Taking undergrad classes in highschool

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FenixMD

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I have the opportunity to take undergrad courses at a local CC while I'm still attending high school. If I do well, I should be able to graduate highschool with an AA degree. Would doing this program impede my chances at getting into a good med. school at all? Given its a community college I fear some schools might look down upon it and I won't be able to get into school I would have been able to with all AP classes instead. Basically as someone who is hopefully med. school bound, would this program be worth while?
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No, it won't lower your chances (if you really want to gun and to spend time, money, and effort, study for the MCAT).

I took CC classes during high school, and I regret doing it because I spent a lot of time, money, and effort on classes (and getting to classes) I didn't need for my degree (I was just trying to increase my application GPA).
Now my GPA doesn't even matter since I'm not choosing to apply to professional school anymore.

So have a goal in mind - why do you need the AA degree anyway?
If I could go back, I'd spend more time researching majors and observing careers I would be interested in, working, and taking more free classes like soccer academy, orchestra, and art in high school.
 
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I'm a middle school taking undergrad classes RIGHT NOW, so this is relevant.
 
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Sorry, that wasn't very helpful. I'd recommend taking classes during the summer (ex: Statistics) to get your degree faster
 
I have taken quite a few classes at my local CC pulling all A's with relative ease. I quite like the classes I take and find them quite enriching. However, I recommend not taking any science courses at your CC because for the most part they are a joke and you will be under prepared for the MCAT although you would finish the course with a likely easy A. If you value the easy A remember that you will have to learn all the missing information while studying for the MCAT down the road.
 
SweetBurger said:
I have taken quite a few classes at my local CC pulling all A's with relative ease. I quite like the classes I take and find them quite enriching. However, I recommend not taking any science courses at your CC because for the most part they are a joke and you will be under prepared for the MCAT although you would finish the course with a likely easy A. If you value the easy A remember that you will have to learn all the missing information while studying for the MCAT down the road.
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By easy, do you mean lack of information or do you mean the professor is not strict enough. Anyways, I'd rather just skip through undergrad so I can go "straight to the meat".
 
efle said:
oh my god you're afraid to say damn
that is hilarious
don't sweat it kid we won't tell your parents
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Lol I know some websites that will get you banned for cursing, so I tried to play safe

:=|:-):
 
You should be fine. Just be aware that undergrad classes you take in high school will count toward your college GPA when applying to medical schools, so do your best to get good grades and don't be afraid to withdraw from a class if you are doing poorly.
 
bee17 said:
You should be fine. Just be aware that undergrad classes you take in high school will count toward your college GPA when applying to medical schools, so do your best to get good grades and don't be afraid to withdraw from a class if you are doing poorly.
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:=|:-):>tips fedora
 
bee17 said:
You should be fine. Just be aware that undergrad classes you take in high school will count toward your college GPA when applying to medical schools, so do your best to get good grades and don't be afraid to withdraw from a class if you are doing poorly.
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NEWS FLASH

Science GPA is in good shape (4.0) 16 credits.....not so much overall.

Take these classes seriously.
 
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FenixMD said:
I have the opportunity to take undergrad courses at a local CC while I'm still attending high school. If I do well, I should be able to graduate highschool with an AA degree. Would doing this program impede my chances at getting into a good med. school at all? Given its a community college I fear some schools might look down upon it and I won't be able to get into school I would have been able to with all AP classes instead. Basically as someone who is hopefully med. school bound, would this program be worth while?
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Take your general education pre-reqs like english, psychology, history, pre-cal, and etc. Ace them!
 
Im in the same situation. Im a senior in highschool and this is my 3rd semester of being at my local state college. I've talked to many people both practicing doctors and current med school students and from what I've heard it seems as if it honestly doesnt matter where your undergraduate work is done nor what degree you pursue. As long as the prereqs for the MCAT and med school are fulfilled we seem to be golden. The one thing I have heard that could be a difficulty is age. Im getting my AA on my 18th birthday and graduating highschool 5 days later. Im really young for my grade and from what Ive heard med schools arent particularly fond of such young minds in the medical field because of the emotional impact of being a surgeon/doctor/etc. dealing with the chance of losing a patient.
 
