Taking a prerequisite at a community college?

[Cautionary Tail]

---

Members do not see this ad.

One of the schools I applied to is requiring me to sign up for an english composition course this semester. (Substitution FAIL, basically.)

Do you think it would be viewed unfavorably if I were to take Comp II at a community college? I don't have many options at this point. I could enroll in a few writing courses at the university, but they do not explicitly offer Comp II, and I am worried that the courses they do offer might not end up transferring. Additionally, I've already missed a week of classes (sort of- lots of snow days), and am about to miss another due to interviews. The community college course (if they'll even allow me in late- I've e-mailed the professor) has an online option, so I wouldn't have to miss anything while I am away.

I e-mailed the school in question regarding the available classes at the university (one of which I'd strongly prefer taking), but the deadline by which I have to inform said school of my plans in order to remain under consideration is tomorrow night. I don't know if they'll get back to me in time.

At the moment, I'm planning on speaking with both professors tomorrow morning and hopefully getting permission to take the classes. If the adcoms will allow me to take the class at the university, and get back to me in time, I'll do that... and, if not, I'll tell them I'm enrolled at the CC.

Thoughts?

 

[Marsala]

English comp is English comp, I don't think it will matter if it is a university course or a CC course.

 

[awaring1]

There is a similar discussion in another thread. Part of my reply


"My friend was running into a similar issue (with Physics) and she called some vet school admissions offices to get some advice. They said that if you take it over the summer at a community college (which many people do out of convenience) then there is a possibility that the admissions committee may look at it as "they couldn't handle it at their school so they took it somewhere easier." This is not to say that orgo at community colleges is truly easier, but that's what she was told."

I would say your #1 option is to talk to the schools.

EDIT: I just realized you were under a time crunch. I think this late in the game (you have already applied) they may realize the rush and that the option may not be perfect. I am sure if you explain the situation you will be fine.

 

[KodaBear]

I emailed the six schools I applied to about taking a pre-req at a community college (to save money over the summer), and Tufts said that they would prefer that I didn't, but most of the other schools said they would not look at a community college any differently (for financial reasons). Which was a relief, but also made me feel like my private school education was a waste! haha. Anyway, I'd say contact your schools- that's always the best way to go about this. Oh, and save all of your emails with them, just incase!

 

[psilovethomas]

I don't really think it matters. I took physics II at a cc. Only 3.0 on my app.
So, I took a class at a cc and received the worst grade I have ever received in a class, and was still accepted! That says something🙄.

 

[heylodeb]

I don't really think it matters. I took physics II at a cc. Only 3.0 on my app.
So, I took a class at a cc and received the worst grade I have ever received in a class, and was still accepted! That says something🙄.

1/2 of my prereqs are from a community college and they didn't seem to be a problem (I have gotten 2 interviews ...so far...)

 

[psilovethomas]

1/2 of my prereqs are from a community college and they didn't seem to be a problem (I have gotten 2 interviews ...so far...)

Yeah. I think cc's have a reputation, albeit probably false, for being "easier" and looked down upon by adcoms. The class I took at my cc was the hardest class ever! I took physics I at my university, but physics II at the cc was more difficult, mainly because the professor didn't really know how to lecture. Other than that, it was an okay experience, and obviously didn't effect my chances of getting accepted to vet school!

 

[light10]

I had a similar situation. I got accepted at a school pending successful completion of one course, which also required at a school I had an interview at. The course at my school had a 20 person waiting list and I really wasn't going to get in 😱. I called, explained the situation, and both schools were fine accepting a similar CC course instead. One was a little hesitant and asked for the syllabus, one said sure no problem.

I'd definitely call the schools and ask, and I would bet they'll be willing to work with you. Plenty of successful vet applicants start out at CC and, therefore, would have taken freshman comp there before moving on to 4 year schools.

I feel your pain - I also had to file substitution requests at every school for freshman comp. My little liberal arts college didn't even HAVE freshman comp (we had 'writing rich' courses).

 

[Cautionary Tail]

Thanks for all the responses!

The university class would be my preference, as it's a type of writing I'd rather do, but... at this point, I'll take what I can get. I don't think that the CC thing would be a big issue, but some of you guys are so much more informed than I am, and I'd hate to make a mistake at this point... so I figured I'd check. 😉

I have the utmost respect for anyone who can nail the science courses at our local CC, because the professors are ridiculous. I attempted gen chem there many years ago (before I had any idea what I wanted to do), and ended up dropping. It was horrible. The guy spent the first class insulting our intellectual capacities / potential for future success and bragging about his Ivy League education, and then he refused to teach us. Instead of explaining how to work the problems, he gave us some asinine method by which he wanted us to guess the answer, and said if we did it correctly, we'd "probably get it right about 75% of the time, which is a C, which [was] really all [we'd] ever need, as community college students." When I told him I wanted to know how a particular concept actually worked, his response: "It doesn't matter. Just guess." 👎 (What th'?) Most demoralizing college experience ever. I hope they've since given him the boot.

The english department seems decent though.

 

[Cautionary Tail]

I feel your pain - I also had to file substitution requests at every school for freshman comp. My little liberal arts college didn't even HAVE freshman comp (we had 'writing rich' courses).

Yeah, similar boat.

I went to a small liberal arts school, too... and they don't do the whole I & II thing (though they manage to work ridiculous amounts of writing-related busywork into pretty much everything. It's even infiltrated the science department- my entire comparative physio class was essay-based ). Same for the university. Basic college writing course, followed by random writing electives. The only place that actually has a legitimate Comp II is the CC.

 

[EllieGirl89]

All but four of my pre-reqs were done at a community college, and Ohio State has a LOT of pre-reqs. I even got B's in a couple and a C in one and they still let me in.

As long as you can give a reason why you took the class at a CC (that isn't "because it was easier"), then you should be 100% fine. And for the record, in my experience, a CC is NOT easier than a University. I've done better at OSU than I did at my CC. I think this is because the classes at the CC are smaller, and so the prof has more time to be pickier. For example, I have a lot of multiple-choice, non-comprehensive exams here at OSU. At my CC, the profs had maybe 25 exams to grade as opposed to 200 and so they could afford to make the exams longer, more detailed, and use extended response and the like.

 

[Cautionary Tail]

Yeah, my small liberal arts college is generally viewed less favorably than the local university, but I found the stuff I've taken at the university far easier. There was less busywork, and the exams were all short, multiple choice numbers that weren't terribly comprehensive. You didn't really have to prove you knew the material inside and out to succeed. Compared to what I was used to, even Biochem was mostly a walk in the park.

Apart from enzyme kinetics and the Krebs Cycle, anyway. 😛