help! im at a community college. For top schools am i screwed?

[student12x]

Ok heres my story. Im a sophmore at a community college. I have a good gpa(3.9) with 2 red flags(W in physics and chem but retook for As). I am a math major because i don't want to complete the rest of the premed reqs at a JC. So I'm planning on completing the premed reqs at Cal or UCLA.(math majors can get in with ease)

to get to the point, if i finish prereqs at these schools and finish with a say a 3.7+. will I still be put out of the running for the top med schools against applicants with similar grades assuming similar MCAT scores? Im worried that having only 2 years at a "real university" will hurt my chances.

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[ADeadLois]

It's useless to project without MCAT scores.

 

[postbacker]

Ok heres my story. Im a sophmore at a community college. I have a good gpa(3.9) with 2 red flags(W in physics and chem but retook for As). I am a math major because i don't want to complete the rest of the premed reqs at a JC. So I'm planning on completing the premed reqs at Cal or UCLA.(math majors can get in with ease)

to get to the point, if i finish prereqs at these schools and finish with a say a 3.7+. will I still be put out of the running for the top med schools against applicants with similar grades assuming similar MCAT scores? Im worried that having only 2 years at a "real university" will hurt my chances.

Keep making As at the 4 year and you will be golden...CC for the first 2 years will not hurt you...

 

[littlealex]

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/357/6/529

If Dr. Hinojosa can do you, you can too! How's that for inspirational.

If you're looking for a top10 school, I think UCLA is a great school to be from. However, to have a good shot you need to do VERY well in UCLA, else your 2 years in CC will hurt you. Show the adcoms that you do just as well in UCLA as you did in a 2year CC.

Get 3.7+ GPA in your 2 years at UCLA, 35+ on the MCAT, couple that with strong ECs and research, and you'll be in perfect shape for a shot at top10 medical schools.

The part that you are really at a disadvantage for is the EC/research part. Make sure you address those areas by participating in research projects at near by universities.

 

[berkeleyvala]

I think Cal would be an even better school to be from. (Go bears!)

 

[student12x]

The part that you are really at a disadvantage for is the EC/research part. Make sure you address those areas by participating in research projects at near by universities.[/quote]

hey, littlealex, can just do the research and EC when i get into Cal/UCLA
or would they want to see EC/research throughout all of college?

also what type of research and ECs. would volunteer work at a hospital look good?

 

[jr doctor in sd]

The part that you are really at a disadvantage for is the EC/research part. Make sure you address those areas by participating in research projects at near by universities.

hey, littlealex, can just do the research and EC when i get into Cal/UCLA
or would they want to see EC/research throughout all of college?

also what type of research and ECs. would volunteer work at a hospital look good?[/quote]

Yes of course! volunteering is so easy to do because its pretty relaxed and stuff and it still shows your interest so it's definitely a plus to add. also, like any other campus, you have tons of clubs available im sure and other things you can do (maybe a sport for fun?)...id encourage you to do alot of EC's now since you're in a cc since it should be a very manageable work load compared to UCLA, etc. but thats just my opinion

 

[FORUM9351]

Not everthing about going to a community college is a down side. You certainly have many opportunites for EC's. Get invloved with the honors society and volunteer as much as you can (this will of course help you when you transfer to a university). I too go to a CC and my organic proffessor (think what you want of him) infact said it would be better to take an organic class at a CC because 1. it's much cheaper and 2. (more importantly) you're in a class of about 25 students. Some universities have chemistry classes that are 300+ students and you are lucky to see your professor all semster.

 

[student12x]

thanks guys, but hey did any of u guys go from cc to a top public school eg(UCLA,Cal). How difficult are the courses? are getting straight As impossible for a premed in these schools? Being pre-meds, how many hours do u guys study for ur classes?

 

[mindquick]

Being pre-meds, how many hours do u guys study for ur classes?

it really really varies. some 30 hours a week, my roommate never studies at all and still ended up getting into medical school.

 

[jr doctor in sd]

thanks guys, but hey did any of u guys go from cc to a top public school eg(UCLA,Cal). How difficult are the courses? are getting straight As impossible for a premed in these schools? Being pre-meds, how many hours do u guys study for ur classes?

I havent but my cousin who i am close to did that. He went from a cc right here in town to UCLA after 2 years. His first quarter he got almost all Cs and i think a D. (his cc grades were almost all As). after that, the next Q was Bs/few Cs. after that they were high B/low A range. and his senior year his grades were pretty good (id say 3.6ish average). but his junior year killed him...dropped his gpa a ton. then again he didnt really prepare for the tough transition.

straight As at a high ranked UC is hard...trust me. i know one guy at my school (UCSD) with a 3.98 cumulative gpa...he leaves his apt at 8 am everyday (has class for about 3-4 hrs) and he does not come home until at least 5 pm. every minute outside of class he spends at the library so he grabs a bite between class and stays at the library. So if you can discipline yourself, do that.

