MD after PhD, Q on Pre-Req's - OK at a CC?

[kes909]

Hi all, my sincerest apologies if you have seen similar questions. I'm happy to be redirected to another forum if you have one!

About me: I have an MPH and I'm currently working on my PhD in Public Health. I have a six year research history, with publications, etc. I'm also married and a mother to a young child. I realized during the first year of my MPH that I wanted to attend medical school, but I also love research, and was deterred by mentor (who is a well known scientist in our field with an MD/PhD) from pursuing medical school. I also do not have any of the Chem, Phys, or Orgo pre-req's which was a huge deterrent. And to be completely honest, the fear of not getting in after all of that additional coursework was terrifying. Unfortunately, I have given it quite some time and I still can't shake the desire to be a physician and I still want to apply when I finish my PhD. My husband and family are extremely supportive, as is our PCP who is allowing me to shadow at their practice.

However, as I mentioned I still have to take six pre-reqs! My question is - are community college classes still going to be looked down upon if I have a PhD, research pubs, etc? For me, it makes the most logical sense financially and for my family (my personal income is only a 32k PhD stipend!) to not accrue additional loans to take my pre-reqs, but rather to pay out of our income. Thoughts?

Yes, I'm contacting my number one school to check with them, but wanted your input, too!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Crayola227]

I think you can do your DIY post-bacc at a CC for the reasons you stated if the rest of your graduate and undergrad career looks top notch which it sounds like it does - but I'm not adcom so wait for more knowledgeable people to come in

 

[kes909]

I was a tad worried because CC classes get such a bad rep in forums/on the web. Thanks for your input!

 

[esob]

Most of the bad rep for CC's comes from the idea that CC courses are typically considered easier than those at a major institutions, and thus people use them for gpa inflation. There are a couple ways to offset this however. One is having a top percentile MCAT, since the assumption is that if you do well on the MCAT then your courses were of sufficient difficulty to adequately prepare you. The other is if you have a stellar undergrad at a 4 year school and have just taken a few course at CC. I would think that with a PhD and a good undergrad at a 4 year, you won't get much grief for taking a few classes at a CC.

 

[JustPlainBill]

I was informed that adcoms look at people with advanced degrees differently -- you've proven you can do the work at the terminal degree level, now just make sure you get a decent MCAT score, have good volunteer/shadowing experiences and you shouldn't have any problems --- While I'm sure you've thought of this, you may want to call the admissions office of the schools you're interested in, explain your situation and see what they think ---

Now --as an aside and this situation is a bit different -- we had someone working on a Ph.D thesis while attempting first year -- did not end well and the person wound up not being successful in medical school --- make sure you've finished one thing before starting another.

 

[gyngyn]

I was informed that adcoms look at people with advanced degrees differently -- you've proven you can do the work at the terminal degree level, now just make sure you get a decent MCAT score, have good volunteer/shadowing experiences and you shouldn't have any problems --- While I'm sure you've thought of this, you may want to call the admissions office of the schools you're interested in, explain your situation and see what they think ---

The skill set that is rewarded in graduate degree programs (even the most rigouous) is entirely different than what we are looking for in medical school admissions. OP will need very strong science grades in addition to an MCAT consistent with success in her state.
A PhD is a great accomplishment. For MD admissions though, it is the rough equivalent of a very long and prestigious EC...

 

[gyngyn]

I was a tad worried because CC classes get such a bad rep in forums/on the web. Thanks for your input!

CC pre-req's in your situation are fine.

 

[DrMikeP]

Some MD programs look really poorly on CC classes, where others don't care. I don't know of any DO prog that cares. So check on the schools you're interested in applying to.

The biggest key for those who don't care is to do well on ur MCAT so it doesn't bring into question the quality of your classes.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

[kes909]

Thank you, everyone, for all of your insight. I truly appreciate it! Have a great weekend