CoolDoctor1234 said:
Im in the same situation. Im a senior in highschool and this is my 3rd semester of being at my local state college. I've talked to many people both practicing doctors and current med school students and from what I've heard it seems as if it honestly doesnt matter where your undergraduate work is done nor what degree you pursue. As long as the prereqs for the MCAT and med school are fulfilled we seem to be golden. The one thing I have heard that could be a difficulty is age. Im getting my AA on my 18th birthday and graduating highschool 5 days later. Im really young for my grade and from what Ive heard med schools arent particularly fond of such young minds in the medical field because of the emotional impact of being a surgeon/doctor/etc. dealing with the chance of losing a patient.
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How old will you be when you apply? Have you taken any pre-reqs yet? If, say, you still need to do the full chem sequence, you'll probably be applying when you're 20 going on 21, which is younger than average, but not enough to cause concern.
 
Does anyone know how cleps are considered when it comes to medical school admission? I don't want to clep any other class if I would still have to retake it.
 
SweetBurger said:
Does anyone know how cleps are considered when it comes to medical school admission? I don't want to clep any other class if I would still have to retake it.
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Perfectly fine for any math, history, or English classes you have to take for your degree. I would not recommend them for any science courses though. A real college science course is much better than clepping out of any science class, plus anything you clep is only recorded as a pass or fail and thus does not boost your GPA.
 
bee17 said:
How old will you be when you apply? Have you taken any pre-reqs yet? If, say, you still need to do the full chem sequence, you'll probably be applying when you're 20 going on 21, which is younger than average, but not enough to cause concern.
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I'll be about 20 I believe.
By the time I do get my AA I'll be 18 w/ 62 Credit Hours. I'm taking or will take to fulfill those credits with...

College Algebra
Cinema Appreciation
Writing & Grammar
Chemical Science
American History 1

PreCalc
College Chemistry I &
Principles of Biology I (Both majors level)
American History 2
English Comp 1

American Government
Trig
College Chemistry II
Principles of Biology II
Intro to Sociology

Economics
Calculus 1
Intro to Philosophy
English Comp 2

I am taking these at my local state college and they will be transfer credits when I go to a university where I will finish off my coursework for my bachelor's in Pre-Professional Biology. Do you think it will take more than 2yrs to finish my undergraduate? Im hoping I did a goodjob @ fulfilling my general ed courses to move onto higher level sciences my first year @ the university.

Thank You!
 
The first step is to make sure you go to a university where these classes will transfer. You can definitely finish your pre-reqs in 2 years:

Organic Chem I + Lab
Stats (recommended by some schools, but might not be necessary if you have calc)

Organic Chem II + Lab
Psychology

Physics I + Lab
Biochem

Physics II + Lab

Whether or not you can finish undergrad in 2 years depends on how big your major is. At my school, pre-professional Bio requires over 40 credits in just biology courses, and some classes have to be taken in a certain sequence. There are also gen-ed requirements and other required classes. You will have to consult an advisor at that school to figure it out. Remember that the application cycle is a year long, so you could finish your pre-reqs in two years, take the MCAT, and then finish up the rest of your classes for undergrad during the year you are applying (for a total of 3 years of undergrad). It is also becoming increasingly common to take gap years, so don't be afraid to take time off to work or do something else if that is appealing to you.
 
Hey all, here is my two cents.
About CC/AP Credit: Yes, take as much CC/AP/clep credit as you can, provided it'll probably be required for your selected degree. Getting out of the lower-level undergrad classes that you probably wouldn't enjoy very much is fantastic. You can use the time to get to the meat of the coursework/upper levels faster. On top of that, for AP/clep credit, most colleges allow you to pick which credits you have to put towards your degree. For instance, I took 8 AP classes, I think, but only used 5 of the credits toward my degree (because the rest would have just been Elective credits).

