How long does it take to finish prerequisites? And how difficult are those?

[sjenn]

So, I have decided to take my pre-req science classes at a community college.
I have never taken a science course, so I assume it will take about 2 to 3 years?
(I have a degree in liberal arts)

And because I struggled in science back in high school, I am a little scared and uncertain if I can get almost straight A's. How difficult are these classes? Is it possible to get excellent grades in these subjects?

Thanks

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[Emiloo4]

So, I have decided to take my pre-req science classes at a community college.
I have never taken a science course, so I assume it will take about 2 to 3 years?
(I have a degree in liberal arts)

And because I struggled in science back in high school, I am a little scared and uncertain if I can get almost straight A's. How difficult are these classes? Is it possible to get excellent grades in these subjects?

Thanks

It's definitely possible. Many people on this forum have done it (don't have much of a choice). It depends on you though. I don't think anyone can tell you how you will perform in these classes. You will be starting with easier, basic science courses so see how you do in those and take it from there. Keep up with the material and ask for help as needed

 

[EngrSC]

So, I have decided to take my pre-req science classes at a community college.
I have never taken a science course, so I assume it will take about 2 to 3 years?
(I have a degree in liberal arts)

And because I struggled in science back in high school, I am a little scared and uncertain if I can get almost straight A's. How difficult are these classes? Is it possible to get excellent grades in these subjects?

Thanks

It can be difficult to get classes as a post-bacc student and it also depends on how many classes you plan on taking a semester/quarter. Plus, not all prerequisites can be satisfied at a community college.

I think length of time is dependent on multiple variables - like the animal/veterinary experience you have currently. If you have to get all of your hours in still then it may take extra time because you need a diversity of experiences which aren't always easy to find.

It's totally doable if you're willing to work hard and it's something you really want 😀

 

[that redhead]

The material will be intellectually challenging and will require a strong work ethic and a lot of time committed to do well. Many vet students have at least a C (sometimes more) in their pre-requisites.

Each class will be a semester in length, but in order to get them all completed it would easily be two years (and that would be if you were taking classes full time), more like three.

Good luck!

 

[dvmdreamer]

The material will be intellectually challenging and will require a strong work ethic and a lot of time committed to do well.

👍

I also had a liberal arts degree and went back. Its a totally different study technique and time commitment. For my first degree I basically paid attention in class, did the homework, reread my notes a night or two before a test, and got an A. The science classes are lots of studying the same material over and over again.

It's totally do-able though.

I also started my pre-reqs at a community college. I regret taking as much as I did there. I wish I'd gone to the university sooner. I would definitely take gen chem at the cc again, and maybe general biology, because you can't really take anything else at the same time. But then get to the university. You have better opportunities to get involved in research and get good recommendation letters the more time you spend there.

 

[jriddle7]

So, I have decided to take my pre-req science classes at a community college.
I have never taken a science course, so I assume it will take about 2 to 3 years?
(I have a degree in liberal arts)

And because I struggled in science back in high school, I am a little scared and uncertain if I can get almost straight A's. How difficult are these classes? Is it possible to get excellent grades in these subjects?

Thanks

Be aware that the pre-reqs you need can vary depending on the vet school. Some schools are relatively unique in their requirements. e.g. Purdue needs Genetics Lab, Michigan needs Cell Bio, other schools vary on stats / written communication requirements, etc. It will pay off and save you extra work in the long run to do your research ahead of time and plan according to the schools you want to apply to. I know more than one person who got caught off guard by this stuff and had to take some extra classes last minute.

 

[felinelvr44]

👍

I also had a liberal arts degree and went back. Its a totally different study technique and time commitment. For my first degree I basically paid attention in class, did the homework, reread my notes a night or two before a test, and got an A. The science classes are lots of studying the same material over and over again.

It's totally do-able though.

I also started my pre-reqs at a community college. I regret taking as much as I did there. I wish I'd gone to the university sooner. I would definitely take gen chem at the cc again, and maybe general biology, because you can't really take anything else at the same time. But then get to the university. You have better opportunities to get involved in research and get good recommendation letters the more time you spend there.

Couldn't agree more with the differences in studying. I have a liberal arts background too (and am non-trad). Once I figured out how to study for my science classes they weren't *that* difficult, it just took a lot more time. I liked some of my high school science courses but didn't do well in others (ahem, chemistry) and I did just fine at the college level. For me at least, it became much easier once I had the goal of vet school in front of me.

