Have any of you gone or are attending CC?

[EL GUNNER]

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I was wondering how many of you are currently enrolled in community college or have done their 2 years at a community college? I am seriously considering this route but I'm not sure and little uneasy because I don't know many people who have gone to med school that went to community college. Anyone care to enlighten me? Thank you.

If I do attend CC I will most definitely make sure the classes I'm taking are transferable.

 

[KindofBlue]

Most classes are transferrable I believe.
But some medical schools won't give you credit for pre-req courses taken at a CC so make sure the school you're hoping to get in doesn't have a policy like that.
In general though, CC credits are ok. You may have to prove yourself a little more by doing well in harder UD classes at a 4 year institute and in the MCAT.

 

[Negrodamus]

You should see if there is a transfer agreement with any of the four year colleges in your state.

 

[EL GUNNER]

You should see if there is a transfer agreement with any of the four year colleges in your state.

I'm pretty sure there is, I'm in Florida.

 

[Morsetlis]

It's fine, but you have to ace your classes, or you'd look like a *****.

Note that certain classes are transferable to 4-year unis, and some aren't. Consult your CC registrar.

Finally, I would take at least 1/3rd of my pre-med prerequisite courses and perhaps biochemistry / physiology / genetics at a 4-year rather than a 2-year.

I think Community Colleges are pretty much the opposite of being a gunner, no? 😛

 

[obgyny]

I was wondering how many of you are currently enrolled in community college or have done their 2 years at a community college? I am seriously considering this route but I'm not sure and little uneasy because I don't know many people who have gone to med school that went to community college. Anyone care to enlighten me? Thank you.

If I do attend CC I will most definitely make sure the classes I'm taking are transferable.

I did. And I took every single prereq at CC (except O-chem) because those classes were required for me to transfer to a UC. Just make sure to prove yourself once you get to the university by getting a good GPA (especially good grades in upper-division bio classes).

 

[EL GUNNER]

It's fine, but you have to ace your classes, or you'd look like a *****.

ahhh, having the pressure would make me break haha

 

[Doctor246853]

You "can" take classes at a cc (including prereqs), but I wouldn't. I took the basics at a cc (history, gov., pysc, computer sci.) but all the rest (especially prereqs) at a university. Just to be safe dont take any science or math courses at a cc.

 

[obgyny]

ahhh, having the pressure would make me break haha

You pretty much have to ace your classes either way really .

 

[Morsetlis]

ahhh, having the pressure would make me break haha

There's no pressure in community college, and I've been to one for a few classes...

Also, 90% of your classmates are *****s (compared to, say, 50% at a 4-year). This makes it very easy to get A's in curved classes (a bit harder in classes where they require 90%+ on the test.)

 

[Negrodamus]

You "can" take classes at a cc (including prereqs), but I wouldn't. I took the basics at a cc (history, gov., pysc, computer sci.) but all the rest (especially prereqs) at a university. Just to be safe dont take any science or math courses at a cc.

Eh, that would defeat the purpose of going to a CC (saving money). He could take some of his prerequisites as long as he understands he has to make it up with upper level BCMP courses.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

There's no pressure in community college, and I've been to one for a few classes...

Also, 90% of your classmates are *****s (compared to, say, 50% at a 4-year). This makes it very easy to get A's in curved classes (a bit harder in classes where they require 90%+ on the test.)

Most CC's don't curve though.

Anyways, I went to a CC and I tookGen Chem 1&2 and Bio 1 &2, along with A&P 1 and Microbiology. However if you're a biology major you probably should take most of your prereqs at your CC.

 

[Ignatius M.D.]

I'm pretty sure there is, I'm in Florida.

I'm from FL and went to a CC and transferred (not to a FL school though). It is a good route in my opinion. You should leave some of your pre-reqs unfinished so that you can take them at the 4 year to prove that you can handle it. Honestly, if you stay at a public school in FL the level of the classes (at least the harder ones, i.e. chemistry, physics, calc, etc.) will not be much different. Many profs at my CC taught at the local university, with the same syllabus.

It's fine, but you have to ace your classes, or you'd look like a *****.

Really? I didn't have a 4.0 and I transferred into one of the best universities in the world from a CC. They didn't seem to think I was a *****. Obviously you seek as many A's as possible, but don't be silly.

 

[Ignatius M.D.]

There's no pressure in community college, and I've been to one for a few classes...

Also, 90% of your classmates are *****s (compared to, say, 50% at a 4-year). This makes it very easy to get A's in curved classes (a bit harder in classes where they require 90%+ on the test.)

