I go to community college am i at a disadvantage?

[BIOGQ513]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I attend community college because it is more affordable, it is also free since my parent is a professor there. I've taken my calc 1 and 2, English, gen chem 1 and 2, molecular bio, and engineering physics, with other gen eds to total 50 credits , my GPA is a 3.98, im going to transfer to a four year institution to finish my undergrad in biochem, all the schools I’ve applied to have offered me full tuition. my question is am i at a disadvantage when applying to medical school. I havent taken my Mcats yet but starting to prepare for them.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I attend community college because it is more affordable, it is also free since my parent is a professor there. I've taken my calc 1 and 2, English, gen chem 1 and 2, molecular bio, and engineering physics, with other gen eds to total 50 credits , my GPA is a 3.98, im going to transfer to a four year institution to finish my undergrad in biochem, all the schools I’ve applied to have offered me full tuition. my question is am i at a disadvantage when applying to medical school. I havent taken my Mcats yet but starting to prepare for them.

your at no disadvantage.
just take upper level classes at a 4 year
and score well on the mcat

 

[bravofleet4]

i agree with what serenade said you need to take the upper-div's at a 4 year university which means transferring from community college. Pre-req's are fine though. The adcom's just need to be sure that you can handle the rigor and intensity of science classes. Plus, you ideally want your letters to come from professors at the 4-year as well.

 

[Catalystik]

There are a few schools that frown at seeing CC credits, but most don't care, provided you get the same great grades in science at the 4-year school and dominate the MCAT to prove you had sufficient rigor in the prerequisite classes.

 

[apumic]

You've done well, so grade-wise you should be fine. If you had gotten a bunch of Bs as well as As, that wouldn't look so good but a 3.98 is great anywhere.
The one place I do see some potential pitfalls is in LORs and research opportunities. Being as your first couple of years were at CC this means you have less time to build relationships w/ profs at the 4 yr and so your LORs may be somewhat weaker if you don't take initiative right away -- same w/ research experience.

 

[amine2086]

I attend community college because it is more affordable, it is also free since my parent is a professor there. I've taken my calc 1 and 2, English, gen chem 1 and 2, molecular bio, and engineering physics, with other gen eds to total 50 credits , my GPA is a 3.98, im going to transfer to a four year institution to finish my undergrad in biochem, all the schools I’ve applied to have offered me full tuition. my question is am i at a disadvantage when applying to medical school. I havent taken my Mcats yet but starting to prepare for them.

As much as I would like to say "No", the truth is that you are at slight disadvantage, especially if you take the pre-reqs at the community college. Most schools, for example NYU (http://admissions.med.nyu.edu/faqs), recommend that you do not take the pre-reqs at the community college.

 

[CaliGirl14]

Is taking your one year of physics, math, english, chem, ochem at a community college a disadvantage?? It's part of my pre-req to transfer!

Also, is majoring in environmental science and then taking upper division classes for this major considered 'sciency' enough for med school to see that you can take on the harder classes?

 

[bravofleet4]

you don't have to major in science. In fact, science majors have among the lowest chance of acceptance. Medical schools want diversity. They just care b/c they're making sure you can handle their courses. However, once they think you can at least pass, there are other skills they want to see that are definitely not limited to science. I would say that writing and English majors are in a very strong position to get into medical school b/c you'll be doing lots of reading and you need to be able to communicate well in writing and speaking whether it's publications or with patients.

Remember this is just one more opinion but a doctor who served one committee said that he thought the verbal section (versus the bio and physical) served as a better indicator of your success in med school. I thought this was interesting b/c it's also the 3rd and 4th years of med school that are better indicators of your success as a doctor b/c that's when you stop reading books and start going on rotations.

 

[anonymousername]

you don't have to major in science. In fact, science majors have among the lowest chance of acceptance.

a source would be nice...

 

[apumic]

a source would be nice...

