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NRAI2001

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Hi,

I was wondering if any of u guys have ever taken JC courses to raise ur BCMP GPA? I know a few people who are planning to do this this summer. How do u guys feel about this? Can adcomms see right through this?:confused:

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I don't think it's looked upon too favorably.
 
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I took the first term of Ochem, microbiology, anatomy/physiology and my entire physics requirement at JC.

I had seven interviews and three acceptances.
 
Originally posted by manicmaven
I took the first term of Ochem, microbiology, anatomy/physiology and my entire physics requirement at JC.

I had seven interviews and three acceptances.

I bet you had a high GPA when combining your JC and college courses (i.e., GPA > 3.7 overall). Furthermore, did you finish strong after transferring to a 4-year college/university? I anticipate that you did, and you graduated from a good liberal arts school, Linfield, which helped your application. :)

Your scenario is different than the original post. People are trying to raise their BCMP GPA by taking JC courses. If they had a low GPA from a 4-year college/university, then raising the GPA with JC courses is not going to look good.

While there are people who have successfully done this, these situations are the exceptions, not the norm.
 
Yes...Ophtho, you are right about several points there...but overall, my application and GPA weren't that strong.

3.4 undergrad at Linfield (which didn't help me out at all...everyone questioned where the hell the school was -wished at many points I had gone to Reed)

3.86 post bac...some done at U of O, much done at Central Oregon Community College.

3.5 bcpm and non-science GPA when all was said and done.
31 mcat.

My application was kind of unusual with a lot of hospital experience, and interesting volunteering...but NOT ONE PERSON in my interviews questioned whether or not my community college classes were good enough. My LORs from science professors came mostly from the JC as well.

I want people to know that if your science scores on the MCAT are solid and if the rest of your application is well done, that JC classes are often not as much of an issue. Yeah, I wouldn't go out of your way to take them instead of taking 4 year classes, but they won't hurt you as much as you might think.
 
Well, I did about half of my pre-med requirements at a JC. However, those were done post-bac and I had a 3.92 out of Ohio State behind them.

I wouldn't recommend taking classes at a JC just to bring up your GPA. In fact, I found that many of my JC courses were more thorough with the students being more accountable for their grades - ie no curves, lots of student/teacher interaction. Also, if you go to a good JC, they will make you take a national standardized test at the end. Believe me - it's not fun having a test like that count as your final exam score for OChem! But, those tests do vouch for the effectiveness of the course.

Also, I happened to take A&P at a JC with a great nursing program. It was great being able to learn human anatomy on a cadavar instead of on animals (like they offered at Ohio State).

If you want to raise your GPA, I'd suggest working harder where you are. But then, I'm a firm believer that I am responsible for my own education.

By the way, I was asked only once about my JC courses. I was able to honestly reply that I believed my MCAT (34) was an indication of the thoroughness of my education. I got in at that school (one of my top 2 choices).
 
well, i took about half my prereqs at a comm. college and half at my current 4 year. My sci. GPA has plummeted from 4.0 @ comm. coll. to 3.97 at 4 year. In all seriousness, I felt i got a great education at the CC. Classes were small and tough. No curves were given, EVER. The main difference was that more students dropped than you would expect, so yes, the students were different, but the classes really weren't. When I'm asked about my time at CC I won't apologize for it, i'll tell them how great it was.

Now, if your sci. gpa is 3.0 at your 4 year and 4.0 at a tiny CC, that may be a problem. But if you're good at both places, you should be cool. of course, that wasn't quite your original question, was it?
 
It seems that a lot of u that answered where unsure of what I was talking about, well to take an example, one of my friends has a 3.3 BCMP GPA at berkeley and he is currently an undergrad. He is going to take a few easy math classes (algebra II, pre Cal) and a few lesser hardcore science classes (astronomy, intro to bio) at JC for the sole purpose of raising his GPA this summer.
 
Originally posted by NRAI2001
It seems that a lot of u that answered where unsure of what I was talking about, well to take an example, one of my friends has a 3.3 BCMP GPA at berkeley and he is currently an undergrad. He is going to take a few easy math classes (algebra II, pre Cal) and a few lesser hardcore science classes (astronomy, intro to bio) at JC for the sole purpose of raising his GPA this summer.

this might work if he actually does raise his gpa. a lot of schools have certain numerical cutoff points. if he can raise his avg above a 3.5 that might be beneficial.
 
Originally posted by NRAI2001
It seems that a lot of u that answered where unsure of what I was talking about, well to take an example, one of my friends has a 3.3 BCMP GPA at berkeley and he is currently an undergrad. He is going to take a few easy math classes (algebra II, pre Cal) and a few lesser hardcore science classes (astronomy, intro to bio) at JC for the sole purpose of raising his GPA this summer.

when i was on the adcom i looked at that stuff. those people were frowned upon.
 
Originally posted by NRAI2001
It seems that a lot of u that answered where unsure of what I was talking about, well to take an example, one of my friends has a 3.3 BCMP GPA at berkeley and he is currently an undergrad. He is going to take a few easy math classes (algebra II, pre Cal) and a few lesser hardcore science classes (astronomy, intro to bio) at JC for the sole purpose of raising his GPA this summer.

Perhaps I'll be a little more blunt?

If this friend of yours thinks community college math/science courses are going to be easier - and thus he's going to be able to "pad" his GPA - he might be in for a little shock. My bio classes at the four-year were a joke compared to my A&P at the CC.

Besides, the MCAT is the check that balances the GPA. If his GPA does not correlate to his MCAT, the ad com is going to take notice.
 
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