<p>I'm currently a senior at high school who lives in Georgia didn't get accepted into a great 4 year college so I decided that I should a community which offers TAG (Transfer Admission Guarantee) which basically means I can transfer to a colleges like Mercer or UGA (University of Georgia) after two years of community college...so I guess my main concern is if I should take my prerequisites in the two year college or should I take some medical related courses at community college then transfer to a 4 year university and take my prerequisites there...Any other advice related to this topic is much appreciated as well...Thank you...</p>
<p>From my experience, 4 year colleges have a set of required courses that a community college student must take, to gain admission (and then graduate in 2 years). Most of the classes to be taken at the community college are pre-req’s, but you will most likely be required to take some higher level classes (esp. sciences), depending on the pre-med track at the university you want to attend. Ask your counselor at the CC, he or she will be able to help you.</p>
<p>*I’m currently a senior at high school who lives in Georgia didn’t get accepted into a great 4 year college *</p>
<p>I don’t mean to be harsh…but when you say that you didn’t get accepted to a great 4 year college, that suggests that you don’t have very good stats. If that is true, how likely is it that you’ll have the stats to get into med school?</p>
<p>Because life doesn’t end at the age of 17 and I’ll study hard in college…Was that a real question or are you just being ignorant?..I’m sorry but if you are serious about your question, I don’t want to call you an idiot but my God…I mean you are seriously using your brain and implying that since someone doesn’t do as well as they wanted to do in high school that they will inevitably not do well in college…Haha LMAO! :')</p>
<p>Mom2 - I don’t mean to be harsh… really? </p>
<p>Hopeful25 Im happy to see that you realize that some posters on this forum, particularly parents, have way too much time on their hands and while they sometimes give excellent advice oftentimes they dont have a clue what they are talking about. I advise you to do what my son does to me and take the compassionate approach just attribute our remarks to early onset Alzheimers and go on with your day.</p>
<p>You have a great plan, and although the general consensus on this forum is to wait until you are at your University to take the required med school pre-reqs, the real-life examples that I have seen suggest otherwise here in California, although YMMV in Georgia. The best protection for your GPA is to use RateMyProfessor whenever possible doing so will enable you to do much better in college than you ever did in high school.</p>
<p>@hopeful,</p>
<p>I too, many years ago didn’t do so well in hs…you should be proud of yourself for “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” and moving onward/upward… From my experience with those who have slipped up a little on their journeys, you will probabaly want to do some “xtras” as to really help yourself stand out when it comes to med school application crowd…ie, helping those in earthquake torn Haiti, immunizing orphans in Africa, maybe working in an AIDS clinic in Brazil… these may not be your cup of tea, but you get the drift! </p>
<p>You will have time in the next few years to really figure out what you are passionate about. I bet if you take the time, and call around to a few med schools/and speak to the admissions folks, they will answer any question that you have as far as your path to med school! If you PM me, I will give the name of a wondeful women who I spoke to a few months ago by happenstance @ a med school here in the northeast and I bet she will give you some invaluable advice!! </p>
<p>You will probably have to retake many classes when you get to the 4 year institution…but that is not uncommon for many a student! Good luck to you! Keep focused and kudos to you for turning things around for yourself!</p>
<p>What is RATE MY PROFESSOR?</p>
<p>*Was that a real question or are you just being ignorant?..I’m sorry but if you are serious about your question, I don’t want to call you an idiot but my God…I mean you are seriously using your brain and implying that since someone doesn’t do as well as they wanted to do in high school that they will inevitably not do well in college…Haha LMAO! :')
*</p>
<p>Yes, I am “seriously using my brain.” Yes, it was a real question.</p>
<p>While, yes, it is possible for someone who didn’t do so well in high school to “pull it together” for college and ace their pre-med and other classes, the odds are against such a person for several reasons.</p>
<p>1) Lack of study skills - study habits weren’t developed.</p>
<p>2) Lack of note-taking skills.</p>
<p>3) Lack of education foundation in math and sciences.</p>
<p>4) You’ll be starting at a CC, which sometimes means a less-strong education in math and sciences. Perhaps Georgia has a strong CC system that prepares kids well in sciences, but perhaps it doesn’t. </p>
<p>4) College is harder than high school. </p>
<p>5) Pre-med pre-reqs are very hard. </p>
<p>And, tbe issue isn’t whether a student who didn’t do well in high school can do well in college. “Doing well” in college is rather subjective. For many majors, “doing well” can be a 3.2 or even a 2.7 and the student can still be on his merry way with his profession. However, a student needs to do more than “well” for med school admissions. To have a good chance, a student needs to excel and have a GPA that is around a 3.7. That is more than doing well. </p>
<p>However, if you’re willing to do what it takes to ace your classes from now on, then good for you. I wish you well.</p>
<p>*Mom2 - “I don’t mean to be harsh…” really? </p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Yes, really. My point wasn’t to be mean, my point was for the student to do a gut check. Again, I’m not saying that a student can’t go from being a so-so student in high school to a high GPA student taking pre-med pre-reqs…I’ve known it to happen once…and that was a non-traditional student who went to college after serving in the military. But, I would estimate that the majority of students who go from high school to college to med school were strong students the whole way.</p>
<p>^^Mom2, just posting to say that I agree with you 100%. You stated your response very well.</p>
<p>We have students in our school district who are taking lower level classes (8th grade content) and not necessarily getting As, yet they are still encouraged to consider all professions and even upper level colleges. Someone needs to bite the bullet and tell them the truth of how the world works. There are times when bridges get burned.</p>
<p>It is not impossible for someone to do well in college after not having done well in high school. However, there are many potential pitfalls that need to be addressed or thought about. Your #3 would make my #1, but all should be on the list. Considering the last stats I saw had 42,000+ applicants (to med school) applying for 18,000+ slots, not everyone who tries is going to make it. It’s very competitive.</p>
<p>To the OP, if you do buckle down and do well in cc, kudos to you! I’d take the prereqs at the 4 year school.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids:</p>
<p>I am at a respectable mid-table state university after a horrendous high school career during which my GPA was only slightly higher than a 2.5. It was my SAT (about 2100) that got me into the school I am in.
