Community College Question

[Sportellis]

Hello everyone, first time poster here.
I will be a freshman attending a community college this year. For me, this option makes the most sense financially. I have browsed through the forum and found topics stating that taking my general ed requirements at a community college will not significantly hinder my chances at getting into med school.

The problem is that due to the high demand for these classes I was only able to secure 10 credit hours (2 credits shy of what qualifies me for full time student status) for this upcoming fall semester. I was wondering if med schools would see this and think that I'm trying to take a semester easy, and look down on that when it comes to admission.

Would it be better for me to leave it as it is and spend my free time shadowing and volunteering, and make up for this deficit by taking summer classes? Should I add an additional class just to be considered a full time student?

Thanks.

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[MrLogan13]

Don't worry about it. Use your time to work on your ECs.

 

[Sportellis]

Awesome, thanks.
That was the answer I was hoping for.

 

[themoonman2]

As someone who transferred from a CC to a 4-year, I would recommend finding another class or two if you are trying to transfer in two years. If you're in California, PM me and I'll refer you to some resources that will tell you what classes you can take for GE and for your major. I'm not sure what other states are like, and it does vary by major, but there were just lots of classes that had to be taken before transferring. I know two years seems like a long time, but it flies by.

EDIT: I'm not advocating for classes that are "filler" or wastes of time. There just might be courses that you don't realize will fulfill requirements

 

[mw18]

Yeah could you add a psych or something that you could probably use at the university level as an elective at least?

 

[Sportellis]

Yeah I am taking a psych class, an English, and a foreign language, these three classes are where my 10 credits are coming form.

The math class that I need to take is filled up, and I am wait listed for general chemistry but there is no guarantee that I will get in (I'm fifth in line on the waitlist).

 

[themoonman2]

Go to the chemistry class for the first few meetings at least. I had some classes start with 50+ kids and end with ~15

 

[Sportellis]

I was definitely planning on doing that. Just gotta keep my fingers crossed and hope that people drop the class.

 

[mw18]

History? Government?

 

[Sportellis]

Yeah I'll have to look into the history, government, and econ classes that are still available that fit into the IGETC and are UC transferable.

 

[ac62994]

Are you just attending the CC for general core classes Histories/English/Literature/etc. then transferring to a University for your Sciences? This is what I would recommend.

 

[Sportellis]

I was planning on taking general chemistry and general biology at my CC so that once I transfer I'm only taking the upper division requirements for my major (Biochemistry).
Is this a bad idea?

 

[ac62994]

I was planning on taking general chemistry and general biology at my CC so that once I transfer I'm only taking the upper division requirements for my major (Biochemistry).
Is this a bad idea?

The University I attend required us to take their Bio1/Chem1 with them because it was part of their Core Curriculum and linked with Bio2/Chem2 the following Semester. You may want to check with the University your planning on transferring to. And also some Medical Schools don't accept Sciences taken at Community Colleges. I would definitely take everything non-science at a CC, though.

 

[Sportellis]

The University I attend required us to take their Bio1/Chem1 with them because it was part of their Core Curriculum and linked with Bio2/Chem2 the following Semester. You may want to check with the University your planning on transferring to. And also some Medical Schools don't accept Sciences taken at Community Colleges. I would definitely take everything non-science at a CC, though.

I was unaware that some Medical Schools don't accept science credits taken at CC. I'll probably just end up enrolling into a history or humanities class this semester if that's the case. I would love to talk to a counselor about all this, but my school's counselors won't schedule appointments with you until you have completed 12 units.
Thanks for the info though. I really do appreciate your time in helping me figure this out.

 

[themoonman2]

Very few medical schools do not accept CC science credit. So few, in fact, that I cannot even tell you which ones will not take it, and I spent a large amount of time on MSAR recently investigating that. Taking your science courses at CC for financial reasons is valid. The general rule of thumb is that taking the courses at a CC to avoid potentially more difficult courses at a 4-year would be a mistake, but that is not what you would be doing. If you ace your sciences at a CC then ace your upper division sciences at a 4-year and perform well on the MCAT, it is hard to believe any medical school will look down on you for your path. I agree that the best course would be to take all the sciences at a 4-year, but the reality is that you will have 2 years of upper division course work after transferring. Waiting to take lower division science courses would set you back at least one year.