Community College

[signature16]

Is this correct?

[SIZE=-1][SIZE=-1] If you are considering attending a two-year college first, you may want to reconsider: Many medical schools do not include community college grades when calculating GPAs. This then requires that your prerequisites be taken at a four-year institution (otherwise you could officially have no science GPA!). Even if the medical schools to which you apply do accept your two-year-college science courses, they will likely weigh the two-year courses less than those at most four-year colleges, and this will hurt your chances of acceptance.[/SIZE][/SIZE]

http://education.yahoo.com/college/essentials/articles/college/planning_ahead_med_school.html



If so, how badly will community college look? Is it worth pursuing a med school (3.6 CC GPA / 4.0 science GPA) from community college?

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[Bacchus]

I'm first going to say hogwash.

 

[MassTransport]

The article is misleading. AMCAS calculates your GPA, not medical schools, and AMCAS does include community college credits in your undergraduate GPA same as any other baccalaureate course. Some medical schools do explicitly recommend that you don't take your sciences at a community college, however.

Even if the medical schools to which you apply do accept your two-year-college science courses, they will likely weigh the two-year courses less than those at most four-year colleges, and this will hurt your chances of acceptance. This does not mean you cannot get into medical school if you start your college career at a community college - only that there may be additional factors for you to consider.

This block I agree with, with the observation that "weigh" is more qualitative than quantitative.

 

[Bacchus]

Now here is my reasoning. Taking a few of the pre-requisites at a community college is fine (bio and chem). Taking all of them may raise a red flag. Doing great in all the pre-reqs at a community college will work for you, but doing poorly is going to make adcoms go, "Hmm..." If you're transferring to a 4-year institution then I would hold off on taking organic and physics until then. These are "more challenging" and if you do well in them at a four year institution you have no worries. Biology education is pretty much standardized in that you will learn the same thing everywhere, for the most part. The same can go for chemistry. A professor at a CC is not going to teach less material than one at a four year institution. pakbabydoll I believe attends a CC at present and probably can let you know how biology and chemistry are. Also, if you're worried about the stigma, then take upper level biology courses at a four year university. This will "prove" that you can do well on hard material. CC credits will count because they are part of your undergraduate degree. No medical school is going to let you go on a bad grade, regardless if it is from either a CC or 4-year school. I would read around the forums for a bit to get a feel about medical school. That site doesn't seem to know whats going on. I would recommend applying to atleast a state school because I haven't heard of people going on from community college to medical school. It probably has been done, but the stereotype is that community college is not as rigorous as a four year institution. That being said, I can say my friend's honors program at a local community college back home is a lot more rigorous than some of PA's state schools. Lucky for her, her final two years are distance courses through Temple. She'll have a Temple degree even though she attended school through the community college.

Edit: I'm sure Isoprop didn't think of that off the top of his head. That being said, definitely look into it. Most schools will accept some pre-reqs from a CC.

 

[Isoprop]

from my memory, there are some schools that require applicants to complete all prereqs from 4 year colleges (e.g. boston) and not cc's. anyone confirm this?

 

[med11]

from my memory, there are some schools that require applicants to complete all prereqs from 4 year colleges (e.g. boston) and not cc's. anyone confirm this?

I did some prereqs at a com. college during summers and still got an interview at BU. that article is kinda crazy.

 

[Isoprop]

generally speaking, if you did some prereq work at a CC, ace some upper-div science classes at a 4 year university. it raises flags if you took all your BCPM classes at a 2 year CC.

also, i think it is generally unwise to take prereq classes at a community college WHILE enrolled at a 4 year university. it makes you look like you are taking it there to avoid a hard university class.

 

[Isoprop]

I did some prereqs at a com. college during summers and still got an interview at BU. that article is kinda crazy.

ok i was misinformed then.

 

[MassTransport]

Boston strongly recommends but doesn't require. From their application: "We generally prefer that applicants take these courses at 4-yr undergraduate institutions, rather than utilize advanced placement credits or community courses."

