Retaking community college classes at a university??

[WhatsUpDoc24]

Every other related post is about retaking classes at community college, but I have a question regarding taking classes first at a community college, then transferring and taking them at a university. Would it be a good idea to take med school pre reqs at a community college (Calc, English, Chemistry, Bio, Physics, Orgo Chemistry) in order to build a foundation of knowledge necessary for the MCAT and med school, and then transfer to a 4-year university and take the same science classes there? My reasoning is that med schools prefer pre reqs to be completed in a more rigorous environment (at a university level), so taking those classes at a community college would generally be easy A's, and they would help you get A's in the same classes at a university because you already know most of the information. Additionally, retaking the classes would help you do extremely well on the MCAT, as you have learned all of the material, and then reviewed all of it thoroughly. I know that this is highly unconventional, but I will be at a community college for the next 2 years, so I feel like I might as well prepare myself to do extremely well in the med school pre reqs after I transfer to a university, and get a head start on preparing for the MCAT, rather than waiting until I get to a university to start learning information necessary for the MCAT and hoping I do well in difficult courses.

I'm curious to see what you guys think about this, and thanks in advance for the advice!

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[amad01]

Every other related post is about retaking classes at community college, but I have a question regarding taking classes first at a community college, then transferring and taking them at a university. Would it be a good idea to take med school pre reqs at a community college (Calc, English, Chemistry, Bio, Physics, Orgo Chemistry) in order to build a foundation of knowledge necessary for the MCAT and med school, and then transfer to a 4-year university and take the same science classes there? My reasoning is that med schools prefer pre reqs to be completed in a more rigorous environment (at a university level), so taking those classes at a community college would generally be easy A's, and they would help you get A's in the same classes at a university because you already know most of the information. Additionally, retaking the classes would help you do extremely well on the MCAT, as you have learned all of the material, and then reviewed all of it thoroughly. I know that this is highly unconventional, but I will be at a community college for the next 2 years, so I feel like I might as well prepare myself to do extremely well in the med school pre reqs after I transfer to a university, and get a head start on preparing for the MCAT, rather than waiting until I get to a university to start learning information necessary for the MCAT and hoping I do well in difficult courses.

I'm curious to see what you guys think about this, and thanks in advance for the advice!

please don't do that

 

[WhatsUpDoc24]

Why not?

 

[amad01]

Why not?

waste of a lot of time and money and sanity and life and happiness....

Take your pre-req's at the CC, then upper level sciences at the university level. If you're a science major, this will fall into place naturally. It would be a complete waste of time and look stupid to retake a class you got an A in....

on a note about MCAT prep, you don't need to take classes twice to be ready for the MCAT. Take them once, get your hands on TBR and EK and go nuts for couple months. The way you study and test for classes is going to be different to the way the MCAT tests (multiple choice physics.)

 

[WhatsUpDoc24]

Thanks for the input! However, my concern is that I am a psychology major (and thats not gonna change), so I will not be able to prove my capabilities in upper division science courses, and when I take the mcat, it will have been much more than a year since I have taken any science classes (I'm mainly concerned about the first part though)

 

[Mr Avante]

There are medical institutions that do not accept courses taken at a community college. That is just about the only reason to retake them.

 

[WhatsUpDoc24]

So is there any point in taking them at a community college? Should I just wait to take them at a university?

 

[amad01]

So is there any point in taking them at a community college? Should I just wait to take them at a university?

the "medical schools who do not take cc credits" are very few and far between and most don't OFFICIALLY not accept them... site sources of schools that state they do not accept them on their admissions page... if you spend 2 years at the cc and then do your upper major classes at the uni along with all the prereqs you will take at least 5 years to graduate... if you are as concerned as you seem, then don't go to the cc............

 

[amad01]

There are medical institutions that do not accept courses taken at a community college. That is just about the only reason to retake them.

Which schools? Giving advice to retake a class one already has an A in is bad advice. If OP has time to "retake" any class, that time should be spent taking higher level classes.

 

[WhatsUpDoc24]

But will the cc pre req classes prepare me worse for the mcat or is it essentially all the same material?

 

[amad01]

But will the cc pre req classes prepare me worse for the mcat or is it essentially all the same material?

I took all my prereqs at a CC... i never took chemistry or biology ever in highschool ... so my only "prep" was from a couple CC classes and TBR and EK. I take mcat in 3 days, but over all the AAMC practice tests my average has been 36.5. The only thing that will prepare you "better or worse" is your own personal drive and what you put into things.

You could have a great professor at the CC in a small class who loves to teach and will really help you learn the material and you could have some professor at the Uni who doesn't care about students and just cares about research and you get a power point slide presentation everyday and he doesn't care if you learn....

 

[CarlosDanger]

Its probably going to be the exact same, its just about perception...unless your 4-year college is MIT. I would advise to not be a psychology major, and major in bio or something very similar so you can take the pre-reqs at cc and then upper level science at a 4 year college, like someone else has already said. If you really like something about social science, maybe double major. Definitely don't retake a course you've already done well in, I think that would raise major red flags. The best way to show med schools that your cc courses prepared you well - at least in my mind - would be to ace the MCAT. All that time you spend retaking the same course you could just apply to studying the MCAT and doing well.

