Who here has taken pre-requisites at community college?

[TexasTriathlete]

I should note that I already know that it is better to take your pre-requisites at a university than at a community college. I am not looking for opinions or educated guesses. What I am wondering about:

1. Who here has actually done it?
2. How many of your pre-requisites did you take there?
3. What kind of love did you get in the application processs? How many interviews/acceptances/etc?

I went to happy hour this evening with a friend of mine. She and her complete douchebag tool boyfriend of 4.5 years just broke up a few weeks ago, and today, she lost her job. She is now looking at going back to school to do her med school pre-requisites, and she is looking to me for advice. This was apparently her original goal when she went to college, until she somehow managed to let whatever guy she was dating at the time make all decisions for her. But she really is smart enough to get the job done here, and now that she's older and more mature, I think she is capable of thinking for herself, so I have agreed to help her.

She has a degree in communication, or some such ****. She has a few classes under her belt, but I'm just going to tell her to start from scratch on her pre-requisites, because its been probably 7-8 years.

Her problem: she lives here in Austin, but I'm not sure she can get into UT. Her GPA is okay (~3.0), but UT is ridiculously hard to get into as a transfer student. I will obviously tell her to explore this option first, because it may be possible, as long as she's not trying for the college of business or engineering or something, but it may not.

There are a couple of pretty decent small, private schools here. Concordia and St. Edward's. She could probably get in (almost definitely), but tuition is insane at these places.

There is Texas State, which is ~30 miles away, in San Marcos. This is where she graduated from, and the commute would not be impossible.

There is also Austin Community College.

Texas State might look better on an application, but to be honest, she could probably get a better education at ACC. A lot of the ACC natural sciences faculty are also teachers at UT, including some outstanding ones that I know. ACC would also be cheaper and more convenient.

If it is possible for her to do her pre-requisites at ACC, and still be taken seriously on her application, then I will tell her to do that. Otherwise, its probably back to Texas State for her.

So has anyone had success after taking pre-requisites at community college? Thanks!

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[spazzz]

I took gen chem 1 and 2 at community college while getting my feet wet and working full time before going fulltime and quitting my job. It's NEVER been brought up at all. If anything I bring it up to show that I got 2 A's while working 40 hours a week. But........I wouldn't suggest it, at least not at the CC i went to, the class made it impossible to learn gen chem and while on paper it looks like it did well, it was my achillies heel for the MCAT.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

Dr. Meyer teaches gen-chem and o-chem at ACC, and the dude is flat out nasty. I took him for o-chem 1 at UT, and that is the class that taught me how to study. He is the guy that nobody takes unless they have to. On the other hand, he is an outstanding lecturer who has been teaching for a long time, and really knows how to teach the material.

People I know who have taken him at ACC have said that he's still hard.

 

[59strat]

I took my first two years at a community college for financial reasons and it's never been brought up in an interview. I would say it's probably safe to take a few pre reqs at a CC... not too many though.

Classes:
Bio I + lab
Bio II + lab
Gen Chem I + lab

I applied to 4 D.O. schools and 5 allo schools.

Results:
5 interviews
2 acceptances
1 waitlist

still waiting to hear from my state school, but my 2 acceptances and my waitlist came from D.O. schools.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

Gotcha. Thanks. That is helpful.

 

[ThePiratesse]

I was in a similar boat. I decided to go back to school after my divorce, and my only choice of a school in which I could take prereqs was McLennan Community College in Waco... Baylor was too expensive just to go and take the few classes I needed. I had not been in school in 6 years and I graduated with a major in Animal Science and a minor in Biology. My undergrad GPA was a 3.05. I took Organic Chem and Physics from MCC as well as Calculus (required to have it to take the Physics). I ended up with a 3.8 GPA. I only applied in Texas that year, and with a 24 MCAT and not much good grade history, I didn't get any interviews. I wrote TCOM to get input on improving my app. I already knew MCAT was one of my problems, but they also suggested that I apply for there Masters of Medical Science program (formally just a postbac program). The program basically mimics the first year of med school with some clinical sciences thrown in, and at the end of the year you graduate with a masters. They told us that historically 100% of the people that made a 3.5 GPA were accepted to TCOM, the program even included DO follows for a grade. The year that I did it, they actually accepted grades a little bit less than 3.5. It was probably the best thing that I could have done. Really hard work, but well worth it considering the work load in my first year of med school. While I was in my program I applied to the Texas match again and started applying to schools through AACOMAS. I interviewed at TCOM as part of my program, and then later my first out of state interview was with DCOM. When I got accepted to DCOM, I stopped sending in secondaries and put down my deposit. I later got an interview to Touro in Vegas, but due to the costs of interviewing and the fact that I was in love with DCOM, I passed. I also got accepted to TCOM, but I had already moved to TN , gotten a roommate, and made friends with other people that were going to be in the DCOM inaugural class.

