Might not be able to get a class I need.

[Tommyguns89]

Im at Stony Brook University as a non matriculated student, and its looking very unlikely that I will be able to get into Bio 202(first one in the sequence) next semester, when I register on Friday(already more people on the wait list than spots left in the class). Possibly other classes I need too. I want to apply to med schools in the summer of 2015, so in theory I could take the class this summer or next fall and still be on track, but there seem to be a limited amount of physics for life sciences(which I also need to take) and bio spots at this school, and the labs are weird and are offered only in the fall OR spring not both and I can see a similar situation occurring in the future.

So I am considering trying the other state school in my area or the community college. My fear is that since I have already taken(well in the process of taking) Chem 1 with lab and calc 1 that if I change schools it will look like I couldnt hack it and am looking for easier classes. Especially if it is the community college I end up at. Private schools are not an option because I cant afford the tuition.

Ill be honest I am probably not going to be competitive for top 20 programs anyway, how many schools outside that scope would hold it against me if I took the classes at a community college instead?(Im going to check out Farmingdale but I will encounter the same problem)

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[theseeker4]

Im at Stony Brook University as a non matriculated student, and its looking very unlikely that I will be able to get into Bio 202(first one in the sequence) next semester, when I register on Friday(already more people on the wait list than spots left in the class). Possibly other classes I need too. I want to apply to med schools in the summer of 2015, so in theory I could take the class this summer or next fall and still be on track, but there seem to be a limited amount of physics for life sciences(which I also need to take) and bio spots at this school, and the labs are weird and are offered only in the fall OR spring not both and I can see a similar situation occurring in the future.

So I am considering trying the other state school in my area or the community college. My fear is that since I have already taken(well in the process of taking) Chem 1 with lab and calc 1 that if I change schools it will look like I couldnt hack it and am looking for easier classes. Especially if it is the community college I end up at. Private schools are not an option because I cant afford the tuition.

Ill be honest I am probably not going to be competitive for top 20 programs anyway, how many schools outside that scope would hold it against me if I took the classes at a community college instead?(Im going to check out Farmingdale but I will encounter the same problem)

Take the classes you need at whatever school you can and you can afford. It is best to get everything done at the same school, but really, if it is going to push you back a year or more to try to do so, fill in where you need to. Don't stress too much about how it will look, there are very few schools that won't consider you at all if you take pre reqs at a CC. If anyone asks, you tell them the truth, you couldn't get into the classes at your preferred school so you took them where you could.

 

[hawkbit]

Ill be honest I am probably not going to be competitive for top 20 programs anyway

So don't worry about it then. Get the classes where you can take them! Like theseeker4 said, if it even comes up (which it probably won't) just be honest about why you took those classes elsewhere. Just nail a 4.0 and don't look back.

 

[CapCrunch]

Why not look to take 201 or 203 instead? They don't follow a sequence, and one does not necessarily have to precede the other.

 

[Tommyguns89]

Why not look to take 201 or 203 instead? They don't follow a sequence, and one does not necessarily have to precede the other.

I didnt know you could take them out of sequence. Hopefully 203 has spots open(if they even offer it this semester) but I suspect it will be more of the same.

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

Sign up for the state school and community college, but if you'd rather take the classes at Stony Brook, keep checking the course registration as it gets close to the start date. I had the exact same problem at University of Nevada when I went to sign up for general chem. Everything was full with a long waitlist until a day or two before classes started, and then there were plenty of open spots. It might be the same at your school, with lots of people signing up for classes they never really plan on taking, just to keep their options open.

 

[Tommyguns89]

I just checked they arent even offering 203 this spring and 201 is just as bad(worse actually than 202). I will keep checking in but I have a feeling I might be stuck taking the classes at the community college since the department heads told me this was a problem when I tried to get some of the prerequisite waived(like they make you finish the inorganic chem sequence before you can start algebra based physics, you have to take 2 semesters of calculus before you can take the chem 2, etc.). There are too many people chasing too few spots and it seems most of them get to register before me.

 

[CapCrunch]

203 is offered in the Summer. It's run as a hybrid course that includes an in-class lecture, as well as ECHO recordings of Cabot's lectures from the Spring semester. It's a lot easier, but you still learn/are tested on the same material.

And yeah...SB is one of the worst schools for scheduling. I can't tell you how many classes/labs I had to take over the summer.

 

[Tommyguns89]

yea I was planning on taking orgo 1 and 2 over the summer because it seems to be the same deal as with bio(and because the first class in a sequence is offered in the first session, second in a sequence in the second session, and it works well from a schedule stand point since the earliest I could take orgo would be in the summer)

 

[Tommyguns89]

lol now Im worried that I'll get shut out at Suffolk too. There are only about 30-40 spots left for each class I need, and its still going to take them a day to process my application, then I need to submit a prerequisite waiver so Tuesday/Wednesday will be the earliest I can register. .

Does anybody know of any schools in the area where I wont have a problem registering for Chem 2, Bio 1 and Physics 1(all with labs), for the spring?

 

[Tommyguns89]

I was able to register for Suffolk and get the classes I need. How much will this hurt me? Im worried because while I anticipate(for this semester at a 4 year university) a high grade in Chem lecture and calculus, I think Im at a B in chem lab. Im worried they are going to look at that grade at a 4 year university and use it to discount any good grades I get at Suffolk.