Quick Poll: Who got accepted after taking most prereqs at com college or online?

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Zoopeda

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As a non-trad, it's pretty brutal working full time and trying to find courses at a regular 4-year college to satisfy pre-reqs. Community Colleges and Online Colleges offer scheduling flexibility, but advisors universally warn against too many CC or online Pre-reqs. How true is this?

Please post if you were ACCEPTED to DO school after taking most (75%+) of your prereqs at a CC/online.

...and...

Please post if you found out after a rejection that the reason for non-acceptance was "not enough courses at a 4-year."

Thanks!
 
Not to make any comments or anything, but if your prereq course lacks a real physical lab component then you will not be accepted to any US medical school in the country.
 
I'll let you know after I apply. I'll have 100% of my pre-reqs from a CC.
 
serenade said:
Not to make any comments or anything, but if your prereq course lacks a real physical lab component then you will not be accepted to any US medical school in the country.
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You dont know what you are talking about. I took o chem one and two with online labs and was accepted, and received many interviews, including an md interview. For people who work full time (or even greater in my case with an average sixty hours a week and three kids and a wife to care for), taking some pre reqs online (with lab online) was absolutely the only option. And thank God most DO schools dont share your opinion otherwise there would be no way for me to ever attend medical school.
I did what I could in the classroom during night classes, but o chem wasnt ever offered during this time.
Sorry for the harsh post but I am just sick of the prejudice and misleading info on sdn sometimes.
 
corpsman33 said:
You dont know what you are talking about. I took o chem one and two with online labs and was accepted, and received many interviews, including an md interview. For people who work full time (or even greater in my case with an average sixty hours a week and three kids and a wife to care for), taking some pre reqs online (with lab online) was absolutely the only option. And thank God most DO schools dont share your opinion otherwise there would be no way for me to ever attend medical school.
I did what I could in the classroom during night classes, but o chem wasnt ever offered during this time.
Sorry for the harsh post but I am just sick of the prejudice and misleading info on sdn sometimes.
Click to expand...

Then your school likely did not state that the courses were online. I don't have any prejudice in my comment, I'm just being honest, very few medical schools are going to accept an online lab in lieu of a real lab. Maybe I'm wrong, but I know this is a rule for MD schools and likewise I'm assuming that this is the case for DO schools.
 
serenade said:
Then your school likely did not state that the courses were online. I don't have any prejudice in my comment, I'm just being honest, very few medical schools are going to accept an online lab in lieu of a real lab. Maybe I'm wrong, but I know this is a rule for MD schools and likewise I'm assuming that this is the case for DO schools.
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Stop commenting about things you don't understand. Go to the MSAR and see how some schools (MD) accept online coursework including online labs. This is not all schools, but it is many schools. Most (all?) DO schools accept the online coursework from UNE.
 
TriagePreMed said:
Stop commenting about things you don't understand. Go to the MSAR and see how some schools (MD) accept online coursework including online labs. This is not all schools, but it is many schools. Most (all?) DO schools accept the online coursework from UNE.
Click to expand...

👍
 
I don't know for sure, but looking at my class roster, there are a few people who list a CC as their undergrad. I would recommend emailing the admissions offices at the DO schools you are considering to see their reaction, as most people on here will just be speculating. It seems that if everything else about your application is good (especially MCAT) it will be okay, but it's hard to say for sure when everything gets more competitive every year.
 
serenade said:
Then your school likely did not state that the courses were online. I don't have any prejudice in my comment, I'm just being honest, very few medical schools are going to accept an online lab in lieu of a real lab. Maybe I'm wrong, but I know this is a rule for MD schools and likewise I'm assuming that this is the case for DO schools.
Click to expand...

Actually nearly every DO school is fully aware that UNECOM offers online classes, and they accept them, including the lab portion.
You are actually completely wrong again (two for two).
I called every admissions office of each school that I applied to and ensured that the online labs would be accepted. Over twenty MD schools (and by no means is this an all inclusive list) and every DO school I called said they would accept the online labs.
Maybe you should refrain from commenting on a subject you have very little accurate information on.
 
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Zoopeda said:
As a non-trad, it's pretty brutal working full time and trying to find courses at a regular 4-year college to satisfy pre-reqs. Community Colleges and Online Colleges offer scheduling flexibility, but advisors universally warn against too many CC or online Pre-reqs. How true is this?

Please post if you were ACCEPTED to DO school after taking most (75%+) of your prereqs at a CC/online.

...and...

Please post if you found out after a rejection that the reason for non-acceptance was "not enough courses at a 4-year."

