Currently Attending Community College

[newenglandhomebody]

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Hey, so I am currently a student at my local community college. My goal is to attend a four year institution after I graduate from community college and then eventually medical school. So my question, is it a waste of my time to go to community college? I'm not really ready to go to a four year institution and I'm just attending community college to get some credits without spending big bucks. My CC doesn't have a pre-med program so I'm not entirely sure what classes I would need to take to transfer credits once I attend a four year college.

What is your opinion?

 

[themoonman2]

It is better to take pre-requisites at a 4 year. I'm not entirely sure what your situation is, but in order for me to transfer from my CC to a 4 year, I had to take 2 years worth of specific classes that the university I hoped to transfer to dictated. In other words, you may not be able to just take a few classes and transfer to a good 4 year when you feel like it- you may be required to take all your pre-requisite classes at the 4 year before transferring. While taking all your pre-reqs at a CC can be done (I did it and have been accepted to a medical school in my first application cycle), if you can avoid taking the classes at the CC, you should. For many people that go to a CC and hope to graduate from a 4 year with a science major in 4 years, avoiding taking prereqs at the CC won't be possible.

 

[Crayola227]

no not a waste at all

it's ideal if you know what 4 year institution you would transfer to, so you can double triple check what will transfer over

you can always focus on getting what are some of the most common liberal arts requirements out of the way first until you get things more figured out

you could take Spanish since that is always useful and almost always transfers some credits for something (my uni required 2 years for a BA)
you could start with a year of general biology to get your feet wet, even arts majors need some science credits and it's an easy way to "test" if the topic is up your alley
I was tested into math 95, you can always make sure you get yourself up to whatever is the first class of college level math, think that's usually math 111 or some such, almost all 4 year colleges want your math up to "college level" - just figure out what that is at your school but be careful no one wants to repeat the same math at a new school
get yourself up to college level writing and English
if your schedule is packed with other stuff, you could add gym/workout credits if that exists and easy A's to fill out your schedule to be full-time & look out for your fitness so you don't have to do too much that may not transfer over to uni (for like a year I had 5 credits chem and 5 credits math, I took a 2 credit P/NP fitness course rather than another 3 credit class with homework, the fitness credits didn't transfer but that was OK with me)

what I just suggested is pretty decent amount of work you can do and most of it should apply to anyone who wants a BA or BS even if they don't go science major or med school

you can never go wrong with a year of freshman biology to get your feet wet as long as you expect that you can do well in your first term/year of college

CAVEAT: you are a good student and know where you intend to go to for a 4 year school and you're diligent about how things transfer

I was able to to a DIY pre-med curriculum starting at CC and EVERYTHING transferred except for a handful of classes I knew wouldn't and I was taking for other reasons

 

[Crayola227]

It is better to take pre-requisites at a 4 year. I'm not entirely sure what your situation is, but in order for me to transfer from my CC to a 4 year, I had to take 2 years worth of specific classes that the university I hoped to transfer to dictated. In other words, you may not be able to just take a few classes and transfer to a good 4 year when you feel like it- you may be required to take all your pre-requisite classes at the 4 year before transferring. While taking all your pre-reqs at a CC can be done (I did it and have been accepted to a medical school in my first application cycle), if you can avoid taking the classes at the CC, you should. For many people that go to a CC and hope to graduate from a 4 year with a science major in 4 years, avoiding taking prereqs at the CC won't be possible.

I agree that the CC-->uni path is almost never gonna be a 4 year stint unless you kill yourself with credit loads and everything transfers.

It helps if you went where I did where there was a fair amount of tie in between the CC and uni.

I did bio, gen chem, o chem, language, and both diff and integ calc, stats, at CC. I did as much as possible at CC even including most med school pre-reqs there (I did save physic for uni. I also knew my CC was quality & I would have no problems with how prepared I would be transferring).
However, I did physics, upper division biochem & more, math beyond calc, and upper division lang at the uni with same fulltime hours and kept my grades and work/ECs the same/better to prove that all the other "lower division" pre-med pre-reqs I had done at CC could be "trusted" by med schools looking at my app.

I went against the typical thing about how much I took where, but I had a compelling reason that I did so that was obvious (financial) and the rest of my app was within guidelines so that's why I think I got "away" with it.