 

[LetItSnow]

I also started my pre-reqs at a community college. I regret taking as much as I did there.

As counterpoint, I did all mine at a CC, and I've been absolutely thrilled that I spent so much less money on pre-reqs. I wondered if I'd wish I had done any at the university ... nope.

Plus, not all prerequisites can be satisfied at a community college.

This is incorrect. I took all of my science pre-reqs at the community college. (The soft pre-reqs I already had from an earlier degree, but they were offered at the CC as well.) 100% of my pre-reqs could have been done on-site at my CC.

People really need to quit throwing this out there like it's gospel truth. It is true that you need to be careful to make sure that the classes you take meet the requirements (but that's also true at the university). And you want to plan ahead and study the course catalog of anywhere you're planning to do pre-reqs. But people need to quit advising people that it's universally true that you can't satisfy the pre-reqs at a CC. The CC route may not be for everyone, but it's usually cheaper and a good option for many.

So, I have decided to take my pre-req science classes at a community college.
I have never taken a science course, so I assume it will take about 2 to 3 years?
(I have a degree in liberal arts)

Yeah, it will take about that. It's not really dependent on how many you're willing to take at once (if you're starting the sciences from scratch) because pre-req requirements mean you can only go so fast (gen chem I -> gen chem II -> orgo -> biochem .... right there is four semesters that you most likely can't stack).

But look at it this way - the whole time you're doing pre-reqs you can be out working/shadowing/volunteering to get experience. 🙂

This might have been a bit OCD of me, but I made a spreadsheet of pre-reqs. Then I organized them by semester offered and the order I had to take them. Then I just planned my next few years. Made registering every semester a no-brainer - I just looked at the spreadsheet and took what was next. They all started in a red box and turned green as I completed them. Stupid as it is, it gave me a lot of pleasure to watch the spreadsheet go from red to green. 🙂

 

[Frozenshades]

Yeah, it will take about that. It's not really dependent on how many you're willing to take at once (if you're starting the sciences from scratch) because pre-req requirements mean you can only go so fast (gen chem I -> gen chem II -> orgo -> biochem .... right there is four semesters that you most likely can't stack).

And depending on the school you're attending/places you're applying too it could even be

gen chem I -> gen chem II -> ochem I -> ochem II -> biochem I -> biochem II

So that's five or six semesters depending on biochemistry requirement.

 

[LetItSnow]

And depending on the school you're attending/places you're applying too it could even be

gen chem I -> gen chem II -> ochem I -> ochem II -> biochem I -> biochem II

So that's five or six semesters depending on biochemistry requirement.

Yeah. And the orgo piece. At a lot of universities you don't do lab until ochem II, whereas at the CC I was able to do the lab in ochem I, and duck taking ochem II altogether (the pre-req was "orgo with a lab" basically, not "two semesters + lab").

 

[Frozenshades]

Yeah. And the orgo piece. At a lot of universities you don't do lab until ochem II, whereas at the CC I was able to do the lab in ochem I, and duck taking ochem II altogether (the pre-req was "orgo with a lab" basically, not "two semesters + lab").

Ah, gotcha. My school has two labs actually, so ochem I+lab and then ochem II+lab for 8 hours of credit total. Regardless of vet school requirements I couldn't duck out of ochem II though, because it's a prereq to take biochem here.

 

[EngrSC]

As counterpoint, I did all mine at a CC, and I've been absolutely thrilled that I spent so much less money on pre-reqs. I wondered if I'd wish I had done any at the university ... nope.



This is incorrect. I took all of my science pre-reqs at the community college. (The soft pre-reqs I already had from an earlier degree, but they were offered at the CC as well.) 100% of my pre-reqs could have been done on-site at my CC.

People really need to quit throwing this out there like it's gospel truth. It is true that you need to be careful to make sure that the classes you take meet the requirements (but that's also true at the university). And you want to plan ahead and study the course catalog of anywhere you're planning to do pre-reqs. But people need to quit advising people that it's universally true that you can't satisfy the pre-reqs at a CC. The CC route may not be for everyone, but it's usually cheaper and a good option for many.



Yeah, it will take about that. It's not really dependent on how many you're willing to take at once (if you're starting the sciences from scratch) because pre-req requirements mean you can only go so fast (gen chem I -> gen chem II -> orgo -> biochem .... right there is four semesters that you most likely can't stack).