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I actually ended up calling 10 different DO schools to ask them how they felt about students taking pre-reqs at community colleges. The general consensus was that as long as you do well in them (which is obviously a necessity regardless), they really have no problem with you taking pre-reqs at a community college.

Now I didn't actually speak to ADCOMS, but I did speak to admissions counselors. I documented my conversations with each school in an excel file. If you'd like, PM me and I'll send you my excel file.
 
I took ~60 credits at a CC, including Calc I, Chem I w/ lab, and Chem II w/ lab. I was accepted to the only MD school to which I applied. They didn't say anything about my CC classes. I had taken all of my Biology courses, Physics, O. Chem, and Biochem at a 4 yr school.
 
Before I applied, I went to DMU to ask how I could be more competitive. Long story short, I asked them if I could retake and take my sciences at a CC. They said they really didn't like to see CC classes, and then ended the sentence and moved on. Some schools may not like it, but many will.

If you can take them at a uni, do it. It may force you to do something you didn't want to. I had to change jobs, work nights, and give away my life to get it done.

But if it straight up can't be done (as in you can't do any of those things), the CC is better than nothing. There have been plenty of people around that have succeeded. It is a risk that you are going to have to take. Does it mean you may get rejected from a couple schools simply because of the CC credits? Sure. But it will probably be a minority.

If your choices are to give up your dream or take CC classes, take the CC classes. you will likely be fine. If you have competitive numbers, a competitive mcat, and competitive ECs, I would imagine that the max number of schools that are going to dislike the CC credits are 2 or 3. Definitely worth the risk.

That is a lot of words to say, "I did not take my prereqs at a CC (one retake), but I did have a lot of CC credits, and have talked to numerous people who have gotten accepted with CC prereqs."
 
I took all of my prereqs at community college except for Organic and Physics which I took after transferring. No one at any school ever asked me about it and I felt it was a non-issue.

The community college gave me free tuition and the university has me $20k in debt after two years. Of COURSE I was going to stay at the community college as long as humanly possible.

👍
 
Honestly sometimes I regret going straight to a 4 year university right after high school. I really think that plenty of schools (especially DO) would not discriminate against you based on taking classes at a community college. I've seen it so many times where friends of mine did just fine taking classes at a community college and getting into the medical school of their choice. They saved a lot of money and are less stressed out due to finances.
 
The tough thing is that although some schools have no problem with CC credits, while others do. I just got off the phone with two different DO admissions offices who strongly discouraged taking more than a couple of credits at a CC. (Western U also told me that although UNECOM's online lecture is accepted, their labs are not (FYI) and need to be taken in a brick and mortar for consideration.) I explained that I've only taken Gen Chem at a CC, and one admin responded by saying that it would be wise to take a few upper level classes at a 4 year to balance out the CC credits. As a father employed full time, this is not the news I want to hear. But one thing is clear: there are significant risks to committing to the CC track for most or all prereqs.
 
Zoopeda said:
The tough thing is that although some schools have no problem with CC credits, while others do. I just got off the phone with two different DO admissions offices who strongly discouraged taking more than a couple of credits at a CC. (Western U also told me that although UNECOM's online lecture is accepted, their labs are not (FYI) and need to be taken in a brick and mortar for consideration.) I explained that I've only taken Gen Chem at a CC, and one admin responded by saying that it would be wise to take a few upper level classes at a 4 year to balance out the CC credits. As a father employed full time, this is not the news I want to hear. But one thing is clear: there are significant risks to committing to the CC track for most or all prereqs.
Click to expand...

You're right. No doubt, it definitely cuts away some of your choices.
 
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It will cut your chances at some places, but not all. I have 100% of pre-req's at CC and have been accepted to a DO program and am waiting to hear back from my state MD post interview.

There are advantages to the 4 year, but if you work hard, the CC can work. I completed my BS at a 4-year before working for 5 years. Last year, I took all my pre-req's in 3 semesters (heavy ones) at a CC. Hope this helps.
 
I had most of my pre-reqs at a CC besides one class, but I have taken 25+ credits of upper level neuro/bio classes so far. haven't applied yet tho obv
 
I know Edlongshanks took most of his courses at a CC and he's in school at OSU right now... The UMN med school will take them if it is what you can do, but your MCAT better show that you know the material... 😉
 
SBB2016 said:
I know Edlongshanks took most of his courses at a CC and he's in school at OSU right now... The UMN med school will take them if it is what you can do, but your MCAT better show that you know the material... 😉
Click to expand...
THIS.. it comes down to this
 
torshi said:
THIS.. it comes down to this
Click to expand...

