Any South Florida non-trads have experience with BC for pre-reqs?

[Gurame1121]

Hello everyone,

It's been a looooooonngg time since I've been on Student Doctor and it's great to be back. In short, was a young disgruntled pre-med, started to get hit with some life problems (family, not criminal), looked into more creative career options, graduated with a B.A. in psychology a year ago from FSU, looking to get back on the medical track.

I know I need to go back to school and finish/possibly retake some of my prereqs and was wondering if any of you have completed these at Broward College. I know it's not a university, but it's regionally accredited and has started offering four year degrees. I completed my associate's in bio there while in high school and really enjoyed the small class sizes and individual attention from the professors. Not to mention, classes would be a lot more economical there than they'd be at, say, FIU or FAU.

I'm more than willing to try for a post-bacc at Barry or FIU, but if it's all the same, I'd really prefer to go to the school that's literally five minutes from my house.

I'd appreciate any insight anyone has!

Thanks!

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[Apollo1]

I'm not familiar with Broward specifically, but I can tell you that it'll most likely be viewed as a community college, even though it has recently started offering 4-year degrees. CC's are good choices for persons in certain circumstances, but overall they're not very strenuous. Some schools will accept CC credits; others won't. Your best bet is to check MSAR or call med schools (in-state first) to see if they'll take CC credits.

 

[Straw Hat]

I've been wondering what the consensus on this is as well. I already have a bachelors and attended two other universities. Now I'm at Florida Southwestern State College finishing up prerequisites while I work / commute to Sarasota from Fort Myers. It seems like it's the same class of college as Broward. I was under the impression that it technically wasn't a community college since it offers bachelor degrees as well as associates.

I could've taken prereqs at Florida Gulf Coast but it's way more expensive. I already waste enough money commuting such a ridiculous amount to work but that's just the way it is at the moment. FGCU is also 30+ minutes vs 5 minutes to Southwestern and a lot of professors teach at both schools so why pay more. I've paid boatloads of tuition for a top 20 school education and honestly out of the 4 schools I've attended there wasn't much difference education wise. I've actually preferred the state universities and colleges over the top tier education. At the end of the day you get what you put into it.

Unfortunately it seems appearances matter a lot in this process. So, it would be interesting to hear more on this. Personally I think if you've shown your academic ability at a prior university and are going back to school it shouldn't really matter especially with the mcat being an equalizer.

 

[eablackwell]

It's true that university credit will look better on a transcript, but it's not necessary for many schools. If you're retaking classes for better grades than what you got at a 4 yr college, it will look suspicious. If it's all you can afford and you're working while taking classes, many schools will understand (FIU HWCOM did, at least, or I wouldn't be graduating from there in a month. It's really up to you, and every med school will look at those credits in their own way. Some won't really even look at you because of it, others will take in your whole application regardless.

My suggestion (and it's the common one on here) is university credits if you can, CC credits if you must, and most med schools have wised up to the rampant Florida CC name changes over the past years and realize they aren't univeristies.

 

[Gurame1121]

Great response! Thanks so much

 

[YourMD]

Hello everyone,

It's been a looooooonngg time since I've been on Student Doctor and it's great to be back. In short, was a young disgruntled pre-med, started to get hit with some life problems (family, not criminal), looked into more creative career options, graduated with a B.A. in psychology a year ago from FSU, looking to get back on the medical track.

I know I need to go back to school and finish/possibly retake some of my prereqs and was wondering if any of you have completed these at Broward College. I know it's not a university, but it's regionally accredited and has started offering four year degrees. I completed my associate's in bio there while in high school and really enjoyed the small class sizes and individual attention from the professors. Not to mention, classes would be a lot more economical there than they'd be at, say, FIU or FAU.

I'm more than willing to try for a post-bacc at Barry or FIU, but if it's all the same, I'd really prefer to go to the school that's literally five minutes from my house.

I'd appreciate any insight anyone has!

Thanks!

I applied to about 30 schools. The fact that I took CC credits never came up once. considering you weren't a science major i would suggest taking classes at Broward. Good luck!