Pre-med program for a career changer in the Bay area

[luckym8]

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Hello everyone,

This type of question has been asked many times on this forum. However, I would like to narrow it down to my situations.

I am looking for a Pre-med program to take prerequisite science courses as a career changer.
At the moment I am working full time. So I'd rather take evening or weekend classes.

I live near San Jose (Sunnyvale), as far as I am concerned there are some schools around to consider: UCB extension, SFSU, CSU-East Bay. (feel free to suggest any program that is not in this list)

I heard that community college is not a good choice for lower-division science courses, so I have not considered them so far. (Any suggestions?)

The essential criteria to choose are: 1) Level of difficulty (GPA-wise) 2) Cost

I truly appreciate if someone could share his/her opinion or experience on this?

Cheers!

 

[California Bear]

I never did a post-bacc program (graduated in 2015), but I did take a few classes at CSU East Bay this spring quarter and they were super easy. One of my friends is also taking post-bacc classes at Mills in Oakland and she likes it.

 

[luckym8]

I never did a post-bacc program (graduated in 2015), but I did take a few classes at CSU East Bay this spring quarter and they were super easy. One of my friends is also taking post-bacc classes at Mills in Oakland and she likes it.

Thanks for your comment. Are the classes on the evenings at CSU? How much does it cost for each course?

 

[DanseMacabre99]

I applied and was accepted here and was able to talk to students and faculty. The drawbacks for me were that SFSU is pretty expensive, and their program is laid out for you. I believe the classes also tend to be harder, but more interesting. Some classes are taught by physicians also. You can find areas to park if you don't mind walking (SFSU is located nearby a mall/shopping area + neighborhoods).

CSUEB is cheaper and pretty much the reason why I went here. There are 2 tracks: Academic Enhancers (AE) and Career Changers (CC). I did the AE track.
I think CC is 2 years? You can choose the classes you want to take each quarter within your track and they vary in difficulty. Usually you'll talk with your classmates to get an idea of which classes are easier or have a suspected curve. I left with a GPA > 3.7 while working 2 jobs, cuz its nice to have money. You also have to pay for parking which is about $120 and campus is isolated on top of a hill.

 

[luckym8]

I applied and was accepted here and was able to talk to students and faculty. The drawbacks for me were that SFSU is pretty expensive, and their program is laid out for you. I believe the classes also tend to be harder, but more interesting. Some classes are taught by physicians also. You can find areas to park if you don't mind walking (SFSU is located nearby a mall/shopping area + neighborhoods).

CSUEB is cheaper and pretty much the reason why I went here. There are 2 tracks: Academic Enhancers (AE) and Career Changers (CC). I did the AE track.
I think CC is 2 years? You can choose the classes you want to take each quarter within your track and they vary in difficulty. Usually you'll talk with your classmates to get an idea of which classes are easier or have a suspected curve. I left with a GPA > 3.7 while working 2 jobs, cuz its nice to have money. You also have to pay for parking which is about $120 and campus is isolated on top of a hill.

Wow you did great, two jobs and GPA > 3.7!! Were you able to take classes on the evenings or weekends?

 

[DanseMacabre99]

Thanks! I loved the flexibility I received, but some of my friends at SFSU also worked a job while attending so I think it's manageable there also.

I forgot to mention that CSUEB has 2 campuses, one in Hayward and one in Concord. There are a few classes that always seem to be at the Concord campus which is annoying, but I managed to do all mine at Hayward since I didn't want to do the drive lol.

There are evening classes that start at 6pm which is the latest? I think my schedule quarter by quarter was largely like this:
classes at 8am-1pm, then off to work, or
work overnight shift then class at 10am then gap in classes, usually at the library and next classes at around 4pm, or
work overnight then classes at 3pm to 8pm.
All my classes were on Mondays and Wednesdays, sometimes M,W, and 1 class on F, s you can see where the flexible to do stuff/sleep comes in.

Again this is speaking from someone who did the AE route. CC might be a bit more structured? I'm also biased since this is where I did my classes, soooo my advice would be to call into CSUEB's office and arrange to speak to an advisor to get more of the technical details. If the girls who answer sound groggy or tired, they probably are since they have their hands full in helping send out committee letters for this cycle, but they are generally awesome! Students are also great and very collaborative and can speak more about instructors and specific class details.

Also call SFSU's office, you might enjoy what they have to offer as well.

 

[luckym8]

Thanks! I loved the flexibility I received, but some of my friends at SFSU also worked a job while attending so I think it's manageable there also.

I forgot to mention that CSUEB has 2 campuses, one in Hayward and one in Concord. There are a few classes that always seem to be at the Concord campus which is annoying, but I managed to do all mine at Hayward since I didn't want to do the drive lol.

There are evening classes that start at 6pm which is the latest? I think my schedule quarter by quarter was largely like this:
classes at 8am-1pm, then off to work, or
work overnight shift then class at 10am then gap in classes, usually at the library and next classes at around 4pm, or
work overnight then classes at 3pm to 8pm.
All my classes were on Mondays and Wednesdays, sometimes M,W, and 1 class on F, s you can see where the flexible to do stuff/sleep comes in.

Again this is speaking from someone who did the AE route. CC might be a bit more structured? I'm also biased since this is where I did my classes, soooo my advice would be to call into CSUEB's office and arrange to speak to an advisor to get more of the technical details. If the girls who answer sound groggy or tired, they probably are since they have their hands full in helping send out committee letters for this cycle, but they are generally awesome! Students are also great and very collaborative and can speak more about instructors and specific class details.

Also call SFSU's office, you might enjoy what they have to offer as well.

OK thanks for the input. This seems to be a bit difficult for me! Cause I cant take classes in the mornings. Have you heard of anyone from UCB-extension? They offer classes on the evenings but the admission process is a pain!

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

I took all my prerequisites at community college after having my BA. It was never an issue for me. I wouldn't waste my money on any of these formal programs. However, if you want to be sure you get As in your classes, go to Notre Dame de Namur. The place is a joke but accredited.

 

[DanseMacabre99]

OK thanks for the input. This seems to be a bit difficult for me! Cause I cant take classes in the mornings. Have you heard of anyone from UCB-extension? They offer classes on the evenings but the admission process is a pain!

I do! I also have friends who did classes at Berkeley and they really liked the flexibility , some lived near where you do and were able to get classes at RWC. Supposedly it's geared toward those who have jobs so I expect there to be evening classes in plenty. I heard mixed things about class registration so you might want to get more opinions on that, but staff is apparently really helpful and supportive which is another plus.


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[DanseMacabre99]

Yeah you can also do the CC route, but it's up to your comfort level and whether you want more structure/guidance. But I agree that getting good grades and at a lower cost if possible is what your priority, but I definitely don't regret doing my program.


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[luckym8]

I took all my prerequisites at community college after having my BA. It was never an issue for me. I wouldn't waste my money on any of these formal programs. However, if you want to be sure you get As in your classes, go to Notre Dame de Namur. The place is a joke but accredited.

Thanks for the comment. The NDNU doesn't seem to be cheaper than other choices though. It almost costs $2500 for a 3-units course!!

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Thanks for the comment. The NDNU doesn't seem to be cheaper than other choices though. It almost costs $2500 for a 3-units course!!

that's what you're paying for free As.