CC classes not liked?

[ModyzMalak]

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I think that this topic has been touched on before but I just wanted to know for sure. I talked to my advisor about taking physics and calculus at a community college and I was basically told that 'you should be aware that medical school doesn't like to see science courses taken at a 2-year community college'.

Im sure theres been endless debates about this before but... I thought as long as the credits you take at a CC transfer to your University then it is okay...and of course you do well in them!

hhmmm??

 

[apumic]

Would taking cc classes ruin any chance of you getting into med sxchool? Probably not. Will it make things tougher and be frowned upon by some schools? Quite possibly.
as you implied, if youre going to take cc classes, you'd better get all A's in em. Also, if you take more adv classes in those depts at a 4 yr, it probably won't kill you but I'd avoid cc classes if I were you....

 

[LizzyM]

If an undergraduate at a 4 year school takes CC classes during the summer, it is a black mark on the application because it looks like you attempted to protect the gpa by taking classes that are usually very hard at your home institution at a school that would be less likely to break your balls.

If you have a 3.85 from your school having taken some classes at a community college and a classmate has a 3.85 having taken no CC classes, who has the stronger application??

Funny thing... some of these CC summer classes are full of other very talented college "refugees" who are fighting for As, and the instructors are as bad or worse than anything you'd find your 4-year school. So maybe it isn't fair to penalize students who take CC classes in the summer but that's the way it is.

The "black mark" does NOT apply to students who take classes at a CC before transferring to a university, nor does the "black mark" apply to the same degree to college grads/career changers who take CC classes as part of an informal post-bac.

 

[Fiddlergirl]

I really wouldn't if I were you. Taking a two year degree from a CC and then going to a 4 year school won't made the adcom think twice. Deliberately leaving a 4 year school just for two specific classes? Not so great. Try taking the classes at your college. I bet you can do a lot better than you think.

 

[ModyzMalak]

hm wow. didnt know it was that serious. i'm a junior or senior -- i dont know, dont ask -- and i just wanted to take some classes at a CC to move things along. algebra based physics is only offered during the summer at my Uni and i would have to take calculus based physics and calculus simultaneously and theres just too many scheduling conflits.

anyway thanks for the info. i guess my plan isnt going to work :/

If an undergraduate at a 4 year school takes CC classes during the summer, it is a black mark on the application because it looks like you attempted to protect the gpa by taking classes that are usually very hard at your home institution at a school that would be less likely to break your balls.

If you have a 3.85 from your school having taken some classes at a community college and a classmate has a 3.85 having taken no CC classes, who has the stronger application??

Funny thing... some of these CC summer classes are full of other very talented college "refugees" who are fighting for As, and the instructors are as bad or worse than anything you'd find your 4-year school. So maybe it isn't fair to penalize students who take CC classes in the summer but that's the way it is.

The "black mark" does NOT apply to students who take classes at a CC before transferring to a university, nor does the "black mark" apply to the same degree to college grads/career changers who take CC classes as part of an informal post-bac.

 

[flip26]

hm wow. didnt know it was that serious. i'm a junior or senior -- i dont know, dont ask -- and i just wanted to take some classes at a CC to move things along. algebra based physics is only offered during the summer at my Uni and i would have to take calculus based physics and calculus simultaneously and theres just too many scheduling conflits.

anyway thanks for the info. i guess my plan isnt going to work :/

Are these classes required for your degree? Will they even allow you to use these outside credits for your degree? Many colleges have rules about the last 30 or 60 hours of a degree being taken at the college, so check on that.

Furthermore, read LizzyM's advice carefully. If you don't need these for your degree, and are instead a lib arts major or something similar, trying to take pre reqs for med school, consider taking them AFTER you have graduated in an informal post bacc...

 

[bamtuba]

...nor does the "black mark" apply to the same degree to college grads/career changers who take CC classes as part of an informal post-bac.

LizzyM, thanks for posting this detail!

I have always wondered how this is looked upon but never really asked here on SDN because most people wouldn't have the background to answer this question in an educated way.

I personally had a 4.0 at a CC where I took most of my pre-reqs (and other classes to be full time with fin aid) while working my full time teaching gig. I left teaching for this past year to concentrate on the MCAT and finish up my classes/study more advanced sciences as an official post-bac student. I ended up with a 3.86 there, but would have had a 3.9+ if not for the school's calc-based Physics...there was no other option at this school and man did I pay for poor teaching at the college.

I would like to think that schools take these types of detail into consideration, but I guess we'll find out soon enough!

Good luck OP!

And thanks again LizzyM!

Bamtuba