Here's UC-Denver's: http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q...9kbn-N&sig=AHIEtbT3kHbmkIrXbzNBaRWKfK7P0VqmWg

50.5% of nonscience applicants were accepted vs. 44.9% of bio majors. I would guess p>0.5, although n is quite large (>20,000 students)....
The one group truly at a disadvantage according to these data are health science majors at 28.4%. The strongest applicants here were the mixed disciplines (i.e., double majors in science and humanities) with 52.4% gaining admittance.

By these data:

Interdisciplinary Double Major (science & non-science -- 52.4%) > Physical Sciences (incl. math -- 50.9%) ≥ Non-science Major/Bx Science Major (50.5%) > Biology Major (44.9%) >> Health Professions/Allied Health Majors (28.4%)

 

[7starmantis]

Search feature works great.

 

[CaliGirl14]

Well, that surely answered my questions....

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Well, that surely answered my questions....

really i cant say its a bad choice.. especially when majoring in science where you will need to spend the first 2 years taking all of the pre-requisites
im in the same position i skiped 12th grade to go to cc so i could rank up some credits
so im also hoping that i wont be at a disadvantage having taken a bio and full year of chem, + a summer year of o-chem or physics

 

[RogueUnicorn]

OP, don't worry about it. honestly, you can't do anything about the situation regardless of whether or not it hurts you. the good news is that you're making the most of your path, which is really all anyone can ask of you..

 

[chman]

OP, don't worry about it. honestly, you can't do anything about the situation regardless of whether or not it hurts you. the good news is that you're making the most of your path, which is really all anyone can ask of you..

Exactly. This is not a cut and dry issue, but I believe that if you put in the work you will get the result you want. Just make sure to take some sciences at the university as well and you should be good to go. Personally, I only think it is a real disadvantage if your grades are significantly lower at the university, or when people take their pre-reqs at a cc when they are already enrolled in a university.

I find this sight helpful on this issue.

http://www.washington.edu/uaa/gateway/advising/prehealth/transfers.php

 

[dokein]

you don't have to major in science. In fact, science majors have among the lowest chance of acceptance. Medical schools want diversity. They just care b/c they're making sure you can handle their courses.

I agree in general, but it is also important to note that if he applies having taken 90% of his science classes at the community college level it will be a disadvantage.

 

[Grand]

Relax, I know a guy who took half of his classes at CC then transfered to 4 tier unranked Undergraduate, but now he is attending Top20 Med school.

PS His overall gpa was 4.0

`The ranking is based on USnews.

 

[DocMcCoy]

You've done well, so grade-wise you should be fine. If you had gotten a bunch of Bs as well as As, that wouldn't look so good but a 3.98 is great anywhere.
The one place I do see some potential pitfalls is in LORs and research opportunities. Being as your first couple of years were at CC this means you have less time to build relationships w/ profs at the 4 yr and so your LORs may be somewhat weaker if you don't take initiative right away -- same w/ research experience.

This is a really good post. From my experience, CC will not put you at an academic disadvantage provided you do well at the 4-year institution as well.

At the same time, I did feel at a disadvantage in terms of both LORs and research. Many students can enter into my current 4-year and gain acceptance to a Freshman research initiative. It was harder for me to get research experience transferring in as a junior. I also had one year to get my letters of rec in. I ultimately used a prof from a CC, who provided a strong letter, as well as two full professors from my 4-year. I don't know if or how much title and position correlate to the strength of a letter.

Coming from a community college can be depicted as a strength in an application though. It definitely shows determination and dedication to your ultimate goal, and could be incorporated into multiple secondary essays if you are good at writing about your life experiences.

 

[Ilovewater]

I think you are all right as long as you take all the core classes/upper division courses at the four-year university. I also took a few courses through community colleges in high school for dual enrollment. This topic has only come up twice at all of my interviews, and they only wanted to know why I chose to take those courses at CCs instead of a university. As long as you give them a reasonable answer (cheaper tuition, works well with your schedule, dual enrollment, etc.), they don't really care. They just want to know that you didn't take those courses at CCs because they were easier than at a university.

 

[Alwaysbehopeful]

As much as I would like to say "No", the truth is that you are at slight disadvantage, especially if you take the pre-reqs at the community college. Most schools, for example NYU (http://admissions.med.nyu.edu/faqs), recommend that you do not take the pre-reqs at the community college.

