Question for the pre-requisite class taken in Community College

[s0300387]

Hi, everyone
I took some pre-requisite classes in Community College and now I want to make a list of dental school to apply. However, I checked Creighton Dental School requirement on the "ADEA Official Guide ". It mentions"Community College coursework accept for pre-requisite: No
Community College coursework accept for electives: Yes
Maximum Credits:64
"
Case Western Reserve University has the same issue. They accept:30 credits

Does that mean I can't apply for these schools?

p.s. I try to go to there website, but there is no information regarding this issue.

Thanks

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[mfoti1]

Wow.. Some schools don't accept Community College classes? Because im taking all of my pre-reqs at a Community College...

That scares me

 

[AwesomeTeeth]

Wow.. Some schools don't accept Community College classes? Because im taking all of my pre-reqs at a Community College...

That scares me

Bad idea sir. If you haven't done them already, I would consider taking most of them at University.

CC is okay if you're trying to get gen chem 1 or 2 out of the way your freshman year. It's not okay to take all your prereqs there.....

 

[mfoti1]

Bad idea sir. If you haven't done them already, I would consider taking most of them at University.

CC is okay if you're trying to get gen chem 1 or 2 out of the way your freshman year. It's not okay to take all your prereqs there.....

Well I have no choice man. I didn't have the grades to get into a University out of high school, I didn't even have the proper classes to even be looked at by a 4-year. So your saying that it is going to hurt me badly because I'm going to take all my pre reqs at a community? Even if I take a bunch of upper level bio stuff my junior/senior year, because I'm transferring to a 4-tear as soon as I can, and that will be after 2 years of pre reqs for my Bio major

 

[AwesomeTeeth]

Well I have no choice man. I didn't have the grades to get into a University out of high school, I didn't even have the proper classes to even be looked at by a 4-year. So your saying that it is going to hurt me badly because I'm going to take all my pre reqs at a community? Even if I take a bunch of upper level bio stuff my junior/senior year, because I'm transferring to a 4-tear as soon as I can, and that will be after 2 years of pre reqs for my Bio major

Why don't you take gen chem, english, stats, math in cc, and then ochem, biochem, physics, the rest at university?

I just don't think taking every single one of your pre-reqs at a cc is a good idea, no matter how bad your situation is.

 

[NguyenDDS]

Well I have no choice man. I didn't have the grades to get into a University out of high school, I didn't even have the proper classes to even be looked at by a 4-year. So your saying that it is going to hurt me badly because I'm going to take all my pre reqs at a community? Even if I take a bunch of upper level bio stuff my junior/senior year, because I'm transferring to a 4-tear as soon as I can, and that will be after 2 years of pre reqs for my Bio major

Depends. Depends on where you want to apply also.

There are several schools who absolutely WON'T accept CC classes in the prerequisites. Note that I said SEVERAL and not ALL. For example, I know TUFTS and Boston University don't. Schools like NOVA accept CC (my boyfriend got accepted there with all his prereqs at CC). I took 1 or two prerequisites at a CC, so I am going to AVOID applying to any schools that don't accept CC. I honestly think that if you get all A's in the CC classes, and then take a bunch of upper sciences at a University with high grades, and get a decent DAT score, then you will be good academically with applying to the schools that accept CC. You can check on each dental school's website to see if they accept CC or not.

A physician I once shadowed retook all his science prereqs at CC to increase his GPA since his university advisor said that "no school would accept him because his GPA is so low." He aced all his retakes at CC, got accepted to various medical schools, and no school ever asked him about it.

 

[mfoti1]

Ok thanks Nguyen.

But of course I would want to apply to 15+ schools, so are you saying that I won't even be able to do somethin like that because there aren't even that many that accept CC pre reqs.

Thanks

 

[dentalWorks]

Majority of dental schools do accept CC credits. They do limit how many tho, some 30 others 60.

I've had so many flip-flopping opinions about this CC vs university debate that I don't know where I belong anymore.

