Nontrad Prerequisites

[aquamist]

I'm a nontraditional student (finished both undergrad and my MPH at UC Berkeley, currently working in health tech), and I'm currently working to take post-bacc prereqs (ones I haven't taken before...they're not for academic enhancement purposes). I have to take a year of gen chem, a year of o chem, a year of physics, one semester of bio (editing to include that I've already completed the first semester of bio in undergrad, so I have one semester remaining to complete in a post-bacc), and one semester of biochem. I'm currently taking gen chem 1 and physics 1 through a community college (and I'm still working full time), but as things are opening up this coming spring due to the covid situation improving, I'm wondering if people have any anecdotal stories or feedback about taking prereqs at a community college vs. a place like Berkeley Extension for nontraditional students. I'm really hoping to stay in California for med school, so I know I need to be a competitive applicant. Thank you!

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[Proudfather94]

I'm a nontraditional student (finished both undergrad and my MPH at UC Berkeley, currently working in health tech), and I'm currently working to take post-bacc prereqs (ones I haven't taken before...they're not for academic enhancement purposes). I have to take a year of gen chem, a year of o chem, a year of physics, one semester of bio, and one semester of biochem. I'm currently taking gen chem 1 and physics 1 through a community college (and I'm still working full time), but as things are opening up this coming spring due to the covid situation improving, I'm wondering if people have any anecdotal stories or feedback about taking prereqs at a community college vs. a place like Berkeley Extension for nontraditional students. I'm really hoping to stay in California for med school, so I know I need to be a competitive applicant. Thank you!

I took most of the pre reqs at a community college as I had to take remedial classes and was not competitive for university. I got into a DO school (going to attend there for personal reasons) and got 2 MD IIs and multiple other DO IIs. As long as you have upper level science courses from a university and crush your MCAT you should be alright for most schools. If they see that taking pre reqs at a cc won't matter as much because they can still tell that you're able to handle medical school.

Just reread your post, for most medical schools you will need a full year of bio. It's usually called biological sciences 1 and 2.

 

[aquamist]

Just reread your post, for most medical schools you will need a full year of bio. It's usually called biological sciences 1 and 2.

Thanks for your helpful response! And yes good call out about needing a full year of bio 🙂 I should clarify in my original post that I've already taken one semester of bio in undergrad, so I only have one remaining semester to complete in my DIY post bacc!

 

[Proudfather94]

Thanks for your helpful response! And yes good call out about needing a full year of bio 🙂 I should clarify in my original post that I've already taken one semester of bio in undergrad, so I only have one remaining semester to complete in my DIY post bacc!

If you haven't taken upper level science courses at a university I would try too. A lot of medical schools still have some degree of bias towards community colleges (even though that isn't always accurate) and you will want to show that you can handle rigorous coursework. If you can try taking classes like physio, microbio, or genetics from a university.

Another thing to think about at well is that more DO schools seem to favor non traditionals over a lot of MD schools. Even if you crush the MCAT I would at least apply to both MD and DO to maximize your chances.

 

[Worker_Bee_4952]

I did a formal post-bacc, which I thought was helpful in helping me be a bit competitive and also provided me with a committee letter, which made life easier. AAMC has a post-bacc finder that I used when I was searching for the formal post-bacc. You can sort by career changer programs which help students take courses for the first time.

I did do my English comp requirement at the community college and have some other credits from dual HS/college from the same community college, but none of my science or upper-level science were from a CC. When I was starting the process, I had a conversation with an admissions advisor at a DO school that encouraged me to do my courses at a university to stay competitive. Good luck!

 

[aquamist]

If you haven't taken upper level science courses at a university I would try too. A lot of medical schools still have some degree of bias towards community colleges (even though that isn't always accurate) and you will want to show that you can handle rigorous coursework. If you can try taking classes like physio, microbio, or genetics from a university.

I'm planning on taking o chem and biochem (along with my one semester of bio) through Berkeley Extension - do you think this will look the same to med school admissions committees as taking it through a 4-year university? In the Bay Area, there aren't many 4-year schools that offer individual course enrollment without being a registered student at the school. I've also completed an MPH in epidemiology and biostatistics from UC Berkeley and took lots of epi methods, stats, etc courses during that program - I know it's hard to predict, but in your experience, do you feel grad-level courses like these will help prove my ability to handle academic rigor?

 

[aquamist]

I did a formal post-bacc, which I thought was helpful in helping me be a bit competitive and also provided me with a committee letter, which made life easier. AAMC has a post-bacc finder that I used when I was searching for the formal post-bacc. You can sort by career changer programs which help students take courses for the first time.

I did do my English comp requirement at the community college and have some other credits from dual HS/college from the same community college, but none of my science or upper-level science were from a CC. When I was starting the process, I had a conversation with an admissions advisor at a DO school that encouraged me to do my courses at a university to stay competitive. Good luck!

