Question on Community College Pre-reqs

[CheshireCat1]

Now note, I have NOT taken any pre-reqs at a community college. I am asking this question because some of my friends say that medical schools do not care whether students takes their pre-reqs at their university or over at their community college. I was curious about this so I called up a couple of med schools and was told by them that no, the applicant would not be at a disadvantage to take pre-reqs such as Chemistry and Physics at a community college and that it was okay. I was wondering what all of your thoughts were on this aspect?

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[Catalystik]

Most MD schools won't object to taking prerequisites at a CC provided the CC coursework has sufficient rigor to prepare you well for the MCAT. Some MD schools have a bias against CC coursework and warn against it on their website.

 

[CheshireCat1]

Most MD schools won't object to taking prerequisites at a CC provided the CC coursework has sufficient rigor to prepare you well for the MCAT. Some MD schools have a bias against CC coursework and warn against it on their website.

Is there a way I can find out which MD schools these are without having to research each one? A list of some sort ?

 

[fragrancia]

I think, to be on the safe side, you and your friends should try to avoid taking pre-reqs at community college campuses. Granted, CC classes are still legitimate, however many universities try to understand why you would go out of your way to take pre-reqs at a community college when you don't attend one regularly. If it appears that someone is trying to take an 'easy way out' by going there instead of taking the classes at their home campus, the medical schools may wonder if there is a problem/fear of harder classes/etc. You don't want to alarm them or cause them to raise an eyebrow, so personally I think it would be smarter to take all pre-reqs at an undergraduate university.

 

[CheshireCat1]

I think, to be on the safe side, you and your friends should try to avoid taking pre-reqs at community college campuses. Granted, CC classes are still legitimate, however many universities try to understand why you would go out of your way to take pre-reqs at a community college when you don't attend one regularly. If it appears that someone is trying to take an 'easy way out' by going there instead of taking the classes at their home campus, the medical schools may wonder if there is a problem/fear of harder classes/etc. You don't want to alarm them or cause them to raise an eyebrow, so personally I think it would be smarter to take all pre-reqs at an undergraduate university.

I asked them that question and they said that no they do not think that it is taking the easy way out.

 

[Catalystik]

Is there a way I can find out which MD schools these are without having to research each one? A list of some sort ?

I've never seen an all-inclusive official list. And schools do change their stance on this issue over time. For example, Creighton once stated it would not accept CC coursework and has now changed the wording considerably. Some websites state that CC coursework is "discouraged." But what does that mean? I don't think it means you can't do it. Probably it indicates that, in their experience, those having CC coursework are not as prepared as they'd prefer, because of the "rigor" issue I referred to above.

 

[MedPhys2MD]

Check the MSAR... You can find specific info for each school

 

[Amygdarya]

Also, check out schools' web sites for specifics about prereqs.

 

[CheshireCat1]

I checked the MSAR but I couldn't find anything about where it said about Community colleges. It only mentioned if they accepted AP credit and Online courses...

 

[BamaNicole]

I'll share with you what one of my advisors said in UG when I was talking about doing pre-reqs. I asked if doing pre-reqs after I graduated (I was a senior at the time) at a community college would be okay since I didn't have the money to take more classes at an university. He said that because I had already attended a 4 year college that I would be expected to make straight As on any 2 year college courses I took.The rigor would be questioned of those classes at a lot of schools (his words, not mine) so it would be best to do a post bac at a four year university.

He also said that it could be viewed differently if I did the pre-reqs at a 2 year community college BEFORE I transferred to a 4 year university. In my case, it was better to do my pre-reqs at an university.

As others side, I'd double check and make sure that the schools you wish to apply to actually accept pre-reqs from a community college.

 

[Developer]

I checked the MSAR but I couldn't find anything about where it said about Community colleges. It only mentioned if they accepted AP credit and Online courses...

Edit: Just realized that the upload made the image pretty blurry,

 

[EvenStevens]

generally its said that its looked down upon only if you attend a university but opt to take pre reqs over the summer at a CC. Makes it look like you're dodging weed outs and want the easy road.

Although the benefit of that A versus the number of schools that feel strongly enough about this to decline you is up to question on which is better

 

[Zelda840]

I did my first two years at a community college for financial reasons, and while it wasn't a problem at my interview, they did say that they appreciated my upper-level science courses (especially organic) coming from a 4-year university. My guess is that it didn't hurt me too much because 1) I got all A's @ community college 2) I went there first 3) It was for financial reasons, which makes sense if you look at the rest of my application, and 4) Most of the classes I took at community college were classes that are easy everywhere (intro level Sociology, English, Algebra, History etc). I would assume my situation will be looked at differently than someone who had plenty of money or a scholarship, went to university first, withdrew from organic and then enrolled the next semester at the local community college and ended up with a B. Who knows, though. I'm not in yet, and this process seems very random sometimes.