At the end of my first year, I have a 3.9 in a science-heavy pre-med curriculum, having received only one B. As I received an IB diploma and entered college as a sophomore, making me a junior now, most of my general education classes had been taken care of so my schedule was not full of introductory classes like the schedules of most freshmen. I plan to continue this trend. I’m one of many that I know that “woke up” when college came around.
I realize you didn’t mean to be harsh, but you only succeeded in sounding pompous and pretentious to me and probably to anyone else in my position.</p>
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<p>For you it might have been that you did not work hard in high school and you decide to get your stuff together in college. Your sat scores showed you had that you had what it takes to do well in college, since there is a strong correlation between standarized test scores and college gpa. </p>
<p>For the op, since we don’t know his/her standardized test scores (i am not saying that standardized tests scores measure “intelligence”, but more the ability to do well in college), we can’t say if he/she has the ability to do well in college. From empirical research that has been conducted, high school gpa is a stronger indicator of college success than standardized test scores. However standardized test scores are still a pretty significant indicator of college success. Since the op did not do well in high school, the odds are against the op. </p>
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<p>^^^ I agree with mom2collegekids. She wasn’t being harsh, just honest. Not everyone has the ability or aptitude to become a doctor. I am not saying the op is one of those people, just that there is a strong negative correlation between doing horribly in high school and becoming a doctor. Peg92 may be an exception.</p>
<p>hahaha I can’t believe I am able to put the empirical research that I conducted this past semester on factors that affect college success (as measured by college gpa) to some use…</p>
<p>LOL I never said I didn’t do well in high school, I said I didn’t get into the college of my choice, and I’m very astounded that just because of me not getting into the college of you come to the conclusion that I did horrible. Doesn’t everyone have odds of not getting into med school? So mines might be a bit higher, so should I just stop studying? People like you are pathetic, trying to tell other they can’t do something because they are incapable doing it themselves. So your posts about how hard it is and how you probably I won’t make it, I mean are you serious, I already know how hard it is, I have a functioning brain. I am fully aware, let me repeat that, I AM FULLY AWARE of what kind of effort I need to put in my work, if you don’t have anything relevant to say regarding my original post, then I suggest you look for another post where you can give other your very “insighful” suggestions.</p>
<p>@Hopeful: I don’t think anyone has suggested that you did “horrible” in high school. Your post implies that you didn’t get into UGa or similar. That doesn’t suggest that you did “horrible;” it suggests that you didn’t do that great in high school. It’s not an outrageous thought to think that someone who didn’t get accepted to a UGa-like school might have an uphill battle to get the grades/scores for med school due to lack of education foundation and study skills. An uphill battle doesn’t mean that it can’t happen…</p>
<p>I’m sure that everyone here wishes you well and hopes that you do an amazing job in college.</p>
<p>op, look at this page and plan yourself accordingly <a href=“http://www.georgiahealth.edu/som/admit/documents/SOMFactSheet2010_v3.pdf[/url]”>http://www.georgiahealth.edu/som/admit/documents/SOMFactSheet2010_v3.pdf</a></p>
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<p>I went back and reread this thread looking for things not relevant. I didn’t see anything that qualified. What I saw were people giving you honest advice about knowing the potential pitfalls and a post from someone who is there, doing that, offering their thoughts that it can, indeed, be done.</p>
<p>If honest thoughts/advice bug you so much, it might be best to not post on the internet. Not everyone is going to tell you hard things will be easy. Many of us on here feel it is far better for people to head into the future knowing what is ahead instead of being blind.</p>
<p>AND, back to your original question, I suggest taking the pre-reqs at the four year school as well as reading the FAQ here.</p>
<p>I’m sorry I just got a bit aggravated. Thank you everyone.</p>
<p>@Hopeful I graduated from HS with a very low GPA (under 2.5) and went to a 4 yr college I didnt want to enroll in either, but basketball scholarship paid for it. I transferred after a year and actually applied myself a little more. Now finishing up my Masters in Entrepreneurial Biotechnology and will be continuing on for my MBA/MD at a rather prestige school. Don’t ever get discouraged and clearly my HS performance did very little to predict my current situation, as will yours! </p>
<p>Best of luck!!!</p>
<p>Closing old thread.</p>