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Started by ilovegrapesoda
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As a general rule of thumb, you should try to take all pre-reqs at your own university unless there's some compelling reason not to. It's quite easy to tell when an applicant is taking classes at another university because they're easier there. Go to tutoring, learn study skills from academic resources available to you at your school, and make best use of your resources.
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Related question: is it bad to take prereqs at my CC when I'm attending a university? (It's to save money, the prereqs aren't required for my bachelor degree)
So basically @chemist16 is finances a compelling excuse?
I'd say if it's still a 4 year institution go for it yo
The best thing is to take it at your own institution. Because when someone's looking at your app, they might make the assumption that you took all your pre-reqs at a CC because they were easier there. There isn't much room to explain yourself. And it looks especially suspicious when it's all your pre-reqs. I'm sure that you can take most of them as electives towards your degree, as most universities give you quite a bit of leeway there - that way, you won't have to pay for them and your other electives. The next best thing is to take it at a peer university. If you go to MIT, you better be taking it at Columbia or something like that. This route probably won't help your finances because it'll likely cost the same, if not more, to take it at a peer four year school. If you do end up taking them at a CC though, try to really make it come through that you're doing it for the money and not because it's easier there. Because from your original post, it seems like the latter is the predominant factor and that you're trying to rationalize it with another excuse.
I really don't know because I'm not an adcom, but I feel like it might be very hard to convince them that you are taking them for financial reasons and not because they're easier. No matter how true it is that you are doing it for financial reasons, it might seem just a little too convenient that it would boost your sGPA and give you good grades in all the core pre-med courses. If there is any way you can do it (like using your electives for pre-med courses), I would try really hard to take them at your 4-year university.
Take them wherever. I've yet to hear of a case where this hurt an applicant. Finances are a fine reason to do prereqs elsewhere.
Btw, maybe don't use profile pictures of yourself drinking from a flask. I know adcoms will probably never connect you to this account, but just going forward... you probably don't want a bunch of pictures of yourself with alcohol out there for them to find.
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Sounds like you're already set on it and you're not looking for advice but rather for justification. It's not us you have to convince - it's the adcoms. Think of what you would think of your application if you were an adcom - if you would come off as taking the easy way out. If you don't think you would appear that way, then go for it. If you have doubts, just save yourself the time and money and take it at your own school.
Doing well on the physics section of the MCAT may show that you've mastered the material - at least it shows that you mastered the stuff the MCAT tests. But in general, adcoms like to see that you've challenged yourself in college and not taken the easy way out. Because that shows that you can handle stress and a difficult course load. Further, if the course is too easy at the local school, it might not adequately prepare you for the MCAT in the first place. Choose your poison.
I don't think the reason they are concerned about people taking pre-reqs at other schools is proficiency. There are lots of people who have taken physics from all manner of colleges and universities who are very proficient in it. I think their bigger concern is that you are trying to inflate your GPA. For example, let's say I were a student at Harvard (I'm not actually a student at Harvard). If I took my pre-reqs at a random state school and received A's in all of them, I'd certainly be proficient in all of those subjects. However, it would look a lot like I was trying to get the benefit of the Harvard name (i.e. a high GPA at Harvard means more than a high GPA at other schools) while not actually doing Harvard-level work.
I'm not saying that taking physics at this other college would necessarily be a huge mark against your application. Adcoms could very well be fine with it. It probably would help a little that it's only one or two classes and not all of your pre-reqs. The only point I'm trying to make in this post is that your MCAT performance isn't going to be very helpful in this particular issue because their concern with you taking pre-reqs at a school other than your own is that you're trying to inflate your GPA, not that you aren't proficient in the material.
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Harvard's probably not the best example for this as it's known to be a grade-inflator rather than a grade-deflator. But your point is well taken.
It is, as many of the most selective undergraduate colleges are, but I still think Harvard has a certain cache that makes a given GPA at Harvard look better than the same GPA at a school that is thought of as mid-tier or low-tier.
Maybe adcoms also think that, maybe they don't - I don't know. I do know that Harvard's grade inflation is well known though so a 3.7 at Harvard doesn't mean as much as it used to.
Don't take prereqs at another university - adcoms see right through it. You don't want to be seen as an applicant who will try and take the easy way out given the opportunity.