Back in the day, I had low undergrad GPA, so I wanted all my post-bacc courses taken at a university because I "felt" it looked better than CC. 90%+ of my post-bacc was done at university (only basic biology 1 and 2 had to be done at CC).

Anyways here is my take on this, assuming the schools you wanna apply to allow you to have 60 CC credits... Then it is okay to take your basic pre-reqs at a CC AS LONG AS YOU SWITCH OVER TO A UNIVERSITY AND TAKE A GOOD LOAD OF UPPER LEVEL BIOLOGIES. Assuming you do well in both schools, your GPA and difficulty of CC curriculum won't be in question.

I'll share a story relating to this topic from the Direction of Admissions at Detroit Mercy (Karen) from last November's open house (there were like 800 pre-dents there)... she said (paraphrasing ofc) "...we don't have a problem seeing students take their pre-reqs at a CC, but what that means is, wer going to pay better attention to your DAT score"..... Obviously, this is one school's opinion, others will might think differently.

 

[MechZZ]

Generally it's a bad idea to take your pre-reqs at a CC. That's what I did and I had a HAAAARD time getting in. I had to basically get a Masters for a lot of schools to over look the fact, and even then Tufts just said "That M.S. is nice but we need you to retake your pre-reqs."

For the schools that do accept CC, what you need to do is have a high DAT to back it up and maintain good grades at the upper level bio classes. I maintained a 3.6 at my university and I had a 4.0 coming in. However, my DAT was only a 19 which is why I had to get a M.S.

 

[mfoti1]

Thanks a bunch, again, DW. That makes sense.
I forget, but I think that I'm going to have 90 CC credits, because I'm in the quarter system. I think semester system, would be 60 or something.
So it seems like there's limits on credits at a CC, which really downs me.
But I guess I have to deal with the card I dealt myself, because I didn't do well in highschool, therefore, I have to be at this CC for the next 2 years.

That makes sense about taking a bunch of upper-level Bio's, and doing well on the DAT, to show that I wasn't just slacking off at my CC.

Thanks again for the advice DW.

 

[mfoti1]

Generally it's a bad idea to take your pre-reqs at a CC. That's what I did and I had a HAAAARD time getting in. I had to basically get a Masters for a lot of schools to over look the fact, and even then Tufts just said "That M.S. is nice but we need you to retake your pre-reqs."

For the schools that do accept CC, what you need to do is have a high DAT to back it up and maintain good grades at the upper level bio classes. I maintained a 3.6 at my university and I had a 4.0 coming in. However, my DAT was only a 19 which is why I had to get a M.S.

WOW. Thanks for informing me about this, I'm going to make a post and get some advice,
I think I'm goin to be changing my whole plan around...

 

[RU2490]

Generally it's a bad idea to take your pre-reqs at a CC. That's what I did and I had a HAAAARD time getting in. I had to basically get a Masters for a lot of schools to over look the fact, and even then Tufts just said "That M.S. is nice but we need you to retake your pre-reqs."

For the schools that do accept CC, what you need to do is have a high DAT to back it up and maintain good grades at the upper level bio classes. I maintained a 3.6 at my university and I had a 4.0 coming in. However, my DAT was only a 19 which is why I had to get a M.S.

What schools did you apply to mechzz? I am just curious because I am planning on completing ALL of my prerequisites at a community college. I believe most schools DO accept cc credits with the exception of boston and tufts. Is it really necessary to get a MS? I thought that was only for applicants with low GPA <3.0

 

[RU2490]

Thanks a bunch, again, DW. That makes sense.
I forget, but I think that I'm going to have 90 CC credits, because I'm in the quarter system. I think semester system, would be 60 or something.
So it seems like there's limits on credits at a CC, which really downs me.
But I guess I have to deal with the card I dealt myself, because I didn't do well in highschool, therefore, I have to be at this CC for the next 2 years.

That makes sense about taking a bunch of upper-level Bio's, and doing well on the DAT, to show that I wasn't just slacking off at my CC.

