Completing med prereqs at CC then do a SMP?

[nonibot]

Hello,

I am a non-traditional prospective med school applicant. My question is: would completing med prereqs at a CC and then completing an SMP be viewed as less favorable, by MD adcoms, than prereqs at a 4-year + SMP?

Here is my background:

• B.A. in Linguistics from a University of California, 2015
  • major GPA: 3.8, cGPA: 3.285 (university did not include two failed courses that were retaken, a calculus course and a computer science course)
  • worked full-time 1 year after graduation at a tech company in the Silicon Valley
• BCMP courses at UC
  • Chemistry 2A: C
  • MAT 16A (short calculus): B
  • MAT 21A (engineer calculus): C
  • MAT 21B: F
  • MAT 21B (retake): B
  • Biology 2A: B+
• total quarter units of science: 25

My reason for taking prereq courses at a CC is fully based on affordability. I am living with my parents again, so the most financially sound decision would be to take classes at the local CC. However, I am aware that not all MD schools are keen on prereqs from CCs. Thus, I think using the money saved on prereqs to complete an SMP would help counteract any bias against CC courses, as well as allow me to further boost my GPA. What are your thoughts? I think my GPA needs serious improvement, but frankly I don't think it's financially feasible to complete a structured postbac and an SMP.

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[heybubbaa]

Hello,

I am a non-traditional prospective med school applicant. My question is: would completing med prereqs at a CC and then completing an SMP be viewed as less favorable, by MD adcoms, than prereqs at a 4-year + SMP?

Here is my background:

• B.A. in Linguistics from a University of California, 2015
  • major GPA: 3.8, cGPA: 3.285 (university did not include two failed courses that were retaken, a calculus course and a computer science course)
  • worked full-time 1 year after graduation at a tech company in the Silicon Valley
• BCMP courses at UC
  • Chemistry 2A: C
  • MAT 16A (short calculus): B
  • MAT 21A (engineer calculus): C
  • MAT 21B: F
  • MAT 21B (retake): B
  • Biology 2A: B+
• total quarter units of science: 25

My reason for taking prereq courses at a CC is fully based on affordability. I am living with my parents again, so the most financially sound decision would be to take classes at the local CC. However, I am aware that not all MD schools are keen on prereqs from CCs. Thus, I think using the money saved on prereqs to complete an SMP would help counteract any bias against CC courses, as well as allow me to further boost my GPA. What are your thoughts? I think my GPA needs serious improvement, but frankly I don't think it's financially feasible to complete a structured postbac and an SMP.

I know someone who did pre-reqs at a CC > SMP. I think that doing the pre-reqs at a CC hurt him when he applied during the SMP year. However, he did well in the SMP, and I don't think adcoms really cared about where he did his pre-reqs because they had data from his SMP program.