But look at it this way - the whole time you're doing pre-reqs you can be out working/shadowing/volunteering to get experience. 🙂

This might have been a bit OCD of me, but I made a spreadsheet of pre-reqs. Then I organized them by semester offered and the order I had to take them. Then I just planned my next few years. Made registering every semester a no-brainer - I just looked at the spreadsheet and took what was next. They all started in a red box and turned green as I completed them. Stupid as it is, it gave me a lot of pleasure to watch the spreadsheet go from red to green. 🙂

I didn't say all have to be done at a 4-year, just that they can't all be done at a CC. I don't know about MN but all of the schools I've looked at require genetics (which isn't offered at any CC in my area) or specify that X number of units in biology are required with upper division biology being highly recommended or some such nonsense.

 

[StartingoverVet]

As counterpoint, I did all mine at a CC, and I've been absolutely thrilled that I spent so much less money on pre-reqs. I wondered if I'd wish I had done any at the university ... nope.



This is incorrect. I took all of my science pre-reqs at the community college. (The soft pre-reqs I already had from an earlier degree, but they were offered at the CC as well.) 100% of my pre-reqs could have been done on-site at my CC.

People really need to quit throwing this out there like it's gospel truth. It is true that you need to be careful to make sure that the classes you take meet the requirements (but that's also true at the university). And you want to plan ahead and study the course catalog of anywhere you're planning to do pre-reqs. But people need to quit advising people that it's universally true that you can't satisfy the pre-reqs at a CC. The CC route may not be for everyone, but it's usually cheaper and a good option for many.



Yeah, it will take about that. It's not really dependent on how many you're willing to take at once (if you're starting the sciences from scratch) because pre-req requirements mean you can only go so fast (gen chem I -> gen chem II -> orgo -> biochem .... right there is four semesters that you most likely can't stack).

But look at it this way - the whole time you're doing pre-reqs you can be out working/shadowing/volunteering to get experience. 🙂

This might have been a bit OCD of me, but I made a spreadsheet of pre-reqs. Then I organized them by semester offered and the order I had to take them. Then I just planned my next few years. Made registering every semester a no-brainer - I just looked at the spreadsheet and took what was next. They all started in a red box and turned green as I completed them. Stupid as it is, it gave me a lot of pleasure to watch the spreadsheet go from red to green. 🙂

The much shorter take home message here is that requirements vary widely at different schools, so be careful to double check at schools you are interested when reading advice. There is not a single way to satisfy all schools at once ( or at least not an easy way).

 

[LetItSnow]

I didn't say all have to be done at a 4-year, just that they can't all be done at a CC.

Yup, I understood. My point was that you are incorrect about that.

 

[Museum Nerd]

Yup, I understood. My point was that you are incorrect about that.

I think it depends on the CC the one in my area does not offer bio chem or genetics both were required for the schools i applied to.

 

[dvmdreamer]

I think it depends on the CC the one in my area does not offer bio chem or genetics both were required for the schools i applied to.

👍 Same. Also, some vet schools, such as Oklahoma State, require organic chem, genetics, and biochem to be taken at a four-year institution. So it just depends on where you are and where you want to apply.

ETA: It was my understanding that community colleges were not accredited to offer junior and senior level classes. LIS- was your program some sort of partnership with a university?

 

[lumphead88]

I couldn't agree more, LIS. There are many community colleges that offer classes to complete all the pre-reqs (Yes, even "junior and senior" level courses). I completed all of my pre-reqs at a CC (from gen chem all the way through biochem, genetics, etc). It was not in partnership with any 4 year institution or anything like that.

I always made sure to contact admissions departments to ensure that the classes would meet their requirements and I did not have any issues with the schools I applied to. Some interviewers even thought it was better than Uni courses because they thought it showed fiscal responsibility.

I apologize if that came off a bit ranty, but I hear people talk about CC's in such a derogatory way often and it's just not always true.

 

[LetItSnow]

I think it depends on the CC the one in my area does not offer bio chem or genetics both were required for the schools i applied to.

It absolutely depends on the CC. Totally. I don't get why this is so confusing. I'm not picking on EngrSC at all, but she said "they can't all be done at a CC."

That's not true. There are CCs at which they can be done. I didn't say, or imply, that you can do the pre-reqs at every CC!

I just wish people would quit spreading the myth that you can't (ever) do (all) your pre-reqs at CCs, because it may encourage some people to rule the option out without ever really looking into it, which may mean passing up a MUCH cheaper option.

