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CC pre reqs
Started by litebrightgirl
There are several posts about this topic throughout the forum...so search around for more information.
While taking your pre-reqs at a community college is not an automatic bar to acceptance, it is frowned upon by most med schools. Apparently med schools believe pre-reqs at a university are more rigorous than at a CC.
(I was going to do the same thing until I discovered med schools highly prefer they be taken at a 4-year college/university.)
Plenty of applicants have made it in with CC pre reqs. Think about it, there are many many good reasons to need to take classes at a CC, and I've taken classes at them before and have seen no lack of rigorousness. Acceptable/explainable/understandable reasons include:
1. Cost of tuition (up to a 10-fold+ difference in cost of tuition)
2. Location
3. Scheduling conflicts (night courses needed, which universities don't always offer)
I would register at your local CC and not think twice about it. 👍
1. Cost of tuition (up to a 10-fold+ difference in cost of tuition)
2. Location
3. Scheduling conflicts (night courses needed, which universities don't always offer)
I would register at your local CC and not think twice about it. 👍
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I took many courses at cc and have not even had it mentioned during any of my interviews just remember it is usually your upper division courses that get the most scruitany and well known lor writers are usually from 4 year schools. I took chem 1 2, bio 1 2, and o chem 1 2, from cc. I then took human anatomy, human physiology, physics 1 2, optics, and modern physics at a 4 yr school.
Hmmmm...OK...well then OP I guess disregard my previous advice.
However, if you search through similar topics, there countless posts about NEVER NEVER taking your pre-reqs at a community college if at all possible?
This is the first time on SDN I have seen a "pro-community college" post about taking your pre-reqs there.
Interesting...but I think I'll keep taking my pre-reqs at a university.
Anyone out there have documented proof (med school website, etc.) that says CC pre-reqs are viewed equally to university pre-reqs?
Just curious...because I have read on numerous med-school websites where they say they prefer university pre-reqs.
I'm quoting various sites below:
"You may be able to begin at a community college, but make sure that most, if not all, of your pre-requisites (generally: 2 years of each of the following with a lab: biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics) are completed at a 4-year school."
UC Guide to Medical School
"Does it matter if some required course work is completed at a community college? Not officially. But be sure
to take major's biology and chemistry courses, not those for health professions such as nursing. Do realize that
many schools assume that good grades are easier to obtain at community colleges. Also, recommendation letters
from faculty at four year colleges usually carry more weight than those from two year college faculty."
San Jose State Pre-med Information
"Can I take my prerequisite courses at a Community College?
It is not recommended."
Cornell Medical School
Can I take my prerequisite courses at a Community College?
On occasion, applicants who graduated from college and had not initially chosen medicine as a career during their undergraduate years will take a small number of their prerequisites at the local community college. However, part of the overall assessment of each candidate includes the "strength of the science background" taken.
Colorado Medical School
Almost every discussion board I came across, people were posting about NOT taking them at a community college. I didn't cite these becuase they were simply opinion.
I'm sure I could spend hours compiling a list of medical school websites advising against taking pre-reqs at a community college. However, I think you get the point.
KEEP IN MIND. I am not saying taking them at a community college is some horrible thing. Just saying what I've read over and over.
For God's sake someone provide me with proof that it is perfectly acceptable to take your pre-reqs at a CC and I'm there. I am killing myself trying to come up with ways to finance $1,500 per class at a university...when I could complete ALL of the pre-reqs down the street at my local CC for $1,500.
However, there is no answer to this. YES, in theory it is acceptable to take your pre-reqs at a CC. Will it hurt you in the long run? Who knows.
I'm not willing to risk it. I can't see spending the next 2 years taking classes just to sit down in a med-school interview and get drilled on the rigor of my CC classes and why I chose this route vs. taking them at university. I'm willing to avoid ANY reason for a possible rejection.
Sorry , I sort of rambled there...
However, if you search through similar topics, there countless posts about NEVER NEVER taking your pre-reqs at a community college if at all possible?
This is the first time on SDN I have seen a "pro-community college" post about taking your pre-reqs there.
Interesting...but I think I'll keep taking my pre-reqs at a university.
Anyone out there have documented proof (med school website, etc.) that says CC pre-reqs are viewed equally to university pre-reqs?
Just curious...because I have read on numerous med-school websites where they say they prefer university pre-reqs.
I'm quoting various sites below:
"You may be able to begin at a community college, but make sure that most, if not all, of your pre-requisites (generally: 2 years of each of the following with a lab: biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics) are completed at a 4-year school."
UC Guide to Medical School
"Does it matter if some required course work is completed at a community college? Not officially. But be sure
to take major's biology and chemistry courses, not those for health professions such as nursing. Do realize that
many schools assume that good grades are easier to obtain at community colleges. Also, recommendation letters
from faculty at four year colleges usually carry more weight than those from two year college faculty."
San Jose State Pre-med Information
"Can I take my prerequisite courses at a Community College?