About an Associate's: getting a formal AA is unnecessary. Just get get credits to apply toward a Bachelor's. That being said, an AA degree won't help nor hurt you for medical/health professions admissions.

Aside #1: Take STATS > Calc if you have a choice. I think medical schools are beginning to prefer/require Stats before Calc; even if not, Stats is far more useful in my medical school classes than calc is (which I haven't seen since freshman year in college).

Aside #2: Feel free to slow down, take a deep breath, and enjoy the moments in HS and then in College. My biggest regret in college is taking 4 years to graduate, I should have done a Victory (5th) Lap! Medical school will be waiting forever, and there is always another cycle to get in. It seems like a year is a lot, but if you want to do medicine, you'll be in school for your literally your entire life. Use the CC/AP/Clep credit to reduce your college hourly work-load, boost your GPA, and get through college with as little stress as possible.

Let me know if any of you have any other questions or would like any other advice 🙂
 
Dual enrollement can be helpful if the credits can transfer, but do not forget that the grades you earn will be apart of your overall HS GPA. There are many posts on here with undergrad students stressed out because, although they did well in university once they had graduated HS, the community college grades they earned WHILE in HS were not so hot and had lowered their GPA immensely. If you are willing to put on the time and work, though, it will benefit you in the end.

EDIT: My apologies, I meant to say overall college GPA, not HS GPA. The college classes you take as a high schooler affect your college GPA.
 
bee17 said:
The first step is to make sure you go to a university where these classes will transfer. You can definitely finish your pre-reqs in 2 years:

Organic Chem I + Lab
Stats (recommended by some schools, but might not be necessary if you have calc)

Organic Chem II + Lab
Psychology

Physics I + Lab
Biochem

Physics II + Lab

Whether or not you can finish undergrad in 2 years depends on how big your major is. At my school, pre-professional Bio requires over 40 credits in just biology courses, and some classes have to be taken in a certain sequence. There are also gen-ed requirements and other required classes. You will have to consult an advisor at that school to figure it out. Remember that the application cycle is a year long, so you could finish your pre-reqs in two years, take the MCAT, and then finish up the rest of your classes for undergrad during the year you are applying (for a total of 3 years of undergrad). It is also becoming increasingly common to take gap years, so don't be afraid to take time off to work or do something else if that is appealing to you.
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Thank you very much, I will keep this in mind. Thank you for responding!
 
FenixMD said:
I have the opportunity to take undergrad courses at a local CC while I'm still attending high school. If I do well, I should be able to graduate highschool with an AA degree. Would doing this program impede my chances at getting into a good med. school at all? Given its a community college I fear some schools might look down upon it and I won't be able to get into school I would have been able to with all AP classes instead. Basically as someone who is hopefully med. school bound, would this program be worth while?
Click to expand...

Wow, it's awesome that you have this motivation of wanting to become a doctor early in your high school year. But is there a reason why you are trying to graduate from college early?

Grades and MCAT scores are definitely the top 2 significant requirements to get into medical school, but the 4 years in college can be a very useful time to shadow physicians, work as an EMT, volunteer at local hospitals or community service events, and research. During medical school interviews, physicians/faculty members/medical students will ask about the experiences you've had that exposed you to the medical field...have you shadowed physicians before?...how do you know you want to become a doctor if you haven't worked with one?...what kind of research have you done? ... have you published any research articles?..etc. So if I were you, I would focus on getting into a college/university that has a great program for whichever major you're looking into, showcase your high academic capabilities, and expose yourself to the medical field as much as you can (also do research!). Good luck 🙂
 
FenixMD said:
I have the opportunity to take undergrad courses at a local CC while I'm still attending high school. If I do well, I should be able to graduate highschool with an AA degree. Would doing this program impede my chances at getting into a good med. school at all? Given its a community college I fear some schools might look down upon it and I won't be able to get into school I would have been able to with all AP classes instead. Basically as someone who is hopefully med. school bound, would this program be worth while?
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Sorry, I think I misread what you wrote while I was skimming it. But I think graduating with an AA won't matter when it comes to applying to medical school. Medical schools will only be looking at what you've accomplished since Freshman year in college.
 