It was much easier than my current institution, but honestly I doubt most CC's are that much easier than an average university. Most universities or colleges are really not very rigorous.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

I'm pretty sure there is, I'm in Florida.

There is if you are from Broward College. I'm pretty sure all FL med schools accept pre-req credit there, as long as you transfer after 2 years, UF hinted.

 

[Negrodamus]

There's no pressure in community college, and I've been to one for a few classes...

Also, 90% of your classmates are *****s (compared to, say, 50% at a 4-year). This makes it very easy to get A's in curved classes (a bit harder in classes where they require 90%+ on the test.)

I would disagree. A great many of the students may be *****s but the professors are not. All the math and science professors I had when I was in CC were phds and didn't bother curving. Some classes would start with 60 students and end with around 10 and not a single **** was given by any of the profs. It won't be necessarily hard, however, it won't be a cake walk like some of the people here describe it.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

You "can" take classes at a cc (including prereqs), but I wouldn't. I took the basics at a cc (history, gov., pysc, computer sci.) but all the rest (especially prereqs) at a university. Just to be safe dont take any science or math courses at a cc.

I'm horrible at pure math. the only 2 C's are from math courses at my CC. How bad does that look? 🙁

 

[Negrodamus]

I'm horrible at pure math. the only 2 C's are from math courses at my CC. How bad does that look? 🙁

Caribbean is your only shot bro.

 

[Stumpyman]

I did my first 24 credits (one summer, one fall semester) at a CC. Transferred to a pretty good university and had a 4.0 (a 4.0 doesn't mean way too much with only 24 though). It's not too bad, just do upper level courses at a university. Most my classes were filled with idiots, except for Chemistry (because of the way they designed the chem course in that particular CC).

Also since you're from the south (Fl) a lot of universities are generally more accepting towards transfers (very general statement, obviously a lot in the north are too).

 

[Doctor246853]

I'm horrible at pure math. the only 2 C's are from math courses at my CC. How bad does that look? 🙁

Not the kiss of death but you, of course, have to make so A's in hard classes now.

 

[Stumpyman]

It was much easier than my current institution, but honestly I doubt most CC's are that much easier than an average university. Most universities or colleges are really not very rigorous.

I actually found my CC classes to be harder than my current University (Baylor). I guess it just depends on institutes- the CC I went to had foreign professors for all Sci/Math classes so they had us do a lot of pointless memorization (especially in Chem).

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

Not the kiss of death but you, of course, have to make so A's in hard classes now.

Of course. All my pre-req classes have been A's except for Chem 1 (B) and Bio 1 lab (C)< I know 🙁. I'm on Orgo now but I'm been staying on top of the material.

 

[EL GUNNER]

There is if you are from Broward College. I'm pretty sure all FL med schools accept pre-req credit there, as long as you transfer after 2 years, UF hinted.

Ironically, UM doesn't.

 

[Ignatius M.D.]

I actually found my CC classes to be harder than my current University (Baylor). I guess it just depends on institutes- the CC I went to had foreign professors for all Sci/Math classes so they had us do a lot of pointless memorization (especially in Chem).

It definitely depends on your professors no matter where you are. I put in 3x the work at my four year though, and still come out with .3-.4 lower GPA.

 

[V5RED]

I did 31 credits at a CC covering Human Anatomy, Chemistry I, Precalculus, Calculus I, Anthropology, History, Mythology(writing), English, and a random elective.

Compared to the full university I am at now, the average class was harder to get an A at the community college level. This is due to the curves at the university. Most classes at the community college would drop the worst exam, but that doesn't do much for you unless you have one really awful exam. At my university, the cutoffs for A's are often just silly(silly low, not silly high).

That is on average though. Some classes at CC were silly easy too. I had a history class that gave so much extra credit that you could probably pass on extra credit alone. On the flip side, I had an analytical chemistry course at my university where many kids dropped out, and aside from myself only 2 others got an A out of ~80 students.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

It definitely depends on your professors no matter where you are. I put in 3x the work at my four year though, and still come out with .3-.4 lower GPA.

That could be due to the fact that 3rd year major courses are generally more rigorous than intro courses and fluff electives.

 

[Musclemass]

Your comment above says this:

Really? I didn't have a 4.0 and I transferred into one of the best universities in the world from a CC. They didn't seem to think I was a *****..

And on MD Apps you said this:

"Tough competition and rigorous courses caused some initial problems. Deflation in the sciences here hasn't helped either. A 3.05 GPA my first year at Vanderbilt has been quite difficult to recover from"

Don't get me wrong, bro, I wish you the best, but you've contradicted yourself.

