University or Community College

[rbwilson]

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28 year old male veteran with a B.A in Philosophy. I am considering going back to school to compete Pre-Reqs for med school (it's either that or pursuing a B.S. in Computer Science). I have guaranteed admissions to my alma mater for a postbac but that means I move my family a couple hours to another city -or- should I attend a community college somewhere? Do med schools give more respect to university pre-reqs?

If I am to continue this venture, I hope to be an opthomologist. My wife has Retinitis Pigmentosa and I would like to one day do research and pursue a a cure.

 

[sliceofbread136]

I hate to say it, but taking all of your pre-reqs at CC will almost definitely hurt you. You can do 1 or 2 at CC but definitely not all of them.

Good to you and your wife

 

[amazing tekkers]

If it is better for you and your family, then take courses at a CC, it wont hurt you. Also, take some higher level courses at a college/university.

 

[Spica]

Check whether the med schools you are planning on applying to accept CC credit (some don't). If you do well on the MCAT, it will help alleviate the CC bias as well (at least, this is what some schools say on their websites: do whatever suits your needs as long as CC classes prepare you well for the MCAT or do not hinder your ability to get a good score). Good luck! 🙂

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

I hate to say it, but taking all of your pre-reqs at CC will almost definitely hurt you. You can do 1 or 2 at CC but definitely not all of them.

Good to you and your wife

No basis but your imagination for this. I did 100% pre-med at a CC after my bachelors and was never once questioned about it.

 

[sliceofbread136]

No basis but your imagination for this. I did 100% pre-med at a CC after my bachelors and was never once questioned about it.

Admittedly most the instances I have heard that it has hurt people has been in the context of admissions to top schools. So it very well may have no effect on OP

 

[lunalight]

I also took most of my pre-reqs at a CC and never heard a peep about it. It may actually be a little better because CC classes tend to be smaller, so you could have an easier time developing good relationships with your profs to get quality LORs. Plus, you will likely encounter more non-trads in that setting. It's always nice having a few people around that are in a similar situation.

P.S. Spelling = "ophthalmologist" 😉

 

[juliuspepperwood]

I've taken classes at both. If it's a good Cc you'll probably learn more, but many schools specifically say they don't like cc prereqs.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Admittedly most the instances I have heard that it has hurt people has been in the context of admissions to top schools. So it very well may have no effect on OP

And in turn I know both a UCSF and a Stanford graduate that did 100% pre-med at a CC.

 

[sliceofbread136]

And in turn I know both a UCSF and a Stanford graduate that did 100% pre-med at a CC.

While this may very well be true, it doesn't actually disprove that taking all your premed classes at CC will hurt you for top 20s.

I don't really want to hijack this thread with this discussion though. My advice was apparently off base in the OP's situation, let's just leave it at that.

 

[Koosalagoosagoo]

If you just want to get in going to a cc is not a bad idea, it saves you tons of money.

 

[Cmaster]

28 year old male veteran with a B.A in Philosophy. I am considering going back to school to compete Pre-Reqs for med school (it's either that or pursuing a B.S. in Computer Science). I have guaranteed admissions to my alma mater for a postbac but that means I move my family a couple hours to another city -or- should I attend a community college somewhere? Do med schools give more respect to university pre-reqs?

If I am to continue this venture, I hope to be an opthomologist. My wife has Retinitis Pigmentosa and I would like to one day do research and pursue a a cure.

I got a BS in Chem Eng, and went back to school to take bio prereqs. When i applied to med school the first time, several schools questioned why I took bio prereqs at a community college. I ended up having to reapply next year and i retook all the bio prereqs at a reputable 4 yr college. I think that taking prereq courses at a CC may limited your choices.

 

[FluffyPolishUnicorn]

if you take all your prereqs at CC bc you simply cant afford it, then its fine, however if you go to Uni but take pre-reqs at CC, then it looks more like "let me take it there bc its easier". thats just my opinion

but then again if you take them at CC, get 4.0 gpa and get 39 on MCAT, it looks better than graduating from Harvard with 3.3 and 29 MCAT 🙂

 

[baconshrimps]

No basis but your imagination for this. I did 100% pre-med at a CC after my bachelors and was never once questioned about it.

No offense, but if you are a DO student then you probably weren't questioned about it because DO schools tend to be less stringent when it comes to things like this in admissions. For the vast majority of MD schools it's a nail in the coffin.

 

[baconshrimps]

As someone who took all of their pre-reqs at a community college (except for the physics sequence) and got accepted to an MD school, let me tell you that I ended up having to apply to medical school as a non-Trad with lots of research experience and a graduate degree, just to prove myself and escape the skeletons of my early academic history (aka CC) despite having earned a 4.0 in those pre-req courses. I will be attending an MD school this year, but I can tell you the path would have probably been alot easier, more straightforward, and with more opportunities than I currently have had I not attended community college for those pre-reqs. As a rule of thumb, I would say it's probably okay to take pre-reqs at a CC if you have never been to college and will be transferring to a 4 year university to get a bachelors in some kind of science, and chalk it up to "well I didn't know what I wanted to do" or "I didn't have the money for 4 years at a university", but if you're career changing or have already been a full time student elsewhere, taking pre-reqs at a community college is going to sound all the alarms on your application and it's just not a situation you want to put yourself in. Do not let my success suggest that "anything is possible" I am a very unique case in medical school admissions.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

No offense, but if you are a DO student then you probably weren't questioned about it because DO schools tend to be less stringent when it comes to things like this in admissions. For the vast majority of MD schools it's a nail in the coffin.

No offense taken. That is a valid argument, but I also have first hand knowledge of people I know that did the same and ended up in MD school.

I think people should read the MSAR. If you see colleges that say "on a case-by-case basis," obviously avoid them when applying. If a place explicitly states they accept community college units, I don't think they're trying to hoodwink you.

 

[sinombre]

No offense, but if you are a DO student then you probably weren't questioned about it because DO schools tend to be less stringent when it comes to things like this in admissions. For the vast majority of MD schools it's a nail in the coffin.

Sure, it would probably hurt to take all pre-reqs at a community college... but "a nail in the coffin" is probably going too far, especially for a non-trad/veteran.

 

[baconshrimps]

Sure, it would probably hurt to take all pre-reqs at a community college... but "a nail in the coffin" is probably going too far, especially for a non-trad/veteran.

Don't underestimate a process wherein less than 40% of applicants are accepted, and well qualified candidates are turned away because they were edged out by someone only slighlyt more competitive than them. Medical School admissions is not an optimists delight by any means.

 

[sinombre]

Don't underestimate a process wherein less than 40% of applicants are accepted, and well qualified candidates are turned away because they were edged out by someone only slighlyt more competitive than them. Medical School admissions is not an optimists delight by any means.

Yes, I am aware as I went through the process (and started out at a community college).

 

[baconshrimps]

Yes, I am aware as I went through the process (and started out at a community college).

And did you see my post above?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN Mobile

 

[sinombre]

And did you see my post above?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN Mobile

Haha... actually, I hadn't.

I'm not disagreeing that it would be disadvantageous, but I don't think it would necessarily be a nail in the coffin (with A's in every pre-req and a high MCAT). This is speculation and based off of anecdotal evidence (i.e. backgrounds of classmates of mine), so I could very well be wrong.

Basically the OP should probably try and avoid taking all of his pre-reqs at a CC.