I have a bac degree in fine art from special effects and taking pre req classes for med school right now at a community college. I am working full time in the emergency room as a tech and have been an EMT for 2 years and also have volunteering experience at my local town first aid squad. After some searching in this forum, I have found some residents who took all their prereqs at a community college and made me interested in doing so myself. It also helps that its more affordable than the 4 year colleges. I also know it does not look as good, but I feel like the GPA is the most important... getting A's cant hurt at a community college can it? Am I wasting my time taking classes at a community college that might not look good? Is it possible for me to get into med school? I am 27 right now. I was excited and motivated to finishing all my prereqs, but after talking to some people they mentioned med schools won't take community college reqs. If there is anyone out there who took classes at a community college and got accepted into med school please help me by just saying it is possible. anyone else it would be a great help if you can just share your thoughts.
nontrad situation worth?
- Thread starter bumnaste
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The MSAR, available at https://services.aamc.org/msar/home#null will show you, for any US MD school, whether or not they accept community college and/or online credit for pre-requisites. You'll find that many do accept them, but there are some hard 'no's in there, so it becomes up to you to decide whether that works for you.
DO schools seem to be quite a bit more lenient from what I've seen around, though I'm not sure if there's a compendium like the MSAR for them.
There are quite a few non-trads who've gone to both MD and DO having done community college courses, just be aware that some doors will close. It's going to give you more options if you do your courses at a 4-year university, but it doesn't shut the process off at the gate to do them at a CC.
DO schools seem to be quite a bit more lenient from what I've seen around, though I'm not sure if there's a compendium like the MSAR for them.
There are quite a few non-trads who've gone to both MD and DO having done community college courses, just be aware that some doors will close. It's going to give you more options if you do your courses at a 4-year university, but it doesn't shut the process off at the gate to do them at a CC.
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I took 100% CC prerequisites. Wasn't a problem.
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Haha, I actually almost tagged you in my reply.
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Was your fine arts degree at a four year? If so, how were grades from that?
6
68PGunner
I got my BA from a very good undergrad (Top 5). Took 80-90% of my premed prereqs in the military at CCs. Didn't matter for me.
It was at a four year and my gpa was 3.4
it is definitely encouraging to hear it's possible. Thanks for coming back to these forums to help people like me out!
Thanks for that resourceful website. I just question my time and life once people in the med field tell me things like med schools won't take cc reqs. I'll be sure to check the site out!
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You do have to purchase the MSAR to see everything, but it's a very well-spent $30. It'll all show you GPA and MCAT ranges for each school, facilities available there, student population breakdown, contact information, etc. It's a useful tool for planning.
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This (http://www.aacom.org/docs/default-source/cib/cib_web_full-publication.pdf?sfvrsn=30) is the DO version of the MSAR. It doesn't say for most schools whether they take CC credits, but gives the contact info/websites, so you could look individually for the schools you're interested in.
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psu228
I took o chem 2 at a CC and did a gen chem 1 retake at that same CC. The courses were challenging and really conducive to my learning the material. Taking the MCAT this spring so I can't speak to how well they helped me prepare but I'm very happy I went there.
To answer your question, I called a bunch of DO schools to ask if they cared at all about CC credits. The only ones who said anything about it was PCOM, and they still ultimately accept them. Your clinical experience is awesome already, couple that with a solid MCAT and no one will bat an eye at you having CC credits.
CCs are so great for the ease in which you can get into classes. Cheaper, easier to get into classes, a lot of them offer night sections of each class too for working people. I've loved my CC experience if you couldn't tell lol.
Anyway, no one but you can decide if this path is worth it, but if you handle your business you absolutely can be accepted into medical school. Like I said you're actually well on your way there with all the clinical exposure you already have. Don't let your age preclude you from doing this. Tons of people your age and FAR older decide they want to go to medical school, do it and don't look back. Its up to you
Good luck!
To answer your question, I called a bunch of DO schools to ask if they cared at all about CC credits. The only ones who said anything about it was PCOM, and they still ultimately accept them. Your clinical experience is awesome already, couple that with a solid MCAT and no one will bat an eye at you having CC credits.
CCs are so great for the ease in which you can get into classes. Cheaper, easier to get into classes, a lot of them offer night sections of each class too for working people. I've loved my CC experience if you couldn't tell lol.
Anyway, no one but you can decide if this path is worth it, but if you handle your business you absolutely can be accepted into medical school. Like I said you're actually well on your way there with all the clinical exposure you already have. Don't let your age preclude you from doing this. Tons of people your age and FAR older decide they want to go to medical school, do it and don't look back. Its up to you
Good luck!
Hey thanks a lot that really helps I am starting some classes tomorrow so definitely excited!
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The MSAR is great but you should also contact schools directly. There are schools that say "no" to online prereqs in the MSAR but have told me by email that it's no problem. I would imagine the opposite could be true as well -- MSAR says yes, but the school doesn't actually accept them -- but I have not encountered that.
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Hey! Just wanted to say, I was in your same position two years ago (around your same age). I had a BA with fine arts and no science classes, lots of clinical exp though. I did a post bacc, and just got my first acceptance to med school so hang in there! My stats were far from impressive but I feel my medical experience really made a difference. Also, make sure to do everything you can to keep that GPA up, seriously important, taking Community College classes shouldn't be too bad, but make sure you do well on them!
Also solid advise about buying the MSAR, it is an amazing tool for the price (make sure you buy the online version not the book), it is essential to help you decide which schools to apply. Cheers!
Also solid advise about buying the MSAR, it is an amazing tool for the price (make sure you buy the online version not the book), it is essential to help you decide which schools to apply. Cheers!
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Current M1 here, 33 years old, my bachelor's degree was over a decade ago in music performance and I did all but one of my pre req courses for med school at a little local community college (biochem was online)... my undergrad GPA was 3.6, community college GPA 4.0, MCAT on the lowish end. That said I only applied to 6 in-state/neighboring MD schools, got 3 II, two WL (one was highly promising), and one acceptance. I eventually withdrew from my waitlists because I fell in love with the school I currently attend.
There are MD schools that greatly appreciate the non-traditional and actively seek to fill the class ranks with those with life and clinical experience. I'd agree with what everyone here is saying about DO schools as well. You application sounds competitive to me. Before you apply to any MD school just make sure they accept CC courses, and have a ready response as to why you went that route instead of a 4 year university route.
Best of luck to you, don't give up on the dream... because it's amazing when it becomes real!
There are MD schools that greatly appreciate the non-traditional and actively seek to fill the class ranks with those with life and clinical experience. I'd agree with what everyone here is saying about DO schools as well. You application sounds competitive to me. Before you apply to any MD school just make sure they accept CC courses, and have a ready response as to why you went that route instead of a 4 year university route.
Best of luck to you, don't give up on the dream... because it's amazing when it becomes real!
