Pre Med in Community College

[neuromaria9]

So I'm fairly new here so I am very sorry if a similar thread to this has already been made.

I'm about to start my freshman year of college. I decided to start in community college due to my financial situation and also my mental health. Community college is by far the best option for me at the time but I worry that it will put me in a disadvantage when I begin to apply to medical school. I am planning to get an Associates in science and I have already chosen my courses: Intro to Psych, pre calc with trig, English 111, Bio (human anatomy & physiology). I talked to my first year advisor about my worries that taking pre reqs in a CC will put me in a disadvantage and he said he has never heard of that which is pretty surprising. I have to take whatever classes I need to graduate from CC but I'm worried that most of them are pre reqs and the medical schools I am interested in say those classes may be accepted but are expected to be taken at a 4 year. Which brings me to my question: What exactly am I supposed to do? I already have the whole volunteering stuff under my wing (at least for this summer) and I plan to either major in biology or psychology with a minor in creative writing but I don't know what to do about the whole CC situation. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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[Monkey.King]

You will be fine. Plenty of people do this option that are members on the site, and there are lots of threads about it. I actually made a thread like this when I joined as well. And everybody gives the same advice for all threads asking questions like there. Yes, you might be put at a disadvantaged if you're applying to a top 5 or something (compared to someone who went to a 4 year all around with similar grades) but other than that, the general rule is try to complete as many prerequisites as you can at the 4 year.

Besides, you said it yourself, CC is your best option and it's not like you can change the circumstances that is causing you to go there. Why not make the most of it? Set yourself up to transfer to the best school you can

 

[CyrilFiggis]

Going to CC because of financial constrains will not affect your application. Do well, transfer to a good 4 year college. Relax and enjoy yourself. 2020 is to far away to be worrying about these things now.

 

[Wowmcwow]

Went to CC, did well on MCAT, got secondaries. Don't worry about it.

 

[ProspectiveKidd]

You can transfer with your associates degree to a university and take upper level pre reqs and classes there if you want. Some people take all pre-reqs at a CC; I don't think its as big of a deal as most people make it out to be. Do extremely well on everything and they will have no reason to reject you based on that.

Hell, people transfer to ivy league schools from CCs. Is it common? No. But it probably has a lot to do with the amount of people applying to those types of schools from CCs in the first place.

 

[neuromaria9]

Thanks for everyone's replies! I definitely feel a lot better and it is greatly appreciated

 

[Dancingwiththedocs]

I am in the same boat pretty much. I am a freshman going into a CC and want to get an Associate of Science and transfer to a University. I don't have the time or $$ for a University at this time either. I plan on getting a BioChem or other Science degree and already looking at MCAT study guides. lol! Once I get into a University, I'd like to seek out Pre-Med/Research/Science programs and/or attend Summer Medical School programs hoping that will show my dedication and passion for wanting to be a doctor.
I, too, am afraid going to a CC and getting an Associates will hurt my chances, but if I just keep going and do my best I'm hoping they see the dedication and passion. Plus, we do have a "long time" to prepare. 2020!!

 

[Turkishking]

I am in the same boat pretty much. I am a freshman going into a CC and want to get an Associate of Science and transfer to a University. I don't have the time or $$ for a University at this time either. I plan on getting a BioChem or other Science degree and already looking at MCAT study guides. lol! Once I get into a University, I'd like to seek out Pre-Med/Research/Science programs and/or attend Summer Medical School programs hoping that will show my dedication and passion for wanting to be a doctor.
I, too, am afraid going to a CC and getting an Associates will hurt my chances, but if I just keep going and do my best I'm hoping they see the dedication and passion. Plus, we do have a "long time" to prepare. 2020!!

Yeah well you better be getting A's.

 

[Dancingwiththedocs]

Yeah well you better be getting A's.

Definitely, I was a 3.8 GPA in high school, so I'm hoping I can keep that up and I have more drive to study then I did in high school so I will see.