Taking physics at a community college?

[JakeSill]

Can I take Physics 1 and 2 at a community college? It's not in my major and i am taking it in the summer. I want to know if I can take it to save some money? How will adcoms look at it?

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[thatwouldbeanarchy]

Taking any prerequisite courses at a community college is a huge gamble. Personally, I think it's silly but many schools don't accept courses that aren't taken at a 4-year university. Unless you're ABSOLUTELY certain that EVERY school you'd like to apply to will accept CC science coursework (like, you contact the admissions offices at every school and they tell you that the course you plan to take is acceptable), I wouldn't do it.

I was able to find a private university in my area that has a pretty strong School of Continuing Education with relatively reasonable prices. I would recommend going that route, if you can, over community college. Especially since Physics is such a core part of med school prereqs. Assuming you're currently in undergrad, schools may also want to know why you chose to take a prereq course outside of your own school. It could raise a red flag, if it appears that you're trying to take a less rigorous science course... Just something to keep in mind.

 

[704]

I've been told as long as you do not take several higher level courses at CC they don't care. You need to show them you can perform at a four year institution.

 

[Turkishking]

Probably depends on the course, and how many courses you will be taking.

 

[JakeSill]

Probably depends on the course, and how many courses you will be taking.

Lol the title says Physics. Physics 1 and 2 to be specific.

 

[TaroBubbleTea]

Totally ok to take one or two science prereqs at a CC. More than that, then maybe people will start questioning your motives. I took physics 1 and 2 with lab at my local CC one summer and was not asked about it at all when I interviewed.

 

[robin911]

It is a big gamble. If your main reason is saving money by taking only 1 course instead of 2 consider that some medical schools require 2 full semesters of physics. If this class would count as 2 full semesters of physics, I would think about taking it at the CC. When I asked my Pre-Health committee about this they said that they greatly frowned upon it... although they were bias.

Personally, having suffered through 2 semesters of physics at my 4-year university, I am really glad that I decided not to take it at a CC. It forced me to study it every day and improved my study habits. Taking both courses (1 and 2) over 2 semesters allowed me to learn the material over a longer period of time. Cramming physics 1 and 2 into 1 summer seems like a bit much.

One final thought: think about whether it is truly about saving money or whether it is about taking an "easy way out"... not saying this is you but several people from my college took physics at the CC b/c physics at my college is a notorious weeder course. If it is truly about saving money and you are willing to do the work to ensure that 1 summer class at a community college is enough to suffice admissions requirements, then go for it.

As for me, I did not think it was worth the gamble when I contemplated this ... good luck in making your decision. 🙂

 

[Australopithekus]

Worked fine for me. n=1.

 

[timsk]

I took three quarters of physics at my community college as they were the only med school pre-reqs that i didn't take when i was in undergrad. When i looked at the MSAR for the schools i was considering it appeared that a large majority of them accepted some CC classes. It doesn't seem to have negatively impacted me this cycle.

That said, if you're already enrolled at a university and take the physics classes at a different school, that may stand out as odd to adcoms. I suppose the safest bet is to call some schools and ask.

 

[JakeSill]

It is a big gamble. If your main reason is saving money by taking only 1 course instead of 2 consider that some medical schools require 2 full semesters of physics. If this class would count as 2 full semesters of physics, I would think about taking it at the CC. When I asked my Pre-Health committee about this they said that they greatly frowned upon it... although they were bias.

Personally, having suffered through 2 semesters of physics at my 4-year university, I am really glad that I decided not to take it at a CC. It forced me to study it every day and improved my study habits. Taking both courses (1 and 2) over 2 semesters allowed me to learn the material over a longer period of time. Cramming physics 1 and 2 into 1 summer seems like a bit much.

One final thought: think about whether it is truly about saving money or whether it is about taking an "easy way out"... not saying this is you but several people from my college took physics at the CC b/c physics at my college is a notorious weeder course. If it is truly about saving money and you are willing to do the work to ensure that 1 summer class at a community college is enough to suffice admissions requirements, then go for it.

As for me, I did not think it was worth the gamble when I contemplated this ... good luck in making your decision. 🙂

It's Physics 1 in summer session 1 and physics 2 in summer session 2. So two summer sessions.

 

[Glandzburg]

As long as you have verified that your target med schools accept CC courses (can be done via MSAR), taking a class or two at a CC is not the "huge gamble" that people on this site make it out to be.

One day I'll get on my soapbox about this idea of a "perfect" application that has been constructed by neurotic pre-meds on this site, but today is not that day.

 

[robin911]

It's Physics 1 in summer session 1 and physics 2 in summer session 2. So two summer sessions.

Totally different story then. You could take it at the CC then. Just make ABSOLUTELY sure that the medical schools that you wish to apply to accept CC credit for science courses (most do) but just be sure. 🙂 Good luck.

 

[Styrene]

Can I take Physics 1 and 2 at a community college? It's not in my major and i am taking it in the summer. I want to know if I can take it to save some money? How will adcoms look at it?

I took bio 1/2, physics 1/2, and gen chem 1/2 at community college. Then I transferred to a four-year and took orgo 1/2/lab and ~15 upper-level biology courses. I'm in this cycle and have interviews. I also scored 99th on the old MCAT, so that probably helped.

Look in the MSAR to see that a majority of schools accept CC science credits, most of which accept them the same as anything else (green check box) and only some of which do so on a case-by-case basis (orange check box). I assume the case-by-case consideration means that As in CC science courses won't make up for an MCAT that is below the schools average.

Good luck.

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