Can one take pre med sciences ( chem, physics, bio) at a community college and go to D.O. school or do they not accept any community college credits? I ask because I work full time and have my finance degree. I am trying to do my sciences in hopes of going to a D.O. school. The only place near me that offers night classes in sciences is the local community college. thank you for your time.
pre med sciences at community college for D.O. school
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worked at MD/DO for me. Some of the best teachers I had were in CC. Had a guy in Breckenridge CO that taught at Clemson and U of Iowa...six kids in the class, learned a ton and I still keep in touch with the guy. Good luck.
It might depend on the schools you apply to. I took all my basic pre-recs at a cc and was accepted. The one i went to does have a pretty decent reputation in my area, as far as ccs go, anyway. If you can, take some upper division sci. courses at a 4 year universitya lot of schools require, or at least recommend a few of those.
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I don't see why not. If you do well on your MCAT, you should be fine whether you took the science courses at CC.
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I took some of mine at CC. You just have to watch out for the particular class though. I was initially registered into a general bio course that was non-tranferable to the NC university system. When I realized I needed to get into a class that was tranferable, I was able to transfer to another bio class, taught by the same prof, and he used the same text, and taught the same material but because it had different course numbers it transfered. That school screwed a bunch of people like that.
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CC > University
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I can't say at DO schools, but my premed advisor/committee at my school was adament that I NOT take my science courses at a CC when I asked about taking some extra science courses, they specifically stated that I need to take it at a '4 year institution' to make it count toward anything for medical school.
Of course, my school doesn't take CC credits for anything past freshman courses and rarely for science courses. They were also talking about MD schools so I don't know how much of that snootiness rubs off at DO schools, but if you ever intend on applying to MD schools as well, be aware that at least some medical schools (or at least the medical school my school is attached to) are going not going to take your CC credits as on par with classes taken at a 4 year institution.
Of course, my school doesn't take CC credits for anything past freshman courses and rarely for science courses. They were also talking about MD schools so I don't know how much of that snootiness rubs off at DO schools, but if you ever intend on applying to MD schools as well, be aware that at least some medical schools (or at least the medical school my school is attached to) are going not going to take your CC credits as on par with classes taken at a 4 year institution.
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With all due respect, premed advisors and committees are a collective of *****s and heart breakers from my view. They take immense joy in causing premeds unnecessary stress without knowing much about medical school at all, have they even applied or attended medical school? No. Take what they say as if you are listening to someone who doesnt even know what the word medicine means. They will do whatever it takes to weed out and lessen the competition for their stars that they take personal interest in and who will bring their statistics to great glory and dont forget who they work for, the university. Of course they dont want you to take credits at CC and save money. Do I sound bitter? Maybe, my premed committee told me I would NEVER get into medical school and refused to even evaluate me (I was non-traditional and had a very poor senior year due to divorce and becoming a single father but still my GPA and MCAT were competitive). Unless you plan on applying Ivy then dont worry too much about it, the real world knows that CC offers a much better learning environment than some universities. I took 50% of my credits at CC and felt that I learned more than I ever could have in a university and I saved a ton of money.
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Nate said:
He speaks the truth. I applied outside of my school's committee for these very reasons. They try to amplify their statistics by discouraging applicants, and don't know what they're talking about anyway half the time. Plus, in my undergrad's case, they required 8 letters of recommendation from which they would form a composite letter that would include any potential negatives as well as positives! BS
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I'll 3rd the previous comments
The undergrad biology advisors at my university are deceitful also. they told me that I should take freshmen biology courses even though I had taken AP in high school because the classes at the university were "designed to mimic the way upper levels were taught" and "No matter what you made, you should take OUR freshman biology courses." HA, what a crock. Since I made a 5 on the AP exam, I didn't take their advice (thank god
). I'm now a senior and have made A's in every science course I've taken. Just goes to show that they will say anything to get their money. For a 4 credit hour course, they would have made approx. $1500. Multiply by the 2 semesters, thats $3000 they were missing out on. Turns out the lady over the department got her job because she is married to an assistant dean.
community colleges offer smaller classes and more attention, which is a plus if you don't have a background in science (in most cases)
The undergrad biology advisors at my university are deceitful also. they told me that I should take freshmen biology courses even though I had taken AP in high school because the classes at the university were "designed to mimic the way upper levels were taught" and "No matter what you made, you should take OUR freshman biology courses." HA, what a crock. Since I made a 5 on the AP exam, I didn't take their advice (thank god
). I'm now a senior and have made A's in every science course I've taken. Just goes to show that they will say anything to get their money. For a 4 credit hour course, they would have made approx. $1500. Multiply by the 2 semesters, thats $3000 they were missing out on. Turns out the lady over the department got her job because she is married to an assistant dean. community colleges offer smaller classes and more attention, which is a plus if you don't have a background in science (in most cases)
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I did my entire post bac at a community college and it hasn't hurt me from getting interviews.
