Extension courses or community college

[arpster234]

Hi,

I am a recent graduate of UC San Diego with a BA in Sociology and Medicine. I was accepted to UCSD as a junior transfer from a community college and have decided I want to go to medical school and I have been looking into taking the pre-requisites at UCLA Extension. However, the same courses I need to take are available at community colleges and they are less expensive than Extension courses which is why I am looking into them at all. I just want to know if it looks better to have taken classes at UCLA Extension rather than at a community college.

Thank you!

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[Skelfie]

Hi,

I am a recent graduate of UC San Diego with a BA in Sociology and Medicine. I was accepted to UCSD as a junior transfer from a community college and have decided I want to go to medical school and I have been looking into taking the pre-requisites at UCLA Extension. However, the same courses I need to take are available at community colleges and they are less expensive than Extension courses which is why I am looking into them at all. I just want to know if it looks better to have taken classes at UCLA Extension rather than at a community college.

Thank you!

Hi arpster234! I'm an MS3 right now, and I took the majority of my pre-med pre-reqs at a community college. I did take a few more advanced courses (Biochem, Genetics) at UCLA Extension, though. I never received any negative comments about my community college classes during my med school interviews (but then again, it's not like I interviewed at every school I applied to, so I guess I can't say for certain how all schools perceive CC classes!).

 

[EdLongshanks]

According to my faculty advisor, community college courses are looked down upon. I can see why. My experience with taking courses at both Universities and CC's confirm that the CC is not as rigorous. However, here in Tulsa, Oklahoma we don't have any choices. The only public college courses at the 1000 and 2000 level are at the CC, so OU Med school doesn't look down on them.

According to the book "Med school Confidential" the most schools will sneer at the CC courses.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

According to my faculty advisor, community college courses are looked down upon. I can see why. My experience with taking courses at both Universities and CC's confirm that the CC is not as rigorous. However, here in Tulsa, Oklahoma we don't have any choices. The only public college courses at the 1000 and 2000 level are at the CC, so OU Med school doesn't look down on them.

According to the book "Med school Confidential" the most schools will sneer at the CC courses.

It's funny, because I always hear secondhand that premedical advisors feel as though CC classes are looked down upon. And this isn't just an advisor here and there, but it seems that all of them say it.

Yet, every time I've spoken directly with someone on an admissions committee (at conferences and panels), they always say it's more important to get good grades than to worry about where you take the class. They explain that people don't scrutinize the "where", because they barely have enough time to review applicants beyond their numbers.

So who is right, the premed advisors or the committee members? Advisors see data for several schools, but they aren't involved in the admissions process. Adcom members are involved in the process, but only at one location, so they don't always see the bigger picture. The polar opposite answers are unnerving.

 

[ehsu]

I took some classes at UCLA extension and really didn't like what I found there. It sounds all good on paper but take a few things into account for UCLA extension:

1) UCLA extension are mostly taught by CC professors. Human anatomy and physio are the only 2 I know of that are taught by UCLA faculty.

2) Most grades are not curved. They will be 90-100, 80-90, scaled grades.

3) Most will be at night 2 days a week which means you might be able to stack 3 classes max a quarter if you're lucky (most classes start at 6 at earliest and end at around 9-10). Some will be 1 Saturday a week




I found it was good if you need maybe 1-2 classes but if you were planning to retake a bunch of classes it will take forever and you might not get the grades you want.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

I took some classes at UCLA extension and really didn't like what I found there. It sounds all good on paper but take a few things into account for UCLA extension:

1) UCLA extension are mostly taught by CC professors. Human anatomy and physio are the only 2 I know of that are taught by UCLA faculty.

2) Most grades are not curved. They will be 90-100, 80-90, scaled grades.

3) Most will be at night 2 days a week which means you might be able to stack 3 classes max a quarter if you're lucky (most classes start at 6 at earliest and end at around 9-10). Some will be 1 Saturday a week

I found it was good if you need maybe 1-2 classes but if you were planning to retake a bunch of classes it will take forever and you might not get the grades you want.

One thing I discovered about extension premeds at UCLA is that they are a brilliant group of people who work together. We generally get about 15 UCLA extension people in our Spring session, and more than any other demographic group, they pool their efforts and really support each other. And it paid off nicely, because it seemed like they all got somewhere between 30 and 39 on the MCAT. It was almost uncanny how well they'd do. I think the supportive environment breeds great scores. Or it's the fact that the MCAT rewards wisdom gained over time as much as it rewards knowing tons of scientific facts. Either way, it's one of those positives you don't really think about.

The post bacs we get from SMC generally don't do as well on the MCAT as the UCLA extensionites and they seem to be loners to some extent. Although other factors such as cost and convenience of classes play a role, I would recommend UCLA extension over a CC for the peer group.