People who spend their first two years at a CC frequently have problems when they find themselves in Year 3 in the Major League, competing with other students who've been there for the past two years perfecting their games. You should avoid it if you can afford to.

 

[AymAyzing]

I am at a community college now. I finish up my transfer degree next semester and will be starting my 4yr next fall. Although I haven't taken any classes at a 4 year, I do know I busted my as$ in some of my classes to get the A's. My A&P class killed me and my Gen Bio 1 class was a walk in the park. I don't think it's the institution that determines how hard the class is going to be, it's the teacher. It's hit or miss (mostly hits if you do your research beforehand 🙂). No curving EVER. It's just one of those CC stigma's you deal with. In fact, i'd bet most the people who say CC is easier are usually the students who went straight to 4yr or didn't do many classes at a CC. For my decision making I looked at it from a practical standpoint, I have twins so I needed to save money everywhere possible! =)

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Your comment above says this:



And on MD Apps you said this:

"Tough competition and rigorous courses caused some initial problems. Deflation in the sciences here hasn't helped either. A 3.05 GPA my first year at Vanderbilt has been quite difficult to recover from"

Don't get me wrong, bro, I wish you the best, but you've contradicted yourself.

People who spend their first two years at a CC frequently have problems when they find themselves in Year 3 in the Major League, competing with other students who've been there for the past two years perfecting their games. You should avoid it if you can afford to.

There are many ways of interpreting this, actually.... For example,graduating with at some schools with a 3.4 gets your high Latin honors. He could have just as easily retained a very similar class rank.
I lol'd at the major league part though... your state school is not likely going to be significantly harder than a CC. Sorry, just the truth.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

Ironically, UM doesn't.

They do! I emailed then twice in the last 3 months. I transferred from Broward College to NSU, and they would accept it, just as long as you transfer to a 4 year and not take all of the pre-reqs at the CC. Technically, Broward College isn't really considered a CC anymore since they offer more 4 year degrees.

 

[EL GUNNER]

They do! I emailed then twice in the last 3 months. I transferred from Broward College to NSU, and they would accept it, just as long as you transfer to a 4 year and not take all of the pre-reqs at the CC. Technically, Broward College isn't really considered a CC anymore since they offer more 4 year degrees.

Have you heard of PBCC? aka Palm beach state.

 

[Musclemass]

... your state school is not likely going to be significantly harder than a CC.

That may be true for your state school, it's not true for mine (UC system in Cali). I can't tell you how many CC transfer students I know crashed and burned, couldn't hit the fast balls. (Yeah, I'm a baseball fan). They simply weren't prepared for the rigor and more intense competition.

Smart kids do fine anywhere. Those who have to work to get there need to develop their technique, and many CCs aren't challenging enough to allow you to do that. When you walk into the upper division classes, if you aren't ready to excel in that environment, it's too late

 

[Ignatius M.D.]

There are many ways of interpreting this, actually.... For example,graduating with at some schools with a 3.4 gets your high Latin honors. He could have just as easily retained a very similar class rank.
I lol'd at the major league part though... your state school is not likely going to be significantly harder than a CC. Sorry, just the truth.

^This. Not sure why he thinks I contradicted myself. I was merely saying that I was able to transfer from a CC to a good university without having aced all of my classes. The person who I quoted was saying you have to ace your CC classes, not ace all classes after having transferred.

As far as the "big leagues" go, sorry to sound mean, but most people here that rag on others for having low GPA's don't usually attend the most rigorous institutions. Getting top 1/3 (which = something around a B) in a tough class at a tough school is not a "bad" grade. For medical school admissions maybe, but I know many very bright people that don't have 3.7's here (and not for lack of trying), and this shows how incomparable GPA often is. This frequently annoys me when someone is having trouble, seeks counsel on SDN, and people respond "Just ace every class from here on out brah".

 

[Ignatius M.D.]

That may be true for your state school, it's not true for mine (UC system in Cali). I can't tell you how many CC transfer students I know crashed and burned, couldn't hit the fast balls. (Yeah, I'm a baseball fan). They simply weren't prepared for the rigor and more intense competition.

Smart kids do fine anywhere. Those who have to work to get there need to develop their technique, and many CCs aren't challenging enough to allow you to do that. When you walk into the upper division classes, if you aren't ready to excel in that environment, it's too late

This is being a bit too presumptuous. I know many CC students that were in the gifted program with me in high school and are very bright. I agree that some may not be prepared academically, but you also need consider that transferring requires an entire life change (Moving to a new city, not knowing anybody, etc.). It can be difficult at first. This is why upward trends are common (often seen in the case of a poor freshman year as well). People settle in, and are successful after time. Also, at my school (and others I'm sure) the intro classes are actually more difficult since they want to weed so many people out. Upper levels are still hard but more manageable, and they don't care about standardizing the grading. So, it makes it doubly hard at first if you haven't completed pre-reqs.