 

[geneticboya]

LOL i wish my cc gpa was not counted. It would probably boost my gpa.

 

[student12x]

This really sucks... I'm at a community college!!!!

 

[Bacchus]

This really sucks... I'm at a community college!!!!

Do your first two years there and transfer to a state school. Some state school tuitions are the same as community college tuitions.

 

[Isoprop]

This really sucks... I'm at a community college!!!!

ah don't sweat it. plenty of cc to uni transfers make it to med school.

 

[ufgrad00]

This really sucks... I'm at a community college!!!!

I second the don't sweat it. I have just been accepted to med school and went to a CC. I have been invited to five interviews so far at really competitive schools, and I only have a 30 mcat.

I am not trying to be a d-bag talking about myself, but most of my interviewers never brought up that I went to a CC. Enjoy yourself in school, study for the MCAT, and don't let any tool bring you down.

If you are considering attending a two-year college first, you may want to reconsider: Many medical schools do not include community college grades when calculating GPAs. This then requires that your prerequisites be taken at a four-year institution (otherwise you could officially have no science GPA!). Even if the medical schools to which you apply do accept your two-year-college science courses, they will likely weigh the two-year courses less than those at most four-year colleges, and this will hurt your chances of acceptance.

This is ultra, uber, BS. I really wish unfounded tripe like this weren't published. Next they will be saying that unless you graduate from specifically X,Y or Z University you can't get into med-school.

 

[student12x]

Yeah but I already took 1/4 of my premed courses. one quarter of gen chem and two quarters of engineering physics. But after discovering this site, I'm saving the rest until after I transfer. I'm aware that med-schools expect nothing but the best grades from a JC( because its easy). But I already have two Ws. 1 in gen chem and 1 in physics. If I was from a 4 yr university, they might be more forgiving. I'm just so negative because I keep hearing from people that the JC has a stigma associated with it, both on college confidential and student doctor network.

Sure there are people that did their first two years at a JC as transfer students and eventually got into med-school. But I'm pretty sure that they had to have made up for it somewhere.

 

[Isoprop]

Yeah but I already took 1/4 of my premed courses. one quarter of gen chem and two quarters of engineering physics. But after discovering this site, I'm saving the rest until after I transfer. I'm aware that med-schools expect nothing but the best grades from a JC( because its easy). But I already have two Ws. 1 in gen chem and 1 in physics. If I was from a 4 yr university, they might be more forgiving. I'm just so negative because I keep hearing from people that the JC has a stigma associated with it, both on college confidential and student doctor network.

Sure there are people that did their first two years at a JC as transfer students and eventually got into med-school. But I'm pretty sure that they had to have made up for it somewhere.

you just have to do well in your uni classes. you don't have to "make up" for it.

what's generally more frowned upon is taking JC classes while you are in a university. fo example, if you take ochem I at XYZ state university but took ochem II at ABC community college. then it looks like you are avoiding a specific uni class b/c of its reputation for being hard.

 

[ufgrad00]

Yeah but I already took 1/4 of my premed courses. one quarter of gen chem and two quarters of engineering physics. But after discovering this site, I'm saving the rest until after I transfer. I'm aware that med-schools expect nothing but the best grades from a JC( because its easy). But I already have two Ws. 1 in gen chem and 1 in physics. If I was from a 4 yr university, they might be more forgiving. I'm just so negative because I keep hearing from people that the JC has a stigma associated with it, both on college confidential and student doctor network.

Sure there are people that did their first two years at a JC as transfer students and eventually got into med-school. But I'm pretty sure that they had to have made up for it somewhere.

Stop worrying and comparing yourself to the people on SDN. I had a W in a course as well, its not as big of a deal as you think. Just take Organic Chemistry at the University; And no, they wouldn't be as forgiving as you think, if you went and took those courses at a University. Almost all medschools see a bad or good grade as what they are, regardless of where you got it. The only exception is coursework done overseas.