It is not recommended."
Cornell Medical School
Can I take my prerequisite courses at a Community College?
On occasion, applicants who graduated from college and had not initially chosen medicine as a career during their undergraduate years will take a small number of their prerequisites at the local community college. However, part of the overall assessment of each candidate includes the "strength of the science background" taken.
Colorado Medical School
Almost every discussion board I came across, people were posting about NOT taking them at a community college. I didn't cite these becuase they were simply opinion.
I'm sure I could spend hours compiling a list of medical school websites advising against taking pre-reqs at a community college. However, I think you get the point.
KEEP IN MIND. I am not saying taking them at a community college is some horrible thing. Just saying what I've read over and over.
For God's sake someone provide me with proof that it is perfectly acceptable to take your pre-reqs at a CC and I'm there. I am killing myself trying to come up with ways to finance $1,500 per class at a university...when I could complete ALL of the pre-reqs down the street at my local CC for $1,500.
However, there is no answer to this. YES, in theory it is acceptable to take your pre-reqs at a CC. Will it hurt you in the long run? Who knows.
I'm not willing to risk it. I can't see spending the next 2 years taking classes just to sit down in a med-school interview and get drilled on the rigor of my CC classes and why I chose this route vs. taking them at university. I'm willing to avoid ANY reason for a possible rejection.
Sorry , I sort of rambled there...
My mother was a nurse for many years (I think around 20) before she went back to medical school. She did all of her prereqs at a Community College at night while still working as a nurse. She only applied to Nova, and got it on her first try (she hadn't even finished Organic II when she was accepted, either).
If you have other parts of your application that stand out, I think some schools will overlook taking prereqs at a CC. I think the problem comes in when students take the prereqs at CC's while attending a different university - that makes it seem fishy (like maybe they thought their school would be too hard). I would say talk to the admissions people at the schools you are interested in, tell them your situation, and see what they say.
ETA: I had a friend that I graduated college with who took all of her prereqs from a CC before transferring to my undergrad. She got into WVSOM and PCOM. However, she did complete a biology major at a 4 year University, so I wouldn't rely too heavily on her example (just included it for interest).
If you have other parts of your application that stand out, I think some schools will overlook taking prereqs at a CC. I think the problem comes in when students take the prereqs at CC's while attending a different university - that makes it seem fishy (like maybe they thought their school would be too hard). I would say talk to the admissions people at the schools you are interested in, tell them your situation, and see what they say.
ETA: I had a friend that I graduated college with who took all of her prereqs from a CC before transferring to my undergrad. She got into WVSOM and PCOM. However, she did complete a biology major at a 4 year University, so I wouldn't rely too heavily on her example (just included it for interest).
my friend graduated from ucla with a psychology degree. Then, he decided to pursue a career in medicine, so he went back to CC and and took all, I mean all, of the prerequisites over there. He applied to 30 allopathic schools, some of which considered top tier ones. He got plent of interviews including an interview at ucsf and one at albert einestein. In none of his interviews he had to explain why he did his premed courses at a CC.
I am right now attending a CC and about to transfer to a 4-year university. By the time I transfer, I will have over 80 credits including all the premed requirements.
I am right now attending a CC and about to transfer to a 4-year university. By the time I transfer, I will have over 80 credits including all the premed requirements.
You're probably right in thinking that, all other things being equal, 4 year > CC courses in the minds of adcoms. However, there are so many other variables that it's difficult to say exactly. My guess is that it might raise a question or two in their mind, but it's highly dependent on the circumstance.
One book I read (but have since passed on to a friend, and its name now escapes me) put it this way: A "D" in organic at Harvard will probably keep you out of medical school. An "A" or "B" from a community college will not.
My path to med school led me through a fairly prestigious university, a local community college, and a state university. At every interview, I was asked to explain my poor performance in one semester. I was never asked why I took this or that class at a community college.
It's probably true in any case that if you do well on the MCAT, you will have shown (in their eyes) that you're prepared for medical school, and they might not worry as much about where you took your pre-reqs.
While I would love to take all of my remaining pre-reqs at a community college, I think in my situation it's best to finish them at a 4-year university.
I have a ton of volunteer work, EC's and other stuff to counter taking the pre-reqs at a community college, but since my bachelors and masters are not in science, nor did I take any science courses for that matter as an undergraduate or graduate, I probably need to prove that I can handle the "rigor" of 4-year university science classes.
Who knows, I may end up taking one or two pre-reqs at a CC. I can't imagine that would be a big deal to the AdComs, and it would save me a couple thousand bucks.
I have a ton of volunteer work, EC's and other stuff to counter taking the pre-reqs at a community college, but since my bachelors and masters are not in science, nor did I take any science courses for that matter as an undergraduate or graduate, I probably need to prove that I can handle the "rigor" of 4-year university science classes.
Who knows, I may end up taking one or two pre-reqs at a CC. I can't imagine that would be a big deal to the AdComs, and it would save me a couple thousand bucks.
