questions about beginning college

[cantstopwontstp]

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first of all i looked at a couple of threads that covered this topic, but i got some other questions as well.

where do i start?

i have not taken an act/sat yet so i have to find a college. to be honest, i dont think i know my science well enough to do good in college level or pre med, so should i take some classes to help me before i go on to college. i could just study all this year on the sciences i have trouble with and prepare for act/sat and hopefully start next fall. but by next fall i'll be 24 and i want to go straight from one to the next, no more wasting time for me. i want to be possibly starting med school at 28. thats if im in a 4 year uni by next fall.

or could someone explain CC and how it works, what if i start some classes this winter. what would i take? i would have to save pre medical classes for a transfer at a 4 year uni right? but i thought most people take the mcat during the last two years (junior/senior years), so wouldnt i be preparing for the mcat when im supposed to be taking it? i dont want to delay the process for an extra 2 years.

im going to visit a person (forgot what they are called) at a CC next week to see what i should do. sorry if i sound lame and or difficult to understand, i sort of had trouble wording this. well, this is where i am at, and now that i know what i want, im going all out. im not about to roll over.

 

[PunkmedGirl]

first of all i looked at a couple of threads that covered this topic, but i got some other questions as well.

where do i start?

i have not taken an act/sat yet so i have to find a college. to be honest, i dont think i know my science well enough to do good in college level or pre med, so should i take some classes to help me before i go on to college. i could just study all this year on the sciences i have trouble with and prepare for act/sat and hopefully start next fall. but by next fall i'll be 24 and i want to go straight from one to the next, no more wasting time for me. i want to be possibly starting med school at 28. thats if im in a 4 year uni by next fall.

or could someone explain CC and how it works, what if i start some classes this winter. what would i take? i would have to save pre medical classes for a transfer at a 4 year uni right? but i thought most people take the mcat during the last two years (junior/senior years), so wouldnt i be preparing for the mcat when im supposed to be taking it? i dont want to delay the process for an extra 2 years.

im going to visit a person (forgot what they are called) at a CC next week to see what i should do. sorry if i sound lame and or difficult to understand, i sort of had trouble wording this. well, this is where i am at, and now that i know what i want, im going all out. im not about to roll over.

I would definitely talk with the Admissions Counselor at the CC or 4yr university that you plan to enter. At my institution, if you don't have the ACT or SAT then you would take placement exams to determine what classes you should start off in. If you don't do well on the exam then they place you in a class that will prepare you for the science pre-req that is required by medical schools.

FOr example: (Ignore the
You are placed Beginning Chemistry (Chem 101) which is the prereq to either Intermediate Chemistry (Chem 110) or Inorganic Chem (Chem 121) ...pre-req for med school.

I think this may be the general consenus on how all colleges operate but I'm not completely sure on that.

Pre-req classes in undergrad are designed to help you prepare for the more intense classes that you will need for graduation or medical school.

CC are designed to help you complete all of the basic core reqs or pre-reqs for upper division classes like your science courses. They are often cheaper and usually provide you with the foundation to succeed at a 4 year institution.

I hope this helps a little bit.

 

[njbmd]

first of all i looked at a couple of threads that covered this topic, but i got some other questions as well.

where do i start?

i have not taken an act/sat yet so i have to find a college. to be honest, i dont think i know my science well enough to do good in college level or pre med, so should i take some classes to help me before i go on to college. i could just study all this year on the sciences i have trouble with and prepare for act/sat and hopefully start next fall. but by next fall i'll be 24 and i want to go straight from one to the next, no more wasting time for me. i want to be possibly starting med school at 28. thats if im in a 4 year uni by next fall.

or could someone explain CC and how it works, what if i start some classes this winter. what would i take? i would have to save pre medical classes for a transfer at a 4 year uni right? but i thought most people take the mcat during the last two years (junior/senior years), so wouldnt i be preparing for the mcat when im supposed to be taking it? i dont want to delay the process for an extra 2 years.

im going to visit a person (forgot what they are called) at a CC next week to see what i should do. sorry if i sound lame and or difficult to understand, i sort of had trouble wording this. well, this is where i am at, and now that i know what i want, im going all out. im not about to roll over.

First of all, community colleges (at least the good ones) can provide remedial coursework for those students who are not ready for classes at college level. I would encourage you to make sure that with any community college that anticipate attending, you would check to make sure that the remedial studies in math, english or science has good instructors and not people who are interested in a paycheck (sometimes the case).

Once you have made contact with a community college, they should allow you to take placement exams so that you enter and are placed in the proper level coursework for you needs. Once there, you need to take advantage of having the chance to get yourself to a point where you can do college-level work with the confidence that you can do well in courses and have the background to move forward.

The other advantage of the community college is that the coursework should be offered so that you can work and attend classes in your offwork hours. This means evening courses if you work in the daytime and day courses if you work in the evenings. Most good community colleges have this flexibility.

I would also warn you that with the poor economy, many community colleges are bursting at the seams with students who are trying to acquire skills that will enable them to change jobs or qualify for newer more "recession-proof" jobs. This means that you may encounter some difficulty getting into the classes that you need.

Finally, after a battery of placement testing, you may find that you are indeed ready for college-level work. If this is the case, you can still utilize the community college system to start taking some of the general education courses that would transfer to a four-year college or university.

Whatever your case turns out to be, do some investigation by seeing what is available at the community college that is near you. In many cases, strong community colleges can offer on-line courses, counseling services for adults who are returning to academics after being out and other things that will help you become a successful scholar. Check out the resources in your community (after all, your tax money has paid for them) and see what's there that can be of use to you. In any case, you are going to find that the community college is going to be a good value for your education dollar in most cases.