yet ANOTHER Q about community college

[futureDrC]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I am attending CC here in Virginia now, but my husband wants to move to Texas in January of 2012. I want to start at UT-Dallas in the fall of 2012. I am interested in several of their programs, but I am unsure of how many credits they are going to accept to transfer, so I may have to start from scratch out there. My question is about med schools: I posted in another section about med schools accepting CC credits, and most people responded positively. But can I do ALL my pre-reqs at CC and get away with that? Im hoping (since he is determined!) to get into med school at Southwestern. (Ok, well, my #1 is Mayo, but only when Im feeling a bit lunatic... LOL) If I take upper-level BIO and CHEM classes at a 4-year, but focus the rest on other topics, will taking o-chem and physics at a CC hurt my chances?

Thanks, everyone!

 

[oNichole]

I'm doing this. I don't have a choice unless I want to take a year off of school, and I think that would be harder to explain. I think people on this website place more importance on where you take your prereqs than there really is. You may be asked why you chose to take your prereqs at a CC, and as long as you give a good answer they would be stupid to reject you for that. I think that if you do just as well or better in upper level science classes at the university you transfer to that will prove that you are indeed an intelligent individual that can handle the medical school curriculum, and that your high grades at CC are not due to the lower quality of education (which I am skeptical even exists).

 

[Elpenor]

of course you can

but you could also apply with a 2.9 gpa with no EC's

why hurt your chances

 

[Sesom]

I am attending CC here in Virginia now, but my husband wants to move to Texas in January of 2012. I want to start at UT-Dallas in the fall of 2012. I am interested in several of their programs, but I am unsure of how many credits they are going to accept to transfer, so I may have to start from scratch out there. My question is about med schools: I posted in another section about med schools accepting CC credits, and most people responded positively. But can I do ALL my pre-reqs at CC and get away with that? Im hoping (since he is determined!) to get into med school at Southwestern. (Ok, well, my #1 is Mayo, but only when Im feeling a bit lunatic... LOL) If I take upper-level BIO and CHEM classes at a 4-year, but focus the rest on other topics, will taking o-chem and physics at a CC hurt my chances?

Thanks, everyone!

I would not take O chem and physics at a community college. This is only because my state med school University of Utah outright says to take it from a university. They do say however say it is okay to take math less then calc at a CC and the first BIO and 2 regular chem classes + lab. I suggest you just look into school requirements.

 

[Fiddlergirl]

I went to a community college before transferring to UVA. I would advise against taking all of your pre-reqs at a CC, although taking one or two wouldn't hurt. If at all possible, push hard enough to get an Associates degree. That makes it *much* easier to transfer your credits, and it also makes it much easier to explain to med schools why you took classes at a cc. That's what I did, and I was never asked during an interview why I took bio, chem and calculus in community college. Feel free to PM me if you have questions.

 

[oNichole]

Every counselor I've ever spoken to has told me to ignore the GEs and just complete all of my prereqs. Some schools actually base the admissions of transfers on how many of the prereqs you have completed. I suggest you look into the requirements for the school you plan on transferring to. The first step is getting into a university, if you can't do that, then the whole issue of prereqs is irrelevant.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

You can definitely do your prereqs at a CC, but rest assured, they will be looked down upon. How much? No one knows. They could look at it and say, "Oh, prereq CCs? Screw let's give them an interview anyway because of their great app," or they could flat out reject you. Nobody knows exactly how the CC will affect you. I say why risk it.

That being said, many have taken prereqs at a CC. Also schools like mayo may accept them on paper, but when you are placed next to Harvard 3.9s, they aren't gonna look at the CC app very hard.

Another issue is research. CCs never have state funded research so lab classes are going to be mainly conceptual. This will put you at a disadvantage for research heavy schools.

 

[chman]

I went to a community college before transferring to UVA. I would advise against taking all of your pre-reqs at a CC, although taking one or two wouldn't hurt. If at all possible, push hard enough to get an Associates degree. That makes it *much* easier to transfer your credits, and it also makes it much easier to explain to med schools why you took classes at a cc. That's what I did, and I was never asked during an interview why I took bio, chem and calculus in community college. Feel free to PM me if you have questions.

This.

While I'm sure people have done so and gotten in, it will probably raise some doubts. If you do, make sure to take some upper division sciences. Personally, I think physics is one of the best ones to take at a cc because the subject matter is pretty standard no matter where you attend, where as O-chem can vary. I am taking physics and g-chem at the cc, and doing bio and o-chem at the university.

On a side note; one of my instructors, who is also an adjunct at the university, advised us to save our syllabuses for this very reason. That way the university you are transferring to can compare course content. If you have not saved them; which you most likely have not, just ask instructors to give you one if possible. Most universities accept freshman and sophomore credits, I would be surprised if you had to start from scratch.

 

[chman]

Every counselor I've ever spoken to has told me to ignore the GEs and just complete all of my prereqs. Some schools actually base the admissions of transfers on how many of the prereqs you have completed. I suggest you look into the requirements for the school you plan on transferring to. The first step is getting into a university, if you can't do that, then the whole issue of prereqs is irrelevant.