Agreed. Stay away from online labs though at CCs, good MCAT or not, grad schools really frown on those. I took a LOT of online courses though including half of the math classes I ever had in college and all of my English courses.
 
I organize workshops at community college workshops about applying to medical school for the last two years and it is sponsored by the UC school of medicine. The stat that they always tell me is that 15-20 percent earn an associate degree at a community college before applying to medical school and 70-80 percent of medical students there have taken courses at the community college. I know most schools do not care when it comes to pre-reqs but a few schools do care when it comes to organic chemistry and upper divisions. Besides that I would not worry about it but if you are, just contact the schools. Also if you get a letter of recommendation from your community college teacher it will not be looked as a lesser letter in any way. Schools don't care what school the letter comes from just what it says about you unless maybe the letter is from super famous amazing etc. good luck and I hoped I helped.
 
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confidence1985 said:
I organize workshops at community college workshops about applying to medical school for the last two years and it is sponsored by the UC school of medicine. The stat that they always tell me is that 15-20 percent earn an associate degree at a community college before applying to medical school and 70-80 percent of medical students there have taken courses at the community college. I know most schools do not care when it comes to pre-reqs but a few schools do care when it comes to organic chemistry and upper divisions. Besides that I would not worry about it but if you are, just contact the schools. Also if you get a letter of recommendation from your community college teacher it will not be looked as a lesser letter in any way. Schools don't care what school the letter comes from just what it says about you unless maybe the letter is from super famous amazing etc. good luck and I hoped I helped.
Click to expand...


This is especially true in Texas. A LOT of students go to CC or even get ADs before going to a 4-yr. Especially in this economy.
 
This is a very good thread. I am in CC now (1st semester) taking my first set of premed courses. I've already graduated and received by Bachelors in Finance in 2007, and worked for 4 years. However, the 4yr schools I searched around me did not seem to offer classes that I can take (as a non-degree student). The CC near me offered a Non-Degree program, where I can take all my premed courses.

CougarDiver's post definitely made me feel a little better. 🙂 I hope more people can chime in about 100% completion of premed courses at a CC, and getting accept to med school.

BTW....I will be applying to both DO and MD programs, here in NY.
 
I also did physics and o chem at a cc. I think that one of the things we overlook is you can have strong classes at either place. My physics was great, I learned a lot. O chem, about as far as I got was that it's about Carbon, yes?

I know cc is accepted and should be! Do yourself a favor though and make sure you get a good bang for your buck.
 
Assuming you do well in your prereqs, a 4-year college is the safer option, but a community college won't kill your chances of becoming a doctor.
 
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AgDoc84 said:
I also did physics and o chem at a cc. I think that one of the things we overlook is you can have strong classes at either place. My physics was great, I learned a lot. O chem, about as far as I got was that it's about Carbon, yes?

I know cc is accepted and should be! Do yourself a favor though and make sure you get a good bang for your buck.
Click to expand...

dbizzy said:
Assuming you do well in your prereqs, a 4-year college is the safer option, but a community college won't kill your chances of becoming a doctor.
Click to expand...

Thanks, you 2. I haven't gotten around to it yet, but I am going to look at other 4yr schools and see if they offer classes for me to take without enrolling in a degree program.
 
corpsman33 said:
You dont know what you are talking about. I took o chem one and two with online labs and was accepted, and received many interviews, including an md interview. For people who work full time (or even greater in my case with an average sixty hours a week and three kids and a wife to care for), taking some pre reqs online (with lab online) was absolutely the only option. And thank God most DO schools dont share your opinion otherwise there would be no way for me to ever attend medical school.
I did what I could in the classroom during night classes, but o chem wasnt ever offered during this time.
Sorry for the harsh post but I am just sick of the prejudice and misleading info on sdn sometimes.
Click to expand...

Corpsman33 thanks for posting. I am in a similar situation with my family and want to take some lab classes online. Where did you take your online science classes with lab from?
 
pact1996 said:
Corpsman33 thanks for posting. I am in a similar situation with my family and want to take some lab classes online. Where did you take your online science classes with lab from?
Click to expand...

I've used UNE for Chem 1 and 2. With this school you buy a lab pack which let's you physically do each experiment in person as opposed to doing it online via some program. I have 3 ii's so far, which hopefully will lead to an acceptance, so doing this stuff online won't kill you.
 
I took these courses at CC:

-1 year of general chemistry with labs
-One semester organic chemistry w/lab
-1 year physics with labs
-1 year of biology with labs
-1 year calculus
-statistics
-1 year English

Literally all my prerequisite classes, except second semester organic chemistry and biochemistry, I took at my community college. I received 8 interviews so far.

Conclusion: no it doesn't matter.
 
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