Please, stop listening to the self-righteous gunners on SDN and on college confidential. Just do your best in your coursework both at your Community college and at your University, and study for the MCAT.

 

[signature16]

UCSD requires "premedical human biology" to take general chemistry and physics before transferring. I'm definitely taking OChem at the 4-year, but other than that I don't have much of an option.


Will med schools realize that?




...Also, the information on Yahoo is from "Peterson's". I'll just remember never to get any MCAT material from them. They might end up preparing me for my real estate license.

 

[Profligate]

UCSD requires "premedical human biology" to take general chemistry and physics before transferring. I'm definitely taking OChem at the 4-year, but other than that I don't have much of an option.


Will med schools realize that?




...Also, the information on Yahoo is from "Peterson's". I'll just remember never to get any MCAT material from them. They might end up preparing me for my real estate license.

"Realize" what? That post was confusing.

 

[signature16]

Profligate:
Well apparently it looks bad to take sciences at CC. I don't have an option becuase it's a
transfer requiment. Will med schools take that into consdieration

 

[Fiddlergirl]

Let me give the same answer I give every time this thread starts. YES, you can take science at a CC and be accepted, as long as it's part of a two-year program or if you take an entire semester before transfering to a four year school. I took Bio and Calc I at a community college and got accepted to more than one medical school. YES, the CC grades WILL be counted in your GPA. Once again, I just applied and those CC grades gave my GPA a nice boost.

 

[87138]

Profligate:
Well apparently it looks bad to take sciences at CC. I don't have an option becuase it's a
transfer requiment. Will med schools take that into consdieration

I took a few prereqs at a CC as an informal post-bacc (because of limited funds). I got 7 interviews and so far am sitting on 2 acceptances.

 

[HumidBeing]

I attend a CC and plan on finishing up all of my prereqs there. The classes have far fewer students. We have 16-24 students opposed to the 224 students in the university lecture halls. The professors are great, accessible, and easy to get to know well. Students actually have contact with them, instead of being shuffled off to TA's. The labs are newer and well equipped.

There are far too many interesting upper level courses at the university to put off taking the lower level courses until I arrive there, because the med school prereqs are also prereqs for those upper level courses. I'm certainly not going to delay critical learning out of worry that someone, someplace, might not value the setting in which I learned. That would run me an extra $44,000 and two years of my life.

The kicker is that I've been told by 2 profs who teach at both, and by an upper level prof at the uni, to keep taking my basic science classes at the CC because they are better.

 

[Yourmother]

My experience at community colleges has been very poor. I was excited at the prospect of the classes being "easier" but once I enrolled I realized it was a total joke. Our community college is a dump. The hallways and restrooms are filthy and remind me of the Department of Corrections. Bums roam the halls asking for money, there is graffiti in on the exterior walls, the library is loud.

The instructors are underpaid and the classes are worthless. Yes, I got my easy As but I don't feel like I'm prepared, at all.

 

[HumidBeing]

My experience at community colleges has been very poor. I was excited at the prospect of the classes being "easier" but once I enrolled I realized it was a total joke. Our community college is a dump. The hallways and restrooms are filthy and remind me of the Department of Corrections. Bums roam the halls asking for money, there is graffiti in on the exterior walls, the library is loud.

The instructors are underpaid and the classes are worthless. Yes, I got my easy As but I don't feel like I'm prepared, at all.

Ew!

It's not at all like that here. There IS a broad range of ability represented in many of the classes because it's open enrollment. Some classes, like physics and the evening science classes, tend to be heavily populated by students doing informal post-baccs in order to prep for the MCAT.

 

[skyeblue0610]

Does anyone have a link to a list of schools that won't accept pre-reqs from CC's?