/rant! 🙂

 

[Stumpyman]

That may be true for your state school, it's not true for mine (UC system in Cali). I can't tell you how many CC transfer students I know crashed and burned, couldn't hit the fast balls. (Yeah, I'm a baseball fan). They simply weren't prepared for the rigor and more intense competition.

Smart kids do fine anywhere. Those who have to work to get there need to develop their technique, and many CCs aren't challenging enough to allow you to do that. When you walk into the upper division classes, if you aren't ready to excel in that environment, it's too late

I'm no smart person, just a regular guy and got a 4.0 in a CC and a 4.0 at a university (thus far). Just takes hard work, if you're dedicated you will get a good gpa.

 

[Musclemass]

This is being a bit too presumptuous. I know many CC students that were in the gifted program with me in high school and are very bright. I agree that some may not be prepared academically, but you also need consider that transferring requires an entire life change (Moving to a new city, not knowing anybody, etc.). It can be difficult at first. This is why upward trends are common (often seen in the case of a poor freshman year as well). People settle in, and are successful after time.

I was confused by your recommending someone follow your path, which for you resulted in a 3.0 gpa for one year's classes and a DOWNWARD trend. No disrespect intended and I hope it works out ok for you.

My experience is that most people who start as freshmen at 4 year schools get better upper division grades than those who first go to a CC. You can disagree if you want, but your experience is consistent with what I've seen in many others.

 

[CodeBlu]

As an example, I know two people who completed their pre-reqs at community college and matriculated into a US allopathic school.

One of them did have a professional degree not in the medical field.

 

[V5RED]

I'm no smart person, just a regular guy and got a 4.0 in a CC and a 4.0 at a university (thus far). Just takes hard work, if you're dedicated you will get a good gpa.

Bull. That is a nice fantasy, but the truth is that you did not get those grades solely by hard work. You were born smarter than other people which gave you the potential to get those grades.

There are people who will work really hard, meet with the teachers as much as possible, and the best they can get is a C. This is a sentiment echoed by many of my teachers.

It is no different than sports. If an average person tries really really hard, he will never make it into the NFL. Only people born better than average(in an athletic sense) can make it there.

In both cases it still takes hard work, but it is false to say that it only takes hard work.

 

[Ignatius M.D.]

I was confused by your recommending someone follow your path, which for you resulted in a 3.0 gpa for one year's classes and a DOWNWARD trend. No disrespect intended and I hope it works out ok for you.

My experience is that most people who start as freshmen at 4 year schools get better upper division grades than those who first go to a CC. You can disagree if you want, but your experience is consistent with what I've seen in many others.

Ahh OK. No worries man. The trend is more of an off-balanced L now though . I do still recommend it, but I happened to transfer into a particularly rigorous place and was not expecting it. CC transfer students may just need to take it a little easy at first (I had a really hard, compact schedule), and give themselves time to adjust if necessary. I actually had to take most of my pre-reqs at my 4 year since I wasn't pre-med as a freshman, and those ended up being more rigorous than the upper levels (gotta weed the freshman out somehow 😉). If your school is structured different in terms of which courses you weed people out I can definitely see students struggling if they jump into the more rigorous pre-reqs/upper levels. For example, orgo is quite manageable here because we weed out in gen chem/bio.

Also, it's important to note that the CC is usually preparing the student for a specific level of school. In my case it was for the local university, which is not a very rigorous one. So, I was definitely not ready when I chose to transfer to a school more difficult than the one I was prepared for. Perhaps this happens at your school as well.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

To: V5RED

I partly agree with that statement. Only because I know a handful of people, i.e. my cousin who has completed 134 credits at UF with a 4.0 GPA double majoring in Chemical Engineering and Biology and is only a Junior.
On the other hand, I know some mor handful of people who were horrible high school students, yet when they got into college, worked real hard and one I know transferred out of his CC after 1 year and is about to complete his BS in Microbio with a 3.78 GPA and has a 33 MCAT. He used to be a major pothead and wasn't the best at science courses either at my high school.
Just my two cents.

 

[Ignatius M.D.]

Bull. That is a nice fantasy, but the truth is that you did not get those grades solely by hard work. You were born smarter than other people which gave you the potential to get those grades.

