Post Bacc Vs. Community College

[rangoon1984]

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Hi all,

I really want to become a doctor. I'm gunning for the MD route. I'm a 28 year old woman, married, live in Chicago and between me and my husband, we currently have no debt. I work 50 hours a week, so taking more than 2 classes at once is not feasible.

I have an art background - I got my degree in film and video and have been working in the field for 5 years now. With my degree being what it is, I don't have a ton of science/math under my belt.

I'm taking a freshman bio class at a city community college right now (the prof teaches at Northwestern). Probably taking math next semester (I DO NOT REMEMBER ANYTHING!). After the math, I'm at a bit of a crossroads.

The CC route is SOOO affordable. It's also chock full of profs from really high end institutions. However, out of state schools (and maybe even in state schools) don't realize this and will look down on credits earned from the CC.

I'm interested in Loyolas Post Bacc program, but it's pricey ($675/credit before additional fees). I would need all my pre reqs done. If I did it at Loyola, I would be close to $20k in debt from a post bacc program, but I would have the credits done at a 4 year institution (which would make me appealing to schools that hate CCs).The pre medical support system at Loyola looks really nice, too.

I feel really torn. There's no quantitative amount that a post bacc would help me vs. CC's. I'm reluctant to put myself $20k in the hole beyond medical school (assuming I get in), but getting these credits done at a 4 year institution would help me enormously.

Thoughts? 😕

 

[stefspets]

As with anything, it depends. If you have a good GPA, good MCAT, good extracurriculars, good letters, good PS, then CC classes probably aren't going to hurt your app. If the specific schools you want to apply to look down on CC credits, then it will hurt you.

Call the schools you want to apply to and ask them specifically. Look at your package realistically: will CC credits look bad in the context of your application? A previous bad GPA needs to be bolstered by university courses, not CC.

I got into my state MD school (and one other) with mostly CC credits for prereqs. I got into DO schools as well. My package was good and I applied to schools that didn't care. Every situation is unique and you have to decide how much risk you're willing to take.

 

[rangoon1984]

My current GPA is a 3.67. Since I do work in the film industry I also have a lot of weird (unique?) EC's. I haven't taken the MCATs yet since I'm still working thru the pre reqs.

The schools I REALLY want to get into don't seem very enthused about community college credits. They didn't say "Absolutely not!", but they strongly recommended that I do them at a 4 year university. Though, I'm not sure how likely it is they would accept me even if I raised my GPA, got a great mcat score and rocked my sciences. It all seems like a bit of a crapshoot.

 

[ShoTyme]

It all seems like a bit of a crapshoot.

Isn't it great? It's like being in Vegas! 😀 But you get to gamble on your life.

 

[kayak30]

.

 

[TriagePreMed]

I did CC out of necessity because I really couldn't afford post-bacc. I would recommend anyone able to pay to just go ahead and do it. You don't want reasons for your application to be questioned.

 

[Deekle]

I'm from IL as well. If you plan on staying in state then the CC route isn't a bad idea. I can't speak for all of the med schools because I didn't apply at all of the chicago schools, but SIU and UIC did not care that a bunch of my prereqs were at an illinois CC.

My standard disclaimer with this is that I went on to a 4 year and took lots of high level science classes. This may have mitigated any worries they may have had.


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[qwerty2012]

MD schools are very selective on where you take your courses, I am 100% srs. Please don't say that county college courses will do it. Schools actually give points on where you take them.
Do your courses in a regular institution and don't have to deal with the troubles later on.

 

[Deekle]

The proof as they say, is in the pudding. I took gen chem 1&2, ochem 1&2, calc and bio 1&2 and all my gen-eds at Illinois central college in East Peoria Il. I was accepted to Southern Ilinois University school of medicine (Allopathic school) where I will be starting in about 3 weeks.

Lest you think I was some prodigy, my cGPA was 3.4 and MCAT was 28o.

Per my disclaimer, I did transfer to Bradley University in Peoria, Il where I finished my degree in chemistry. I took many upper level bio and chem classes (p-chem, biochem, metabolism, endocrinology, etc.).

The fact remains that I was accepted to an MD school in the op's state with half of my credits being from a community college.


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[ShoTyme]

The proof as they say, is in the pudding.

