semi-career changer post-bacc courses - suggestions?

[city_future_md]

Hi everyone,

Need some advice. I did my undergrad in urban studies and spatial statistics/applied analysis (cGPA 3.5, top 20 school) and master's in epidemiology (cGPA 3.7, top 5 school); and have been working at an academic medical center in epidemiology since finishing my master's. Surprise surprise, like many others here I realized that I wanted to pursue medicine, so I'm starting a DIY post-bacc for career changers this fall (based out of NYC) while I continue to work full-time.

A couple of questions:

1) I took Gen Chem 1 and 2 in undergrad for a public health minor and got B+/ B, but it was a while ago (6 or 7 years ago). I'm wondering if it's worth it to retake them as a refresher course. I'll still need to take the remainder of prereqs sans math and English requirements, so taking a couple fewer classes would be nice. But, I'd rather retake the courses if they will create a better academic foundation for orgo / biochem.

2) This question is tossed around a lot for traditional apps but not as much for non-trads, let alone career changers -- will taking prereqs at a CC be frowned upon? I don't qualify for tuition remission, unfortunately, so CUNY part-time is likely the way I'll be going but it would be cheaper to be taking CC classes for the lower divs to save money for the upper divs.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

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[GreenDuck12]

1. There is very little overlap from gen chem to orgo. I would not retake it in order to prepare for organic chemistry. Orgo is good for preparing for biochemistry to some extent. I would spend some time reviewing Lewis orbitals, molecular Orbital theory, and hybridization prior to orgo.

2. It depends on the schools you want to apply to. Very few state they do not accept CC classes, some schools accept them on a case by case basis and prefer 4 year colleges, others accept cc classes without reservation. Your best bet is to get a copy of the AAMC’s MSAR which details admissions data, such as prereq preferences, from US and Canadian medical schools to further out if the schools you are interested in will accept cc classes. I did my first year at a cc and didn’t have any problems.