I started off doing the Loyola post-bacc program. At the same time I was taking a couple of courses at my local community college. I soon realized that Loyola's program was expensive and existed simply as a cash cow. To make matters worse the education at the comm college was better.
So, I ended up taking most of my pre-med course, including both organic chem classes, at the comm college.
Don't get me wrong - Loyola isn't a complete waste of time & money - they offer one very important thing - a post-bacc pre-med office. They will file your letters of recom and help with your application - but you don't have to do their complete "program" to use this facility.
... oh, one other thing - out of my group they had a very good med school admission rate. So, if you're a mature student with a good GPA, post-grad degree etc, then comm college might work for you. If you've already got a shakey GPA then you need to stick with Loyola and do well to show admin committees that you've got what it takes.
The single most important thing is your MCAT score - a high GPA and tons of volunteer work won't overcome a 7-7-7 MCAT score, but a 11-11-11 MCAT will overcome a weak (but not poor) GPA.