 

[geneticboya]

UCSD requires "premedical human biology" to take general chemistry and physics before transferring. I'm definitely taking OChem at the 4-year, but other than that I don't have much of an option.


Will med schools realize that?




...Also, the information on Yahoo is from "Peterson's". I'll just remember never to get any MCAT material from them. They might end up preparing me for my real estate license.

Which cc do you go to?

 

[Arc]

I guess I'm dicked becuase I'm a community college student then...

 

[calnation]

i will have completed all of my premed requirements at a community college and plan on majoring in some form of cell biology (i.e. i will take plenty of upper division science courses my junior year)

anyone know if this could dramatically effect the competitiveness of my app.?

 

[Barakzai]

As long as you can demonstrate the ability to take college level science courses at the University level, you should be fine. Upper-level science courses can help you do that if you have already completed your premed courses at a CC.

 

[badasshairday]

It depends on where you are from. I spoke to one of my interviewers about attending CC. I'm from California, so the CC to UC transfer is huge and the adcoms understand that so it's not a big deal.

They know we have good CC's here. I don't know about the situation in other states. All I know is that my CC education was good enough in terms of a lot of my lower div that I was capable of succeeding at Cal with a high GPA (and get into med school).

My advice would be to not take ALL off your pre-reqs at a CC.

Go ahead and take some, like gen bio, gen chem, but leave O-chem and physics for when you transfer (this is what I did). Or at least keep one of the prereqs for after you transfer.

 

[batman1983]

I call BS on this one

 

[pakbabydoll]

I go to a CC, and I personally called different schools to ask about this. They recommended that I take O-chem and physics along with some other upper level classes at a university.
As long as you have a decent GPA and MCAT there should not be a problem.
Bio and chem classes are the same. My bio prof and chem prof both teach night classes at a university. Its a general thing that CC classes are easier but they are not really easy. My bio class started with around 58-60 people and end of the semester we only had 27 people left in the class.
Just keep your GPA up at the CC so you can transfer to a 4 year university. Do well or as well as other students in your O-chem and physics class at the university. Take biochemistry at the 4 year university because a lot of schools require it now and it proves that you can do well in upper level classes. Good luck

 

[batman1983]

From what I have heard and seen, going to a CC doesnt make a difference unless you are applying to top 10/20 med schools. As long as you have a good GPA(which you should if you go to a CC) and a decent MCAT(+30), you good. You might even get better LORs from CC professors since you have smaller classes(at least compared to state schools), and have a better chance of getting to know the profs.

 

[badasshairday]

I go to a CC, and I personally called different schools to ask about this. They recommended that I take O-chem and physics along with some other upper level classes at a university.
As long as you have a decent GPA and MCAT there should not be a problem.

Just do well in those and you shouldn't have any problems.

The good CC GPA is convincing to them as long as you can maintain a good University GPA. Now if you have a good CC GPA and a significantly lower University GPA, then it is all BAD.

 

[TRanger]

You can still get into med school even if you take all of your pre-reqs at a community college, all you have to do is show that you can handle the work by doing well on upper level sciences at the university. Take stuff like Microbiology, Physiology, Anatomy, Pharmacology, Genetics, and Biochem and if you can pull A's (and maybe a single B or so) at the university on these then you're all set. That's what I did anyway... not a single pre-req at a university and I still got accepted to my top three choices.

Of course the MCAT may mean more in these cases, so make sure you do well on that.

 

[premedstudent1]

UCSD requires "premedical human biology" to take general chemistry and physics before transferring. I'm definitely taking OChem at the 4-year, but other than that I don't have much of an option.


Will med schools realize that?




...Also, the information on Yahoo is from "Peterson's". I'll just remember never to get any MCAT material from them. They might end up preparing me for my real estate license.

LMAO that is funny

 

[premedstudent1]

My experience at community colleges has been very poor. I was excited at the prospect of the classes being "easier" but once I enrolled I realized it was a total joke. Our community college is a dump. The hallways and restrooms are filthy and remind me of the Department of Corrections. Bums roam the halls asking for money, there is graffiti in on the exterior walls, the library is loud.

