WA state best community colleges for pre-med

[Doer568]

Which are some great community colleges which offer all pre-med courses in WA state at an accelerated pace?
I will eventually take some upper division courses from UW or another 4- year college but looking for affordable options at this time. I have a non-science undergrad major with a CGPA under 3.0 from abroad. I will need to do a lot of work to make myself a competitive candidate for MD or even DO schools. any pointers here?

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[RespectTheChemistry]

I'm not from Washington state and don't know the specific community colleges available to you. However, I would recommend against doing the pre-med courses at an accelerated pace. It's hard for people to keep their heads above water even at the regular 16-week pace. There are districts for community colleges similar to those that exist for PK-12 public schools. Tuition will be cheapest for whatever community college you are considered to be an in-district resident for. This is usually the one closest to you, but may not be. You can check with the Admissions Office at the community colleges local to you.

To be honest, the quality between different community colleges doesn't vary enough to warrant paying out-of-district rates. So long as they offer the courses and those courses are transferable, you're good.

The one thing I would do differently if I could go back in time to my community college days is to have a specific transfer school in mind. At registration every semester, confirm that this course transfers as something specific at that four-year and that that specific class is the one needed for your degree.

 

[chilly_md]

You will likely need 90 or more credits between CC and a 4-year college. There is not really a way to compress that time through an accelerated program.

 

[skeptastic]

I highly recommend Mark Allen at Tacoma CC for general chemistry. Outstanding professor. Heard decent things about the professor there who teaches O-chem as well, but I moved before taking O-chem. Dr. Allen would probably be one of your favorite instructors when it's all said and done. Can't say enough about his teaching style, energy, and willingness to help students.

 

[Doer568]

I'm not from Washington state and don't know the specific community colleges available to you. However, I would recommend against doing the pre-med courses at an accelerated pace. It's hard for people to keep their heads above water even at the regular 16-week pace. There are districts for community colleges similar to those that exist for PK-12 public schools. Tuition will be cheapest for whatever community college you are considered to be an in-district resident for. This is usually the one closest to you, but may not be. You can check with the Admissions Office at the community colleges local to you.

To be honest, the quality between different community colleges doesn't vary enough to warrant paying out-of-district rates. So long as they offer the courses and those courses are transferable, you're good.

The one thing I would do differently if I could go back in time to my community college days is to have a specific transfer school in mind. At registration every semester, confirm that this course transfers as something specific at that four-year and that that specific class is the one needed for your degree.

Thank you for this information!

 

[Doer568]

You will likely need 90 or more credits between CC and a 4-year college. There is not really a way to compress that time through an accelerated program.

Why more than 90? you mean my foreign equated Bachelors degree is entirely useless for med sch admission? I'm getting conflicting information in this regard.

 

[chilly_md]

Why more than 90? you mean my foreign equated Bachelors degree is entirely useless for med sch admission? I'm getting conflicting information in this regard.

If you are a WA resident, you would have the best chance at your state schools.

WSU’s policy is as below:

Applicants must have earned a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in the United States or Canada by July 15 of the year they will begin medical school. Their degree may be in the discipline of their choice, as long as they have completed the prerequisite coursework.

UW seems to require just the pre-req courses be done but the vast majority of applicants in general will have more extensive coursework.

PNWU has a similar policy to WSU:

Applicant must have earned a baccalaureate, masters, or doctoral degree from a regionally accredited college or university.

 

[emily14]

Shoreline Community College has an AMCAS-listed post-bac program for pre-med. I don't know about accelerated, but you can take all your prereqs and be done in six quarters (you'll want to finish general chemistry before ochem). They offer physics once a year starting in the fall, so you'll want to be on the wagon by then.

Post Baccalaureate Services for Health Professions

www.shoreline.edu

 

[Doer568]

Wow shoreline seems to have all the required courses plus good data to back it up all. I will reach out to them and get the ball rolling!

one more question, in my AMCAS application, will my bachelors degree be completely left out since it is foreign?