TT you and I both know how brutal the Texas match can be.. I believe your friend can definitely do it if she puts her mind to it. I never had any of the schools question the MCC prereqs per se, but who knows if I would have gotten more interviews in TX if I had taken them at a 4 yr. If she doesn't care too much about staying in TX for med school, take the classes at ACC. If staying in TX is a priority tell her to seriously consider the UNTHSC program.

 

[DiverDoc]

Bio I
Chem I and II
Physics I and II
O chem I and II


straight As at University


Results 15 Interview offers (lol just got one from AZCOM) went to 3, accepted at 3. Cancelled the rest.

 

[Marthea007]

I took physics 1 and 2 at a CC after I grduated from undergrad. I got 5 interview invites and 1 acceptance. I cancelled my other 4 interviews once I got in.

 

[ajk63]

I took Gen Chem II and Bio I at Community College. A- and A respectively.

17 interview invites (went to 11 of them), 4 wait lists, 7 acceptances.

Personally, I don't see a problem with it. However, it might not be the best idea to take ALL of the prereqs at CC. Although, DiverDoc is proving me wrong
Also, if there's a postbac program anywhere nearby, I would definitely recommend it.

 

[MaximusD]

Gotcha. Thanks. That is helpful.

I think that the only concern with CC's is that the quality is widely variable. You are insisting that the science faculty at ACC is not bad so as long as she does well AND does well on the MCAT (a universal gauge/an equalizer) I don't think that her CC prereqs are going to throw up a red flag for DO schools... maybe if she wanted to go to Hahvahd or JHU.

Basically, CC will hurt her if she does well and then flops on the MCAT. They're going to look at her transcripts/AACOMAS a little more carefully and say hey, her science background was at a community college and she didn't do very well on the MCAT. Maybe she's not ready for medical school.

Again, I know I violated your policy (RE: only those with experience should reply.) but I think that this is important to consider.

I do KNOW that she should preferentially TRY to go to a 4-yr university to be safe, however. The curriculum at a large university is much more standardized and uniform, so medical schools trust the performance as a good indicator (unfortunately for me and my not-so-hot GPA).

I know that this discussion might benefit from the admissions committee member of an MD/DO school posting here. Off the top of my head, I can't remember the regular SDNer that is an adcom member, although I am sure that someone will chime in with the username. When you get that, I encourage you to PM her directly with the CC question or to call the admissions dept of a future school of interest and directly ask the DIRECTOR, "How does the admissions committee view community college applicants?"

 

[spazzz]

LizzyM is an adcom member i believe

 

[MaximusD]

LizzyM is an adcom member i believe

Yeah that is who I was talking about. Thanks. TT, there's your source for accurate, non-guesswork information Keep in mind, LizzyM is from a large MD institution so if it's ok with her, it's definitely going to be OK for most, if not all, DO schools. (MD schools typically get more applications and can be more selective... I'm not bashing my degree. PS I hate that I have to do these disclaimers bc of all the hypersensitive whiners in pre-osteo)

As a medical question, what type hypersensitivity do you think premeds exhibit...

