Thank you much! I am just tired of reading these posts and people saying that "You have no shot if you go to a CC". I mean then whats the point of a CC having a pre pharm program. Actually whats the point of a CC at all if its so much worse than a university? People make no sense sometimes.
Meh, to a certain extent, there is a supposition among "people" that CCs have inferior quality education than their counterpart universities. This is due to many reasons, some of which have merit and many of which do not, much like any stereotypical categorization that typifies our human condition, heh.
I mean, a big part of the problem is that CC is so variable, as is university. At the CC where I took a few pre-requisites in order to qualify for pharmacy school, the instructors were either joint professors and worked also at a 4 year school or were retired from a 4 year school and still want to teach, and get to do so free of "public or perish" at a CC. But, if you go to a different CC, maybe in So Cal, or outside of CA, you might find super easy classes with instructors who do not give a damn. But I find the same exact thing holds true with universities. Throughout my two Bachelor's degrees, I learned that every institution, from The Farm to The Smelly Farm (UCD), from West Coast Ivy League to Top 15 public university, that there are easy and there are difficult instructors. I had some classes where I'd go 30% of the time because all of the test material - ALL of it - was derived from the textbook. A+, no problem.
Thus it is "easier" to simply say: 4 year schools are harder than 2 year schools because 2 year schools are cheaper and let anyone in. We have this notion that because something is expensive
or exclusive, or both, that makes it better than something else, irrespective of what is
actually the case, since there's no really good way to compare the two.
That's why a full portfolio and strong curriculum vitae is so crucial. If you're a 4.0 CC student but a 2.5 4 year student and have a 52 PCAT with zero ECs, it's likely that the CC you attended did more "pass it all" than teach. That's why having a 4 year degree where you stayed with a strong GPA is
better than just having a 2 year degree... Because you can hold up your BA/BS and at least say, "Hey, I got a 4.0 at a CC and a 3.6 at a 4 year... what now?"
Just some different viewpoints. I'm a strong believer in the 2 year system and I think that for our purposes, that is, becoming pharmacists, it can fit the bill quite well. Not always, but then again, who
hasn't met a student from a top level or Ivy League university that couldn't tie his or her own shoelaces? I know I have.
That's why I (HOPE) think that AdComs take a look at the bigger picture. Not only GPA and graduating institution, but CV, personal statement, and the rest.
IN short? You'll be absolutely, positively just fine going 2 year --> transferring to 4 year... so long as you maintain positive work ethic and keep squared away and hold that GPA up... and aim high. Sorry, I had to throw in the last one, because I'm an Army of one.
😉
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