I'd have to agree. Getting a 3.98 is not that impressive at a JC, the classes are significantly easier. I have found that my friends who transferred into Berkeley from a JC and took the science pre-reqs at the JC are all having trouble with their MCATs and getting accepted. I agree that if you attend a great university and continue getting great grades, ace the MCATs, then you will be okay. However, this is harder because coming from a JC you don't have experience with super hard classes.

 

[jvesco22]

OP, don't worry about it. honestly, you can't do anything about the situation regardless of whether or not it hurts you. the good news is that you're making the most of your path, which is really all anyone can ask of you..

x10

If you're already at a CC, then stop worrying about the things you can't change.

 

[7starmantis]

I'd have to agree. Getting a 3.98 is not that impressive at a JC, the classes are significantly easier. I have found that my friends who transferred into Berkeley from a JC and took the science pre-reqs at the JC are all having trouble with their MCATs and getting accepted. I agree that if you attend a great university and continue getting great grades, ace the MCATs, then you will be okay. However, this is harder because coming from a JC you don't have experience with super hard classes.

🙄

Always that amazing anecdotal evidence to substantiate misinformed individuals. Do a search for all the CC threads created just in the last 6 months and you will find a myriad of information on CC courses and the med school route. For a hoity toity top 3 school maybe, other than that, I doubt it. Read about all the people who took their pre-reqs even at CC and have multiple acceptances (myself included, I'm just not going to write it again in this thread...I think I just did).

 

[Fiddlergirl]

It's not a problem. I spent two years at a CC and took biology and chemistry there. I was never asked about it during the application process. My only caveat would be that you need to do well in those courses. I had no trouble with the MCAT and multiple acceptances, so I think you're going to do fine. PM me if you have any questions.

 

[Alwaysbehopeful]

🙄

Always that amazing anecdotal evidence to substantiate misinformed individuals. Do a search for all the CC threads created just in the last 6 months and you will find a myriad of information on CC courses and the med school route. For a hoity toity top 3 school maybe, other than that, I doubt it. Read about all the people who took their pre-reqs even at CC and have multiple acceptances (myself included, I'm just not going to write it again in this thread...I think I just did).

Right and SDN is just such an accurate representation of the pre-med population. 🙄

What can anyone speak from expect from experience? From my experience, a lot of pre-med who took JC pre-req struggle with the MCATs as well as college upper-div science courses. This is just based on the fact that JC classes are EASIER.... I mean I think everyone here would agree that an OCHEM course a JC is not the same as an OCHEM course at a top 20 university.

If you understood what I was trying to say you would understand that I'm not saying that you can't succeed if you take your courses at a JC. However, I do believe that there is a higher chance of success on the MCATs if you took your pre-req at a GREAT university. Once again, if you go to some little crappy college that only does on-line courses than it probably won't help you. But if you go to a top school than it will.

Just because succeed doesn't mean that you represent the majority of people in your situation. I tried to OCHEM part 2 at a JC and walked out the first day. My instructor was so ignorant and stuipd I was disguisted with the quality of education. I'm sure there are great teachers out there but from the few JC courses I have taken, those are rarer. It also depends on the state, the JC, the college you are trying to transfer to. I can't speak for everything, of course, but at Berkeley, those transfer students who get into science majors do have a harder time. For humanities not so much. Engineering degree transfers are almost unheard of because admissions knows they won't be able to keep up with the rigorous work. Do some succeed? Of course, but overall not so much.

I think SDN is obviously full of the more gun-ho proactive students. I mean the fact we even take time to read and post threads I think shows that we are different from other pre-meds. Plenty I know wouldn't even bother to help answers online. I rather warn the OP so he/she will work harder and do great than not recongize the difficulties coming from a JC, underestimate university upper-div courses, and then do poorly.

 

[CaliGirl14]

Woah woah woah...it is NOT a disadvantage coming from a JC even when you take all your prereqs there! In fact, most transfer students do BETTER than the people at the actual college. People who come from a JC are in a completely different caliber than those from an actual college. Why? Because we come from a different background, and we still have to over come so many things regular college students don't even have to think about.