 

[HH8911]

Every other related post is about retaking classes at community college, but I have a question regarding taking classes first at a community college, then transferring and taking them at a university. Would it be a good idea to take med school pre reqs at a community college (Calc, English, Chemistry, Bio, Physics, Orgo Chemistry) in order to build a foundation of knowledge necessary for the MCAT and med school, and then transfer to a 4-year university and take the same science classes there? My reasoning is that med schools prefer pre reqs to be completed in a more rigorous environment (at a university level), so taking those classes at a community college would generally be easy A's, and they would help you get A's in the same classes at a university because you already know most of the information. Additionally, retaking the classes would help you do extremely well on the MCAT, as you have learned all of the material, and then reviewed all of it thoroughly. I know that this is highly unconventional, but I will be at a community college for the next 2 years, so I feel like I might as well prepare myself to do extremely well in the med school pre reqs after I transfer to a university, and get a head start on preparing for the MCAT, rather than waiting until I get to a university to start learning information necessary for the MCAT and hoping I do well in difficult courses.

I'm curious to see what you guys think about this, and thanks in advance for the advice!

My physics class at CC was wayyyy harder than the one I took at university. I wouldn't count on CC classes being easy A's.

 

[mappingmedicine]

So is there any point in taking them at a community college? Should I just wait to take them at a university?

Alright, you have a few options here that I would recommend. You seem to be worried as to whether or not medical schools will view your CC classes as "less rigorous." The fact of the matter is, most medical schools will not preclude you from gaining an admission because you took your pre-reqs at a CC. There are however, a select few schools that outright do not take community college credits; however, they can be easily avoided by simply not applying to them when you plan out your school selection.

You can take all your pre-reqs at your CC, then, once you transfer you can take upper-division sciences classes to demonstrate you can handle more rigorous courses.

Take none of your pre-reqs at your CC and take all of your pre-reqs at your 4-year institution after you transfer.

While at your CC, you can cross enroll in a 4-year institution as a visiting student, taking your pre-med requirements at the university while you do your lower division major requirements at your community college.

 

[amad01]

Thanks for the input! However, my concern is that I am a psychology major (and thats not gonna change), so I will not be able to prove my capabilities in upper division science courses, and when I take the mcat, it will have been much more than a year since I have taken any science classes (I'm mainly concerned about the first part though)

it doesn't matter what major you are, you can still take upper level science classes....

 

[freakingoutabit]

it doesn't matter what major you are, you can still take upper level science classes....

Agreed. Take a handful of upper level science courses that you find interesting as electives.

I would not waste time or money retaking classes in which you've already gotten an A. There are many people who major in bio and do very poorly on the bio section of the MCAT, and there are many people who take only the pre-reqs and do very well. It's all up to you.

 

[WhatsUpDoc24]

Alright, you have a few options here that I would recommend. You seem to be worried as to whether or not medical schools will view your CC classes as "less rigorous." The fact of the matter is, most medical schools will not preclude you from gaining an admission because you took your pre-reqs at a CC. There are however, a select few schools that outright do not take community college credits; however, they can be easily avoided by simply not applying to them when you plan out your school selection.

You can take all your pre-reqs at your CC, then, once you transfer you can take upper-division sciences classes to demonstrate you can handle more rigorous courses.

Take none of your pre-reqs at your CC and take all of your pre-reqs at your 4-year institution after you transfer.

While at your CC, you can cross enroll in a 4-year institution as a visiting student, taking your pre-med requirements at the university while you do your lower division major requirements at your community college.

Thank you for the advice and explaining the options, that was really helpful!

 

[Gliabelle]

I want to second what a lot of other people have already said;

1. Don't assume that the science classes at a CC will be less rigorous than at a university, it isn't a given. Sometimes they are more rigorous.

2. If your CC credits transfer to your university and you then receive a degree from that university, it shouldn't matter that some of the credits originated at a CC (I realize that different states and different schools have different standards for this, but generally speaking).

3. You not only can, but should be required to take upper-division credits outside of your department. You should use that opportunity to take some more bio classes.

4. Does your university not offer a psych BS? It seems like that would get you where you want to be far better than a psych BA.

 

[WhatsUpDoc24]

I want to second what a lot of other people have already said;

1. Don't assume that the science classes at a CC will be less rigorous than at a university, it isn't a given. Sometimes they are more rigorous.

2. If your CC credits transfer to your university and you then receive a degree from that university, it shouldn't matter that some of the credits originated at a CC (I realize that different states and different schools have different standards for this, but generally speaking).

3. You not only can, but should be required to take upper-division credits outside of your department. You should use that opportunity to take some more bio classes.

4. Does your university not offer a psych BS? It seems like that would get you where you want to be far better than a psych BA.

You're right, I should stop underestimating the rigor of community college classes. And I'll take Psych B.S. in order to incorporate more science classes into my schedule, both before and after I transfer.