Anyway. I think this horse is

 

[musher]

Community colleges are great, but one problem that I've found with them is this: Quite often they only offer one... maybe two classes of each variety of science course each semester (especially the harder ones like physics or organic). This can make scheduling a real pain, especially when you have 2 really important classes that overlap or barely give you enough time to get from one classroom to the next. The upside to this is that professors are usually very accommodating and may be willing to help you keep up on anything you might have missed.
A lot of times if they do offer a more unusual class, like genetics or biochem, they only offer them certain semesters. This is also annoying because you have to make sure to have all of your pre-reqs for that class done before the class starts, or else you're going to have to wait another whole year or transfer if you want it done sooner.

 

[felinelvr44]

Just out of curiosity I checked out the course catalog at my old CC and sure enough, they offer Microbio, Biochem, Orgo, etc. The only thing I didn't see was genetics although that also isn't required for many schools. CC is definitely an option to look into - much cheaper and I remember mine having smaller class sizes than the 4-year school I eventually did my pre-req's at.

 

[cowgirla]

That's not true. There are CCs at which they can be done. I didn't say, or imply, that you can do the pre-reqs at every CC!

Yup, but it also depends on the schools you are applying to..

I was told by three schools (cant for the life of me remember which ones- OKstate was one of them ) that I could NOT take upper level classes at a community college. Nutrition was one of those classes - the course at the local community college was not accepted even though it would have covered a lot more and in greater depth than the stupid online class I ended up taking. I believe genetics was another- I had taken the lecture at a 4 yr university and all I wanted to do was take a lab somewhere else. And public speaking, was another as well, I believe.
So I caved and took the online nutrition course and decided not to apply to whatever school it was that wanted a new genetics course

 

[Frozenshades]

Just out of curiosity I checked out the course catalog at my old CC and sure enough, they offer Microbio, Biochem, Orgo, etc. The only thing I didn't see was genetics although that also isn't required for many schools. CC is definitely an option to look into - much cheaper and I remember mine having smaller class sizes than the 4-year school I eventually did my pre-req's at.

For sure. Especially compared to a big university. I took a few classes at a cc and they were all around 30 or 40 people. Granted upper levels will get smaller but at a big university, for freshman and sophomore basic core classes, you can be looking at lectures with 300 people in them. Smaller classes are nice.

 

[hygebeorht]

I'm a pretty strong student, so I didn't find the shift to science hard, but YMMV. I came from a liberal arts background too, and I had my prereqs done in 7 months.

That said, I brought in a lot of credits from IB and AP work in high school, and I used CLEP credit for a class. Also, it took 7 months to finish the prereqs required by Colorado State, but CSU has shockingly few prerequisites.

However, prereqs alone aren't going to make a very strong application. Once I finished my prereqs, I started taking the highest-level classes I could talk my way into, and I started working on prereqs that other schools wanted so I could apply more broadly (I didn't get into CSU on my first shot). All the higher-level stuff I took is going to make my life easier this fall, and it looks great when you get good grades in tough classes.

Make sure that you know which schools accept what. Some schools are fine with CLEP, some aren't. Some are okay with a lab you do from a kit during an online course, others aren't. You'll save yourself headaches down the line if you are very careful in planning your classes.

 

[LetItSnow]

All the higher-level stuff I took is going to make my life easier this fall

🤣

 

[wolfspeaker]

All the higher-level stuff I took is going to make my life easier this fall, and it looks great when you get good grades in tough classes.

For the first 2 days, maybe.

 

[hygebeorht]

For the first 2 days, maybe.

I can dream 🙂

 

[Easnadh]

That said, I brought in a lot of credits from IB and AP work in high school, and I used CLEP credit for a class. Also, it took 7 months to finish the prereqs required by Colorado State, but CSU has shockingly few prerequisites.

hygebeorht... did you do an IB program in Colorado? and if so, where and what year did you graduate?

 

[Trilt]

For the first 2 days, maybe.

I disagree. Having a stronger background in immuno, physio, whatever, would have definitely been helpful for me, and students who had already had strong basics in anatomy were definitely at an advantage. It's not a huge advantage, and doesn't guarantee a good grade or anything, but having some basics does make life a bit easier.

 

[hygebeorht]

Trilt, good to hear. I'm hoping that my grad-level physiology, neurobiology, anatomy, immunology etc. will help me out. I'd definitely be more intimidated if I were going to be tackling these subjects for the first time. :/

A current student at CSU who I took a lot of my courses with says that she's so glad she took them and that it made her life much easier.