For the MCAT: we're all taking the same courses, reading the same books, the same material. The only difference is the person. You can't just assume that taking a Bio course from a JC will put you at a disadvantage than taking it at a university. Heck, you very well know that there are tons of college professors who can't teach for shiz. I know very well some good JC professors who'd kill in comparison.

 

[chman]

Alwaysbehopeful

What can anyone speak from expect from experience? From my experience, a lot of pre-med who took JC pre-req struggle with the MCATs as well as college upper-div science courses. This is just based on the fact that JC classes are EASIER.... I mean I think everyone here would agree that an OCHEM course a JC is not the same as an OCHEM course at a top 20 university.

I would just like to point out that it is mandatory for CC's to match their curriculum with the universities, especially the universities in their area. So while the teaching may be hit and miss, the material is generally no different. Not to mention that teaching can be hit and miss at the university as well (see TA's who would rather not be teaching). I have actually had just as many PhD professors as grad school students at my CC.

If you understood what I was trying to say you would understand that I'm not saying that you can't succeed if you take your courses at a JC. However, I do believe that there is a higher chance of success on the MCATs if you took your pre-req at a GREAT university. Once again, if you go to some little crappy college that only does on-line courses than it probably won't help you. But if you go to a top school than it will.

To put all CC's in the same category as online schools is a misrepresentation at best. Why does the comparison need to be CC's to top universities? Obviously there will be a difference just as there would be with state schools to top universities.

Just because succeed doesn't mean that you represent the majority of people in your situation. I tried to OCHEM part 2 at a JC and walked out the first day. My instructor was so ignorant and stuipd I was disguisted with the quality of education. I'm sure there are great teachers out there but from the few JC courses I have taken, those are rarer. It also depends on the state, the JC, the college you are trying to transfer to. I can't speak for everything, of course, but at Berkeley, those transfer students who get into science majors do have a harder time. For humanities not so much. Engineering degree transfers are almost unheard of because admissions knows they won't be able to keep up with the rigorous work. Do some succeed? Of course, but overall not so much.

I am sorry that your experience was bad, and that you are right that it does depend on the school. However, you are making some blanket statements that are simply not true. My CC has a whole engineering building for transfers students. In other words, a lot of students transfer to do engineering at the university level and are successful.

You may be right that students are more successful in other subjects than the sciences, in which case my CC has wasted a lot of money on new buildings...

I think SDN is obviously full of the more gun-ho proactive students. I mean the fact we even take time to read and post threads I think shows that we are different from other pre-meds. Plenty I know wouldn't even bother to help answers online. I rather warn the OP so he/she will work harder and do great than not recongize the difficulties coming from a JC, underestimate university upper-div courses, and then do poorly.

Agreed. It is always better safe than sorry, and working hard never hurts.

 

[jvesco22]

Right and SDN is just such an accurate representation of the pre-med population. 🙄

What can anyone speak from expect from experience? From my experience, a lot of pre-med who took JC pre-req struggle with the MCATs as well as college upper-div science courses. This is just based on the fact that JC classes are EASIER.... I mean I think everyone here would agree that an OCHEM course a JC is not the same as an OCHEM course at a top 20 university.

If you understood what I was trying to say you would understand that I'm not saying that you can't succeed if you take your courses at a JC. However, I do believe that there is a higher chance of success on the MCATs if you took your pre-req at a GREAT university. Once again, if you go to some little crappy college that only does on-line courses than it probably won't help you. But if you go to a top school than it will.

Just because succeed doesn't mean that you represent the majority of people in your situation. I tried to OCHEM part 2 at a JC and walked out the first day. My instructor was so ignorant and stuipd I was disguisted with the quality of education. I'm sure there are great teachers out there but from the few JC courses I have taken, those are rarer. It also depends on the state, the JC, the college you are trying to transfer to. I can't speak for everything, of course, but at Berkeley, those transfer students who get into science majors do have a harder time. For humanities not so much. Engineering degree transfers are almost unheard of because admissions knows they won't be able to keep up with the rigorous work. Do some succeed? Of course, but overall not so much.

