Title says it all. I’m a premed at a California community college and they keep making me take these stupid prep classes before I can take my required classes such as calculus, gen chem, etc. Some of them don’t even make sense like gen chem where the prereqs are math 040/041 and their prep class and even when I tried to challenge it by saying I have an A in college algebra (math 141), they still won’t budge. Then I was like ‘fine, I’ll take it during winter break’ but then it turns out they and the CC’s surrounding the area don’t offer it (looked into taking it online at a Cali community college campus but all of them either have different winter start and ends or just don’t have my subjects). I assume I’ll run into this problem when I get down to summer too. I tried looking into transferring out of here to a UC asap, but it looks like I’m trapped here since I can’t really finish the transfer requirements due to being delayed for so long. I have been pretty shaken up about this lately, my main fear being I’ll have to spend not one, but several extra years before I can get into med school. I wish someone had warned me about this in h.s but my school was low-funded and on the bad side of town; I literally had no guidance there except for a few med articles I searched up while there which said taking cc instead of uni would save you tons of money (no mention of extra time). God I ****ed up
You've gotten plenty of good replies, but I also felt inclined to comment on this thread.
1. Do not ever put down DO's like you did. Its fine here, and most people won't roast you for it. But when you get into medical school (whichever one that might be), you will eventually run into a DO, and chances are, you won't even know it until it is too late. If you run around with the attitude that it appears you currently have with DOs, then you could find yourself into some hot water. No biggie though, just trying to save you future headaches.
2. Speed running the game of life is not all that it is cracked up to be. The difference in one gap year is graduating at 26 compared to 27; two gap years pushes that to 28. Don't get me wrong, I understand that is currently an "unfavorable" outcome, because I was that way too. But I will tell you that everything will eventually work itself out. You will get into medical school if this is truly what you want to do. As far as advice, I agree that it is best to transfer to a University level school that has the appropriate pre-med advisors that truly deal with this stuff. CC's and administration of such can be stuck in their ways to ensure students don't slip through cracks. It can be tough, and I understand the predicament, but again, there is no way through the barriers you are talking about it seems without a transfer in play. So, transferring, and getting back on the track you want to be on seems to be the best option. I don't know what transfer requirements you speak of because you are allowed to switch schools at your choosing almost anywhere in the country. However, if you truly cannot transfer, the best thing you can try to do is grind it out; the best way to do this, this early in your career, should be taking as many summer and winter classes as possible. You can make up those EC hours you miss later. 1000%. I promise.
3. Do NOT take your MCAT during your sophomore year. That is absolutely ABSURD. You want to take that bad boy first and foremost when you are actually wholeheartedly ready, and secondly, in the summer of your Junior year. If you are worried about a poor score, take it in May, and then sign up again for it in late July. That is what 95% of all pre-meds do. Therefore, I am unsure of where you got the advice to take it sophomore year. I can tell you that you will truly be better off to wait until summer of your Junior year EVEN IF you peers do not.
4. While the DO route may currently be unfavorable for you - you should keep in mind that they can match every specialty, and many, many students specialize with ease. You should also bear in mind that the average MCAT for in-state Californian acceptance is a 514 in 2020 which is the 89th percentile overall. This is going to be an incredibly tough feat. So the question becomes, how bad do you want to be a doctor? If you don't hit that 514 mark, how many times are you going to try and get into MD schools? 1 try? 2 tries? 3? Now we are talking about three gap years before you're in...do you ever try DO school or do you just give up? These are serious questions you need to ask yourself. "Yeah, IDK what this guys deal is, obviously I'm super smart, and Im not going to have that problem." Yeah, join the club because DO students are very intelligent people as well that fell into that same category, and many of which did so in a state that wasn't as hard as California. Point being that, part of what makes a great doctor is being able to have a Plan B, and C, and D, and etc (also called a differential diagnosis list). So even though DO is unfavorable, you should at least think about those questions I laid out above.
5. Finally, you are not "so *****." The fact that you're even thinking about this stuff, laying out the timelines, thinking about the routes and consequences of actions, is really great and far more advanced than most 18 year old pre-meds. Keep working, keep grinding, and like I said, it should all work itself out.
