Master in Engineering

[Jupman]

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Hello all,

I have my masters degree in civil engineering. Due to some personal experiences of late, I can't stop thinking about medical school. My grades were very good in graduate school (3.9) (better than undergrad 3.3).

My question is, could I get away with taking my prereqs at a community college. I figure if I work through taking my prereqs and the year off before medical school, I could save A LOT of money.

Plus, I know they want you to take the prereqs at a university because it shows you can handle difficult classes. Personally, I think my masters in engineering would be sufficient...

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[nardini46]

I see no particular reason why you couldn't take your pre reqs at a CC. Your uGPA is slightly less than the average for DO schools. They will give you a slight bump up since your major (Engineering) is difficult.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I see no particular reason why you couldn't take your pre reqs at a CC. Your uGPA is slightly less than the average for DO schools. They will give you a slight bump up since your major (Engineering) is difficult.

I don't know about in the case of DO, but for MD, having a harder major will not compensate for a lower gpa. I would also say that while it might be cheaper to take your pre-reqs at a CC, it would be ideal if you did them in a post-bacc or 4 year college.

 

[Postal]

I think a good idea is to call the schools you're interested in and see how they feel about classes at community colleges.

 

[megathunder]

Post-bacs were made for these kinds of situations. If you havent taken any life science classes before I'd also be concerned with learning the material well enough to succeed in medical school. If you took em all at an easy CC I'd be worried about competing with the 4 year guys who will be your future classmates.

 

[kcin]

Post-bacs were made for these kinds of situations. If you havent taken any life science classes before I'd also be concerned with learning the material well enough to succeed in medical school. If you took em all at an easy CC I'd be worried about competing with the 4 year guys who will be your future classmates.

Most people with engineering degrees can handle general chemistry/biology/organic chemistry.

 

[megathunder]

Most people with engineering degrees can handle general chemistry/biology/organic chemistry.

And some people can't handle reading comprehension.

OP, all my meaning is if you take an easier route to finishing your pre-reqs (ie CC vs. a university post-bac or extension) you may be under-prepared for the sciences in med school when curved against people who have studied them in great detail.

But honestly if you're a strong student it probably wouldn't matter much anyway. I'm just thinking that although engineering may be tough, it probably requires a different form of thinking than science. I'm sure I could never be a very successful engineer because my brain isn't wired to think that way.

In any case good luck.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

And some people can't handle reading comprehension.

OP, all my meaning is if you take an easier route to finishing your pre-reqs (ie CC vs. a university post-bac or extension) you may be under-prepared for the sciences in med school when curved against people who have studied them in great detail.

But honestly if you're a strong student it probably wouldn't matter much anyway. I'm just thinking that although engineering may be tough, it probably requires a different form of thinking than science. I'm sure I could never be a very successful engineer because my brain isn't wired to think that way.

In any case good luck.

This in itself will not be a problem, he will still need to take the mcat and re-learn/learn the material that medical schools really care about anyways, not to mention any real in-depth material you might have learned in your biology courses you'll likely forget within a year. The real problem is that doing all your pre-reqs at a CC after having gone to a 4 year college and graduate program is a red flag on your applicant.

 

[kcin]

And some people can't handle reading comprehension.

OP, all my meaning is if you take an easier route to finishing your pre-reqs (ie CC vs. a university post-bac or extension) you may be under-prepared for the sciences in med school when curved against people who have studied them in great detail.

But honestly if you're a strong student it probably wouldn't matter much anyway. I'm just thinking that although engineering may be tough, it probably requires a different form of thinking than science. I'm sure I could never be a very successful engineer because my brain isn't wired to think that way.

In any case good luck.

My reading comprehension is fine. The guy completed an engineering masters degree with a 3.9 GPA (graduate) and based on the statement I bolded, you know absolutely nothing about engineering. OP will not have a really hard time with plug and chug classes like general chemistry, and I'm sure he can handle the laid back memorization required for ochem and bio. Quit trying to play up the difficulty of these classes, they're just lower level science courses.

OP, you'll be better off just taking the required classes at a local 4 year. You'll avoid the whole CC stigma and you will have some peace of mind instead of wondering what adcoms think.