I think SDN is obviously full of the more gun-ho proactive students. I mean the fact we even take time to read and post threads I think shows that we are different from other pre-meds. Plenty I know wouldn't even bother to help answers online. I rather warn the OP so he/she will work harder and do great than not recongize the difficulties coming from a JC, underestimate university upper-div courses, and then do poorly.

This is all coming from someone who says they'd get a 4.0 at a state school "easily."

Are you trying to justify that your school is worth the 3.5 cGPA and 3.28sGPA that you received?

Maybe you should have stayed in that Ochem 2 class at the JC and raised that science GPA, easily...

And by the way. How many people are in your ochem class? a 100 or more? did you go up to each one and ask them if they came from a JC? Probably not...

 

[CaliGirl14]

I would just like to point out that it is mandatory for CC's to match their curriculum with the universities, especially the universities in their area. So while the teaching may be hit and miss, the material is generally no different. Not to mention that teaching can be hit and miss at the university as well (see TA's who would rather not be teaching). I have actually had just as many PhD professors as grad school students at my CC.

To put all CC's in the same category as online schools is a misrepresentation at best. Why does the comparison need to be CC's to top universities? Obviously there will be a difference just as there would be with state schools to top universities.

I am sorry that your experience was bad, and that you are right that it does depend on the school. However, you are making some blanket statements that are simply not true. My CC has a whole engineering building for transfers students. In other words, a lot of students transfer to do engineering at the university level and are successful.

You may be right that students are more successful in other subjects than the sciences, in which case my CC has wasted a lot of money on new buildings...

Agreed. It is always better safe than sorry, and working hard never hurts.

👍 Amen brotha.

 

[Alwaysbehopeful]

This is all coming from someone who says they'd get a 4.0 at a state school "easily."

Are you trying to justify that your school is worth the 3.5 cGPA and 3.28sGPA that you received?

Maybe you should have stayed in that Ochem 2 class at the JC and raised that science GPA, easily...

And by the way. How many people are in your ochem class? a 100 or more? did you go up to each one and ask them if they came from a JC? Probably not...

You don't know what happened to me in college, it is very personal so please don't judge. I really don't want to disclose personal stuff here on this forum. But maybe if I told you all the crap that happened to me in college maybe you would have some sympathy, but maybe you wouldn't...who knows, who cares.

I'm sorry but the state schools around here much easier and yes I think I would be able to get a 4.0 given none of the traumatic things that went on in my life. Also you don't know what my trend was in college. In fact I received mostly A's and A+ (2 A+ in Ochem 2 at Berkeley as well, ended up teaching it for 2 semesters and receiving an award for being a good teacher), towards the last two years when my life was much better. So yes I have a 3.28 in science but it wasn't due to anything else but circumstances or I wouldn't have been able to end so well.

Actually my Ochem class is 300-400 students. I don't see what going up to every one of them has to do with anything. Did you do that as well? Once again, I can only speak from experience. I don't understand why that is so difficult to understand. I have stately over and over that yes my experience may not be a good representation but than again who's is? Yours??? You have statistically sound data? Large sample sizes? What?

Why the personal attacks when I was just trying to help the OP? I had horrible experiences in a lot of the classes I took at the JC. I even stated above that not all JCs are the same, perhaps the one I took some classes at just sucked. Chill out....this isn't about you or me, it's about the OP. Now let's bring the conversation back so it can be more productive.

 

[Alwaysbehopeful]

I would just like to point out that it is mandatory for CC's to match their curriculum with the universities, especially the universities in their area. So while the teaching may be hit and miss, the material is generally no different. Not to mention that teaching can be hit and miss at the university as well (see TA's who would rather not be teaching). I have actually had just as many PhD professors as grad school students at my CC.

To put all CC's in the same category as online schools is a misrepresentation at best. Why does the comparison need to be CC's to top universities? Obviously there will be a difference just as there would be with state schools to top universities.

