I was wondering if there is anyone who attended UCLA Extension and is/was a career-changer from engineering. I did my B.S. in engineering and thinking about going for M.D. what are the chances of being accepted into medical program in california if i fulfill my pre-med requirements at ucla extension? For now I can't take any courses at ucla since i work full time. How does compare to UCLA courses as well as santa monica college courses? Also, I looked at the aamc.org website and SMC does not come up as a post-bac program. Is anyone taking courses there currently?
Thank you and would appreciate any help.
Even though there's a UCLA in front of Extension, make no mistake that it is a separate, independent academic entitity and distinct from the actual university. The UCLA is there because Extension primarily uses university campus facilities/resources and pays UCLA a fee to do so.
My cousin was a civil engineer and took the UCLA Extension route. Subsequently, he was accepted into Wake Forest for medical school. I actually tutored him for General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry and a Genetics class. I think the Genetics is called Life Science 4 at UCLA (Extension). Overall, he liked taking Extension classes since he found the instructors to be helpful and conducive to his learning. I think one or two of them actually wrote an LOR for his med-school apps.
Since SMC is a community college and you already have a degree, it would be to your advantage to take the prerequisites at either UCLA Extension or a 4-year university. I have friends who attended SMC prior to transferring into a 4-year university and they have mentioned that Chemistry lab classes there are a joke in that one doesn't learn much in terms of theory, practical application and technical manipulation. Also, SMC wouldn't have a post-bacc program since it's a CC.
If you are a California resident, your chances of being accepted into a UC medical school are the same as every California resident applicant, based on your GPA, MCAT, LORs/LOIs, ECs, interviews etc. If you want specifics, buy or check out the latest MSAR (Medical School Admissions Requirements) at a local bookstore or library.
I can tell you this much about UCLA Extension, the evening classes are geared towards full-time working adults. The instructors are directly or closely affiliated with UCLA, either earning their advanced degree from the university or currently teaching/having taught for UCLA (Extension) for a significant number of years. Generally, Extension (science) classes are on the same level, difficulty wise, as that of UCLA classes with some being more rigourous depending on your instructor.
Extension allows a student to enroll concurrently into a UCLA class. What this means is that if you wish to take a daytime UCLA class (all Extension classes are held during weekend evenings and some during AM weekends), you have to petition to enroll into the class by getting a UCLA (undergrad/grad) departmental advisor signature, the professor's signature and an Extension academic advisor's signature on the "petition to enroll form". Getting into the daytime class will be based on space availability. Concurrent enrollment is usually difficult to access especially for lab based classes since UCLA students have enrollment priority.
The Extension website is here:
http://www.uclaextension.edu/
Enrollment into classes is on a first come, first serve basis. If you are planning to take the General/Organic Chemistry series through Extension, both series' start during the Fall quarter. If you miss enrolling into the first class of either series, you'll have to wait another academic year to get a chance for Extension enrollment. If this happens, there's always UCLA (Extension) summer school. The only was to take Chemistry labs is via concurrent enrollment.
