Dude don't feel that way! You have a degree which is a lot more to say than a lot of other people. You worked hard for it and are trying to make something of yourself. Keep at it and don't let what others say affect you. I think people forget how much cheaper these courses are at the community college. I'm taking some now and it's saving me money! I could give two craps what someone would say. Keep focused and carry on. Cheers.
Really, I hear you. Totally. Thing is, if you are applying to allopathic schools, this does makes a big difference. I agree with you. I don't think it should necessarily. I think schools should look at the course content/curriculum and the rubrics set forth. People talk about easy admission to CCs; but there are some programs within some CCs that have a good reputation--like my first school--nursing AAS, dudes, there was one heck of a waiting list, and at least part of the reason was that at that time the school had the highest board passage scores and totally percent of pass scores for licensure in the tri-state area and in the country--even above a number of IVY league schools. At that time, they had a phenomenal chair/dean PhD, who actually was a graduate of an IVY league, and their team and curriculum really hit the mark. Did they teach to the NCLEX? No. But what they did was give frequent, relevant exams that were constructed so much like the NCLEX. People were nervous when taking it, but they weren't shell-shocked like other students from other schools. The got how to do the application approach to the knowledge and so forth. At any rate, a number of people either were summarily rejected for admission, based on SAT/ACT scores and other pre-testing, etc., or the were placed on waiting lists. I was one of the lucky ones that got straight in--even though it was a "lowly" (not really) community college program. There was a similar situation with people going for rad/us technology. When there are only so many seat, there are only so many seats. And when a program gets a good reputation and has high board schools and pass rates, it doesn't want to jeopardize it by just letting anyone in.
I get a little annoyed over this whole anti-CC, b/c not all CC schools and or programs are created equal. And even good programs can lose good leadership and go down the tubes a little. Then they risk losing program accreditation and honors, and they have to start from scratch to re-build/re-invent the program. To which I say, there is nothing like the right kind of strong leadership.
Interestingly enough, those that were so young, like 18 didn't do as well, in general, as those that were older, in general. The program was fast-paced and they didn't play with you. It was on the weed-out side. And you could have all A's, but if you didn't pass every one of those clinical rotations--which started from day one, you were out--all it took was one no so great clinical evaluation. And some of those clinical professors/instructors could really ride butt. Many a teen would end up leaving the program in tears. Mostly b/c they didn't understand what the instructors were looking for in the first place. Were there a few unfair clinical instructors. Sure, but mostly no. It wasn't the scenario, in general, where crap runs downhill. Sometimes I see this in residency programs, and that extreme subjective crap w/o sound, objective, prognostic indicators really has no place in the evaluation process. It is not too difficult to establish robust, prognostic indicators that are significantly less subjective--and lean to use more objective analysis and evaluation. But that's a whole education process in and of itself.
My n. program clinical exposure was about the student having chutzpah, safety in practice, and a sound commitment to patient advocacy and accountability. No excuses. No entitlements. Some of the 18 year olds couldn't grasp that concept, so they didn't make it--even if their grades were stellar.
Just like no one university is the same, the same could be said of a number of CC programs. Just like in real life, it's not the suit but the person in the suit that makes the difference.
Still, biases abound, and they are very hard to change; so you have to play the game as best as you can I suppose. You might not like the spoken or unspoken rules of the game, but there they are just the same.
