Community College Student

[JosephQ]

Hi,

I have some questions...

I am currently a freshman in Community College and was wondering if I should take pre-med courses= bio/chem etc. I have heard many people say that Med schools look down on your application if you take them in Community College rather than a four year school. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

Also, if I wait to take the courses in a four year school like Stony Brook will I have enough time to complete all the premed courses in my junior and senior years?

And finally, will Med schools look down on me for starting my two years at Community College?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[MedPR]

Hi,

I have some questions...

I am currently a freshman in Community College and was wondering if I should take pre-med courses= bio/chem etc. I have heard many people say that Med schools look down on your application if you take them in Community College rather than a four year school. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

Also, if I wait to take the courses in a four year school like Stony Brook will I have enough time to complete all the premed courses in my junior and senior years?

And finally, will Med schools look down on me for starting my two years at Community College?

Do two years of non-premed classes/pre-reqs at your CC, transfer to a 4-year, do pre-reqs, get As, do well on the MCAT, ???, profit.

 

[Fivo]

If you're a science major and you don't take any of your prereqs at your community college, then you will either 1) Not get accepted to your 4yr universtiy, or 2) you will end up spending 3 more years once you transfer since you'll be so behind with your classes.

 

[amad01]

If you're a science major and you don't take any of your prereqs at your community college, then you will either 1) Not get accepted to your 4yr universtiy, or 2) you will end up spending 3 more years once you transfer since you'll be so behind with your classes.

this exactly... and MedPR's ^^^ advice will not work. How can you possibly cram all the pre-req's into your Jr. year? Not possible, bad advice. Chemistry alone is a 4 semester process for both gen chem's and both orgo's.

Take whatever you want at the CC. Transfer to the Uni and take some upper-division sciences and get A's. Then with 30+ on MCAT you are at no disadvantage.

You want your pre-req's completed by the end of Jr. year, so you can take MCAT and apply that summer. They are lower level classes, CC is made for lower level classes. It is just fine to take them there. When ADCOMS see your 33 MCAT and 3.9 GPA with A's in P.chem and Biochem at xyz uni, they won't care that you went to a CC.

 

[eefen]

I took gen chem at a CC, and the other prereqs at a 4 year.

CC courses do tend to be looked down upon by medical schools, though not always because it is deserved. That's a discussion for another day, though. Bottom line: Do most of your prereqs at a 4 year and make sure you have an excellent GPA at both institutions - DON'T let it drop during the transition period. You'll be fine.

 

[ribbondino]

Generally it takes about two years to get everything done for other things you need for your bachelors, like English classes, social sciences, various electives... Try to fit those in there as much as you can. Many medical schools do frown on taking prereqs at community college. Indiana University School of Medicine won't even accept them. Check with various schools to find out, it's easy to just email admissions and ask. They appreciate that you are making the effort and it won't bother them.

 

[angemon89]

Pretty much: if you're a science major it's okay to take them at CC cause you will prove your abilities(hopefully) in the upper div science courses at your university.


There are some med schools that wont take the CC courses, but a majority of them do.

 

[Koosalagoosagoo]

Do two years of non-premed classes/pre-reqs at your CC, transfer to a 4-year, do pre-reqs, get As, do well on the MCAT, ???, profit.

If you are going to transfer as a science major this is a very bad idea.

 

[billymays]

If you are going to transfer as a science major this is a very bad idea.

why is it a bad idea?

 

[amad01]

why is it a bad idea?

It should be pretty obvious.... a science major will need a lot of core pre-req's before he/she can take upper division sciences necessary for a degree.. Most of these pre-req's for the degree are the same pre-req's necessary for med school. So if you avoid these classes or "save" them for the university, you'll spend 2 years at cc taking gym, art, and philosophy.

 

[angemon89]

Not to mention universities generally wont even accept you (like mentioned earlier in this thread)

 

[phikapdoctor]

OP I'm a science major at the CC I deferred most of my Pre med prerequisites until a 4 year. I however have taken a full year or bio and a full year of chem. My reasoning behind this is that I will take a full year of O chem and Biochem at the 4 year which proves chemistry is not a problem. As far as bio goes I'm a molecular bio major so I will be taking 2 1/2 more years of upper bio classes to proof I can handle it at the four year.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN Mobile app please excuse punctuation and spelling

 

[iave9963]

If you're a science major and you don't take any of your prereqs at your community college, then you will either 1) Not get accepted to your 4yr universtiy, or 2) you will end up spending 3 more years once you transfer since you'll be so behind with your classes.

THIS EXACTLY, I did two years at CC, took almost all my premed req, when I transferred I took a lot of higher level math and bio courses. (Bio major). Doesn't seem to be a problem for me so far.

 

[dfib slim]

.