I am sorry that your experience was bad, and that you are right that it does depend on the school. However, you are making some blanket statements that are simply not true. My CC has a whole engineering building for transfers students. In other words, a lot of students transfer to do engineering at the university level and are successful.

You may be right that students are more successful in other subjects than the sciences, in which case my CC has wasted a lot of money on new buildings...

Agreed. It is always better safe than sorry, and working hard never hurts.

Wow, I just don't understand what is so confusing about what I have written. It seems like everything is taken negatively and out of context.

Once again it depends on the school but I still think that while the material covered is the same, the exams at universities (including state schools) are generally harder than CCs. If it was exactly the same then why waste money when you can go to a CC for super cheap? Once again, I can't speak for any other school except the one I went to Berkeley. At Berkeley there are some amazing professors who are top in their fields and simply are much much better than local CC professors. I agree that just b/c they win nobel prizes doesn't mean they can teach (some seem to hate students and make the exams unreasonablly difficult). I also agree that there are some great teachers at CCs but in my area, there are much better teachers at Berkeley than the surrounding CCs. I did take an English course at a CC which had a great teacher and the class was super difficult. Actually the highest grade was a 86 (mine) and I ended up getting an A. However, this is rare in my experience.

I didn't put all CC in the same category as Online schools...that is a mis-understanding. I'm saying that if you go to a CC (I think it's better than online schools) so finish your degree in an online schools should be easy. Transferring to a State school will be a little harder, going to a top 20 will be even harder. There is a grade in difficulty and that is obvious and a known fact. Just because I went to Berkeley doesn't mean I'll do well at Princeston or Harvard because they are harder. Simple as that.

I'm not making some blank statment, I keep saying that I can only speak for my experiences. At Berkeley, Engineering is probably the hardest degree, ask other people that are enginnering majors there, a 3.0 is a GOOD GPA in that major. Chemical enginneering or the EECS double major is SUPER killer. That is b/c Berkeley engineering is one of the best programs in the country. Both of my parents are enginneers and often tell me they only hire on Berkeley engineers because of how great the students are and the rigor of the program. They don't even look at San Jose State Engineering degree students sometimes because it just can't compare to Berkeley. Sucks right? But isn't that the point of going to a good school? I'm glad your school has a great transfer program for engineers, we don't. Perhaps your program is easier OR perhaps your CCs have an awesome program that allows them to succed easily at your school. We don't have that kind of a program.

I just don't understand why people are so defensive about going to a CC. I mean if someone who went to an top 10 school told me Berkeley is not as hard, I would nod and say of course. Just like is someone who went to a California State school should agree that most UCs are better. I mean how can you compare UCLA to Chico State?

When I taught Ochem I did notice that those who transferred in my lab class did have a harder time to adjust to the diffculty. Not everyone but MOST. They were just telling me that CC chemistry classes are less demanding in terms of exam difficulty, grading...

Okay I really didn't mean to cause such a riot. This even lead to some personal attacks. But please don't think I'm thinking for the worst, Next time I'll write out a long response to cover ALL the bases. Please don't assume that I'm some horrible person who hates CCs.

 

[CaliGirl14]

Eh. In the end it really doesn't matter where you come from, or what major you have.

A high GPA and a high MCAT score is what's important, whether you're from a junior colllege or not. It allll comes down to the person in the end.

We can't choose what cards we are dealt in life, but we can choose how to play them.

 

[Appless]

Eh. In the end it really doesn't matter where you come from, or what major you have.

A high GPA and a high MCAT score is what's important, whether you're from a junior colllege or not. It allll comes down to the person in the end.

We can't choose what cards we are dealt in life, but we can choose how to play them.

exactly, CC isnt a bad thing at all as long as you do well after transferring. I went to a CC, have multiple acceptances and interviews. No one cares at all about my CC experience since i did well in upper div science and other classes at my 4 year. Do well at the CC and 4 year and on the mcat and it wont matter end of story. The only time a CC may hurt is harvard, JHU, maybe ivies, even then thats only speculation as i dont know as ive interviewed at some of these schools with my CC record.

 

[Alwaysbehopeful]

Eh. In the end it really doesn't matter where you come from, or what major you have.