Thanks again for the advice DW.

Taking upper level classes at the university and doing well on them will show that the CC you went to isn't a JOKE. In my opinion, if you are able to do well in your upper level courses at the university and score decent on the DAT you will be just fine, except for those schools who just reject CC credits. Plenty of people have gotten accepted with their prerequisites done at a CC.

I am one semester away from completing all of dental prerequisites at a community college and will be transferring to a university to complete some upper level science classes as well as a bachelor's degree in Biology.

 

[Muggsy Bogues]

Depends entirely on the school you're applying to. I wouldn't advise taking pre-reqs at a CC though. Who knows how rigorous the programs are.

 

[wizi]

Hi, everyone
I took some pre-requisite classes in Community College and now I want to make a list of dental school to apply. However, I checked Creighton Dental School requirement on the "ADEA Official Guide ". It mentions"Community College coursework accept for pre-requisite: No
Community College coursework accept for electives: Yes
Maximum Credits:64
"
Case Western Reserve University has the same issue. They accept:30 credits

Does that mean I can't apply for these schools?

p.s. I try to go to there website, but there is no information regarding this issue.

Thanks

To sum up:

_Dont apply to Tuft and BU if you have CC credits. The rest of DSs are fine. Your DAT scores will tell your story.

_If you have a Master, you can apply to BU. I already emailed them about this.

 

[dentalWorks]

You do NOT need to do a masters program becuase you did your pre-reqs at CC....Thats like taking steroids for reducing facial hair (Robin Williams - 2009)

You do however, or are encouraged to do upper level biology courses AT THE UNDERGRAD LEVEL at a 4-year university after CC. IMO, doing well in those higher level courses demonstrates that you didn't have an easy CC curriculum.

Bottom line: CC is not a death sentense to your application, however it does limit a few of your options:
-some schools won't accept any of them
-you might be required to do a little better than the average on the DAT

If you have a choice between college vs CC, Obviously go to college. But if you are optionless and/or your circumstances highly favor CC, go with CC and don't lose any sleep over it.

 

[yappy]

I wonder... If schools only accept say.. 30 CC credits or none at all... does that mean they dont factor them into our GPA? It doesnt seem logical that they may not accept the credits yet still feel they're important enough to be factored into our GPA's.

 

[MechZZ]

Before my Masters I applied to around 17 schools. My stats was 3.7 GPA with 19/19/19.
I got 3 interviews.
Midwestern- Waitlisted
Nova - Waitlisted
NYU - Waitlisted

After not getting off of the waitlist I finished my Masters and applied again. I graduated from Barry with a 3.83.
Louisville - In
BU- In
USC - In
I had interviews at UF(my state school), Nova, Pitts, Midwestern-IL and Temple but didn't bother going.

Like DentalWorks says, you don't NEED to get a M.S. but you DO need to have a high DAT score. I had taken the DAT 3 times already and was somewhat content with my 19. I really really really wish I had saved one of my attempts cause being in my M.S. taught me the true meaning of sacrificing time for studying and I think there was a chance of me breaking the 19 mark but we'll never know.

I know you can take it a 4th time but I contacted a good number of D schools and told them the situation and they said I didn't need to retake. I wasn't really interested into getting into the UCLA's, UCSF's, Columbias any way.

 

[mfoti1]

Mechzz, so your saying, with your score/GPA prior to getting your Masters, you couldn't even get a acceptance into your state school or any of the easy schools to get into? Or did you specifically apply to high end schools that you wanted to go to.

Also, could you share what you learned at
your masters program about studying?

Thanks

 

[MechZZ]

I wouldn't really say that any dental school is easy to get in. Tell that to the 60% of the application pool that got rejected from every school they applied to. Of course there's EASIER to get into but still pretty competitive to gain admissions.

Basically yeah though, I got waitlisted at the 2 of 3 interviews I went into(I just remembered I was rejected from Midwestern not waitlisted) and I got rejected every where else. I called a couple schools and the common theme was that I had taken all my pre-reqs at a CC and it was a big red flag on my application. I applied to the same schools during my years before and after my Masters with the exception that I added Louisville and Pitts the next time around.

