Medical Education US

[Guest]

I had to go to a junior college because of a weak high school record and since I'm a science major, there's not much for me to take except science courses.
Is it okay if I take SOME of my pre med courses at a community college and take the rest of the requirements at a university?
I read somewhere on this forum that you can't get into any medical school if you took the pre med courses at a community college.

[DrDave]

I don't believe there are any absolute rules about where you take your classes, but the intensity of the class has to be such that you are prepared for medical school. I believe most medical schools (if not all) require that your science classes include a lab component. I don't know if the Jr. College level courses include this or not. Overall, taking the classes at a junior college would definitely put you at a disadvantage compared to those who took the classes at a full college.

If taking the courses at a junior college, you'd definitely need to get top grades. One option is to retake the pre-med classes at a full college before applying to medical school. Another option is to major in something other than science at the junior college, and save the pre-med classes for the full college.

A final question that you should be prepared to address is, what is the reason you had a weak high school record? The medical school admissions board will see that you went to a junior college first and they will ask you why.

[Corpsman-Up]

Looking back more than a few years, I went to community college, myself. In fact, I earned an AA in General Studies there, and transferred to a great school for my BA. Definitely determine WHY you are at a CC... is it a lack of ability, or lack of motivation? One of those, you can fix. The CC is not a kiss of death, as long as you cruise upward from there.

However, I would concur with Dr. Admin -- the science courses will usually be of more worth at a good 4-year school in prepping for the MCAT... which is what it is all about, anyway. I took a couple of science courses at the CC, but re-took them later when I was in grad school and decided to go on to med school. Sure, some CCs may have a great science class or prof, but in general, I would probably focus on the other areas of academia there.

Now, you say that you are a science major, so you will likely have some course overlap between CC and university. No biggie, as long as you are getting ready for the MCAT, and you can kick patootie at the next level.

All in all, there are plenty of fine college courses in all kinds of disciplines available at the CC level, and since you can major in whatever you want, you can bang out a lot of the general education credits for cheap tuition! Just remember when you move on to your next school that you will have a lot of the hard sciences to take in a shorter time period... it might even take some people an extra year to feel ready for the MCAT.

(ONE EXTRA YEAR IS NOT A BIG DEAL! Trust me on this.)

Good luck!