Taking prereqs at Junior College

[Gonzo12164]

I just recently graduated from UC Irvine with an Electrical Engineering degree, cum GPA of 3.712, Cum Laude. For various reasons I've decided to pursue a career in medicine. I've already taken the gchem, physics, and math courses and have gotten mostly A's and a couple A-'s. I still need to take all the Bio and Ochem classes. However, I am confident that I will do well in hopefully all of them. I am currently in 20K debt from college and simply can not afford taking more classes at UC Irvine. I decided to finish the prereqs at a Junior college which are ALL UC transferable according to assist.org. If I took these classes at a JC, would I be looked down by medical schools even though I have a degree from a UC school in a very difficult major? Do I still have a chance to get into Cal schools or any school if I do well on my MCAT? My involvements were President of my Fraternity, in Eta Kappa Nu and Tau Beta Pi Eng. Honor Societies, on SPOP(student parent orientation program) staff, volunteered in the Clinical Care Extender Program at Hoag Hospital, and a SAGE scholar which included a scholarship and internship as an engineer. Please help with some advice.

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[JimDiGriz]

I just recently graduated from UC Irvine with an Electrical Engineering degree, cum GPA of 3.712, Cum Laude. For various reasons I've decided to pursue a career in medicine. I've already taken the gchem, physics, and math courses and have gotten mostly A's and a couple A-'s. I still need to take all the Bio and Ochem classes. However, I am confident that I will do well in hopefully all of them. I am currently in 20K debt from college and simply can not afford taking more classes at UC Irvine. I decided to finish the prereqs at a Junior college which are ALL UC transferable according to assist.org. If I took these classes at a JC, would I be looked down by medical schools even though I have a degree from a UC school in a very difficult major? Do I still have a chance to get into Cal schools or any school if I do well on my MCAT? My involvements were President of my Fraternity, in Eta Kappa Nu and Tau Beta Pi Eng. Honor Societies, on SPOP(student parent orientation program) staff, volunteered in the Clinical Care Extender Program at Hoag Hospital, and a SAGE scholar which included a scholarship and internship as an engineer. Please help with some advice.

I took a lot of my requirements at a JC: freshman English, freshman Biology, freshman Chemistry. Doesn't seem like that affected my application.

 

[sistahnik]

you can take the classes at a JC. that's what I'm doing b/c I think it is rediculous to pay all that money for those classes at university level when they are offered at my comm college! I know you are going to hear from some people that the "adcoms" want you to take them at a university, which some may want, but that's not the majority of the schools. Just take them and pass them.

 

[dwilliams03]

i am glad this was brought up. I was thinking of taking general and organic chem at my local juco. its only $700 for full time there vs. $4000 at the university

 

[Twitch]

I'll be taking the pre-reqs at a JC here in Dallas and am in a somewhat similar situation as the OP. I've already got a bachelors and will soon wrap up grad school. However, the impetus behind going to JC is not necessarily the cost, but the timing of classes. Their evening classes once-twice a week fits my schedule better and also I can take more than one class during a semester yet still continue working full time.

Oddly enough UTSW seemed cool with JC, but A&M didn't seem to think JC's were the route to go. Incidently the prereq courses in a JC @ Texas have a common numbering system and follow the same course content with the idea that these courses would easily transfer to a 4 year university. So it seems odd that A&M didn't think that JC's courses were upto snuff. Odd - perhaps a concern of grade inflation.