The instructors are underpaid and the classes are worthless. Yes, I got my easy As but I don't feel like I'm prepared, at all.

that si funny the way you described it...lol where is it?

 

[notdeadyet]

Anytime you hear anone on SDN talk about "stigma", you should get your antennae wiggling. Stigma is largely an SDN construction that arises from poor information and fears circulating between worried applicants.

Community college credit won't hurt you. Is it viewed as less impressive than credit from a four year? Sure. And classes from whatever school folks who are reading this will graduate from are viewed as less desirable than credit from Harvard.

The goal is to make your application the best it can be. If you have to go to a community college before transferring to a four year, whether for reasons of grades or money, do it and do well. When you get to the four year, take additional science classes and they'll see you can cut it.

Don't worry about this stigma that doesn't exist. Rather than listening to folks' fears, listen to folks' experiences. I know lots of folks who went to community college (myself included) and I don't know a single person for whom it came up in the interview. And this includes interviews at top schools like UCSF.

Next time someone looks down their nose at the community college path and talks about stigma, tell yourself there are people at higher ranked colleges looking at their university and thinking about what a stigma it would be to have that school's name hanging on their wall. It's all relative.

 

[Rotinaj]

More propaganda trying to get people to waste money taking their first two years at a 4 year college.

Facts about community college:

1. It's cheaper and usually you can live at home or find cheaper housing in a bigger town. College towns are notorious for high rent due to demand for living space being so high. CC is roughly 2000 a semester including books whereas most 4-years are more like 6-8000 a semester. Saving money is never a bad thing.

2. It's the exact same education, you won't be any better at chemistry if you take it at Harvard then if you take it at a good CC because chem I is a standardized course.

3. MCAT trumps where you went to school, every time. If you get a 30+ on your MCAT, no school will question where you did your pre-reqs. Harvard Grad, 4.0, 27 MCAT vs Kansas U Grad, 4.0 34 MCAT, the Kansas grad has a better looking application because they actually applied the knowledge that was thrown at them which is the whole point of the MCAT. In that instance, all the Harvard grad did was do enough studying/cramming to get an A and then they forgot about the information.

Believe it or not, the whole 2 year institution system is primarily geared for transfering to 4-year institutions. The advantages of 4-year institutions are really only useful towards the last 2 years of your education. You don't need to worry about research projects or high-tech facilities when you're taking english comp and basic science like bio, chem and calculus. Besides, any projects you do before you have taken those first few years will be far too simplified to be of any use for your growth. The goal of research projects should be to synthesize most of what you've gotten out of your education into something applicable, and you aren't going to do that in your first 2 years.

Bottom line, don't believe these hacks who push "status" off as some kind of merit. The only thing a big name school has for it is how well it's general student body does on the average, but what does that say about you personally? An individual is not a statistic. Your numbers won't lie.

I hope this has been of help to someone.

 

[aemed724]

I'm in cc as well I have one more year there before I transfer so should I wait untill I transfer to take physics?

 

[SketchLazy]

I'm in cc as well I have one more year there before I transfer so should I wait untill I transfer to take physics?

If you can, yeah. It's not an absolute requirement though. But first, you have to find out if the university your transferring to will let you transfer without completing physics. If they don't, then you really don't have a choice. Most uni's (unless you're transferring as some part of a special program) want you to finish all your lower division major requirements before you transfer. For them, that's the whole point of letting you transfer as a junior.

