<p>I'm about to begin my fresh year of college. However, due to some placement tests and my own indecisiveness I will not be taking any of my pre-med requirements my first year. Also, given that the majority of students take longer then 4 years to finish thier degrees, is it a bad thing for an applicant to take 5 years to finish thier degree? The reason I say 5 is that I have heard that it is a bad idea to take pre med classes at a cc since the med school adcomms either see that as trying to pad your gpa or flat out reject the credits. Assuming that I still do extremly well in all of my classes and on the mcat, would I be at a disadvantage compared to other applicants?</p>
<p>I'd say that yes, it's a disadvantage - a lot of things are disadvantages - but not by any means a fatal one.</p>
<p>And I'd say that it's not a disadvantage. If it is, I'm not sure how it would fit into an admissions decision. </p>
<p>BDM, I think this is one of those cases where the respective cultures of each of our undergrads is apparent...it was certainly more common to go 5 years than graduate in 4 (eg, my pledge class of 24 only had 8 graduate in four).</p>
<p>I should probably have been even milder with my comment. "Not by any means a fatal one" should probably have been, "Not by any means a large one".</p>
<p>In any case, certainly I think that for most students at most places, five indicates a lack of planning, shirking serious courseloads, or simply (and most commonly) that your undergraduate school is too crowded, none of which are particularly good signs.</p>
<p>I think it'll raise a very minor red flag, and I would expect some people to ask you about it. A quick reply - "That's simply the campus culture, X% of the students at my school take five years to graduate" - should allay most (I would still insist not all) of their concerns.</p>
<p>Now, if you are an exception at your school, then I think you're in trouble. (I certainly think it'll be a negative regardless - but a large one if it's not normal.)</p>