Type 1 - Allergy - IgE
Type 2 - Ab-mediated (IgM, IgG)
Type 3 - complex-forming (IgG/Complement)
Type 4 - delayed-type (T-cell mediated) (ie contact dermatitis)

 

[t-funk]

I went to a yr of community college when my son was 1 in order to get all of the gen eds (this included english and psychology) out of the way since I had been at an engineering college for my first 70 hours and had almost no gen ed courses. Years later, I took Human Physiology and Human Anatomy at the same community college bc I was maxing out my hours at the University on graduate courses. The only place it even came up was KCOM and he made a pretty snotty comment about me going to community college but no one else even mentioned it. I would guess that if I had interviewed with anyone else, it wouldn't have been a big deal. So that's just an unfortunate luck of the draw.

I tend to think like others have already mentioned that if she is applying DO that she will probably be fine with CC. If she is applying in Texas (which I have heard is brutal) then she probably needs to go back to Texas St? to do the pre-reqs unless she really wants to pay for private school. A 30 minute commute is nothing.

I can totally relate to this girl in letting a man deter you from your goals. It's still a pretty common and sad theme these days. Hopefully everything will work out for the best. Tell her to sign up for SDN. Although there is some negativity, there are a lot of people who would help and encourage her as she is probably feeling a little lost right now.

 

[JoeC]

As a medical question, what type hypersensitivity do you think premeds exhibit...

Type 1 - Allergy - IgE
Type 2 - Ab-mediated (IgM, IgG)
Type 3 - complex-forming (IgG/Complement)
Type 4 - delayed-type (T-cell mediated) (ie contact dermatitis)

Definitely.

 

[t-funk]

(MD schools typically get more applications and can be more selective... I'm not bashing my degree. PS I hate that I have to do these disclaimers bc of all the hypersensitive whiners in pre-osteo)

I'm totally with you here Max. It is easier to get into DO schools and it erks me just a little when people try to say something else bc I think it makes us look a little insecure or not in touch with reality. That being said, it being a little easier to get in has absolutely no bearing on what type of physician a DO will be or the quality of their education. And there are a lot of absolutely wonderful and amazing people with great qualities that go to DO schools. In general though, they did have slightly lower stats and that's OK.

 

[troutangler]

.

 

[Beau Geste]

I'm totally with you here Max. It is easier to get into DO schools and it erks me just a little when people try to say something else bc I think it makes us look a little insecure or not in touch with reality. That being said, it being a little easier to get in has absolutely no bearing on what type of physician a DO will be or the quality of their education. And there are a lot of absolutely wonderful and amazing people with great qualities that go to DO schools. In general though, they did have slightly lower stats and that's OK.

I have noticed the stats for DO schools are going up! Especially to where the more established DO school matriculant stats = lower-tier MD matriculant stats. Which is awesome.

The caliber of med student applicant must be getting better!

Oh yeah, for the OP. I did orgo and physics at a CC and retook the bio, a&p, and gen chem sequences because it had been about 10 years since I initially took them at a uni and for refresher for the MCAT. I have 2 acceptances and am on an acceptance "list" waiting for my name to be pulled (crossing fingers).

 

[EEL08]

I took O Chem I and II and Physics I and II at the community college. I wasn't asked about it at all of my 1 interviews. I chose to take them there because of location, cost and scheduling. If anything has held me back this application season it is absolutely my MCAT score. I honestly don't think it's a huge deal to take prereqs at a community college. They may ask her but she has a perfectly good reason for doing so.

 

[Scorching]

I'm a non-trad, and I did have gen chem I & II , and orgo I, and bio I under my belt at a university years and years ago. But after I've decided to shoot for a medical school, I had to take them all again, so I just choose a cc mainly due to the cost. So basically, I crammed all my science courses like

1 sem
gen chem I org I bio I phy I
2 sem
gem chem II org II bio II phy II
summer
a&P I
something like that.
I got all A's except for Bio II, which I got a B..

I've applied to 5 allo and 7 osteo
so far, I've gotten 4 interviews from DO schools,
of 2 which I have done, but not have head back from them yet,
and 2 more interviews to go,
one official post-secondary rejection from MD school,
and the other MD school is not even giving me a peep.

I did have a bit of a hard ? time during one of my interview as the interviewer said that I'm the only one they've seen who has done the science req at a c.c., and they asked how would they be sure that my A's will measure up to A's of other applicants, and that how they'd know if I would be able to handle their courseloads...
But so far, that one school was the only school that has given me some problem with my cc background. We'll see how the other schools see my cc background..

