Transitioning from Running Start to University and Medical School

[Jimbo Neutrombo]

Hello everyone,

For the last two years of high school I was enrolled in the running start program. For those who aren't familiar, the running start program allows high school students to spend their last two years of high school at a community college where they obtain both high school and college credit. I earned 90 college credits and am on the path to graduate within 2 years at my university and move on to medical school in 3 years despite being 18.

My questions are for those who have transitioned from community colleges to universities and gone on to medical school.

Did you find that courses at universities were more difficult than those at community college's? Did you have any issues with medical schools not accepting your community college credits? Finally, did you find that you suffered more through the coursework during medical school than students who took all of their prerequisites at a university.

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[21Rush12]

I will do my best to answer your questions based on my experiences from CC>UG>Med school.

I found that by and large the courses were harder on the university level, partly because I was taking upper level courses at the four year institution. However, in my opinion both the Gen Chem 1 class I took and the Calculus class I took at community college were much harder than my university. Also, my microbiology class from community college was more intense than the one I had to take at my UG institution, and it included lab which my UG did not. The short answer is that it varies I'm sure, but usually universities are seen as more rigorous regardless of the reality.

I had no issues with accepting my credits, but I would recommend that you take upper level courses in any subjects you are using CC credits for to prove your academic ability. Several schools list on their websites that they prefer you do all of your prerequisites at a four year institution (SUNY upstate comes to mind, and I think @gonnif has a list somewhere of these schools more specifically).

As far as suffering: I think I keep up with the Ivy leaguers just fine and I always beat the average on exams.


Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile

Edited for clarity/spelling

 

[Jimbo Neutrombo]

I will do my best to answer your questions based on my experiences from CC>UG>Med school.

I found that by and large the courses were harder on the university level, partly because I was taking upper level courses at the four year institution. However, in my opinion both the Gen Chem 1 class I took and the Calculus class I took at community college were much harder than my university. Also, my microbiology class from community college was more intense than the one I had to take at my UG institution, and it included lab which my UG did not. The short answer is that it varies I'm sure, but usually universities are seen as more rigorous regardless of the reality.

I had no issues with accepting my credits, but I would recommend that you take upper level courses in any subjects you are using CC credits for to prove your academic ability. Several schools list on their websites that they prefer you do all of your prerequisites at a four year institution (SUNY upstate comes to mind, and I think @gonnif has a list somewhere of these schools more specifically).

As far as suffering: I think I keep up with the Ivy leaguers just fine and I always beat the average on exams.


Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile

Edited for clarity/spelling

Thank you. Your answer was very thorough and helpful. I have heard that it can vary by professor but I am prepared to step up my game regardless of whether or not university turns out to be much more difficult for myself.

 

[precisiongraphic]

I have not applied to/attended medical school but I have recently taught at (and a looong time ago, attended) a community college. (I'm in Washington State and have had tons of Running Start students.) I have these observations: In general, Community college classes are usually smaller and the instructors/professors are more interested in getting their students over the finish line than instructors/professors in large 4-year universities. (This would likely not be true of smaller or liberal arts colleges. And it is not true in all cases.)

So you may have to attend more office hours, talk to TAs and spend more time getting noticed at universities and if you need help/are struggling, you'll need to be more proactive getting help. This is especially true in the case where you want a good reference letter as large university instructors often have more students and are less responsive, in general. Working in an instructor's lab, for example, may help you forge a stronger bond with an instructor.

Some CCs (those in California or Washington are ones that I'm familiar with) have an agreement with the 4-year university to accept the credits and those classes may have the same name/course number and the CC will generally try to have a syllabus that mirrors the 4-year syllabus. Sometimes these agreements are called "articulation agreements" and a good way to check would be to ask the academic counselors at your CC or go to the University transfer fairs that many CCs have during the fall semester. If these are in place, then you can know that the content of the CC classes is more standardized which should be reassuring.

Good luck!