Formal Postbach vs CC

[Yellow Snow]

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I am currently a postbach student at Penn taking the basic pre-reqs for the first time (no previous science courses). I am having a really tough time in some of the courses (the professors and my fellow students here are all robots that never stop working) and I anticipate maybe pulling around a 3.0 over all 8 basic prereq courses.

I have a 3.4 from my undergrad days. So, my question to you is: is it worth it to slug it out at Penn for a mediocre GPA or is it an acceptable option to take these prereqs at a community college? I feel like my undergrad days show that I can do the work and I can easily come up with a story for why I went to a CC. Would I be better off with a 3.0 from Penn or a 4.0 (assuming I can pull that off) from a community college?

Part of the reason I am down about Penn is I am not used to getting 60%, etc. on an exam. I know this is common in University science courses but it erodes this humanities major's confidence.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Jone]

CC is fine. but since you already are at Penn, it will look VERY bad if you drop out.

i took all mine at CC and got into quiet a few competitive schools.

I am currently a postbach student at Penn taking the basic pre-reqs for the first time (no previous science courses). I am having a really tough time in some of the courses (the professors and my fellow students here are all robots that never stop working) and I anticipate maybe pulling around a 3.0 over all 8 basic prereq courses.

I have a 3.4 from my undergrad days. So, my question to you is: is it worth it to slug it out at Penn for a mediocre GPA or is it an acceptable option to take these prereqs at a community college? I feel like my undergrad days show that I can do the work and I can easily come up with a story for why I went to a CC. Would I be better off with a 3.0 from Penn or a 4.0 (assuming I can pull that off) from a community college?

Part of the reason I am down about Penn is I am not used to getting 60%, etc. on an exam. I know this is common in University science courses but it erodes this humanities major's confidence.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Yellow Snow]

Yeah, I was thinking about how it would look leaving Penn. I can pull B's in Physics and Bio this semeseter I think (getting out mostly unscathed) and I would probably claim financial reasons for making the switch when I apply. There are also scheduling complications that I can show...

Thanks for letting me know that CC is fine though. 🙂

 

[Biogirl361]

you should contact the schools that you are interested in, or at least look through their websites to find out their stance on CC. i know some schools will allow you to take the prereqs at cc, but i also know for sure some of the schools i applied to "prefer" that they be taken at a 4 year university or say that no more than 60 credits can be from a cc (or something to that effect, per their websites). even if you aren't particular about where you end up going, look into the individual schools so you don't accidentally pay money to apply to schools only to be immediately tossed on the basis of having more than x number of cc credits.

 

[wimmcs]

All my pre-reqs were done at a CC and I never heard a word during my interviews. My situation is different in that I graduated a few years ago with a non-science degree and when I started taking classes in 2003, they were from a CC and after finishing them, I started taking upper div. science classes from a 4 yr Univ. Good luck!