R
Redneck
Associate degree here. Bio and gen chem at the CC. No problems. If I could, I would have done a four year degree at the CC. Even the crappy profs there still cared about the students and would go the extra mile to help them. All of my letters of recommendation came from CC profs. Nothing wrong with a CC.
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Well with all due respect to everyone else here. My premed committe consisted of two MDs and a PhD, all old school, and all work at the attached medical school, so they've had some experience with the medical school admissions process. One was a cardiologist, PhD-MD, one was a MD, the other a PhD.
However, I agree that they're main focus is to have a nice 'yield' of applicants who get into med school and they treated me pretty badly for getting one C in one of my classes (damn it! it was a tough year!). Yes, they are dinguses, but that doesn't mean their advice isn't valid. I think if the OP is thinking about maximizing his chances and/or want to apply to a fairly competitive MD school (or maybe even some top DO schools), his/her best bet is to take it at a university rather than a two year college. This advice given to me had nothing to do with money since I had already graduated and living in another city, I was merely asking where I could take a few classes to prep for medical school, so my school's committee had no incentive to tell me to go to a university (other than the snoot factor ).
What I said may not apply to DO schools but the fact of the matter is that SOME med schools will look at CC as subpar as compared to a four year institution. Another crevat: none on the committee knew I was applying to DO---I think they would be appalled and probably consider DO something akin to unaccredited.
However, I agree that they're main focus is to have a nice 'yield' of applicants who get into med school and they treated me pretty badly for getting one C in one of my classes (damn it! it was a tough year!). Yes, they are dinguses, but that doesn't mean their advice isn't valid. I think if the OP is thinking about maximizing his chances and/or want to apply to a fairly competitive MD school (or maybe even some top DO schools), his/her best bet is to take it at a university rather than a two year college. This advice given to me had nothing to do with money since I had already graduated and living in another city, I was merely asking where I could take a few classes to prep for medical school, so my school's committee had no incentive to tell me to go to a university (other than the snoot factor
). What I said may not apply to DO schools but the fact of the matter is that SOME med schools will look at CC as subpar as compared to a four year institution. Another crevat: none on the committee knew I was applying to DO---I think they would be appalled and probably consider DO something akin to unaccredited.
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haus55 said:
Yep...I took my Physics I and II at a community college and got accepted to all five DO schools that I interviewed at. I even had to turn down an interview at another DO school! So don't fret it, just do your best wherever you take the class. Best wishes.
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NonTradMed said:
Good input, but the oldschoolers are exactly the ones I wouldn't listen to. Same goes for admissions advice coming from any physicians that are over 40. I always found it amusing when a guy that applied to medschool 30 yrs ago would tell me what I needed to get in.
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I did all my undergrad premed science courses at a Junior College. I transferred to a UC to do a lot more upper division science courses. In my opinion the best teachers are at the Junior College, and it's much cheaper.
I remember one of my interviews asked me about all the classes I took at the JC. My reply and explanation seemed to please them... but I will never know because I did not go to that school.
I remember one of my interviews asked me about all the classes I took at the JC. My reply and explanation seemed to please them... but I will never know because I did not go to that school.
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Yea, my premed advisors were practically useless. I basically had to figure everything out for myself.
As for CC's, go to that CC and save the money. One of my best teachers was a CC teacher. Just make sure the credits transfer to your 4-year school. Also, understand that you are responsible for your education. So don't depend on a teacher/institution to educate you. They just help facilitate that education for you. You are responsible for whatever you do or do not learn.
As for CC's, go to that CC and save the money. One of my best teachers was a CC teacher. Just make sure the credits transfer to your 4-year school. Also, understand that you are responsible for your education. So don't depend on a teacher/institution to educate you. They just help facilitate that education for you. You are responsible for whatever you do or do not learn.