Reading the previous posts and all, I don't think having science req's at a cc would be a problem. Just gotta choose what would best work for one.. so I think it might be safe to advise your friend towards c.c. I think it comes down to what one will make out of it..

 

[TexasTriathlete]

Thanks for the info.

She started out pre-med, and has a lot of biology and some chemistry under her belt, but will want to re-take it all, because its been so long. I honestly think that the CC would give her the opportunity for a solid and challenging education in these subjects. It will depend on what profs she gets, but this particular school does have a lot of very good science profs.

One of my clients/training partners is actually the chairman of the biotechnology department (her program is actually a post-bac certificate), and she will probably know who the good teachers are to take classes from.

 

[OnMyWayThere]

My entire scheduling was based on taking the courses at a school where I'm guaranteed to get an A in (through colleagues' feedback, teacher reviews online, etc.). This resulted in several community colleges, even one college for 1 class only. This probably won't go well with some die hard premeds out there. But it worked. Only 1 of my interviews brought it up and I attend that program now.

 

[deleted92121]

Bio I, Gen Chem I, Physics I were all taken at a 4 yr...earned a B, C, and B respectively.

Taking Chem II at 4 yr this summer but taking Physics II, O-chem I and II, and retaking A&P at local CC.

I realize that more pre-meds will fault me saying I am taking the easy way out but my 4 yr has terrible profs and very few med schools will do more than briefly ask why.

dxu

 

[Powdermonkey]

TT, I took Bio I and II, Organic I and II and Physics II as well as A&P I at a CC by me since I had moved home to live there and save money after I graduated from undergrad. I made an A in them all. I did well on the MCAT the second time I took it though. My CC classes were never mentioned and I got into DCOM.

 

[Powdermonkey]

Oh, and I live in Knoxville with University of Tennessee. I went to the CC mainly because of cost, but also because I was told by many of my friends who had taken classes at both that the profs were better, plus the class size was much, much smaller which allowed more interaction with the prof than the huge auditorium classes. I say go to the CC.

 

[OCHO]

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[songbird]

I have actually been a bit worried about this issue myself. I am currently a pre-med student at a community college, and I planned on doing ALL of my prerequisite classes here, because it's more cost-efficient, and when I transfer to a university I can just focus on my upper-division major courses.

The comments I've received in response to this question have been 'not to worry' about taking courses at a community college, as long as my grades are good.

I think most of the people who've told me it's not a good idea are people who never went to community college. Hmm.

Should I be worried about this??

 

[deleted92121]

I am taking my pre-reqs at CC...the best equalizer though seems to be the MCAT. So score well and there shouldn't be a problem I am guessing.

 

[justletmeinplz]

I am taking my pre-reqs at CC...the best equalizer though seems to be the MCAT. So score well and there shouldn't be a problem I am guessing.

Exactly. The MCAT is the great equalizer. It is the only true objective measure on an application. Grades are often subjective and they are very difficult to compare between schools. Adcoms (should) know this. I don't think it matters where you go to school (unless, as mentioned, you are applying to a top MD program) IF you score well on the MCAT.

 

[Green Doc]

I did a pretty extensive survey of schools, both allopathic and osteopathic, before deciding on my post-bacc pre-med course of action, and I can tell you with certainty that if she wants to go allopathic, she should really consider doing this at a 4-year. The osteopathic institutions I've found to be MUCH more "forgiving" of CC classes.

 

[OCHO]

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[Green Doc]

What point are you disagreeing with, that allopathic schools do not look as favorably on CC classes, or that osteopathic schools do not frown on CC classes?
Based on your last post, which agrees with the assertion that osteopathic schools are much more likely to look favorably upon CC classes, I am led to believe that you don't think allopathic schools weigh CC classes less than classes at 4-year schools?
You might be right, but when I undertook a short survey of allopathic and osteopathic institutions to find out if they would view CC classes with equal merit, I gave up on allopathic institutions after asking about 5 schools and getting a resounding "no." A few schools, such as UVM, might as a standard practice view CC classes with equal merit, but by in large I don't think it is a gross negligence of due diligence to state that allopathic institutions prefer post-baccs at a 4-year.