 

[Jupman]

I just heard back from the only local 4 year university around me, and they said they do not offer the courses I need in an evening format. I did hear back from LECOM-B and they told me that taking my prereqs at a CC would not be an issue. They would look more at my total education as opposed to just the prereqs. I have a feeling admission offices like former engineers due to the analytical thinking engineers have been trained to use.

As for Chemistry, I love it. Unfortunately, I took it about 10 years ago (Chem 1 & 2), so I will have to take it again...

 

[emtthink]

Most people with engineering degrees can handle general chemistry/biology/organic chemistry.

Sorry, I would have to disagree with you, my brother, my sister, and acouple of my cousins are going for, or have degrees in engineering. For mechanical engineering, they had to take a 1 term gen chem class (geared toward engineers), and a 1 term bio class to fulfill Bacc core requirements. Although I think they would have a leg up in physics especially civil and industrial engineering🙂

 

[TrimtheChute]

I posted this in another thread about engineering and cc's:

"I took most of the pre-reqs at a CC and a few upper level courses at a 4-year university, and there was no issue during my interviews. I was trying to work around my job too. I was never asked about CC classes at my interviews. The biggest and most common question was why I was changing careers.

If you have a decent undergrad GPA in engineering from a reputable university, then taking pre-reqs at a CC should not be a problem. However, you will need to back up the CC classes with a solid MCAT score, and there are a few schools that might not accept CC classes (at least that is what some others have posted on SDN)."

Sounds like you've contacted schools you are interested in about cc's. I would try to take an upper level bio class at a 4-year university if you can swing it.

The most difficult subject of med school for me has been pharmacology due to the pure memorization of drug names that have no rhyme or reason. Until I'm actually working day in/day out in a clinical setting where these drugs are used, I will struggle with this. However, engineering has been a great background for physiology and biochem since the body is made up of tons of reactions, pumps, valves and elaborate control systems.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Trim, going CC -> 4 year( + Upper levels) =/= going 4 year -> graduate program -> CC.

 

[kcin]

Sorry, I would have to disagree with you, my brother, my sister, and acouple of my cousins are going for, or have degrees in engineering. For mechanical engineering, they had to take a 1 term gen chem class (geared toward engineers), and a 1 term bio class to fulfill Bacc core requirements. Although I think they would have a leg up in physics especially civil and industrial engineering🙂

I never said they had already taken the courses. I said if they can complete an engineering degree they can do fine in the medical school pre-reqs. FWIW, I have an electrical engineering degree

 

[TrimtheChute]

Trim, going CC -> 4 year( + Upper levels) =/= going 4 year -> graduate program -> CC.

I think it depends on each situation and the person's entire application. Since the OP has what is considered to be a good uGPA for engineering, did very well with an MS, then I don't think taking lower level pre-reqs at a CC is going to be a problem. It wasn't for me, but I also mainly applied DO and checked ahead of time with the schools I was most interested in attending. The only advice the adcoms gave me about CC classes was to do well on the MCAT and try to take a couple of upper level bio classes at a 4-year university.

Again, my experience may be different from others as my interviewers really stressed why the career change. If you can take the pre-reqs at a 4-year university, then you should do it. But if you can't, you can still be okay so long as the rest of app is solid.

 

[JohnDoe8]

Sorry, I would have to disagree with you, my brother, my sister, and acouple of my cousins are going for, or have degrees in engineering. For mechanical engineering, they had to take a 1 term gen chem class (geared toward engineers), and a 1 term bio class to fulfill Bacc core requirements. Although I think they would have a leg up in physics especially civil and industrial engineering🙂

You obviously don't know much at all about engineering. Industrial is at the lowest end of the spectrum when it comes to an understanding of physics haha. How are you in Med school?

 

[JohnDoe8]

Sorry, I would have to disagree with you, my brother, my sister, and acouple of my cousins are going for, or have degrees in engineering. For mechanical engineering, they had to take a 1 term gen chem class (geared toward engineers), and a 1 term bio class to fulfill Bacc core requirements. Although I think they would have a leg up in physics especially civil and industrial engineering🙂

How are you in med school?

 

[de Ribas]

How are you in med school?

7-year old thread

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

How are you in med school?

That’s a lot of bravado for a pre-med who is bumping a 7 year old thread...