Pre-med school req.question

Started by Solid2k12
BU Medical Sciences
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Solid2k12

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If I take my core pre med req classes in a Community College, here in NYC, will that effect my chances at a med school in NYC/State(I still plan to get B.S. before med school)? I heard that some big cities CC's work with Med schools and provide you with acceptable level courses for Med school. I just want to know if its okay to do that so i wouldn't have to retake anything in a 4 year school? I did look at some Med schools in NYC/State and i didnt see any mention of whether it mattered where you took your pre med courses. In case it does matter, is it possible to take a higher level version(than what was taken at the CC) of the pre med req at a 4 year college and would that suffice most med schools? Would that even be advisable?
 
why would you take those courses at CC...then go after a 4 year school and take other classes in place of what would have been your science courses at the 4 year school.

Yes, CC classes hurt you. Can you still get in? Sure, but it reduces your chances. Do a search for CC classes on here, you will see.
 
LupaCupcake said:
why would you take those courses at CC...then go after a 4 year school and take other classes in place of what would have been your science courses at the 4 year school.

Yes, CC classes hurt you. Can you still get in? Sure, but it reduces your chances. Do a search for CC classes on here, you will see.
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Each situation is different. Maybe the OP is still in high school. Maybe (s)he'll end up taking higher level classes at university later on. In general if you're a 4 year university student and you drop back to a CC to take a prereq, yes. That's bad. If you're a non-traditional student and you take them at a CC because you've no other recourse, it may not be so bad. If you're still in HS and want to knock out Gen Chem I over the summer (as I did) and were going to take higher level chem classes in college, I don't think it'd be a problem.

If you're that concerned, 1) don't believe everything you read on the internet; and 2) call up some of the NYS med schools and see what they think, after having explained your situation.

Good luck!
 
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dmf2682 said:
Each situation is different. Maybe the OP is still in high school. Maybe (s)he'll end up taking higher level classes at university later on. In general if you're a 4 year university student and you drop back to a CC to take a prereq, yes. That's bad. If you're a non-traditional student and you take them at a CC because you've no other recourse, it may not be so bad. If you're still in HS and want to knock out Gen Chem I over the summer (as I did) and were going to take higher level chem classes in college, I don't think it'd be a problem.

If you're that concerned, 1) don't believe everything you read on the internet; and 2) call up some of the NYS med schools and see what they think, after having explained your situation.

Good luck!
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I took a few of my prereqs at "easier" colleges than my primary one and I was a bit worried about how this would come across, but I didn't have any problems with it and it never even came up on the interview trail. I do actually think I would have done better on the physics section if I had taken the more intensive physics course at my own college, but as far as perceptions went, it was fine. A little different than a CC, but I think it showed me that if you have good reasons for it (high school, transferring to a 4 year, etc) it won't be as bad as some folks on SDN indicate. But I second that you should call up a couple schools and ask just to see what they think. Sometimes you're just in a situation where you just do what you can, and schools seem to, for the most part, understand that. Good luck!
 
What CC in NYC are you going to? I believe that in general one should not take any pre-req courses in a CC but NYC is definitely different, and some of the CC's are strongly connected with good schools and their medical departments. Also, are you sure your not talking about CUNY? Because CUNY's are definitely an acceptable route to take pre-reqs. Good luck either way.
 
Well I am currently in a community college (Hostos Community College CUNY, for those that know about it) basically because i messed up my HS year goofing off and slacking. So i didnt take the SAT/ACT seriously, as a matter of fact, not at all. I prefer not to take the pre req at a CC but as of right now that's my only chance. From what i've seen with the science classes here, they're pretty demanding. The science classes are writing intensive so theres a lot of research papers to do, and they even have big projects to do on top of all your other science load(labs, individual research, etc).

thanks for the responses, you've given me some hope. For the record dmf2682, "he" is correct.
 
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