Actually the saying is "the proof of the pudding is in the eating." But it is always misquoted. 😉

 

[Deekle]

If you have to eat it to prove it then the proof would have to be in it wouldn't it?

Just havin some fun =)

I even understand and agree with the fact that it's better to go the 4yr college route. Unfortunately it's not always possible/practical for nontrads.


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[didanawisgi]

Actually the saying is "the proof of the pudding is in the eating." But it is always misquoted. 😉

If it is always misquoted, at what point does it become correct? 🙂

 

[ShoTyme]

If it is always misquoted, at what point does it become correct? 🙂

lol... interesting question. I guess that's how language evolves. The meaning with the new version is lost in translation however. 🙂

 

[rangoon1984]

Isn't it great? It's like being in Vegas! 😀 But you get to gamble on your life.

Tell me about it I want to make the right decision, but I'm not sure that there is a 'right' decision.

In terms of affording it, no, I can't really 'afford' it in the sense that we could pay for it right now. I would be digging myself into a deeper debt hole to get a post bacc. There's no guaranteed pay off, but if I did well in it AND rocked the MCAT I could have a chance at my top choice schools.

I don't need to get into a top school to be happy, but I don't want to have a list that's so small (of schools that think CC's are a-OK) that is hurts me in the end.

I've been email blasting the schools I'm interested in, and while most won't disqualify CC credits, a lot of these schools aren't very happy with CC credits. Northwestern's post bacc program is appealing too, but you can only start in the Summer and Fall, so I would have to wait til next summer to start. The price is relatively comparable with Loyola.

 

[NightGod]

I'm from IL as well. If you plan on staying in state then the CC route isn't a bad idea. I can't speak for all of the med schools because I didn't apply at all of the chicago schools, but SIU and UIC did not care that a bunch of my prereqs were at an illinois CC.

My standard disclaimer with this is that I went on to a 4 year and took lots of high level science classes. This may have mitigated any worries they may have had.


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This is because in Illinois we have that equivalency arrangement setup where the courses at CC and 4YR have to meet the same criteria in terms of curriculum being taught. Hell, our CC classes are taught by actual professors, nary a grad student in sight

 

[rangoon1984]

This is because in Illinois we have that equivalency arrangement setup where the courses at CC and 4YR have to meet the same criteria in terms of curriculum being taught. Hell, our CC classes are taught by actual professors, nary a grad student in sight

Yup! My current bio teacher (at a CC) is a prof at Northwestern! The workload is definitely more intense than I had at the CC classes I took in Michigan.

 

[NightGod]

Yup! My current bio teacher (at a CC) is a prof at Northwestern! The workload is definitely more intense than I had at the CC classes I took in Michigan.

My chem professor has a published forensic chemistry textbook and is contracted to write a gen chem book. It's amazing what they can get done when they're not herding cats (err...grad student researchers).

 

[Chanandler Bong]

When I asked this exact question of the pre-med adviser at Portland State, she told me not to take more than "two sequences" worth of courses through a community college. (Oregon is on the quarter system; a "sequence" is three quarters, and for just about everyone else I reckon it'd mean two semesters.)

I went ahead and did a quarter of statistics and two quarters of calculus through community college. I did this for two reasons, and your mileage may vary:
1) I wanted to start getting math/science pre-reqs out of the way ASAP. Since I moved to OR last summer (for non-school reasons, for the record), I hadn't been a resident for a year and couldn't get in-state tuition until recently -- however, community colleges here count you as in-state after 90 days. Score.
2) I felt this was a safe option because many schools consider calc or statistics "recommended" instead of "required" if they mention them at all. I completed algebra at a four-year school when I did my undergrad, so in most places that would have been good enough.

I get the feeling that it wouldn't look so hot to take the majority of the science pre-reqs at a community college if your school specifically said they'd prefer four-year courses. If you do two semesters of bio and some math at a CC, that's probably forgivable if you do a bunch of other stuff at a four-year and do it well.

Do you feel it's imperative to do one of these post-bac programs at an expensive four-year school? I'm looking at CSU for comparative purposes and their per credit hour rate is like... a third of Loyola's. If you're worried about money, you can take the classes you need at a public four-year.