There are people who will work really hard, meet with the teachers as much as possible, and the best they can get is a C. This is a sentiment echoed by many of my teachers.

It is no different than sports. If an average person tries really really hard, he will never make it into the NFL. Only people born better than average(in an athletic sense) can make it there.

In both cases it still takes hard work, but it is false to say that it only takes hard work.

What if you're a star in high school football and become average for a D1 team? This is how it is academically at some schools. Would you say an average student at MIT with a 3.2 GPA is a "bad student"?

 

[miui]

ahhh, having the pressure would make me break haha

Do not forget that you will also have to maintain a pretty competitive GPA even after you transfer. So in terms of pressure there is a lot more in store for you to come.

 

[V5RED]

What if you're a star in high school football and become average for a D1 team? This is how it is academically at some schools. Would you say an average student at MIT with a 3.2 GPA is a "bad student"?

What does this have to do with what I said?

In short, I said that being a 4.0 student means you were genetically gifted with intelligence.

Explain how saying that someone can do very well in high school and then not so well in college has anything to do with the fact that to be at the top requires the genetic potential to do so.

 

[V5RED]

To: V5RED

I partly agree with that statement. Only because I know a handful of people, i.e. my cousin who has completed 134 credits at UF with a 4.0 GPA double majoring in Chemical Engineering and Biology and is only a Junior.
On the other hand, I know some mor handful of people who were horrible high school students, yet when they got into college, worked real hard and one I know transferred out of his CC after 1 year and is about to complete his BS in Microbio with a 3.78 GPA and has a 33 MCAT. He used to be a major pothead and wasn't the best at science courses either at my high school.
Just my two cents.

I never said that it is genetics alone that gets you a 4.0. It is genetics plus trying. In the case of your pothead friend, he had the genetics and simply did not apply the effort required for good grades until college.

I fall into that category of being genetically gifted, but not trying until college as well.(edit:technically not trying until I went back to college after dropping out during my first semester many moons ago)

 

[Ignatius M.D.]

What does this have to do with what I said?

In short, I said that being a 4.0 student means you were genetically gifted with intelligence.

Explain how saying that someone can do very well in high school and then not so well in college has anything to do with the fact that to be at the top requires the genetic potential to do so.

Relax. I wasn't arguing that. This is what I was responding to (sorry, perhaps I should have bolded it):

"There are people who will work really hard, meet with the teachers as much as possible, and the best they can get is a C. This is a sentiment echoed by many of my teachers."

There are people naturally intelligent that also work hard, yet get B's or worse in a competitive environment. I was merely bringing this up because it seemed to be general consensus in this thread that with intelligence and hard work you will get a high GPA. The insinuation being that if you don't you are lacking one or both.

 

[V5RED]

Relax. I wasn't arguing that. This is what I was responding to (sorry, perhaps I should have bolded it):

"There are people who will work really hard, meet with the teachers as much as possible, and the best they can get is a C. This is a sentiment echoed by many of my teachers."

There are people naturally intelligent that also work hard, yet get B's or worse in a competitive environment. I was merely bringing this up because it seemed to be general consensus in this thread that with intelligence and hard work you will get a high GPA. The insinuation being that if you don't you are lacking one or both.

The insinuation is probably true unless the person in question attends a school that deliberately deflates grades(ie Harvey Mudd).

 

[Morsetlis]

If all you can get is a C you must be learning the course in a different language.

The only C+ I got in college was in a course I didn't buy the book for, hated the professor, and there was a wildfire that year.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

^ Or the material is just plain hard as hell.
Try taking classes like Phy Chem where 3/4 of the students drop and half that stay get C's or lower.

 

[generator]

Also, 90% of your classmates are *****s (compared to, say, 50% at a 4-year).

🤣yup that's about right!

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Bull. That is a nice fantasy, but the truth is that you did not get those grades solely by hard work. You were born smarter than other people which gave you the potential to get those grades.

There are people who will work really hard, meet with the teachers as much as possible, and the best they can get is a C. This is a sentiment echoed by many of my teachers.

It is no different than sports. If an average person tries really really hard, he will never make it into the NFL. Only people born better than average(in an athletic sense) can make it there.

In both cases it still takes hard work, but it is false to say that it only takes hard work.

1) learn what epigenetics are, and that intelligence is probably more influenced by early childhood experiences than your genetic make up.
2) we all do have strengths and interests. However for the most part most classes are purely memorization and a little critical thinking mixed in. You do not need to be a genius or a special snowflake to get A's in most classes. Hell there are some people who never learn to understand the material and still get an A.
3) Luck.