 

[student12x]

Wow, what could be the reason for the extreme increase in difficulty? Are the classes curved so that there would be high competition for a limited number of As?
Or could the exams be toughly graded?
Cuz I thought that the classes at the community college was harder than the AP classes in HS.

So how hard are the classes at top UCs compared to HS AP classes?
It would be scary to find out that students who easliy get 5s AP tests fail out of UCLA/Cal

 

[pakbabydoll]

Cuz I thought that the classes at the community college was harder than the AP classes in HS.

AP classes are so much easier then CC classes. My biology proffesor teaches the same class at the university as he teaches us. We even have the same test and labs and everything. I know that because some times some of his students who miss his class at the university some times come to our class to take notes if he says ok.

AP classes are basically HS classes with a hard exam in the end.

 

[badasshairday]

thanks guys, but hey did any of u guys go from cc to a top public school eg(UCLA,Cal). How difficult are the courses? are getting straight As impossible for a premed in these schools? Being pre-meds, how many hours do u guys study for ur classes?

Been there and done that.

I went to a cc and transferred to Cal. My GPA at Cal is higher than my GPA at my community college. Best advice to you is that take your first quarter/semester a bit lighter so you get use to the workload and gauge your capacity to keep up. Then increase your work load your subsequent semesters/quarters. Just work hard.

Yes it is hard as hell to keep a high GPA at a high ranked UC. My GPA in cc was 3.50 and my GPA at Cal is 3.94. I took my general bio and general chem at cc and took Ochem and physics at Cal. I have learned to work hard like a stone cold gunner here... sort of sucks but it works. Good luck.

straight As at a high ranked UC is hard...trust me. i know one guy at my school (UCSD) with a 3.98 cumulative gpa...he leaves his apt at 8 am everyday (has class for about 3-4 hrs) and he does not come home until at least 5 pm. every minute outside of class he spends at the library so he grabs a bite between class and stays at the library. So if you can discipline yourself, do that.

Yep, I'm similar to that, except my past year and a half I haven't ever really been an early bird. So I start my day around 11 and stay at the library every night till about 10 or 11pm on the weekdays. This semester sucks though because I have to transition into a early bird since I have early classes.

 

[badasshairday]

Wow, what could be the reason for the extreme increase in difficulty? Are the classes curved so that there would be high competition for a limited number of As?
Or could the exams be toughly graded?
Cuz I thought that the classes at the community college was harder than the AP classes in HS.

I think the exams are very nit picky and graded toughly to seperate out the grades because most students are very competitive. Classes are curved so there are a limited number of As and everyone wants an A.

For example, school just started at Cal and I'm taking a genetics class, one of the graduate students set her office hours to 8am on wednesday mornings before our 9am lecture. So I decided, hey thats cool, nobody will show up that early and I can go in and ask her a quick question I had about somthing just before class. I get to the office hours at 8:45am and it's packed.... on the 3rd day of school. Now those are gunners.

 

[jr doctor in sd]

Wow, what could be the reason for the extreme increase in difficulty? Are the classes curved so that there would be high competition for a limited number of As?
Or could the exams be toughly graded?
Cuz I thought that the classes at the community college was harder than the AP classes in HS.

So how hard are the classes at top UCs compared to HS AP classes?
It would be scary to find out that students who easliy get 5s AP tests fail out of UCLA/Cal

I'll tell you this much...I took a bunch of APs...my HS gpa cum. was ~4.4.

I worked probably almost twice as hard in college thus far...and my gpa is a 3.29 =/.

so its alot harder than AP classes IMO.

Personally, and from what my cousin who experienced said, I think it's just that the kids are alot smarter and of course the curve is there to help the higher end achievers. so my cousin felt no real competition at his cc since most of the kids were lower achievers or had very low gpas from high school (though the occasional very smart but less financially fortunate ones were there as well). Also, like i think i saw someone state earlier...my cousin could see the teacher anytime at all for confusion or help with any problems (english was his second language so he had problems occasionally) and he always got all the help he needed. Unlike the classes at UC's with 300 people with Office hours having a line of 10+ people waiting ahead of you to ask 1-2 short questions

 

[student12x]

Yep, I'm similar to that, except my past year and a half I haven't ever really been an early bird. So I start my day around 11 and stay at the library every night till about 10 or 11pm on the weekdays. This semester sucks though because I have to transition into a early bird since I have early classes.[/quote]

hey, does the average student at Cal work as hard as u do? Cuz if they do, I'm screwed.

 

[jr doctor in sd]

Yep, I'm similar to that, except my past year and a half I haven't ever really been an early bird. So I start my day around 11 and stay at the library every night till about 10 or 11pm on the weekdays. This semester sucks though because I have to transition into a early bird since I have early classes.

hey, does the average student at Cal work as hard as u do? Cuz if they do, I'm screwed.[/quote]

I can assure you that the average top achiever at cal probably works that hard, yes