You can do it and save money and it all works out but you need to know exactly what you're doing. If you're just middling along in CC, that's fine just be sure your GPA is great and take gen ed and some bio

 

[themoonman2]

Forgot to add, you should use www.assist.org to choose courses you'll need in order to transfer. If you're in California, you also have to complete IGETC

EDIT: I didn't realize that www.assist.org was ONLY for California. My apologies.

 

[abn632]

I took all of my prereqs at a CC (though I already had my undergrad). My biggest advice would be to take it easy when you transition to a 4-year and start taking upper-level science classes. There is a difference between CC and a 4-year university. I'm not saying it's necessarily easier or harder, but it's definitely different. So don't overload with biochemistry, cell biology, genetics and immunology all in that first semester at a university. Pace yourself, get a feel for how the new school works, its demands, etc.

 

[themoonman2]

I agree that the CC-->uni path is almost never gonna be a 4 year stint unless you kill yourself with credit loads and everything transfers.

It helps if you went where I did where there was a fair amount of tie in between the CC and uni.

I did bio, gen chem, o chem, language, and both diff and integ calc, stats, at CC. I did as much as possible at CC even including most med school pre-reqs there (I did save physic for uni. I also knew my CC was quality & I would have no problems with how prepared I would be transferring).
However, I did physics, upper division biochem & more, math beyond calc, and upper division lang at the uni with same fulltime hours and kept my grades and work/ECs the same/better to prove that all the other "lower division" pre-med pre-reqs I had done at CC could be "trusted" by med schools looking at my app.

I went against the typical thing about how much I took where, but I had a compelling reason that I did so that was obvious (financial) and the rest of my app was within guidelines so that's why I think I got "away" with it.

You can do it and save money and it all works out but you need to know exactly what you're doing. If you're just middling along in CC, that's fine just be sure your GPA is great and take gen ed and some bio

I agree that one can be successful after taking pre-reqs at a CC- I took literally all of pre-reqs at a CC. As you say, it's about having a compelling reason and proving to the med schools that you can succeed in other academic areas like the MCAT and in upper div sciences at a 4 year. If you do those things and set yourself apart from the rest of the applicant heard in terms of research, volunteer, etc, it's definitely possible to be successful.

 

[PreMedTex]

Man its times like this I'm glad I live in Texas! Transferring here is a piece of cake and most schools are required to accept almost all credits as long as they apply to your degree plan at the 4 year university. I'm currently transferring to a 4-year from a CC and they have been more than welcoming. I hope everything turns out well for you!!

 

[andrek82]

So don't overload with biochemistry, cell biology, genetics and immunology all in that first semester at a university. Pace yourself, get a feel for how the new school works, its demands, etc.

This is an important point. I did most of my pre-reqs at a CC, but overloaded my first year at a 4 year school and paid the price with my grades. It worked out in the long run, but it was a rougher road that was avoidable. The important point is that CC to BS to Med School is possible - good luck!

 

[MrLogan13]

I did all my prerequisites except for physics at a CC. No one even mentioned it during my interviews.


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[Kazengen]

I did all my prerequisites except for physics at a CC. No one even mentioned it during my interviews.


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What classes did you take at CC?

 

[ProspectiveKidd]

From what I understand you can transfer to a 4 year whenever you like, provided that you aren't a nontrad, and have taken the ACT/SAT with satisfactory score or whatever the transfer school requires in terms of high school requirements.

If you have been removed from school for more than a few years or have not taken the ACT/SAT in high school, the transfer school will typically require around 30 hours of college credit while meeting their GPA requirement.

Im at a CC right now and i wont be transferring for another semester until I finish my AA, but I could transfer now if i wanted to without it. Im completing it because it will get me another 3k/yr off my tuition at my transfer school and will increase my eligibility for a few competitive scholarships.

Im sure everywhere is slightly different, but this has been my experience with my CC and local state schools.

 

[MrLogan13]

What classes did you take at CC?

I took these classes at a CC:

General Bio
Plant and Animal Bio
Cellular and Molecular Bio
General Chemistry I and II
O-Chem I and II
Calculus I
Psychology
Sociology

Those are just a few. I took a lot of courses at my CC. I did the remainder of my prerequisites and recommended courses at my university: physics I and II, stats, calc II, biochem, upper division bio.


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