 

[OCHO]

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[Green Doc]

Not a problem, thanks for the reply. Your experience is interesting to me. My own experience probably reflects the fact that I surveyed largely private schools here in the Northeast. But even UConn's original position was that they would not consider my application competitive and likely to pass beyond initial review with CC classes under my belt. My MCAT fixed that! However, even when I got to the interview stage at UConn I was told my CC classes served as something of a disadvantage in the process.

 

[OCHO]

.

 

[gasapple]

Based on this discussion and since it is generally advisable to apply broadly, it might be wise to avoid CC courses altogether (if a viable option exists) in order to keep all doors open down the road.

 

[digitlnoize]

Hey Texas,

I took Bio I and II with labs and Gen Chem I and II with labs at CC.

It's never been brought up at my interviews. I've had 3 allo and 3 DO interviews...

I don't think it matters too much, as long as you continue to do well when you transfer to 4 year. She may not be able to get Harvard, but the less snooty schools won't care.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

She is not going to transfer to a 4-year. She already has her undergrad degree. This is post-bac.

 

[gasapple]

She is not going to transfer to a 4-year. She already has her undergrad degree. This is post-bac.

No doubt for post-bacc: a la carte (or cert) at a 4-yr consisting of pre-reqs, retakes, and sprinkled with advanced science cousework.

 

[Green Doc]

I can second the need for upper level classes, if she has the time. I certainly would have benefited in my process from more (read: any) of those. I think you can add a full class load to the list of necessities, or at least work/volunteering in addition to a part-time schedule. Research (another thing I lacked).couldn't hurt in an osteopathic application, and is certainly almost a necessity to a solid allopathic application, especially as a post-bacc.

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

As a medical question, what type hypersensitivity do you think premeds exhibit...

Type 1 - Allergy - IgE
Type 2 - Ab-mediated (IgM, IgG)
Type 3 - complex-forming (IgG/Complement)
Type 4 - delayed-type (T-cell mediated) (ie contact dermatitis)

I'm thinking more along the lines of secretor IGA (aka tears)

 

[songbird]

Based on this discussion and since it is generally advisable to apply broadly, it might be wise to avoid CC courses altogether (if a viable option exists) in order to keep all doors open down the road.

Yeah, I guess in my case, it's not a viable option to get around taking these pre-reqs at a community college, so I'm just trying to keep my GPA as high as possible, and I did a research internship last summer. I'm applying for round 2 this summer as well.

 

[songbird]

I can second the need for upper level classes, if she has the time. I certainly would have benefited in my process from more (read: any) of those. I think you can add a full class load to the list of necessities, or at least work/volunteering in addition to a part-time schedule. Research (another thing I lacked).couldn't hurt in an osteopathic application, and is certainly almost a necessity to a solid allopathic application, especially as a post-bacc.

Do you think that upper-division science courses are a necessity, even if someone is getting their degree in a non-science field?? And if so, which courses are generally expected of undergrads? Biochemistry I'm assuming, but med schools usually only list the lower-division courses that they require.

 

[Green Doc]

Microbiology, Genetics, and Histology also couldn't hurt, although I agree that Biochem would be a good start.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

She can take micro and genetics at the CC. I know the profs for both, and they are outstanding. One of them is a client of mine, and the only reason she teaches at CC is because working at a 4-year would interfere with her exercise.

I am 100% not kidding. She is a 55-year-old triathlete who can crush me on the bike.

 

[OCHO]

.

 

[Ki45toryu]

Chem 1 and 2
Bio 1 and 2

Not 1 question in 8 interviews about my CC time.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

Is she the owner of that Felt?

I looked at another Felt this weekend. Last years model to be exact and my heart dropped. UGH!

The owner of that Felt is me. It is a 60 cm frame, and the post is just about all the way up. I don't know anyone else who can ride it.

She rides a custom Guru for her road bike. I've never seen her tri bike, but I am told it is a little tiny thing (she is very tall).

The new Felts are beautiful.

The 2008 DA:

 

[OCHO]

.