J.C.-- O.K.??

[rhinocelot]

Do you think I will still be a competitive candidate for med. school even though I had all my pre-reqs at a Junior College? I am currently attending a J.C. in Northern California. All of my education so far has been at a J.C. In fact, I will finish all of my pre-reqs for med. school in only one more year. I am accepted to all the U.C.'s that I applied to. I currently have a 4.0 but have "decided" to stay at a J.C. for financial reasons. The science professors at the college I attend are very good. One is a PhD from Stanford, another from Berkeley, and another is a DPM PhD. The quality of education is excellent. Obviously, I will transfer to a four year university after this next year. However, I am concerned with admit boards being a bit prejudiced. I hope when I take the M.C.A.T. my scores will show that I have learned just as much as those who attended a university for all four years. What do you think?

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[OldManDave]

It is not set in stone; but the overwhelming majority of JC's &/or CC's courses are not as rigorous as those in a 4-year institution. However, this does not mean it is impossible for you to get in. As I understand it, most med schools 'correct' student GPAs by several factors, one of them being a way to 'standardize' grades amongst the various Ugrad schools so that they can be legitimately compared.

When applying, to support your selection of a JC, I would include your reasoning regarding financial necessity. However, if your only justification is that you wanted higher grades, I doubt they would favorably on that.

Best of luck to you!! Oh, your BEST resource on your situation is not me...call the school that interest you most. You will be surprised at how helpful many of the admissions departments can be.

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'Old Man Dave'
KCOM, Class of '03

Nothing Risked, Nothing Gained!!

 

[rhinocelot]

Thanks for the reply Old Man Dave!

I work with a doc who is on the teaching staff at Stanford(no, I did not realize this before I started this thread). Anyhow, I voiced my concern to him and he told me not to worry about it. However, this is only one person's opinion. I would still like to hear anyone else's ideas on the subject.

I would also appreciate a response from anyone who has been in my shoes and succeded at gaining admission to med school.
THANKS!



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maloleilei

 

[nicolette]

Dear rhinocelot,

I personally didn't attend a JC, but I know someone who did. He then transferred to a UC, and got accepted to med school and I believe that the secret to his success was doing well on the MCAT. As the previous poster noted, most classes at a JC are considerably easier than those at 4-year institutions where competition can be fierce and the grading system even more so. On the flip side, I think that as you mentioned, the quality of instruction you receive at a JC may be much better than at a 4-year school. Another friend of mine took a science class at a JC over the summer and he said that the instructors were so much better than at our school(probably because their main focus is teaching and not research) Anyways, you need to ace the MCAT to show that your good grades are not a mere reflection of the school you happened to attend. Also, when you do transfer to a UC, work extra hard to maintain your grades so that there isn't too much of a discrepancy between your "JC grades" and "UC grades." Yes, it's true that there are distinct advantages of going to a school with a big name-namely, the grades you get carry some weight because med school's know the institution's rep. However, don't be intimidated. Just work on making the other aspects of your application solid and you should be fine.

Best of luck to you.

 

[KimR]

A good student is a good student is a good student...a person committed to learning will master material no matter what school they are at. I agree that the MCAT will show how great you are, and CC/JC classes won't matter.
Best of luck!

[This message has been edited by KimR (edited 12-28-1999).]

 

[gamot]

All my prereqs were done at a CC. I did well on my MCAT and University courses. I'm going to a top school this Fall. Hope this helps.

 

[rhinocelot]

Thank you to everyone for the replies. Now, it's back to the books.

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maloleilei

 

[rhinocelot]

P.S.
gamot,
Thanks for the good news!!
Congrats on your acceptance!!!
Sorry it took so long to thank you. I've been far away from my computer.

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maloleilei