Thanks for this input! 🙂

 

[Proudfather94]

I'm planning on taking o chem and biochem (along with my one semester of bio) through Berkeley Extension - do you think this will look the same to med school admissions committees as taking it through a 4-year university? In the Bay Area, there aren't many 4-year schools that offer individual course enrollment without being a registered student at the school. I've also completed an MPH in epidemiology and biostatistics from UC Berkeley and took lots of epi methods, stats, etc courses during that program - I know it's hard to predict, but in your experience, do you feel grad-level courses like these will help prove my ability to handle academic rigor?

I can't speak for the grad level courses as I don't have any experience with that. It's the Berkeley Extension online?

 

[aquamist]

I can't speak for the grad level courses as I don't have any experience with that. It's the Berkeley Extension online?

Berkeley Extension is switching back to in-person starting this coming spring semester (they were temporarily online due to covid, but the courses I'm taking are all going to be in person)!

 

[DigNewton]

I'm planning on taking o chem and biochem (along with my one semester of bio) through Berkeley Extension - do you think this will look the same to med school admissions committees as taking it through a 4-year university? In the Bay Area, there aren't many 4-year schools that offer individual course enrollment without being a registered student at the school. I've also completed an MPH in epidemiology and biostatistics from UC Berkeley and took lots of epi methods, stats, etc courses during that program - I know it's hard to predict, but in your experience, do you feel grad-level courses like these will help prove my ability to handle academic rigor?

I've met lots of students who took some (or all) of their post-bacc classes through Berkeley Extension and ended up in California med schools. My not-an-adcom opinion is that some community college pre-reqs are fine, but you'd be well served (especially if you're aiming for CA MD programs) by taking a few upper level biology courses...and those only really exist at 4-year schools. UCB Extension should be fine for those.

In terms of your graduate coursework, I think the overall degree will help, especially if you can explain why you want to go to med school after getting an MPH. But it won't satisfy any pre-requisites at many schools. I took graduate level successors to many UL undergrad courses, and very few schools counted them toward pre-reqs. I had to go back and take undergrad gen chem and biochem despite having grad-level pchem and biochem.

Also, you may know this already and just didn't mention it explicitly, but just in case... a lot of schools have additional pre-reqs and/or "strongly suggested" courses beyond the 1-year bio/gen chem/ochem/physics standards. Things like calculus or statistics, and psychology or sociology. Be sure to check the details for schools you're targeting.

 

[aquamist]

I've met lots of students who took some (or all) of their post-bacc classes through Berkeley Extension and ended up in California med schools. My not-an-adcom opinion is that some community college pre-reqs are fine, but you'd be well served (especially if you're aiming for CA MD programs) by taking a few upper level biology courses...and those only really exist at 4-year schools. UCB Extension should be fine for those.

In terms of your graduate coursework, I think the overall degree will help, especially if you can explain why you want to go to med school after getting an MPH. But it won't satisfy any pre-requisites at many schools. I took graduate level successors to many UL undergrad courses, and very few schools counted them toward pre-reqs. I had to go back and take undergrad gen chem and biochem despite having grad-level pchem and biochem.

Also, you may know this already and just didn't mention it explicitly, but just in case... a lot of schools have additional pre-reqs and/or "strongly suggested" courses beyond the 1-year bio/gen chem/ochem/physics standards. Things like calculus or statistics, and psychology or sociology. Be sure to check the details for schools you're targeting.

Thanks! This is helpful/reassuring to hear 🙂 luckily I've taken quite a few stats, calc, psych, soc, english, etc courses so I feel pretty set in that arena, but am definitely keeping tabs on the course requirements for each individual school I'm interested in. I've been looking into some upper level bio courses at Berkeley Extension and SFSU - do you happen to have any anecdotal data on people taking prereq courses at SFSU, since it sounds like you have experience with CA MD schools? I'm wondering if taking courses at Berkeley Extension vs. SFSU would make a difference.

Really appreciate your response!

 

[DigNewton]

I'm wondering if taking courses at Berkeley Extension vs. SFSU would make a difference.

I don't think it will matter almost at all, honestly. Most CA MD schools know Berkeley Extension isn't Cal proper – I doubt they view it in a significantly better light than SFSU for UL courses. CA med schools are a notoriously hard target, but if you're competitive enough that they're looking at you seriously, I don't think Berkeley Extension vs. SFSU is gonna move the needle. (insert obligatory not-an-adcom disclaimer, etc. here)

 

[srirachamayonnaise]

Thanks! This is helpful/reassuring to hear 🙂 luckily I've taken quite a few stats, calc, psych, soc, english, etc courses so I feel pretty set in that arena, but am definitely keeping tabs on the course requirements for each individual school I'm interested in. I've been looking into some upper level bio courses at Berkeley Extension and SFSU - do you happen to have any anecdotal data on people taking prereq courses at SFSU, since it sounds like you have experience with CA MD schools? I'm wondering if taking courses at Berkeley Extension vs. SFSU would make a difference.

Really appreciate your response!

As long as you do well, it really doesn't matter where you take them. I took all my prereq at some no name places over the summer. My bio classes had 3 people in it and I finished the whole sequence in 10 weeks.

 

[gyngyn]

I know it's hard to predict, but in your experience, do you feel grad-level courses like these will help prove my ability to handle academic rigor?

Sadly, no.