Pre-med advice for Community College attendees

[Dancingwiththedocs]

I am currently enrolled as a freshman in a community college and I'm planning to get an Associate of Science and transfer to a University for a Bachelor's in Biochemistry, Biology, or Psychology and then apply to med school. I also plan to try and enroll in a summer pre-med/research/science program during my undergrad. I have been to many missions trips but haven't done any healthcare work. I have also been studying ballet since I was 8 and has given me opportunities to know about some form of anatomy and physiology.
Will I be accepted into medical school if I maintain good grades (high school GPA is 3.8 but it was back in 2003 when I graduated)? Also, what is the advice of those who have already been accepted into medical school or are already physicians?
I am attending CC mostly due to expenses. I would attend University if I could get the funds needed for it. My husband does not want to pay for student loans until I have to. He is supportive and willing when the time comes for me to go to med school but for now he doesn't see a need to pay for the same class more expensively. He has a Masters degree so I trust his educated judgement.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[DrMikeP]

I am currently enrolled as a freshman in a community college and I'm planning to get an Associate of Science and transfer to a University for a Bachelor's in Biochemistry, Biology, or Psychology and then apply to med school. I also plan to try and enroll in a summer pre-med/research/science program during my undergrad. I have been to many missions trips but haven't done any healthcare work. I have also been studying ballet since I was 8 and has given me opportunities to know about some form of anatomy and physiology.
Will I be accepted into medical school if I maintain good grades (high school GPA is 3.8 but it was back in 2003 when I graduated)? Also, what is the advice of those who have already been accepted into medical school or are already physicians?
I am attending CC mostly due to expenses. I would attend University if I could get the funds needed for it. My husband does not want to pay for student loans until I have to. He is supportive and willing when the time comes for me to go to med school but for now he doesn't see a need to pay for the same class more expensively. He has a Masters degree so I trust his educated judgement.

Some med schools (Some FL MD schools I know for sure) have a significant bias against CC required science courses. I don't know of any DO programs that do. So look up specific schools you are interested in attending and make sure that you are not setting yourself up to be eliminated automatically by taking CC work. Otherwise CC is fine and cheaper is great!

If you have a 3.8 s/cgpa when done and a strong mcat then yes you have a good chance, BUT understand that most people don't start out thinking they're going to be a straight 3.0/495 MCAT student, so no one can say what chances you'll have until you do the work.

 

[Birdnals]

Some med schools (Some FL MD schools I know for sure) have a significant bias against CC required science courses. I don't know of any DO programs that do. So look up specific schools you are interested in attending and make sure that you are not setting yourself up to be eliminated automatically by taking CC work. Otherwise CC is fine and cheaper is great!

I would similarly advise you to avoid taking the prereqs for medical school at the CC. Now that said, you should be able to take enough classes to earn your associates without having to touch those prereqs. I was in a similar situation myself. I took the classes necessary for my associates by enrolling in gen ed classes and the prereqs for the med school school prereqs. For example, I had the option of enrolling in Chem 1 but instead opted for what was essentially Chem 0 and then took Chem 1 once I got to the big Uni. This let me setup a good foundation for Chem 1 so I could rock it once I got to Uni and avoid the situation of having taken prereqs at a CC.

In short, with careful planning, you should be able to avoid taking any med school prereqs in CC while still graduating in a timely manner!

 

[Dancingwiththedocs]

I would similarly advise you to avoid taking the prereqs for medical school at the CC. Now that said, you should be able to take enough classes to earn your associates without having to touch those prereqs. I was in a similar situation myself. I took the classes necessary for my associates by enrolling in gen ed classes and the prereqs for the med school school prereqs. For example, I had the option of enrolling in Chem 1 but instead opted for what was essentially Chem 0 and then took Chem 1 once I got to the big Uni. This let me setup a good foundation for Chem 1 so I could rock it once I got to Uni and avoid the situation of having taken prereqs at a CC.

In short, with careful planning, you should be able to avoid taking any med school prereqs in CC while still graduating in a timely manner!

Thanks so much!
I have opted to take Intro to Chem which I guess is considered Chem 0 but the requirements for the associates sciences don't allow me to take Intro to Bio or Physics. I was gonna take Environment and maybe I'll just take another science available that isn't Biology. Also, some med schools require a year of English. That I have to take at CC, will they look down on that? As for the math the only ones they require are Calc right?

 

[Birdnals]

Also, some med schools require a year of English. That I have to take at CC, will they look down on that? As for the math the only ones they require are Calc right?