I saw that CLEP testing was mentioned, and it brought some questions to mind. Would failing a CLEP test hurt your application? Or would medical schools not even see it? I want to take some CLEP/DSST tests, but i don't want to damage my application if i were to fail one. When you go to fill out the AMCAS, will it require you to add all failed CLEPs, or only the passes?
 
HunterGirl3 said:
I saw that CLEP testing was mentioned, and it brought some questions to mind. Would failing a CLEP test hurt your application? Or would medical schools not even see it? I want to take some CLEP/DSST tests, but i don't want to damage my application if i were to fail one. When you go to fill out the AMCAS, will it require you to add all failed CLEPs, or only the passes?
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Won't hurt you. They'll consider your undergraduate work. Even though CLEP counts for credit, they won't really look at that. Also, they're very focused on your later work in college. Upper level courses.
 
FenixMD said:
I have the opportunity to take undergrad courses at a local CC while I'm still attending high school. If I do well, I should be able to graduate highschool with an AA degree. Would doing this program impede my chances at getting into a good med. school at all? Given its a community college I fear some schools might look down upon it and I won't be able to get into school I would have been able to with all AP classes instead. Basically as someone who is hopefully med. school bound, would this program be worth while?
Click to expand...
No medical school is going to even consider the fact you have an AA or an AS. Associates degrees don't mean a whole lot. Focus on making good grades in whatever path you choose. When you get to college, having an AA/AS will be nice in that you're core-complete. It's what you do AFTER that will really have an impact.
 
CoolDoctor1234 said:
Thank you very much, I will keep this in mind. Thank you for responding!
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To add on to that. Many of the schools I applied to this cycle specifically wanted statistics, and were less concerned about calc.
 
CoolDoctor1234 said:
Im in the same situation. Im a senior in highschool and this is my 3rd semester of being at my local state college. I've talked to many people both practicing doctors and current med school students and from what I've heard it seems as if it honestly doesnt matter where your undergraduate work is done nor what degree you pursue. As long as the prereqs for the MCAT and med school are fulfilled we seem to be golden. The one thing I have heard that could be a difficulty is age. Im getting my AA on my 18th birthday and graduating highschool 5 days later. Im really young for my grade and from what Ive heard med schools arent particularly fond of such young minds in the medical field because of the emotional impact of being a surgeon/doctor/etc. dealing with the chance of losing a patient.
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Has NOTHING to do with the impact of losing a patient.

It has to do with life experience/maturity.

That's not meant as a jab, by any means. The reality is that being younger means you lack a lot of life experience. Life experience and maturity are essential for connecting with patients. If you're worried about your age, I suggest finding ways to get in touch with the human condition. Work in a shelter. That doesn't mean do fifteen different mission trips and habitat for humanity projects. Find a local shelter. Help there. Consistently. Focus on those patient relationships, on those connections. If you're able to do that, it will alleviate a lot of the concerns associated with your age.
 
JustDOit2020 said:
Won't hurt you. They'll consider your undergraduate work. Even though CLEP counts for credit, they won't really look at that. Also, they're very focused on your later work in college. Upper level courses.
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Thank you! So does AMCAS require you to submit a CollegeBoard/CLEP transcript with all attempts, or do they just take whatever shows on your institutional transcript? Sorry for all the questions.. I just don't want to make a stupid mistake that could hurt my app...
 
I only submitted my institutional transcript and that was sufficient, however I would suggest taking the time, calling AMCAS and getting a direct answer from their staff. The big key, I found, was making sure you satisfy the program requirements (i.e. certain number of hours of english, biology, etc). I don't have a transcript in front of me, but I want to say that my CLEP courses showed on that transcript, anyways.

YMMV.
 
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