 

[aemed724]

If you can, yeah. It's not an absolute requirement though. But first, you have to find out if the university your transferring to will let you transfer without completing physics. If they don't, then you really don't have a choice. Most uni's (unless you're transferring as some part of a special program) want you to finish all your lower division major requirements before you transfer. For them, that's the whole point of letting you transfer as a junior.

okay thank you

 

[sicko]

I agree with a lot of you. I'm a recent immigrant and went to a community college before transferring to a 4yr institution. I took most of pre-med courses at a JC. I applied to ~20 schools and so far got only 2 MD interviews and 3 DO acceptances. I guess DO schools don't care much about where you completed your prerequisites but most MD schools do.

 

[suwaifo]

I agree with a lot of you. I'm a recent immigrant and went to a community college before transferring to a 4yr institution. I took most of pre-med courses at a JC. I applied to ~20 schools and so far got only 2 MD interviews and 3 DO acceptances. I guess DO schools don't care much about where you completed your prerequisites but most MD schools do.

Wait, this in no way says that MD schools care more about this stuff than DO schools so. That is taking into consideration that schools even consider CC classes.
Also, someone said earlier that classes were easier, that's not necessarily true. There should be a sticky post about community college, someone is always asking this and someone is always responding with a less than helpful elitist response.

 

[TehDoc]

I agree with a lot of you. I'm a recent immigrant and went to a community college before transferring to a 4yr institution. I took most of pre-med courses at a JC. I applied to ~20 schools and so far got only 2 MD interviews and 3 DO acceptances. I guess DO schools don't care much about where you completed your prerequisites but most MD schools do.

there is also your grades and mcat scores to consider.

 

[njbmd]

If you have taken your pre-med courses at a community college and have yet to apply to medical school, e-mail your prospective schools and find out if they take community college coursework. Most medical schools do not have a problem with community college classes if you are taking the right courses (full-year with lab) and they transfer to your four-year institution.

If a medical school won't take your coursework, apply to another school. There are plenty of schools in this country that will take your coursework. If you have yet to take your pre-med coursework, then take general education coursework (English, history, psych) and save your pre-med work for your four-year institution if you are worried about the level of your community college science courses.

The two schools that I do admissions work accept community college pre-reqs with no problem as long as they are full-year with lab and not the pre-nursing (allied healthcare) type courses. The biggest thing to make sure of is that you do well and that your coursework is of sufficient breadth and depth that you can do well on the Medical College Admissions Test.

 

[Doublecortin]

Is this correct?



http://education.yahoo.com/college/essentials/articles/college/planning_ahead_med_school.html



If so, how badly will community college look? Is it worth pursuing a med school (3.6 CC GPA / 4.0 science GPA) from community college?

[SIZE=-1][SIZE=-1]Many medical schools do not include community college grades when calculating GPAs. This then requires that your prerequisites be taken at a four-year institution (otherwise you could officially have no science GPA!). Even if the medical schools to which you apply do accept your two-year-college science courses, they will likely weigh the two-year courses less than those at most four-year colleges, and this will hurt your chances of acceptance.



whoever wrote this is a complete *****, and I am livin' breathin' proof of that. Your CC and university grades get combined and 99% of med schools would not give a siht if you did some of your classes at a CC. The only time this will become an issue if you had a 4.0 at a CC and a 3.0 at a university.

Like someone said in another thread, SDN is your best pre-med advisor, and it's FREE
[/SIZE][/SIZE]

 

[Doublecortin]

Is this correct?



http://education.yahoo.com/college/essentials/articles/college/planning_ahead_med_school.html



If so, how badly will community college look? Is it worth pursuing a med school (3.6 CC GPA / 4.0 science GPA) from community college?

you can't, you need to transfer to a university and complete a BS/BA degree

 

[nybrian]

I agree with a lot of you. I'm a recent immigrant and went to a community college before transferring to a 4yr institution. I took most of pre-med courses at a JC. I applied to ~20 schools and so far got only 2 MD interviews and 3 DO acceptances. I guess DO schools don't care much about where you completed your prerequisites but most MD schools do.

What was your grades, MCAT score, what courses did you take at the jc, and how was your grades at the jcx compared to the 4 year institution