Online Community College

[deleted1123640]

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I'm in high school doing dual enrollment. For financial reasons, I have to attend community college and my degree at community college covers almost every medical school prerequisite. Similarly, to keep my job, almost all my classes are online with the exception of science labs. Do you guys think this will put me at a disadvantage? Thank you!

 

[candbgirl]

Yes. Don’t take your med school pre reqs at an online community college. Take Gen Ed classes and get those out of the way. Take your med school prereqs at a 4 year college/university.

 

[deleted1123640]

Yes. Don’t take your med school pre reqs at an online community college. Take Gen Ed classes and get those out of the way. Take your med school prereqs at a 4 year college/university.

What if I take them in person at community college? I really can't afford to take them at a 4 year university and if I don't take them then I can't get my associates to get into my 4 year, either.

 

[KnightDoc]

What if I take them in person at community college? I really can't afford to take them at a 4 year university and if I don't take them then I can't get my associates to get into my 4 year, either.

Some schools will accept them, and others won't. So the answer to your OP is yes, it will put you at a disadvantage.

Community college is less rigorous to begin with. Online is not preferred for many reasons. It was an accommodation schools had to make during the height of the pandemic. With in person learning returning over the past few months, most schools either discourage or flat out refuse to accept online prereqs.

Applying in the future with community college prereqs, whether or not online, will definitely put you at a disadvantage. I'm not saying it will be impossible to be successful, since I have no way to know that ahead of time. But, given the stiff level of competition, I wouldn't do it.

It will be less expensive, and might make it easier to get higher grades, but it will not make your path to med school easier. You will need a 4 year degree to apply to med school, and the expectation of many schools will be that prereqs are taken at the 4 year institution. @candbgirl is absolutely correct, and you can absolutely obtain an associates degree without taking med school prereqs. People who are not premeds do it every year.

 

[jamaica jan sun princess]

Having taken online sciences classes, I wouldn't recommend taking courses that are foundational for the MCAT in that format. Check which schools accept community college credits. Without looking, I believe it's a very small minority that refuse to accept community college classes.

I did take my chemistry, physics, and biology sequences at a community college, taught by instructors with PhDs in their fields(for the most part). From what I've heard from my friends who took these classes at the large, four-year university nearby, I received a far better education at the "inferior" community college. At the school I earned my bachelor's and master's from, the science professors were far more concerned with research, resulting in their classes being little more than rapidly mumbling off slides. The community college was a complete 180 and a much better experience because the instructors loved teaching and research was barely a blip on their radar.

If you're pursuing a STEM degree, you'll have 2 years of upper-level science classes at a four-year university to prove you can handle rigorous classes. I think the main concern is for career switchers who have a non-science degree and then complete just the dozen or so premed perquisites solely at a community college. In that situation, adcoms don't know how rigorous the community college was and don't have any other science classes to assess your preparedness by. As long as you're following it up with two more years of classes in a science major with a high GPA, you should be fine from an admissions perspective.

YMMV.

 

[candbgirl]

What if I take them in person at community college? I really can't afford to take them at a 4 year university and if I don't take them then I can't get my associates to get into my 4 year, either.

Why can’t you get your associate without taking the med school prereqs? That doesn’t makes sense. But do what you want but don’t be surprised if they aren’t accepted or you aren’t accepted. Last cycle only around 36% of all applicants were accepted to medical school at all. That means around 64% of all applicants were out right rejected. So it’s usually smart to give yourself the best possible chance by building the best possible application. But it’s your application do what you want. But read @KnightDoc ‘s post a few times before you make decisions. And stay away entirely from the online courses for prereqs.

 

[deleted1123640]

Why can’t you get your associate without taking the med school prereqs? That doesn’t makes sense. But do what you want but don’t be surprised if they aren’t accepted or you aren’t accepted. Last cycle only around 36% of all applicants were accepted to medical school at all. That means around 64% of all applicants were out right rejected. So it’s usually smart to give yourself the best possible chance by building the best possible application. But it’s your application do what you want. But read @KnightDoc ‘s post a few times before you make decisions. And stay away entirely from the online courses for prereqs.

