Bad to take science classes at community college?

[Alpha13]

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I was wondering if I should avoid taking lower division science classes at my community college. I think someone mentioned that the dental schools prefer these classes be taken at a university, is this true? Does the university I get my BS at matter as well? I could go to either a cal state school or a UC. I'd prefer the cal state route, but if it weakens my application then I may go for the UC. Thanks for any advice.

 

[syn_apse]

if possible, take pre-req's at a 4 year university. the material is roughly the same, but the competition is not. adcoms like to see you challenge yourself, but they also understand that sometimes there are extenuating circumstances which make CC unavoidable. some adcoms don't care either way.

the same goes for the school you went to. some care, others don't. some adcoms even scale your GPA with respect to the reputation of your undergrad. i saw my file at a recent interview and they bumped my gpa over 4.0 so yes, it can make a difference depending on how the adcom runs their show.

bottomline: if you know where you want to apply, call them up and ask. they may be candid and pull the curtain back.

i hope this helps!

 

[JavadiCavity]

I don't think it matters too much where you take the courses as long as you get great grades. If you get Bs and Cs at a community college it'll hurt you alot more than it would if you were enrolled at a university.

 

[Mustt Mustt]

Hi, first of all I apologize for asking this question because I know it has been already been asked before (I couldn't find the thread since the search isn't working) I was wondering if I should avoid taking lower division science classes at my community college. I think someone mentioned that the dental schools prefer these classes be taken at a university, is this true? Also I was wondering i the school I get my BS matter also? I could go to either a local cal state school, or a UC. I would save a lot of money by going the cal state route, but if it weakens my application then I may just go for the UC . Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

I am not yet accepted to the school so take with grain of salt what I say but here is my expereince and here is what I think. So far I have receieved 6 interviews and from the schools I didn't expect becasue of their reputation or wanting class from the university. Out of the 6 interviews only one of the interviewer mentioned about my CC class. My GPA at both the CC and university is the same. Just do well and have a reason why you chose to go there. Could be financial, family, job etc... I think I have a good chance of getting in and I know a guy who also went with me at CC and was accepted last year to 5 dental scholls including UPENN and Michigan who say they strongly prefer classes taken at University. I think most people on SDN are just like me and you and don;t know what ADCOM is really looking for and what they want. It is all speculations on this website about ADCOM so I suggest you talk to Dean of Admissions at the schools you want to apply to and ask them what they think. Most will tell you to apply as long as you have good DAT. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Audio]

if possible, take pre-req's at a 4 year university. the material is roughly the same, but the competition is not. adcoms like to see you challenge yourself, but they also understand that sometimes there are extenuating circumstances which make CC unavoidable. some adcoms don't care either way.

the same goes for the school you went to. some care, others don't. some adcoms even scale your GPA with respect to the reputation of your undergrad. i saw my file at a recent interview and they bumped my gpa over 4.0 so yes, it can make a difference depending on how the adcom runs their show.

bottomline: if you know where you want to apply, call them up and ask. they may be candid and pull the curtain back.

i hope this helps!

What was your original GPA? that's crazy. Which school was it...could you give me a hint 😉

 

[issa]

how are the ad coms are going to see your cc gpa or grades?

 

[syn_apse]

What was your original GPA? that's crazy. Which school was it...could you give me a hint 😉

check your mailbox...

 

[Alpha13]

how are the ad coms are going to see your cc gpa or grades?

Bump, anyone know the answer to this?

 

[Alpha13]

how are the ad coms are going to see your cc gpa or grades?

Bump, anyone know the answer to this?

 

[tinman831]

you have to enter the grades you received for your CC courses exactly like you do for the courses you took at a university.

 

[PDizzle]

Bump, anyone know the answer to this?

If you look at your AADSAS ap, you will see the total GPA as well as the GPA's from each of the schools you enter.

 

[Richnator]

I am not yet accepted to the school so take with grain of salt what I say but here is my expereince and here is what I think. So far I have receieved 6 interviews and from the schools I didn't expect becasue of their reputation or wanting class from the university. Out of the 6 interviews only one of the interviewer mentioned about my CC class. My GPA at both the CC and university is the same. Just do well and have a reason why you chose to go there. Could be financial, family, job etc... I think I have a good chance of getting in and I know a guy who also went with me at CC and was accepted last year to 5 dental scholls including UPENN and Michigan who say they strongly prefer classes taken at University. I think most people on SDN are just like me and you and don;t know what ADCOM is really looking for and what they want. It is all speculations on this website about ADCOM so I suggest you talk to Dean of Admissions at the schools you want to apply to and ask them what they think. Most will tell you to apply as long as you have good DAT. Just my 2 cents.

He is totally right. Just do well on the DAT and they will not doubt your abilities even if you took your prereqs at a CC.

 

[luder98]

Although some (like Michigan) care about where you take your pre-reqs, most don't. I also agree with the previous posts. Make sure you get at least a B and do well on the DAT. IMO, it's not where you take the courses, it's how you take them. I took all my pre-reqs at CC.

 

[U2Me2]

Although some (like Michigan) care about where you take your pre-reqs, most don't. I also agree with the previous posts. Make sure you get at least a B and do well on the DAT. IMO, it's not where you take the courses, it's how you take them. I took all my pre-reqs at CC.

What Syn_apse said is right. No one knows better than an academic institution that there is a wide range of "quality" (bad word but it works) from one school to the next. GPAs are not always comparable. That's why there's a DAT, to provide a common measure to compare people.

Also previously said, personal circumstances limit choices. Go to the "best" school you can go to, take classes at the "best" school available to you. It's a no brainer that CC courses and instructors are usually not at the level of a 4 year university. Also that some 4 year schools are less competitive and challenging than more selective schools.

 

[beannaithe]

Yeah. A lot of different schools have different ways that their GPA works and some classes are easier. For example, I started out at a branch campus of my first school due to personal reasons and the classes were incredibly easy and I could earn A's in all my general sciences quite easily. When I moved to the main campus the following semester, the material was not harder but the exams were much, much harder. But still, for whatever reason, I think the GPA between the branch campus and the mains campus are considered identical because they are from the same school. I have no idea why.

If you can manage to take classes at a branch of a main school. Then it might be easier.

 

[springserene]

I called Temple dental, and the admissions couselor said it's best to stay away from community college for science classes. A few is ok, but a whole courseload is not. Also, he said that state college is ok.
I called Pitt dental, and was told that gpa is multiplied on a number from 1-1.7
CC is a flat one. She gave me an example of a girl from barnard college w/ a 3.6 gpa which became a 3.9. U can call pitt, and ask what number ur college is. She also said that if u have good dat and gpa, then state college is ok.
I am surprise at how forthright admin offices have been...so refreshing

 

[Yellow Snow]

I found the following e-mail from a dental school admin to be enlightening: The admissions committee will accept credits from any accredited
college. However, during the first stage of the admissions
evaluationprocess, each applicant is given points for each part of their
application.
When this is done, the specific college(s) you attended are
taken into account. This is done for a very logical reason: certain
college's courses can be significantly harder than others. For example, a
3.5 at Harvard will receive MORE points than a 4.0 at a small community
college.
This "ranking" is determined on a national basis (our faculty
members are not in charge of setting this up). Most dental schools
standardize GPAs in this fashion while looking at applications.

This is the only disadvantage that I know of for attending a
community college vs. a major university. The community college rankings
are generally LOWER than major universities, and thus the applicant
will receive less points for the GPA portion of the application.

I hope this helps. If not, please e-mail me back and ask any
more
questions you may have!"

So, there you have it.