What CC classes are "safe"?

[Witless]

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The local community college allows high school students to take classes during the school year in the evenings. I'm going into my junior year of HS and contemplating enrolling in a class or two at the CC, but I don't want to accidentally take a class that will affect my chances of getting into med school because of the reputation community colleges have. So which classes are "safe" to take? I'm looking at psychology or sociology, because neither are prerequisites for med school as far as I know.

Should I just wait until college?

 

[HumidBeing]

Take what interests you. Many people will say that it is better to save the sciences to take at a 4 year institution, and that it is better to get your humanities and other non-science courses out of the way.

I did the dual-enrollment bit and was very happy with my classes. The one concern that I would like to most emphasize is to take those classes and your grades in them very seriously. Unlike high school grades, which are meaningless once you begin the full-time college phase, dual-enrollment grades stick with you. They count in the GPA calculations for professional schools. So, it is very important that whatever classes you choose to take, you do well in them.

 

[Depakote]

I agree with Humid.

Community Colleges have gained a bit of a stigma because students will occasionally attempt to take classes there to pad their GPA or avoid taking classes at the university they are currently attending (believing the CC to be an easier route).

There are plenty of valid reasons to take courses at a community college, and admissions committees can tell the difference. Valid reasons:

-Dual enrollment (such as in HS like you're doing)
-Cost
-courses unavailable at your current school

In general, med schools want to see students challenging themselves. If you are taking college courses in High School, they won't hold that against you (even if it is done through a CC).

Now the trick is, as Humid made sure to point out. Take these seriously. Your grades will contribute to your undergraduate GPA. This helps determine whether or not you get into medical school and a couple of C's early on will be a pain to overcome later.

 

[Witless]

It looks like I'll be taking psychology this fall (although human physiology and anatomy w/ lab was tempting).

Thanks for the advice! 😀

 

[eye lovethe eye]

This is very good to know! I'm going to be taking an english course at our CC and I'm glad to know that this is a good move! The only thing I'm worried about is that I'll want to go to a college that doesn't accept dual enrollment credit. I really hope that doesn't happen!

 

[HumidBeing]

There will be a consortium of colleges and universities within your state that will accept the local CC credits. It is often possible to find a link in the CC website that shows which courses are approved for transfer to which 4 years. Outside of that group, it's just like transferring any other college credit - sometimes they accept them and sometimes they don't.

 

[ylrebmik]

This fall I will be taking my second course at a local CC. Then next semester I'm transferring to another college because they don't offer anything I need next semester. or I could say the heck with it and enjoy my senior year. which is tempting because I have a lot going on. ahh. I just can't wait until the applications are in.. I get into one of my top schools, and I can worry about other things. haha

 

[aroen]

lets say a person takes 3 CC courses, and gets a D in all three, would there be any point in asking for a transcript? Could you just ignore that portion?

 

[HumidBeing]

lets say a person takes 3 CC courses, and gets a D in all three, would there be any point in asking for a transcript? Could you just ignore that portion?

Sorry, all transcripts have to be submitted. That's why it's important to take those classes seriously.

 

[Depakote]

Sorry, all transcripts have to be submitted. That's why it's important to take those classes seriously.

and yes, there are ways they can tell if you haven't submitted transcripts from every school you've attended.

 

[kdburton]

The local community college allows high school students to take classes during the school year in the evenings. I'm going into my junior year of HS and contemplating enrolling in a class or two at the CC, but I don't want to accidentally take a class that will affect my chances of getting into med school because of the reputation community colleges have. So which classes are "safe" to take? I'm looking at psychology or sociology, because neither are prerequisites for med school as far as I know.

Should I just wait until college?

It may be considerably cheaper to take a class or two at the local CC than where you eventually attend undergrad. You may not want to take a huge # of classes there but I doubt one or two will hurt provided that you still get a good grade in them; you're going to have to report where you took the classes and what grades you got regardless of whether you took a class and transferred the credit to your degree-granting school. I took freshman english literature at my local CC after my first year of college because it was like 1/4th the price and I had a little time to kill for two days a week. Some people may be unable to take school seriously enough as a HS student to perform well at a college level (even if its a CC), so make sure that you aren't one of those people before you do it.