Because my associates degree requires chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, calculus and statistics.

 

[deleted1123640]

Having taken online sciences classes, I wouldn't recommend taking courses that are foundational for the MCAT in that format. Check which schools accept community college credits. Without looking, I believe it's a very small minority that refuse to accept community college classes.

I did take my chemistry, physics, and biology sequences at a community college, taught by instructors with PhDs in their fields(for the most part). From what I've heard from my friends who took these classes at the large, four-year university nearby, I received a far better education at the "inferior" community college. At the school I earned my bachelor's and master's from, the science professors were far more concerned with research, resulting in their classes being little more than rapidly mumbling off slides. The community college was a complete 180 and a much better experience because the instructors loved teaching and research was barely a blip on their radar.

If you're pursuing a STEM degree, you'll have 2 years of upper-level science classes at a four-year university to prove you can handle rigorous classes. I think the main concern is for career switchers who have a non-science degree and then complete just the dozen or so premed perquisites solely at a community college. In that situation, adcoms don't know how rigorous the community college was and don't have any other science classes to assess your preparedness by. As long as you're following it up with two more years of classes in a science major with a high GPA, you should be fine from an admissions perspective.

YMMV.

I definitely am, my transfer plan has a few biology classes and then a bunch of elective science classes I could fill in with higher biology, chemistry, and biochemistry classes.

 

[KnightDoc]

Because my associates degree requires chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, calculus and statistics.

Then it is what it is if you are unwilling to change your major. The answer to your question remains that taking med school prereqs at a community college WILL put you at a disadvantage. Some schools just won't accept them, and other schools will take them but express a preference for classes taken at 4 year schools.

You are in HS, at the very beginning of your journey, and are choosing to take these classes in community college. There is no requirement that you do so. You can major in anything in community college if your goal is to save money, rather than to avoid 4 year school premed weed out classes. Good luck!

 

[candbgirl]

^^^THIS! And like I said do what you want. I’m not sure why you even asked the question if you weren’t open to considering the answers.

 

[jamaica jan sun princess]

I feel like this issue is getting blown way out of proportion and probably causing some unnecessary anxiety. If you end up with a weak application, sure the two years of community college might be one more thing dragging you down. If you have a well rounded application with impactful volunteer experiences, research, 3.7+ GPA, and competitive MCAT score, the community college courses will only be an issue at the few medical schools that don't accept them.

I encourage you to also seek opinions elsewhere(r/premed, premed advisor, someone from a medical school's admissions department, or a current medical student). The average SDN user is quite neurotic(as you've probably noticed already). Use the information found here as loose guidance, but weigh the pros and cons yourself. It's your application and there are few hard and fast rules about what is must look like.

 

[Damson]

as long as your transcript will not specify that the class is an online class, i encourage you to do the first two years at a community college, online or not online

GPA is king. you will learn the prereqs wherever you take them. supplement them with MCAT prep books, question banks, practice exams and you'll be just fine

take care of your GPA now. this is your chance!

 

[KnightDoc]

I feel like this issue is getting blown way out of proportion and probably causing some unnecessary anxiety. If you end up with a weak application, sure the two years of community college might be one more thing dragging you down. If you have a well rounded application with impactful volunteer experiences, research, 3.7+ GPA, and competitive MCAT score, the community college courses will only be an issue at the few medical schools that don't accept them.

I encourage you to also seek opinions elsewhere(r/premed, premed advisor, someone from a medical school's admissions department, or a current medical student). The average SDN user is quite neurotic(as you've probably noticed already). Use the information found here as loose guidance, but weigh the pros and cons yourself. It's your application and there are few hard and fast rules about what is must look like.

Very true! The OP asked if online community college prereqs, later modified to in person, put an applicant at a disadvantaged. The answer is an unequivocal "Yes."