What I learned at my Masters was not only did you have put in the time studying but you had to be efficient with it. So time management was probably the best thing I took out of my M.S.

 

[doc toothache]

I wonder... If schools only accept say.. 30 CC credits or none at all... does that mean they dont factor them into our GPA? It doesnt seem logical that they may not accept the credits yet still feel they're important enough to be factored into our GPA's.

Now there's some serious wishful thinking.

 

[Mdpaula]

What if someone took their prereqs at a school that was formerly a community college.

For example when I started at my school it was a community college but the following year they switched over to a 4 year college. that same year is when i took my chems and bios. I had not taken any of my science prereqs the first year when they were still a CC.

I did still get my AA and transfer to a university where i took orgo and physics among other science classes.

My AA diploma says college not community college...

Do dental schools look for classes that are completed at a university rather than a college? is there a difference?

 

[s0300387]

Thanks,everyone. I heard lots of good information from this thread. I forgot to tell you my situation. I took chemistry and organic chemistry,English in the cc. But the Biology and Physic, Calculus are all taken in University. And I also took some upper level class of biology in 4 year University, like physiology,microbiology,genetic...etc and all got A on those classes. The reason that I took cc classes is because I am an Electrical Engineering student. I want to save some money and the cc class has less people that I prefer (easy to ask questions after class) and schedule is more flexible for me.

I have 41 credits in total including lots of credits that I interest but not relate to the pre-requisite class at all.
I will try to get good DAT scores to prove it;other than that what should I do?

 

[dentalWorks]

Thanks,everyone. I heard lots of good information from this thread. I forgot to tell you my situation. I took chemistry and organic chemistry,English in the cc. But the Biology and Physic, Calculus are all taken in University. And I also took some upper level class of biology in 4 year University, like physiology,microbiology,genetic...etc and all got A on those classes. The reason that I took cc classes is because I am an Electrical Engineering student. I want to save some money and the cc class has less people that I prefer (easy to ask questions after class) and schedule is more flexible for me.

LMAO.... you realize this thread almost turned into a flame war between
"NO YOU SHOULDN'T TAKE ALL YOUR PRE-REQS AT CC"
vs
"ITS OKAY YOU CAN TAKE SOME BUT NOT ALL"
vs
"NO NO NO, YOU CAN'T TAKE ANY AT CC"

 

[AwesomeTeeth]

LMAO.... you realize this thread almost turned into a flame war between
"NO YOU SHOULDN'T TAKE ALL YOUR PRE-REQS AT CC"
vs
"ITS OKAY YOU CAN TAKE SOME BUT NOT ALL"
vs
"NO NO NO, YOU CAN'T TAKE ANY AT CC"

I guess the bottom line is that no one really knows unless you work on the adcoms at the school. And I'm sure every school is different as well so there's no straight answer.

 

[gsxra4b6]

@s300387 here a list,

USC
UOP
UNC
WESTERN
UIC
LSU
NYU
MUSC
MEH
CUL
ECUU
ABUB
Casewestern
Louisville
Creighton
Iowa
UconnUK & UMDNJ

I am taking all my pre-regs at CC, I have emailed a few admission office and asked if the classes i am taking at CC will be accepted and they said yes but mentioned I must have high DAT scores. So i guess it all depends on the sch you want to apply to.

 

[mfoti1]

@s300387 here a list,

USC
UOP
UNC
WESTERN
UIC
LSU
NYU
MUSC
MEH
CUL
ECUU
ABUB
Casewestern
Louisville
Creighton
Iowa
UconnUK & UMDNJ

I am taking all my pre-regs at CC, I have emailed a few admission office and asked if the classes i am taking at CC will be accepted and they said yes but mentioned I must have high DAT scores. So i guess it all depends on the sch you want to apply to.

Is that the list that DONT accept CC pre-reqs? or that DO?