Wait, what? This make no sense.

 

[oNichole]

Wait, what? This make no sense.

Because of the budget crisis some schools actually look at how many lower division science courses (same as prereqs for med school) the student has completed and their grades in those to determine how strong of an applicant they are. Of course this is only for admission to a science major, I should have specified that. I'm not sure how all schools work, but in the UC system you are admitted to a pre-major before the actual major. They are cutting back on applicants that could not be admitted to full bio major status, which of course requires the completion of the lower division requirements, which include O.chem and Physics.

The other reason I've been told to focus on prereqs is because if you complete all of your GEs at a CC then once you transfer every single class you take will be science, resulting in a very difficult course load.

 

[chman]

Because of the budget crisis some schools actually look at how many lower division science courses (same as prereqs for med school) the student has completed and their grades in those to determine how strong of an applicant they are. Of course this is only for admission to a science major, I should have specified that. I'm not sure how all schools work, but in the UC system you are admitted to a pre-major before the actual major. They are cutting back on applicants that could not be admitted to full bio major status, which of course requires the completion of the lower division requirements, which include O.chem and Physics.

The other reason I've been told to focus on prereqs is because if you complete all of your GEs at a CC then once you transfer every single class you take will be science, resulting in a very difficult course load.

Well, that still seems odd to me. Up here in WA we are dealing with many of the same issues as far as budget cuts. As a result, public universities, such as The University of Washington, have become very selective with transfer admissions (as if it were not that way already). They are very specific that they prefer all general education requirements (including science), to be completed, and preferably for people to have an associates degree. That way they have a faster turn over of students and they can spend less money on GE classes. That's why it seems odd to me, having cc transfers completing GE requirements (which includes prep for intended major) = less students, which is better in a budget crisis situation.

I'm not saying that you did not get advised how you did, or that you are lying or anything, it just seems contradictory.

 

[oNichole]

I totally understand what you are saying. I will have both complete. It is just strange how the beliefs of most people on this board contradict anything I have ever heard.

 

[Fiddlergirl]

I have to agree with oNichole. I read back over the thread, and everyone else who's commenting is pre-med. Guys, the vast majority of med schools don't care where you do your prereqs. Now, if you go back home for the summer and take orgo that would look a little odd, but doing an entire year or two at a cc is not a problem. Really. If it were a problem, myself and a bunch of other people in my class wouldn't be studying for Step 1 right now. I'm not sure where the initial concept of prereqs at cc being looked down upon came from, but I've never seen it in practice.

 

[chman]

I totally understand what you are saying. I will have both complete. It is just strange how the beliefs of most people on this board contradict anything I have ever heard.

I'm am not trying to say anyone is wrong; you or your councilors. I am also just going off of what I know to be fact here, not there.

SDN can be that way sometimes, so don't get discouraged. For the most part, about 95% of the time you will get good advice on here, so stick around. Ignore all the BS (ignore me for all I care). The key is to notice when something comes up a lot, and the same general opinions from credible posters prevail each time.

I have to agree with oNichole. I read back over the thread, and everyone else who's commenting is pre-med. Guys, the vast majority of med schools don't care where you do your prereqs. Now, if you go back home for the summer and take orgo that would look a little odd, but doing an entire year or two at a cc is not a problem. Really. If it were a problem, myself and a bunch of other people in my class wouldn't be studying for Step 1 right now. I'm not sure where the initial concept of prereqs at cc being looked down upon came from, but I've never seen it in practice.

Just because someone is pre-med does not mean they are ignorant of the subject. Your circumstances for gaining admission to med-school is not the same as everyone else. I do agree that it is fine to take the pre-reqs at cc, but it is also not a bad idea to at least save some for the university, especially if you will not be taking any other science classes (which it sound like it might be the case for the Op?). At any rate, there is no clear cut right answer on this issue. But it is fact that some people are very judgmental about cc's, including adcoms, and it is not a bad idea to show success at both levels.

 

[Fiddlergirl]

I don't mean to say you guys are ignorant. But I remember being premed, and I remember that everyone around me was convinced of the "one way" to med school. Then I got here and found out that there were about 50 "one ways." I'm just saying that there are a lot more options than you might think being surrounded by premeds at a traditional four year university.
Also, I didn't see that the OP was thinking of not taking any science classes at the university. Yes, you need to show that you can handle science classes at a four-year school. I majored in biochem, so I took a ton of upper level chemistry and math at UVA. I imagine that helped convince the adcoms I could handle science classes.

 

[chman]

I don't mean to say you guys are ignorant. But I remember being premed, and I remember that everyone around me was convinced of the "one way" to med school. Then I got here and found out that there were about 50 "one ways." I'm just saying that there are a lot more options than you might think being surrounded by premeds at a traditional four year university.
Also, I didn't see that the OP was thinking of not taking any science classes at the university. Yes, you need to show that you can handle science classes at a four-year school. I majored in biochem, so I took a ton of upper level chemistry and math at UVA. I imagine that helped convince the adcoms I could handle science classes.

👍 That's good advice for most things (more than one way to do something), and a lesson I wish I figured out sooner.