I certainly never meant to imply it would be fatal, since there are absolutely people who have been successful after taking some or all prereqs in community college. Many schools don't care at all, while a lot do. Not being on a equal footing at all schools is the very definition of a disadvantage. Only time will tell whether or not it will be determinative for OP if he continues on that path.

What you say about SDN being neurotic is also very true, but that doesn't negate a lot of the advice and experience presented. That said, there is a n=1 example for any scenario imaginable, so OP does not need to search high and low to find people who took online prereqs through a community college and eventually found their way into a med school. I'm sure that person exists. But that wasn't the original question. 🙂

 

[WildWing]

@Mr.Smile12 @Goro this might be a good one for you to weigh in on.

 

[Goro]

OP, there are MD schools that state that do not accept prereqs done at CCs. On top of that, other Adcom members, including some at my own school, feel that CC coursework isn't as rigorous at that of a 4 year school.

I suggest that if possible, find a different CC with less onerous AA Requirements, or see if can change majors so that you don't have to take the prereqs there.

Failing that, consider dumping this CC entirely, work for several years, save up the money, and then go to a 4 year school.

 

[TragicalDrFaust]

I believe some DO schools are more lenient than MD schools in this respect. I have an associate's degree and used my good grades from CC to get a sizable scholarship to finish my B.S. at state school. Ended up getting paid to go to state school factoring in other grants, actually. Many of my DO classmates got pre-reqs at CC. It will limit the medical schools where you can apply but it won't outright prevent you from being admitted. As others are saying though, I would avoid online. That would really limit your options and there's not a lot of trust in online degrees yet.

edit for error

 

[Mr.Smile12]

The OP may want to also bring this over to Confidential Consult for some of the points I will raise up below. For me, I want to start at the very beginning:

1) Why do you see yourself as a physician? What about other health care careers where you can also finish up with a viable health professional degree and a nice job that could get you some income working in a health care setting. At CC's you probably have to take some chemistry, physics, math, and biology for some of the careers you may have available to you at the CC such as physical therapist assistant, dental hygienist, veterinary or pharmacy technician. Is there anything wrong getting a head start to those careers, especially if you are adamant with your attention to your overall student debt?

2) Where are you taking your CC coursework? You may want to take this to Confidential Consulting, but your location and the resources available to you may give me a better idea. The fact you are taking dual enrollment coursework may have something to do with a lack of "college-prep" coursework at your high school, and that is important to know for some admissions officials and faculty who may ultimately favor your application.

3) Are the science courses you have taken appropriately designed for science majors? Having read over many transcripts, often some of the courses are designated appropriate for nursing or allied health tracks but NOT for science tracks. Even in undergraduate, many of your science courses are reserved for non-majors, and those should not be taken if you want to prepare for more challenging science coursework. That said, if you decide to go into another career like physician assistant or nurse anesthetist, those classes may be fine.

4) What Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate classes have you taken? Have you passed the exams? Have you taken the ACT or SAT? How many graduated students from your high school have gone to college? What scholarships did they get? (Your high school's counselor should know this information.) Note: your future in health care will have plenty of standardized exams like the ACT or SAT that will determine whether you can practice or not, and you must become comfortable with those exams.

5) Would you be interested in spending some time in the armed services? It's not a great reason to become eligible for the GI Bill to pay for future education, but there is definitely a lot of help when it comes to cost of education.

All the other advice submitted in this thread contain relevant concerns, but you have to have the motivation to train for the next 10-20 years (expenses and loans notwithstanding) to be a physician in the end. Your journey may have to have a couple of intermediate stops, and that's fine. Yes, you can do it, but many of us who have gone on this path may have had a different experience when it comes to handling student debt because tuition was much more subsidized by our state and national governments than the current political and educational systems are allowing.

 

[deleted1123640]

Update: I transferred to a 4 year university now. The only community college classes I took were English 1, intro to psych, human development, a computer class, math applications, anatomy I and II, intermediate algebra, and college algebra. I may take calculus II this summer, but all my big requirements like chemistry, biology, physics, organic chemistry, biochemistry, genetics, etc. will be at a 4 year university.