 

[Hyperstudyosis]

I took classes at a community college in high school and it was a great experience for me. I didn't take any pre-req science classes (I hadn't yet decided to go into medicine). I was able to get a lot of general core classes out of the way- foreign language, English, humanities, etc. I got 42 credits at the community college, which allowed me to reduce my time in college by a semester (not all the credits applied toward my degree program). You won't be looked down upon for taking cc classes while you're in high school. Just avoid taking your science/math classes there.

 

[chewy2008]

what if you took several classes at the local community college while you were in high school AND during the summer?
I'm going to a university in Hong Kong starting this September as a freshman.
I've already taken Intro to English (4), English Composition (3), General Chem 1 (5), General Chem 2 (5), Calculus I (5), Calculus II (5) and some other classes (speech and American Sign Language).
However, my university requires biology majors, of which I am one, to take "Principles of Modern Chemistry", which seems equivalent to the class in high school OR general chemistry class in college. Is it okay that I take chemistry at the university again?
Also I passed the AP Biology and AP Physics B tests, but I'm planning on taking general physics and the biology at the university because I've never really taken a real college physics or biology class.
How does this sound? Any advice is appreciated.

 

[kdburton]

what if you took several classes at the local community college while you were in high school AND during the summer?
I'm going to a university in Hong Kong starting this September as a freshman.
I've already taken Intro to English (4), English Composition (3), General Chem 1 (5), General Chem 2 (5), Calculus I (5), Calculus II (5) and some other classes (speech and American Sign Language).
However, my university requires biology majors, of which I am one, to take "Principles of Modern Chemistry", which seems equivalent to the class in high school OR general chemistry class in college. Is it okay that I take chemistry at the university again?
Also I passed the AP Biology and AP Physics B tests, but I'm planning on taking general physics and the biology at the university because I've never really taken a real college physics or biology class.
How does this sound? Any advice is appreciated.

It shouldn't be a problem that you take chem at a CC and then university, especially since you're only doing it because you're required to retake it as a biology major at your school. You may want to look into the AP credits issue... I didn't take any of the AP tests, but I think I remember hearing that some med schools don't accept them.

 

[xnfs93hy]

The local community college allows high school students to take classes during the school year in the evenings. I'm going into my junior year of HS and contemplating enrolling in a class or two at the CC, but I don't want to accidentally take a class that will affect my chances of getting into med school because of the reputation community colleges have. So which classes are "safe" to take? I'm looking at psychology or sociology, because neither are prerequisites for med school as far as I know.

Should I just wait until college?

You should not be worried about med school right now, worry about getting into college first. Secondly, you are lucky, I am going to be a Junior as well and my CC doesn't even offer classes and my high school refused to look into it for me. I say take whatever classes you can handle, it will look VERY good for the colleges that you are applying to, it will be what I guess would be the equivalent of an AP course, because you are a high school student doing college level work even though it is through a CC it is still collegiate level work, I am looking into this as well, there is more than one CC around here. The best of luck man!

 

[tesfawMD]

What if I plan on going to community college for two years and then transferring? Does that affect my chances of getting into med school later on?

 

[chewy2008]

What if I plan on going to community college for two years and then transferring? Does that affect my chances of getting into med school later on?

I think that as long as you do well in the university you transfer your chances are pretty good as others who stayed in a university for four years.
It's a good idea to take CC classes because it's a good deal (money-speaking) for education.

 

[ladyoflies]

What if I plan on going to community college for two years and then transferring? Does that affect my chances of getting into med school later on?

Yea, it is a good option financially. Make sure you research the school that you'd like to transfer to and see what general education requirements they need. Just finish those at the CC and then start/finish your chosen major at the university. Also, a lot of times community colleges tend to be a lot easier than university so be sure to prepare yourself for a LOT more work when you transfer. A lot of times, students that transfer from a community college see a drop in GPA once they transfer.

 

[ylrebmik]

Just a question I've been wondering about...
I took a medical terminology course a little over a year ago and I'm taking a Nursing assistant course this fall.... when I apply to vet school... Do I have to sent my CC transcript with those two courses? I know the answer is probably yes, but just wondering because they aren't like Chemistry or something like that... they are strictly CC offered courses?

 

[desidp12]

worse comes to worse, you can use the credits from CC as free elective credits.