technical college or university/community college

[wannabeapharm]

I was wondering what is best taking a class at a technical college or traitional college? i need some chemistry classes but they are offered at certain times and fill up quickly...I didnt know if pharmacy schools look down on this or not?
one pharm school says the accept tech school credits. has anyone done this?

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[txpharmdstud]

I was wondering what is best taking a class at a technical college or traitional college? i need some chemistry classes but they are offered at certain times and fill up quickly...I didnt know if pharmacy schools look down on this or not?
one pharm school says the accept tech school credits. has anyone done this?

although they say they accept comm college courses, it's good to take science courses at at university as this will look better.

lets put it this way.....someone with the same stats as you (same PCAT, same GPA) but he went to a university and you a CC, which would you admit?

i've taken a few comm. course and i must say, it's a lot easier. so challenge yourself and go to a university.

just my 2 cents.

 

[danyoung2003200]

This argument gets so old sometimes. Everyone has this thing against community colleges. I guess some must be pretty easy with all this I hear about them. I went to a community college for 2 years before transferring and I have to say the classes weren't any easier than the ones I take know. The entry level classes may be a little easier but that would be it. My organic class there was very hard as was my microbiology class. I know for a fact that the same books were used and the same material covered in all my chemistry and bio classes at the CC and at my current school. I think you can get easy classes anywhere. Just my two cents

 

[exliontamer]

This argument gets so old sometimes. Everyone has this thing against community colleges. I guess some must be pretty easy with all this I hear about them. I went to a community college for 2 years before transferring and I have to say the classes weren't any easier than the ones I take know. The entry level classes may be a little easier but that would be it. My organic class there was very hard as was my microbiology class. I know for a fact that the same books were used and the same material covered in all my chemistry and bio classes at the CC and at my current school. I think you can get easy classes anywhere. Just my two cents

Well said. I also went to both a CC and a private university and a found the same level of difficulty and professionalism. In fact, my local CC give ACS finals for gen Chem and OChem just like my university. They do this to show that they prepare their students as well as a university. Also, when I interviewed at Temple University they said most of their transfers come from community college. I feel that if you can save yourself some money and travel time by going to a CC, then why not. That being said, having a BA or BS can sometimes make you a more competitive applicant ( depending on the pharm school and type of program). Good luck in whatever path you decide to take.

 

[Sosumi]

I went to a fairly prestigious undergraduate university, and it definitely impressed the admissions committee. If you can, taking most of your classes at a university looks better than a community college. That's not to say they won't accept you if you only did community college work.

I had to take statistics after I had found out I got accepted at a community college (I had taken calc 3 and diffie eq instead). From my personal experience, the school was a joke. Statistics was considered a "tough" class there, yet students were allowed to take makeup tests if they did badly on the original... I ended up having to tutor several students since the professor and the background of the students weren't as advanced. I don't want to offend anyone who goes to community college, but the fact is that they're usually not considered as challenging as university by the people who matter most, the admissions committees.

 

[ultracet]

if you do a search this topic has been talked about considerably

 

[Jeddevil]

I think the original question was about taking credits at a tech school or traditional (cc or Uni). I would not waste a dime on tech school education. I don't know of any of my fellow classmates that went to tech schools for Pharm Preregs. Now if you want to be an auto mechanic, feel free to go to tech school. I have never even thought of taking a pre pharm class at a tech school. Wouldn't you save money taking them at the CC?

As far as CC vs Uni's go, just make sure you get A's at the CC. B's and especially C's at a CC would hurt you. If you get A's, I think it is a good way to save money on similar education.

 

[fairyofsong]

I agree-I think the answers have strayed away from the original question a bit. Definately a community college OR university RATHER THAN a technical school. I know in GA, probably in most places, the community colleges are part of a larger system (ie the comm college I attend is part of the "University System of GA" which is headed by UGA). Therefore, I definatey believe the curriculum is up to par. My classes have not been as easy as some comm college courses are made out to be either. I think the 2 biggest differences in universities/comm colleges in regards to the curriculum are:

1) Comm colleges have courses with way fewer people and therefore you get more attention/feel more comfortable asking questions; and can easily have personal contact with professor--->which tends to lead to success

2) Comm colleges are far less expensive and you can save money by attending for your undergrad courses.

