I want to enter med school and I’m admitted as a chemistry major in UCR already.
Although I want to go to UCR, the commuting time is too long. I eventually have to do it, but I’m wondering if I should enter UCR as a freshman or transfer as a junior?
My commute to UCR would be about 1.5 - 2 hours front and back because I’m taking the bus
My dad won’t get me a car so I have to work during college to get my own.
The PROS for me at UCR is
Better education / school
Do not have to deal with transferring process ( I heard some students finishing their bachelors around 5 years instead of 4 due to credits not transferring )
already admitted
can get used to commuting earlier because I have to do this anyway due to my plan of transferring
CONS
less flexibility for schedule due to commuting times.
COST! No financial aid
PROS Community College
flexibility. I can get home in around 20 mins and have the whole day.
cut cost by at least $26,000
I can learn how to drive and save up for a car so I don’t have to commute by bus for third year.
can have flexibility in work hours and save up for apartment
CONS
transferring process. Something I’m dreading due to many credits I heard not transferring
education not as good as UCR
already admitted to the school I want to go to. If by any chance I don’t get admitted, I have to commute further
California has set up there state colleges to have students go to CC for two years and then UCs or CSUs, I would highly recommend CC route. Save your money. you may decide on a different UC in two years assuming your grades are good. Also make sure your taking classes that will transfer. The UCs are good about telling you what will and won’t transfer.
In the state of California, students who spend two years at a community college are statistically slightly MORE likely both to graduate from a California university in four years and to graduate from the university AT ALL. I don’t have time to look up the sources that confirm this information, but these statistics are well known within post-secondary academia here, and you will be able to find the data if you want to take the time to do so. If you are leaning toward a CC, go for It! Work with your academic counselor to ensure that you take coursework that will articulate to UCR. Enjoy the thousands of dollars you’ll save!
@MaoKhloe I have to ask. Since you are getting very little finaid to UC Riverside. It would appear that your family would have some financial resources. Is going ucr and living on campus an option for you?
What a great kid you are for even considering the idea of commuting on a bus that many hours for the opportunity to go to college. It makes me want to hire you the day you graduate.
The cc to uc route seems great and I wish more parents and students on this site could learn a bit of humility from you.
The UC’s offer TAG (Transfer Admission Guarantee) for 6 campuses so if you go to your local CC, take the required courses and maintain the required GPA, you are guaranteed admission to the UC you end up TAGing.
Here is the 2019 TAG matrix so you can see the basic requirements. Going the CC TAG to UC route will save you money which can use to put towards your last 2 years at the UC and hopefully allow you to live on or near campus.
FYI about taking Medical school requirements at a CC:
Admissions committees are interested in determining if candidates are academically and emotionally prepared to succeed in the rigorous preclinical curriculum and if they have the maturity and interpersonal skills required of a caring, empathic physician. If an applicant begins his or her undergraduate education at a community college, excels academically, transfers to a four-year institution, and continues an upward trend by maintaining an excellent GPA, scoring well on the MCAT, and demonstrating a proclivity toward patient care and research, their educational path can be seen as an asset.
However, if applicants are matriculated at four-year institutions but decide to take many of their premedical requirements at community colleges, because they feel that it will be easier, this may be viewed unfavorably and lead the committee to question the applicants’ motivations and level of preparedness.
Taking Upper division Medical school pre-req’s will be necessary to show your proficiency.
I agree with others. You need to save money. Med school is expensive. Go to CC. Get academic advising right from the start so you can be sure you are taking transferable classes. Good luck!
UC Riverside also happens to have a medical school and if you’re undergraduate grades are good enough, there is a path to assured admission. Although the mandate is to serve the Inland Empire so you need to be a resident of Riverside County or have your future practice there.
Perhaps UCR would take you unconditionally at any point from CC because you’ve been admitted to the University already. Be sure to keep in touch with them and tell them of your plans, and by all means get advising at both CC and University, at the latter beforehand while still at the former. Pretty much anyone else would need to have a mature rising-junior status to transfer.
If you were xfering with this mature standing, this would mean a larger mix of major-related, lower-and upper-division classes to be taken at UCR, and clustering them to fit in two years might be a problem including scheduling them, so I don’t know if it would be feasible to get out of the University in two years – totaling to two years at CC and two at University – if this is your intent. At UCR, this coordination wouldn’t be as big a problem, so this is definitely a plus to attend University immediately, including whether some of your required core med-related classes taken at CC would be acceptable to particular med schools as gumbymom alluded. But I’ve seen more than a few MDs with CVs that have included CC, so it shouldn’t be a problem if you keep on top of it.
A growing trend of UC students is their trying to get out in three plus or even three years. This can only be accomplished by going directly to UCR with respect to you.
Another benefit of the 20 minute commute to CC for two years is that it will give you 10+ extra hours a week for medical related ECs like volunteering and shadowing while still giving you time to study and keep up your grades. Attempting to take on med related ECs and keep top grades while commuting 2+ hours a day seems like a difficult and risky plan (and that’s not even considering the tens of thousands of dollars in actual saved money).
@MaoKhloe - cc transfer will definitely be the less expensive option but it may also take longer - community colleges don’t always have space for everyone who wants to take the classes to TAG. Just a question - have you looked at taking Metrolink instead of the bus? The train is more expensive but it’s also faster and a lot better for working/studying so it might pay off.