 

[lovesfall]

Some states have equivalency agreements with 4-year schools - might want to look at the 4 year school you are hoping to transfer to and see how your classes compare. I have known a lot of people who have done pre-reqs at comm college (both prior to transfer to a 4-year school and as straight pre-med pre-reqs) and it doesn't seem to have caused any problems. Comm college is a lot cheaper and I don't think there's anything wrong with doing basic classes there. If your comm college is really easy though, you might find yourself playing catch-up after you transfer to a 4-year and find that your classes didn't cover all the same material, or didn't cover it at the same level of detail.

 

[dfib slim]

.

 

[cordivae]

Howdy!

I think taking your prereqs at a community college is fine. If and only if you plan on going to a community college where they emphasize a good science curriculum (they do exist) and you plan on taking upper elective science courses at a traditional 4 year degree.

Here is WHY I have that opinion.

With the exception of my general chemistry, and 3 upper elective science courses (genetics, animal physiology, and biochemistry) I took ALL my sciences at a community college. For me going to CC was a necessity. I hadn't decided to apply to med school until the semester I graduated from undergrad. (I ultimately graduated with a liberal arts degree where the only sciences I had were astronomy and geology). So it was either take out more loans to stay at my university or go to CC. I opted to go to CC after finishing general chemistry I and II at my undergrad university.

This year after finishing all my prereqs I applied to all 8 public schools in Texas through TMDSAS of course. I ended up interviewing at 7 of them (including UT Southwestern where I interviewed on their first interview day of the season). Now 2 weeks after prematch I have 5 prematch offers.

However, I will say this... I do have a pretty decent MCAT score. Everyone may have their own opinion about the MCAT, but at the end of the day it is a required part of the application and it is the great equalizer among applicants.

Don't let taking prereqs at a CC discourage you. However, like me, I do think you'll have more to prove with the rest of your application. It can be done. Like all other applicants you'll need that kick ass GPA and MCAT score, but you'll need good ECs. Just pick 1 or 2 and make them worthwhile throughout your undergrad years. Longevity and quality are much better than quantity.

 

[acslater99]

I've talked to probably about 9 Med schools (including Baylor) and they all said it was fine as long as you take upper level science courses.

 

[Drogo]

I'm a CC student who is transferring to a university after this semester. I'm a bio major btw. I've knocked out most of my gen eds, the gen chem series and the bio 1 and 2 courses. I saved orgo and physics for when I transfer. I plan on continuing to do well in all my upper lvl. bio/chem courses also as to ensure no doubts that I have that 'academic horsepower'.

Also a med school will not 'look down' on your per say, but would like to see that you can hang in the big leagues academically in regard to rigorous science courses.

Long story short, take whichever science courses you can at the CC, but be prepared to take some upper lvl. courses in the future to offset any doubts. (e.g. Genetics, biochem, and other upper lvl. bio courses)

I will give you one major piece of advise though, you better smoke those science courses at your CC and make damn sure you do not get anything less than an A-. (obviously A's are the most ideal!)

One great part about the CC is you can build some great personal relationships with some of the prof's because of the small classroom size. So with some small effort you can get setup with a couple great LOR for the future.

Being a CC student and studying with some students from the uni I'm transferring to, there is no doubt about some discrepancy in the rigor of some of courses when comparing a CC course to the same lvl uni course.

I acknowledge this everyday and it is pretty motivational for me in that I treat the slightly less rigorous courses at my CC as if they were a lot harder. It is interesting to see how some of these other students at my CC do not just 'get it'. They are literally sliding by with just C's and low B's oblivious to the fact that at the uni lvl. they would probably be failing big time or close to it.

 

[phikapdoctor]

^ good advice but remember a 3.5 at the CC won't kill you. Better a 3.5 at CC and a 4.0 at the 4 year then the other way around. I received a C and a couple of Bs but I'm not worried because I have finally nailed by study habits and I intend to have that up hill GPA trend when I get to the 4 year.

So it's definetly okay to get less than a A- contradicting previous advice.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN Mobile app please excuse punctuation and spelling

 

[Drogo]

^ good advice but remember a 3.5 at the CC won't kill you. Better a 3.5 at CC and a 4.0 at the 4 year then the other way around. I received a C and a couple of Bs but I'm not worried because I have finally nailed by study habits and I intend to have that up hill GPA trend when I get to the 4 year.

So it's definetly okay to get less than a A- contradicting previous advice.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN Mobile app please excuse punctuation and spelling

Your post actually solidifies what point my advice was trying to get across, it is in the best interest of a CC student to not get themselves in that position in the first place of having to show an upward trend when transitioning from a CC to a uni. It is understandable if a student starts off at a rigorous 4 year and sucks their freshman/junior year, but it looks quite a bit worse when someone does the same thing at a CC. I see it and hear it all the time, many students having to comeback to retake courses at the CC because they thought that C or B- was 'ok' and could be remedied later. Stacking C's and B-'s completely slaughter the sGPA. That competitive sGPA coupled with a good MCAT score is the foot in the door for most schools, obviously pending how good the EC's and LOR's are.

I know sometimes **** happens and you can't get A's across the board, but I feel that as a CC student myself that other CC students need to get these points really hammered into their head to avoid less headache later on.