College classes this summer

[Kara31191]

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I'm hoping to enroll in a general Biology course this summer at Northern essex Community College. I've already taken it in High School; however, I always feel useless in the summer and want to do something.

It's going to cost probably 300+ dollars and I was wondering if it will complicate things transferring to undergrad. I will probably need to take it again in undergrad anyways considering it's a prerequisite, right?

My Mom asked me to do a little research to see if something like sociology would be better to take seeing as it's a prerequisite for vet school (at least one of the ones that would fullfill it for Tufts).

What would be the wisest choice? Should I take Biology to master the basic material or should I expose myself to new material? I'm not taking physics at all during HS. Should I try and take that somewhere this summer? Do you think I'll need to be exposed to it before undergrad, or did most of you do fine with it the first time around?

Blah. I could always just not do any school during the summer, but I think even an online Biology class would help to keep my mind going this summer.

-I'll probably even work on a farm this summer. It's all horses and they do theraputic riding for handicapped children and such. I have no experience with horses but I think this could help give me some exposure.

And I saw the University of Maine at Orono a few days ago. I loved it. Absolutely gorgeous. I spoke with a student who's friend raised cows and apparently really loves the whole pre vet program. I still have to go see Umass Amherst and UNH though.

Thanks for the help, 😀
Kara.

 

[david594]

I wouldnt take anything to "keep my mind going". Whatever you take at a college, it is going to be expected that you report those grades to VMCAS when you apply to vet school. So if you are going to take something, make sure you take it 100% seriously.

You could do some humanities type courses, but those are the ones you will have the most time and flexibility taking during undergrad. During a summer session your most helpful bet would be to take one of the core 2 course series that you will need for vet school. Either:
Bio 1 and 2
Chem 1 and 2
Physics 1 and 2.

By taking both courses in the series it will make it a little easier when you go to transfer them.

Let me know when you come out to visit umass amherst. I am there now and could catch up with you for a bit.

 

[greenie53]

I don't know about other schools, but the school where I did my undergrad was really horrible about getting classes transferred. I think you'd have a much better chance of courses being accepted that would count for your humanities/social science credits than for core science classes (esp. biology). If you're itching to do something, there are tons of summer internships in the US and abroad out there (many of them may be past deadlines though by now). Good luck 🙂

 

[david594]

I probably should have also mentioned that you should really look into Umass Bostons summer offerings. If you were to take courses through them, you will have no issue transfering them to Umass amherst since they are in the same system. You would be paying a lot more(close to $300 per credit), but definitely worth it if you do end up going to Umass.

 

[twelvetigers]

Personally, I wouldn't take physics if it's foreign to you. I'm also not sure if you can take it without first having college credits for trig or calc. Biology would work well, probably, but don't take it if A) it won't transfer (kind of a waste), or B) you might be able to test out of it with the AP Biology test. David makes a good point, although I dont know anything about Mass. colleges. Obviously. (Lol.)

 

[lailanni]

I suggest checking with colleges you may be interested in. Transfering credits can get kind of ugly. A quick call to their bio advisors should help you make a decision. Credit transfers have odd rules.

Since I think you already have quite a few vet experience hours racked up, 🙂thumbup:!) maybe you can take the summer to get some non-vet cool experiences? Community service, mentoring/tutoring or even starting a new kind of program in your community. Those are all great things that will keep your mind busy, bring a unique aspect to your app profile, and could be something you really enjoy.

If you've had HS biology, I think you shouldn't have any problem adapting to college biology. I got A's in HS bio and continued to get A's in college bio. Just takes more time and reading, but you won't be lost.

I didn't have any physics in HS. I hated physics in college, but I got a B. So it's not impossible to do if you've never encountered physics before. (PS- I have to add that I really, really hate physics)

 

[fargeese]

Personally, I would take the Physics. I took Physics in high school with the smartest kids in school (a couple of whom went off to engineering at MIT) and struggled to get a C, and then took it at CC 10 years later with people who could barely breathe and got an A. I know people are going to attack me for this opinion, but some of the people going to CC are pretty dumb. So if there is a topic you need to take but have no real interest in (in my case Physics and Statistics) knocking them out over the summer where you can get a fantastic grade might be a good idea. That way, you have more time to take classes that do interest you in college and in more depth.

And at least in VA, public colleges (state funded) are required to accept community college credits, so if you are planning on going to state schools, I would think you'd be fine with CC credits transferring.

 

[ShelterGirl]

If you have the time and energy, I recommend physics since you aren't taking it in high school. I didn't take it in high school and had a difficult time with it in undergrad.

