Taking orgo or something AFTER graduation

[Dr. Josh]

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Can anyone tell me what effects it has on med school admission to finish undergrad and then to take orgo or some other pre-med requirement. I changed to pre-med late in my ug career. Now I can't get some of the stuff in my sequence. I hate to postpone graduation. If I take them at a local college after graduation, is that ok? Does it still go into my gpa? Or do individual med schools calculate it as they see fit?

 

[DoctorFunk]

It should be counted into your GPA along with the courses you take to complete your degree. I actually took 4 or 5 classes this way during my break from school. I would only caution you to try to take the class at a decent university, and not finishing up requirements at your local community college or something. It seems that admissions committees definitely do not give equal weight to high grades in community college prereq courses as those who complete the same courses at a university.

 

[Law2Doc]

Can anyone tell me what effects it has on med school admission to finish undergrad and then to take orgo or some other pre-med requirement. I changed to pre-med late in my ug career. Now I can't get some of the stuff in my sequence. I hate to postpone graduation. If I take them at a local college after graduation, is that ok? Does it still go into my gpa? Or do individual med schools calculate it as they see fit?

Most postbacs take the prereqs after college graduation. Agree with the prior poster that if you take harder sciences at a lesser caliber "local college" it might look bad, so try to take them at someplace reputable. On AMCAS there is a separate section for postbac non-graduate courses, and that gets averaged in with your undergrad stuff into a cumulative undergrad GPA, which is reportedly the GPA that med schools focus on -- although certainly they are free to recalculate or weigh various GPAs however they deem fit.

 

[Dr. Josh]

It seems that admissions committees definitely do not give equal weight to high grades in community college prereq courses as those who complete the same courses at a university.

But I can't afford to go to any place where I have to live away from home; that's why I wanted to go to a community college. Can't adcoms understand the cost effectiveness of this? I also don't have a car (I'll have to work out with Mom and Dad sharing two cars between 3 of us) and I can't afford to pay alot for transportation. I'm sort of stuck with few options.

 

[mdgirl2006]

Can anyone tell me what effects it has on med school admission to finish undergrad and then to take orgo or some other pre-med requirement. I changed to pre-med late in my ug career. Now I can't get some of the stuff in my sequence. I hate to postpone graduation. If I take them at a local college after graduation, is that ok? Does it still go into my gpa? Or do individual med schools calculate it as they see fit?

I did exactly what you are talking about. I didnt have time to take all of my prereqs before graduating, so i graduated on time, but then took orgo in summer school at my undergrad. institution as an alumna (which was actually cheaper than being a student). after that, i moved home and took physics 1 and 2 in the fall and spring at a university in my home town...took the mcat in april, applied, and now will be starting in the fall. so it can definitely be done...it put 2 years between graduating and starting med school, but i appreciated the time off. i would have to agree with everyone else though and say that you should definitely take these classes at a reputable institution. but taking them after graduating shouldnt matter... and yes like someone else said, amcas calculates your gpa in the format they want, which includes post bac. classes, study abroad courses, transfer credits, etc., and they will require you to send them a transcript from every place you have taken course work so that they can verify it.

 

[Dr. Josh]

I did exactly what you are talking about. I didnt have time to take all of my prereqs before graduating, so i graduated on time, but then took orgo in summer school at my undergrad. institution as an alumna (which was actually cheaper than being a student). after that, i moved home and took physics 1 and 2 in the fall and spring at a university in my home town...took the mcat in april, applied, and now will be starting in the fall. so it can definitely be done...it put 2 years between graduating and starting med school, but i appreciated the time off. i would have to agree with everyone else though and say that you should definitely take these classes at a reputable institution. but taking them after graduating shouldnt matter... and yes like someone else said, amcas calculates your gpa in the format they want, which includes post bac. classes, study abroad courses, transfer credits, etc., and they will require you to send them a transcript from every place you have taken course work so that they can verify it.

I go to a state school now. SUNY at New Paltz. What if I went to another SUNY school closer to home for post-bac courses, like in orgo, would that be ok? Or is that still too crappy of a school? Can I take summer courses at my CC or do I have to take it at a university too? I was thinking of taking 2 of these three: Physics 2, genetics and calculus. the problem is the only courses I really need are the pre-med requirements because I switched to wanting med school too late.

and actually the CC is part of the state university of NY system. So does that help at all?

 

[21JumpStreet]

I go to a state school now. SUNY at New Paltz. What if I went to another SUNY school closer to home for post-bac courses, like in orgo, would that be ok? Or is that still too crappy of a school? Can I take summer courses at my CC or do I have to take it at a university too? I was thinking of taking 2 of these three: Physics 2, genetics and calculus. the problem is the only courses I really need are the pre-med requirements because I switched to wanting med school too late.

and actually the CC is part of the state university of NY system. So does that help at all?

I think you should ask the med schools that you want to apply to, whether or not they accept courses from a cc. Also, ask if it is viewed negatively. My med school had no problem with people doing this.

Take all your pre-med req's before tackling the MCAT. It doesn't matter whether or not you do the req's before or after graduation. Either way, the credits will count toward your ugrad gpa.

 

[supa]

But I can't afford to go to any place where I have to live away from home; that's why I wanted to go to a community college. Can't adcoms understand the cost effectiveness of this? I also don't have a car (I'll have to work out with Mom and Dad sharing two cars between 3 of us) and I can't afford to pay alot for transportation. I'm sort of stuck with few options.

I took ALL my prerequisites at a community college, and received 6 interviews outta 10 secondaries submitted. I only went to 3 of them, and noone asked me about that. I have 2 acceptances so far, and just waiting on the 3rd now. So obviously if your application is tight, don't sweat the small stuff

 

[Dr. Josh]

I took ALL my prerequisites at a community college, and received 6 interviews outta 10 secondaries submitted. I only went to 3 of them, and noone asked me about that. I have 2 acceptances so far, and just waiting on the 3rd now. So obviously if your application is tight, don't sweat the small stuff

Congrats!! That is the best news I've heard from my thread. Can you please give me your stats and tell me where you interviewed. I'd really appreciate it. If you don't want to post it, please PM me.

Thanks.