Pre-Med Potential Student, Figuring Out What Path to Take

[Aafaaq]

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(Hi, first of all I apologize if this is the wrong place to post this. If it is, could someone please suggest where I should ask for advice? )

So the college commitment deadline extension is coming up soon, and I’m honestly really stuck between choosing a community college or going to my local public university, Rutgers, as a pre-med student.

My biggest concern is whether community college is looked down upon by medical schools. I’m also not fully sure what the exact path would look like from community college → transfer university → med school, and whether that would hurt my chances later on.

The other major issue is finances. Rutgers would cost me around $18–20k per year, while my local community college would be about $7,500 per year. My parents keep telling me not to worry about the money and that they’ll handle it, but I’m scared of being blindsided a year or two from now if finances become a problem. I have three siblings, including two who are also in high school (they're sophmores), so I honestly don’t know how everything will be paid for long term.

I guess my question is: should I trust my parents and go to Rutgers, or should I take the safer financial route and do community college for 1–2 years before transferring? For pre-med specifically, would community college hurt me in any meaningful way? I’d really appreciate honest advice from people who’ve been in similar situations.

 

[polymerization]

From the student experience perspective (I'm sure advisors will follow up with their more evaluative view), I think going to community college is fine in theory, especially to take general education coursework and some of the early prerequisites. Eventually you would transfer, and at the university, you would go on to take your upper division electives, take the MCAT, and apply. I think medical school admissions committees understand the price gap and are willing to look past the gravitas (or lack thereof) of the institution.

I think a lot of people make their decision based on this understanding and don't think any further about it. However, consider that there is a lot more that you would have to do to get into medical school besides just completing your degree. You would need research, clinical experiences, nonclinical volunteering/service orientation activities, physician shadowing, leadership/advocacy experiences, etc etc etc. Ideally, starting in your first year and on for the entire time you're in school (and in some cases, beyond undergrad into gap years, depending on your profile by the time you're planning to apply).

These extracurriculars are not a small part of the application, they are the application. Everyone is going to have taken the same courses and done well; the difference between applicants lies in how they spent their limited time preparing for the humanistic role medicine embodies. That doesn't mean grades don't matter, it just means they are not differentiating after reaching a certain threshold.

The problem with community college in my view for someone in your position is that it will be much harder for you to find the experiences you will want to engage in right away. It isn't totally impossible, there are just fewer opportunities on campus for you to take advantage of. Your instructors are more likely to be adjunct professors that will be less likely to be willing to offer letters of recommendation. There will be fewer (if any) opportunities for research. There may not be a pre-health professions advising office on-campus, at a time where advising is absolutely critical. There may be poor transfer credit-planning institutionally. Students are commuters, so you are less likely to find a stable peer group beyond one or two classes, and fewer peers willing to found/join clubs or other organizations on campus. Again, not impossible, but you will have your work cut out for you.

If you go the community college route (I did at one point), I recommend that you educate yourself on national programs available. Consider groups like pre-med AMSA or even SDN's advisor-on-call services for general guidance, REU programs for research experiences linked to major partner universities, and on-campus or local food banks/pantries to get started with volunteering. Just getting your feet wet with these activities will put you in a good position application-wise to take further steps once you are in a 4-year university and have access to more experiences, more directly.

It can be rough, but you can absolutely make it work. While your parents' financial reassurances may be generous and kind, I can understand the ambivalence and pressure to control costs. Just be aware of what university tuition buys beyond just classes, and be even more aware that, at the end of the day, the responsibility is yours. It doesn't matter where you go—the common denominator will be you and your choices. Do not assume you will catch a break on certain expectations just because you had to take a harder path than someone whose parents are doctors, went to Harvard, and was spoon-fed their entire application. This process is comparative and you will need to find a way to differentiate yourself as a person and applicant. Good luck!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

There's no shame about starting in community college. In today's financial aid circumstances, you gotta do what you can to save money and not hit the loan limit too soon.

Stay connected with a national community of premed students. I suggest this partnering organization, and they have videos on their YouTube channel.

PreMedCC – Your Journey to Medicine Starts Here

premedcc.org

 

[Aafaaq]

Just wanted to thank everyone for the advice, but my parents told me they can pay for my college. Apparently, they had a hidden fund for me that they kept secret until now lol. I will be going to Rutgers!

 

[polymerization]

Just wanted to thank everyone for the advice, but my parents told me they can pay for my college. Apparently, they had a hidden fund for me that they kept secret until now lol. I will be going to Rutgers!