 

[twelvetigers]

OH... if it's community college physics and not university physics, and there aren't any pre-reqs for the course... yeah. That would probably be a pretty good idea. Make sure it transfers is all. I had a majorly hard time in physics and would have hatedto start my college experience with something I found so challenging, but it was university level, non-summer... and we have a lot of engineering students here. That, and I just never really got it.

 

[pupsforseeing]

I transferred 60 credits from community college that I had accumulated as a high school student when I started undergrad. Because we have a core humanities curriculum here, most of my gen eds just counted as elective credit, so it wasn't quite as useful as it sounds. However, I was able to get credit for 2 semesters of calc, gen chem I and II, and stats which was helpful in cutting down the number of prereqs.

I'd recommend taking one of the science prereqs (gen chem, gen bio, or physics...whichever you feel most comfortable with). I had never taken physics before undergrad, but had a strong math background, and did fine with it.

And, before you get too laxed about courses at community college, I should warn you. While most CC classes are cake compared to what you'll find (or at least what I found) at a 4-year school, there is the exception. I go to a very competitive 4-year school, but the gen chem I took at community college was *way* more difficult than the gen chem here and still to this day (2 weeks from graduating!) one of the most difficult classes I've taken. Just happened that that prof, albeit downright amazing, was extremely difficult. So, just don't go in thinking that because it's community college, it'll be a cake walk, because you could be in for a surprise 🙂

OH... if it's community college physics and not university physics, and there aren't any pre-reqs for the course... yeah. That would probably be a pretty good idea. Make sure it transfers is all. I had a majorly hard time in physics and would have hatedto start my college experience with something I found so challenging, but it was university level, non-summer... and we have a lot of engineering students here. That, and I just never really got it.

 

[168135]

The school that I am going to wants you to take your pre-requisits when you have a full course load, so you might want to double check on that. It is costing me $1700 to stay for the spring to take psychology... next year, I'll be stuck taking tons of math-related courses, biology and organic chemistry. It'll probably kill me, but that means I'll be able to get all of my pre-requisits done!

 

[guppy73]

Hi Kara! I'm from your neck of the woods, although I didn't attend NECCO at all. Good advice on here so far....I just wanted to add that you might want to contact Laura Fuller down at Tufts Vet. She's an Admissions Counselor there and has been very helpful to me in deciding what courses to take this summer.

Good luck!!!!

 

[Kara31191]

Hi Kara! I'm from your neck of the woods, although I didn't attend NECCO at all. Good advice on here so far....I just wanted to add that you might want to contact Laura Fuller down at Tufts Vet. She's an Admissions Counselor there and has been very helpful to me in deciding what courses to take this summer.

Good luck!!!!

Wow! Someone who knows what Necco means! ((And not the candy!))

That's a great suggestion to check with her.

Thank you for the suggestions everyone! 🙂 I'm still looking to see which one but hey, chem is fresh in my mind. I would probably do well in that.

Would Umass Lowell be easy to transfer? I'll have to check with UNH and Umaine to see if they'd transfer what I'd take at Umass or Necco!

Blah. Even if it doesn't transfer, I'd like to take a class. By keeping my mind going, I meant something different. I just hate being stressed ALL SCHOOLYEAR and then being bored in the summer with nothing to do... Just annoying!

 

[Kara31191]

My mom is currently taking online classes at Regis in Colorado, but she was at NECCO and said it definitely was hard.

I was even considering taking online classes. Whatever works I guess!

I transferred 60 credits from community college that I had accumulated as a high school student when I started undergrad. Because we have a core humanities curriculum here, most of my gen eds just counted as elective credit, so it wasn't quite as useful as it sounds. However, I was able to get credit for 2 semesters of calc, gen chem I and II, and stats which was helpful in cutting down the number of prereqs.

I'd recommend taking one of the science prereqs (gen chem, gen bio, or physics...whichever you feel most comfortable with). I had never taken physics before undergrad, but had a strong math background, and did fine with it.

And, before you get too laxed about courses at community college, I should warn you. While most CC classes are cake compared to what you'll find (or at least what I found) at a 4-year school, there is the exception. I go to a very competitive 4-year school, but the gen chem I took at community college was *way* more difficult than the gen chem here and still to this day (2 weeks from graduating!) one of the most difficult classes I've taken. Just happened that that prof, albeit downright amazing, was extremely difficult. So, just don't go in thinking that because it's community college, it'll be a cake walk, because you could be in for a surprise 🙂