I'm not an admissions person so take everything I say with a grain of salt, but I feel like the English requirement isn't quite the same as say a physics requirement, i.e. taking English at the CC would be viewed differently than taking bio or physics at a CC.

You may be able to circumvent this problem all together. At my Uni, I had to take another writing intensive course as a degree requirement. I took this and another writing intensive course and used these to fulfill my English requirement. In fact, I was able to find an upper level writing class that helped me with my personal statement along with other aspects of my application.

 

[DrMikeP]

It's mostly science courses that raise a concern, but you should check the schools you're interested in to make sure.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

[abn632]

I would take as many classes at the CC as possible - even the premed coursework. This way, when you get to university, you can start taking upper-level science courses, like biochemistry, genetics, immunology, etc. Keep in mind that CC coursework will ALWAYS have a bit of stigma attached to it as being easier, so it is imperative that you get A's. Also, when you transfer to university, you'll likely discover that university coursework, especially higher-level science courses, are tougher. Don't overload on hard courses your first semester at university - you'll be overwhelmed. Take one or two science classes then adjust accordingly for the following semesters. Good luck to you!

 

[Dancingwiththedocs]

I would take as many classes at the CC as possible - even the premed coursework. This way, when you get to university, you can start taking upper-level science courses, like biochemistry, genetics, immunology, etc. Keep in mind that CC coursework will ALWAYS have a bit of stigma attached to it as being easier, so it is imperative that you get A's. Also, when you transfer to university, you'll likely discover that university coursework, especially higher-level science courses, are tougher. Don't overload on hard courses your first semester at university - you'll be overwhelmed. Take one or two science classes then adjust accordingly for the following semesters. Good luck to you!

Thank you so much! This is very helpful

 

[Dancingwiththedocs]

I'm not an admissions person so take everything I say with a grain of salt, but I feel like the English requirement isn't quite the same as say a physics requirement, i.e. taking English at the CC would be viewed differently than taking bio or physics at a CC.

You may be able to circumvent this problem all together. At my Uni, I had to take another writing intensive course as a degree requirement. I took this and another writing intensive course and used these to fulfill my English requirement. In fact, I was able to find an upper level writing class that helped me with my personal statement along with other aspects of my application.

Thank you! This is helpful info!

 

[Coltuna]

I am currently enrolled as a freshman in a community college and I'm planning to get an Associate of Science and transfer to a University for a Bachelor's in Biochemistry, Biology, or Psychology and then apply to med school. I also plan to try and enroll in a summer pre-med/research/science program during my undergrad. I have been to many missions trips but haven't done any healthcare work. I have also been studying ballet since I was 8 and has given me opportunities to know about some form of anatomy and physiology.
Will I be accepted into medical school if I maintain good grades (high school GPA is 3.8 but it was back in 2003 when I graduated)? Also, what is the advice of those who have already been accepted into medical school or are already physicians?
I am attending CC mostly due to expenses. I would attend University if I could get the funds needed for it. My husband does not want to pay for student loans until I have to. He is supportive and willing when the time comes for me to go to med school but for now he doesn't see a need to pay for the same class more expensively. He has a Masters degree so I trust his educated judgement.

Do some research on the teachers that teach the more rigorous classes at your community college. IMO, the teacher really makes or breaks a science class.

 

[DrMikeP]

Thank you so much! This is very helpful

Again use caution and check with the med schools you are specifically interested in attending, as the bias is very real and right or wrong will keep you out at some even mid tier state md schools.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

[Dancingwiththedocs]

Again use caution and check with the med schools you are specifically interested in attending, as the bias is very real and right or wrong will keep you out at some even mid tier state md schools.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

How many schools should I look into? My husband is willing to move wherever needed thankfully. So there's things I like about each school I've look at. Are there any Pre-medical events, where I can look into and talk to different schools, that you might know about?

 

[DrMikeP]

How many schools should I look into? My husband is willing to move wherever needed thankfully. So there's things I like about each school I've look at. Are there any Pre-medical events, where I can look into and talk to different schools, that you might know about?

Many universities hold a pre-health kind of day that almost anyone can attend. Not always easiest to find out about such though unless you are a student (beware the foreign med schools who offer opportunities that are too good to be true). Many med programs also hold their own open house type of events, they are advertised on their websites. School websites are often the best source of info.

As far as how many, look at all you might be remotely interested in, then when ready apply to as many schools as you would be interested in attending, can afford, and that you would have even a remote shot of attending. Include your state schools in that, as well as MD and DO. There aren't that many DO schools and you can glance through the AACOM MCIB and for MD the AAMC MSAR (google them). The MCIB is free online.