A high GPA and a high MCAT score is what's important, whether you're from a junior colllege or not. It allll comes down to the person in the end.

We can't choose what cards we are dealt in life, but we can choose how to play them.

Agreed. BTW - thanks for pointing out my 3.28 sGPA, I just happened to read my AMCAS and it's actually a 3.38. Great I noticed that because it actually makes me feel better! Not by much and 3.28 seems a little low, not that 3.38 is much better, but still I'll take any point I can get!

 

[starl3tte]

To the OP - I don't think you are at a disadvantage at all. Just make sure to take some upper division science courses at the 4 yr, do well in them, and no interviewer (or very few of them) will express doubts about your academics. I took gen chem, gen bio, physics, and calc at a CC. The quality of education at the CC, as well as self-studying using Princeton Review, were adequate for me to do fairly well on the MCAT. I have a couple of acceptances so far and still have another 4 interviews to go (NYU included - I did not know that they discriminated against CC's), so what I perceived to be a disadvantage actually has not been the case, for me.

 

[jvesco22]

You don't know what happened to me in college, it is very personal so please don't judge. I really don't want to disclose personal stuff here on this forum. But maybe if I told you all the crap that happened to me in college maybe you would have some sympathy, but maybe you wouldn't...who knows, who cares.

I'm sorry but the state schools around here much easier and yes I think I would be able to get a 4.0 given none of the traumatic things that went on in my life. Also you don't know what my trend was in college. In fact I received mostly A's and A+ (2 A+ in Ochem 2 at Berkeley as well, ended up teaching it for 2 semesters and receiving an award for being a good teacher), towards the last two years when my life was much better. So yes I have a 3.28 in science but it wasn't due to anything else but circumstances or I wouldn't have been able to end so well.

Actually my Ochem class is 300-400 students. I don't see what going up to every one of them has to do with anything. Did you do that as well? Once again, I can only speak from experience. I don't understand why that is so difficult to understand. I have stately over and over that yes my experience may not be a good representation but than again who's is? Yours??? You have statistically sound data? Large sample sizes? What?

Why the personal attacks when I was just trying to help the OP? I had horrible experiences in a lot of the classes I took at the JC. I even stated above that not all JCs are the same, perhaps the one I took some classes at just sucked. Chill out....this isn't about you or me, it's about the OP. Now let's bring the conversation back so it can be more productive.

Wow, I just don't understand what is so confusing about what I have written. It seems like everything is taken negatively and out of context.

Once again it depends on the school but I still think that while the material covered is the same, the exams at universities (including state schools) are generally harder than CCs. If it was exactly the same then why waste money when you can go to a CC for super cheap? Once again, I can't speak for any other school except the one I went to Berkeley. At Berkeley there are some amazing professors who are top in their fields and simply are much much better than local CC professors. I agree that just b/c they win nobel prizes doesn't mean they can teach (some seem to hate students and make the exams unreasonablly difficult). I also agree that there are some great teachers at CCs but in my area, there are much better teachers at Berkeley than the surrounding CCs. I did take an English course at a CC which had a great teacher and the class was super difficult. Actually the highest grade was a 86 (mine) and I ended up getting an A. However, this is rare in my experience.

I didn't put all CC in the same category as Online schools...that is a mis-understanding. I'm saying that if you go to a CC (I think it's better than online schools) so finish your degree in an online schools should be easy. Transferring to a State school will be a little harder, going to a top 20 will be even harder. There is a grade in difficulty and that is obvious and a known fact. Just because I went to Berkeley doesn't mean I'll do well at Princeston or Harvard because they are harder. Simple as that.

I'm not making some blank statment, I keep saying that I can only speak for my experiences. At Berkeley, Engineering is probably the hardest degree, ask other people that are enginnering majors there, a 3.0 is a GOOD GPA in that major. Chemical enginneering or the EECS double major is SUPER killer. That is b/c Berkeley engineering is one of the best programs in the country. Both of my parents are enginneers and often tell me they only hire on Berkeley engineers because of how great the students are and the rigor of the program. They don't even look at San Jose State Engineering degree students sometimes because it just can't compare to Berkeley. Sucks right? But isn't that the point of going to a good school? I'm glad your school has a great transfer program for engineers, we don't. Perhaps your program is easier OR perhaps your CCs have an awesome program that allows them to succed easily at your school. We don't have that kind of a program.