Congratulations! Do your research so that you can hit the ground running and milk Rutgers for every tuition dollar spent. They have a responsibility to offer more than courses on Canvas and a piece of paper at the end of a long slog through undergrad. Make sure you are using every resource available to you... these are not "free," you are paying for them! Get the tutoring, see the advisors, go to office hours, develop relationships.

 

[Aafaaq]

Congratulations! Do your research so that you can hit the ground running and milk Rutgers for every tuition dollar spent. They have a responsibility to offer more than courses on Canvas and a piece of paper at the end of a long slog through undergrad. Make sure you are using every resource available to you... these are not "free," you are paying for them! Get the tutoring, see the advisors, go to office hours, develop relationships.

Thank you! I plan on using everything I can find. However, I heard that you shouldn't trust your advisors to build your schedules.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you! I plan on using everything I can find. However, I heard that you shouldn't trust your advisors to build your schedules.

At some point, the advisors know what you need to graduate. I don't know where you heard this advice.

 

[polymerization]

Thank you! I plan on using everything I can find. However, I heard that you shouldn't trust your advisors to build your schedules.

I mean, that's valid in the sense that you shouldn't put the responsibility of your success on someone else. At the end of the day, you are going to have to be the one who sits in the lectures and takes the tests and has to score well.

An advisor may tell you that you need to take general biology, general chemistry, general physics, calculus, and their associated labs all in your first semester because "that is what all the other pre-med students do." That advice may work for you, it may not. That is the moment to put your big boy/girl pants on and make executive decisions in your own best interest. You do need to protect your GPA and make sure you can balance everything.

Advisors are not therapists or life coaches... they do not sit down with you and help you organize your life (though I myself approached them that way and was humbled in short order). They are looking at a degree audit and telling you what classes would meet graduation requirements, usually with very little personalized strategy organizing those selections. They are coming from a place where they only see final grades. There may not be rhyme or reason to the advice outside of "the cohort I advise seems to do well with x, y, z combination." There are confounding variables there for sure.

That said, I don't think it is helpful to fully discount their advice, especially if you are in a position where you wouldn't be able to tell good advice from bad.

Keep an open mind and be receptive to new information. Of course, think critically and do your own research to understand the bounds of the advice, but you have to learn how to be gracious and accept help, even when you may think they cannot offer the precise kind of help you think you need.

 

[superduperman7]

go where its cheaper for you. You will need to go to a 4 year university to do you advanced sciences, but as long as you putting in full effort, you can do anything. Dont be caught up in a name, find what is better for you personally and youll do great

 

[LizzyM]

If you are bringing AP Chem such that you don't need to take Chem I and II, do not skip ahead and take o-chem as a freshman. This is a dangerous path. Save o-chem for sophomore year.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

If you are bringing AP Chem such that you don't need to take Chem I and II, do not skip ahead and take o-chem as a freshman. This is a dangerous path. Save o-chem for sophomore year.

agreed

How Freshman Year Mistakes Keep You Out of Med School | SDN

Freshman year mistakes and bad choices can limit your future options for a health professional career - learn how to avoid common missteps.

www.studentdoctor.net

 

[Aafaaq]

I mean, that's valid in the sense that you shouldn't put the responsibility of your success on someone else. At the end of the day, you are going to have to be the one who sits in the lectures and takes the tests and has to score well.

An advisor may tell you that you need to take general biology, general chemistry, general physics, calculus, and their associated labs all in your first semester because "that is what all the other pre-med students do." That advice may work for you, it may not. That is the moment to put your big boy/girl pants on and make executive decisions in your own best interest. You do need to protect your GPA and make sure you can balance everything.

Advisors are not therapists or life coaches... they do not sit down with you and help you organize your life (though I myself approached them that way and was humbled in short order). They are looking at a degree audit and telling you what classes would meet graduation requirements, usually with very little personalized strategy organizing those selections. They are coming from a place where they only see final grades. There may not be rhyme or reason to the advice outside of "the cohort I advise seems to do well with x, y, z combination." There are confounding variables there for sure.

That said, I don't think it is helpful to fully discount their advice, especially if you are in a position where you wouldn't be able to tell good advice from bad.

Keep an open mind and be receptive to new information. Of course, think critically and do your own research to understand the bounds of the advice, but you have to learn how to be gracious and accept help, even when you may think they cannot offer the precise kind of help you think you need.

Thank you, will do. I'm currently working on my schedule right now and doing research