degree before transferring to my 4 year. I took Bio I and II and Chem I and II at CC.

I saved Orgo and Physics for 4 year. I did have to work harder at my 4 year but not drastically so...I think this varies depending on the two schools.

I'm applying right now, and I've gotten 1 interview so far (EVMS) out of about 25 schools or so...1 rejection from U of West VA because I'm out of state and I'm a fairly average applicant because of a low CUM GPA that was the result of dropping many classes and not withdrawing during my first attempt at college 10 years ago...

Anyways, my point is that it is very doable...I've had very positive feedback from alot of people, both adcom members and physicians, and not a single person has complained about my CC pre-reqs.

im such a community college credit slut.
i have waaay too many classes racked up on my transcript from my CCs.
including: gen chem 1&2, physics1&2, Gen Bio, Molecular Bio, Microbio, Physio, Anatomy.
its a bit depressing. because ive already completed my degree (in psychology) at a four year and really couldnt afford to sit there and pay for more classes outside of my major (i changed it so i didnt have that much room for extra classes).
my issue is that i had a 3.87 GPA before a transfer...then wound up with a 3.24 University GPA for a combined GPA of something around 3.6 (and currently climbing).
So when the adcoms see my transcript they might suspect i was a dunce and couldnt handle the 4 year! I really hope that they take into account that I worked full time (lifeguarding) to support myself during my uni years!!

in slightly more optimistic news; my step dad is a physician and he did all his pre-reqs at a CC and got into Loma Linda. Although it ought to be said that he has legacy at that school (ie parent a graduate, grandparent a graduate).

but back to the 'issue' i seem to be having:
I am trying to remedy this whole CC thing by taking what courses i can outside of the CC. I def wanted to do my OChem outside the CC, i did and got two As =] so yippie for me. I am also signed up for a few classes out of UC Berkeley's post bac....I figure i just need to have a few classes out of more 'rigorous' institutions with good grades associated to them so that i can prove that i can more than handle the demands of a 'real' pre-req class!

Wake Forest is the only school I know that won't accept community college credits. Don't waste money putting them on your AMCAS if you took pre-reqs at a CC.

Interesting...I applied there b/c they're close to me, and didn't get rejected pre-secondary. So they screen their secondaries, but sent me one anyways, knowing they won't admit me...that doesn't seem right.

Again, this is with Bio I, II and Chem I, II at CC.

They haven't said anything of the sort to me yet...we'll see what happens.

BeAdmitted said:

Wake Forest is the only school I know that won't accept community college credits. Don't waste money putting them on your AMCAS if you took pre-reqs at a CC.

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VCU also says on their website that they expect pre-recs to be done at a 4yr institution although in certain circumstances will accept CCs.

I would like to reiterate what others have said:

You will not have a problem if you start at a CC and take a few pre-recs there and then transfer to a 4yr college and take the rest of the prerecs or upper level sci classes. Provided you have good grades at both institutions, especially the 4yr college you will not be looked down upon.

Beginning at a 4yr and taking CC courses during the summer or school year to take the easy way out is looked down upon and will hurt you unless there are extenuating circumstances

Taking CC classes after college because you work should not affect you provided you score well on the MCAT.

Instatewaiter said:

I would like to reiterate what others have said:

You will not have a problem if you start at a CC and take a few pre-recs there and then transfer to a 4yr college and take the rest of the prerecs or upper level sci classes. Provided you have good grades at both institutions, especially the 4yr college you will not be looked down upon.

Beginning at a 4yr and taking CC courses during the summer or school year to take the easy way out is looked down upon and will hurt you unless there are extenuating circumstances

Taking CC classes after college because you work should not affect you provided you score well on the MCAT.

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Hmm. I don't see how this is a fair assessment. Taking CC courses that are not prereqs shouldn't be a big deal. It's not the easy way out if you're taking them outside the academic school year. It's just incredibly cost-effective. I do recommend that everyone should do their prereqs a 4 year university. I don't see why it would be looked down upon for taking care of GE courses at 1/10 the cost.

Having said that, I made sure everything such as a year of humanities or a year of english was also 4-year, even though it wasn't related to my major and not necessarily a prereq. Although any additional courses to this year were probably done at a JC.

Instatewaiter said:

VCU also says on their website that they expect pre-recs to be done at a 4yr institution although in certain circumstances will accept CCs.

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that is exactly what Brown told me, and i am sure this is how it is done at all universities which post on their site, "no pre-reqs at a CC".
Talk to someone from admissions at a university that claims this before you decide not to apply.

BeAdmitted said:

Wake Forest is the only school I know that won't accept community college credits. Don't waste money putting them on your AMCAS if you took pre-reqs at a CC.

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Actually I took my inorganic chemistry pre-reqs at a CC (the first being from concurrent enrollment through my high school even) and I just got an interview at Wake Forest, so I don't think that this is true.

I spent my first 2 years of college at the CC in my town. At the time, I wasnt ready for everything going on at a 4 yr institution. I know that if I had gone, I would have probly drank myself ******ed since I had no goals or aspirations of what I wanted to do with my life. School was basically free at my CC with the scholarships I had, and I knew that every credit I took would transfer to Michigan State, where I spent my last 2 years.

I left the CC with a 3.55 GPA. I took physics, chem and bio at the CC. The only prereq I took at state was Orgo, and I got a 4.0 in both. I graduated from MSU this spring with a 3.8 there. If schools look down on my application b/c I went to a CC and cant see that I did fine at a 4 yr, thats borderline discrimination

They don't...... Only schools who might have a problem with using CC pre- reqs are the top schools like Yale, Princeton, Harvard that kind of schools. Normal State schools have no problem with them AS LONG AS YOU maintain good grades at the four year university, and take upper level classes just to be sure.

pakbabydoll said:

They don't...... Only schools who might have a problem with using CC pre- reqs are the top schools like Yale, Princeton, Harvard that kind of schools. Normal State schools have no problem with them AS LONG AS YOU maintain good grades at the four year university, and take upper level classes just to be sure.

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Even if you went to a four-year I wouldn't bother with Princeton School of Medicine anyway. They have a 0% acceptance rate. It's killer.

0% acceptance rate? that means they don't anyone in.

As a general rule I've heard that prereqs should be done at a four-year university. However, I took some non-science courses at a community college (because it was cheaper), and so far I've received some interview invites so I'm assuming that those courses are not hurting me.