I just don't understand why people are so defensive about going to a CC. I mean if someone who went to an top 10 school told me Berkeley is not as hard, I would nod and say of course. Just like is someone who went to a California State school should agree that most UCs are better. I mean how can you compare UCLA to Chico State?

When I taught Ochem I did notice that those who transferred in my lab class did have a harder time to adjust to the diffculty. Not everyone but MOST. They were just telling me that CC chemistry classes are less demanding in terms of exam difficulty, grading...

Okay I really didn't mean to cause such a riot. This even lead to some personal attacks. But please don't think I'm thinking for the worst, Next time I'll write out a long response to cover ALL the bases. Please don't assume that I'm some horrible person who hates CCs.

 

[DocMcCoy]

🙄

Always that amazing anecdotal evidence to substantiate misinformed individuals. Do a search for all the CC threads created just in the last 6 months and you will find a myriad of information on CC courses and the med school route. For a hoity toity top 3 school maybe, other than that, I doubt it. Read about all the people who took their pre-reqs even at CC and have multiple acceptances (myself included, I'm just not going to write it again in this thread...I think I just did).

👍 Same here.

 

[7starmantis]

So there you have it OP. You have people who have been through the process and been accepted to medical school telling you how their experience has been and you have those who expect to do well on the application cycle and know they could be getting a 4.0GPA if they wanted.

Not trying to be mean or judge at all, but just look at all the information and make your own decisions. Just do what you can, do your best, live your life, do what you enjoy and you will be a great applicant to medical school.

 

[chman]

So there you have it OP. You have people who have been through the process and been accepted to medical school telling you how their experience has been and you have those who expect to do well on the application cycle and know they could be getting a 4.0GPA if they wanted.

Not trying to be mean or judge at all, but just look at all the information and make your own decisions. Just do what you can, do your best, live your life, do what you enjoy and you will be a great applicant to medical school.

Logic is not allowed on SDN!

 

[7starmantis]

Logic is not allowed on SDN!

👍👍👍

 

[ILikeDrugs]

I wonder how many people who say, "OhhHhh, university classes are soooo much harder than CC classes" have actually attended both CC and university. Everyone who has attended both knows that there are easy classes at both and difficult classes at both. It's ridiculous to say that all university classes are sooooo much harder than CC classes. I actually had to retake a class at the university for some bullsht general ed requirement, and the class that I took at the uni was about 3x easier. It entailed two exams and a final. The CC course entailed 2 exams, final, some writing assignments and a 12 page term paper. There was no difference in the difficulty of the exams. The CC course required more work, hands down. And sometimes, the tables were turned with the uni class being a lot more difficult.

To the op: make sure your MCAT score matches your CC pre-req grades. If you get a 34+, there will be no doubt that you earned your grades and that they weren't just handed to you.

 

[7starmantis]

I wonder how many people who say, "OhhHhh, university classes are soooo much harder than CC classes" have actually attended both CC and university. Everyone who has attended both knows that there are easy classes at both and difficult classes at both. It's ridiculous to say that all university classes are sooooo much harder than CC classes. I actually had to retake a class at the university for some bullsht general ed requirement, and the class that I took at the uni was about 3x easier. It entailed two exams and a final. The CC course entailed 2 exams, final, some writing assignments and a 12 page term paper. There was no difference in the difficulty of the exams. The CC course required more work, hands down. And sometimes, the tables were turned with the uni class being a lot more difficult.

To the op: make sure your MCAT score matches your CC pre-req grades. If you get a 34+, there will be no doubt that you earned your grades and that they weren't just handed to you.

Great post, good points. Only thing I disagree with is the 34 + MCAT. OP, do your absolute best in studying for and taking the MCAT and apply. 34 is not a must have for sure! (28 MCAT, 3 MD acceptances here).