Community college has worked well for me, I have been able to stay home, work, save money, and really focus on courses. I don't think it has hurt my pharmacy career in the least-I've had interviews at 2/3 of the schools I've applied to

 

[CSzGirl]

I'm throwing my support behind community colleges. I took all of science classes there (gen bio, gen chem, physics, ochem) at a local CC and got a much *better* education out of it than I would have if I had taken them at the university here. (Example: OChem lecture - 20 students at CC vs. 360 at university). In fact, one of the schools I applied to REJECTED the university microbiology class because it was too generalized, so I ended up taking it at the CC, which focuses the micro classes for the health professions program.

As for my track record, I applied to twelve schools, got accepted into four and was offered interviews (which I turned down) for seven others (many of the schools I applied to were "top ten" schools). So...I don't think many schools will reject you just because you took classes at a CC. It's just a matter of making sure your classes will transfer, especially if you're going out of state.

 

[aubieRx]

I took o chem I at a community college when i was at a transitional period in my life (moving from one big football obsessed uni to another). The lab sucked but the instructor was as good or better than the uni o chem teacher i had.

I actually took O chem I twice just to make sure i got a good lab. experience before taking the uni o chem II lab.

I dont know if that helped me in the end; i suppose it impressed them i was willign to take o chem I again after i got an A the first time.

bottom line: aside from supplies i think some community college courses are on par with unis

 

[DHG]

Totally depends on the situation...

If you have a 100+ class size at a university with a crappy teacher, or a 25 or so class at a CC with a good teacher, then by all means go for the CC.

Talk to students that have taken the class at the specific CC and university you are talking about.

If the class size is smaller and the teacher is good at a CC, you might have a better experience there. I took Ochem at my school, the classes were huge and the teacher sucked. It was offered at the CC, with one of the Chem PhD students from the University (who also taught our labs at the University, and was an awesome teacher) teaching it. If I had known that ahead of time, I would have taken it at the CC, saved some money, and probably learned more to boot. I did okay in Ochems, an A and a B, but man did the big class size suck. And the teacher was awful.

But check with the school you want to apply to to be sure that they accept credit from CCs.

 

[wannabeapharm]

Totally depends on the situation...

If you have a 100+ class size at a university with a crappy teacher, or a 25 or so class at a CC with a good teacher, then by all means go for the CC.

Talk to students that have taken the class at the specific CC and university you are talking about.

If the class size is smaller and the teacher is good at a CC, you might have a better experience there. I took Ochem at my school, the classes were huge and the teacher sucked. It was offered at the CC, with one of the Chem PhD students from the University (who also taught our labs at the University, and was an awesome teacher) teaching it. If I had known that ahead of time, I would have taken it at the CC, saved some money, and probably learned more to boot. I did okay in Ochems, an A and a B, but man did the big class size suck. And the teacher was awful.

But check with the school you want to apply to to be sure that they accept credit from CCs.

Thanks I dont live near a big Univ with huge classes..But a CC is cheaper but there are some online courses which are cheap as well and unbelieveably Chem and Physics are offered online with labs as well..I have about 6 -8 pre reqs (depending on schools I apply) so you think it's best to try to get into school for 2007 and not 2007...

Just curious: did you get accepted in to PharmSchool? and did you have a high gpa

 

[drhemi70]

I don't really see a difference in CC vs Univ. The only advantage I would give Univ. is that while attending school there you can perform research. There are probably more clubs and things of that nature to do at a Univ. also. I have attended both and don't really see a difference in the classes there are probably more resources at a Univ. if you need help in classes though.
DR

 

[ultracet]

don't forget that at some pharm schools you will be in class with 100+ people and it is better to have that shock while you are in undergrad than in pharm school

 

[jammocah]

But a CC is cheaper but there are some online courses which are cheap as well and unbelieveably Chem and Physics are offered online with labs as well..I have about 6 -8 pre reqs (depending on schools I apply)

Some schools do not accept online classes. I know USC doesn't. You should check with your schools you plan to apply to. I would assume it's harder to take Chemistry and Physics online since you don't have anyone to explain it to you. How do you do labs online anyway?? Seems odd..