I am attending Santa Monica College actually but i found that my 3 professors (english, 2 maths) are not that good to be honest, they are not giving easy A’s (the best grade in my english class is a B, for my first math class is A: we are 30-40 students just 3 are getting which means less than 10% of the class and for the last math class,the best grade is a B) they are a pretty simple subjects but professors at smc are tough graders.
My major is biology and i want to get into a good med school (private or not,in or out of state. it does not matter for me) i need A’s and a 4.0 gpa to transfer into a good university. So does it worth it to stay at SMC or should i change to WLAC (i have some friends who told me that it is easier and cheaper, another one told me about glendale cc and Orange coast college ( like smc or tougher).
I need your advice guys look forward to hearing your response .
So you want to transfer to another community college with easy teachers to get better grades? Okay, what makes you think that if you get into an EASY CC that you will be accepted into your college from that CC?
Most people who get into medical schools get good grades at top schools. Your chances of getting into medical school from a CC are not that great. Finding an even easier CC is not likely to help.
Yeah, this isn’t the type of motivation you need to get into med school. Pre-med students and later med students have very challenging degree paths. The people that go into it looking for the easy path aren’t the ones that make it. If you go take a bunch of blow off classes at the easiest CC you can find…how prepared do you think you’ll be for the rigorous upper level courses at a university after transferring?
You say that your professors aren’t that good because they aren’t giving easy A’s. That’s not good reasoning. Professors shouldn’t hand out easy A’s.
First of all, i want to thank everyone who responded (thanx guys).
@paul2752 : what do you know about my motivation? if i was not that motivated i wouldn’t come to usa and challenge myself to do med.
The teacher who do not give easy A’s is not that good if ask students there (everyone says that he does not care about math) according to ratemyprof he is one of the worst at SMC.
@auntbea : #So you want to transfer to another community college with easy teachers to get better grades? Okay, what makes you think that if you get into an EASY CC that you will be accepted into your college from that CC?
Transfer to another state.# ====> I asked,i heard and i read that all CCC are the same when it comes to transfer to Uc’s.
I wouldn't want a doctor, who took easy classes just to get A's, being on my insurance plan. Care would be sure to be mediocre at best. # smart response but i was just thinking of getting easy A's but not easy classes at CC and then transfer to an university (like ucla) and since the first day at ucla i won't care anymore about easy A's. ( all my logic is based on getting into ucla knowing that the min gpa to get there is around 4.0) to make it short i want just guarantee a spot there.
@comfortablycurt : #Yeah, this isn’t the type of motivation you need to get into med school. Pre-med students and later med students have very challenging degree paths. The people that go into it looking for the easy path aren’t the ones that make it. If you go take a bunch of blow off classes at the easiest CC you can find…how prepared do you think you’ll be for the rigorous upper level courses at a university after transferring?
You say that your professors aren’t that good because they aren’t giving easy A’s. That’s not good reasoning. Professors shouldn’t hand out easy A’s.# Thanks for you wise response but as i said i want just guarantee a spot at ucla or ucsd for my pre-med (they require a high gpa) so i thought and i am still thinking if i go to an easy CCC and i STUDY HARD TO GET A’S, do an extracurricular activity i can transfer easily. ( i swear sometimes you study hard,you get all the stuff and the professor can be so mean to bring you down…) .
I went many times to see a counselor,they do not even care about what you are doing the best ones tell you what you already know. Anyway, i am asking you (people who have exp) to illuminate my mind and tell me what to do
Why are you going to a CC? Did you have to SATs and SATIIs for Berkeley or whatever? You will need high MCATs for med school as well as top grades at a challenging program.
If you didn’t have like 2000+ SATs and at least one 700+ SAT II in math or science, then you might reevaluate things, and consider dental or chiropractic school or whatever.
As i am an international student, i did not know these tests.
I came to USA 6 months ago, i learned english ( i came armed with yes and no hahaha) and after that i chose a CC. i thought it was the unique path. Otherwise,can i study at CCC for one year to learn the stuff and take the SAT?
I need the toefl as well which is not that easy to get over 100/120; that’s why i chose a CCC.
PS: it is better in a way to go to CC first because it is cheaper,right?
“I came to USA 6 months ago, i learned english ( i came armed with yes and no hahaha) and after that i chose a CC.”
Since you have been here only 6 months, and you had almost no English when you arrived, then a B is a very, very, very good grade! I would expect that you would be earning Cs in regular classes at this point, not Bs.
Keep working on your English skills. Go to your professors’ office hours to talk with them about things that you are confused about in class. The A grades will come in time.
If you want to graduate from one of the universities in California, starting at a California CC is a very good plan. Especially because you are still a language learner. Your classes at the CC are smaller than they would be at a university, and it is easier to get help from your professors when you are confused about things.
My only concern is about your goal of attending medical school in the US. It is very difficult for international students to be admitted to medical school here. Most medical schools do not admit any international students at all. Of the few medical schools that admit international students, most of those will require the student to pay for all four years of medical school in advance. That means that you may need to have approximately $300,000 available to pay the medical school before you start taking classes there.
Yes. It is generally easier to get good grades in a CC than a university. Not because the teachers aren’t as good (or as demanding) but because there isn’t as much competition from very driven/accomplished students. Those type of students tend to be at universities.
Changing CCs doesn’t make much sense to me. You have no way of knowing whether your new CC WILL be “easier.”
Instead of thinking about changing CCs, right now you should be focusing on your English and maintaining your GPA. Once you’re at the university, you will be competing for high grades against many excellent students. If you’re serious about med school, you have to have the skills to do as well as they are, if not better. Going to an “easier” CC could set you back in that regard.
The ability to do VERY WELL on difficult exams is key to getting into med school. Yes, grades matter. But you can have all As and still not get into med school if you have a mediocre MCAT score. That is why sattut mentioned SATs - because they can be somewhat of a predictor of future test results. Don’t worry about SATs now, they’re not very helpful in your current situation: as a transfer student you don’t need them. To gain greater familiarity with MCAT-type exams, get a book or look online for examples, and practice test-taking techniques.
Go on the Pre-med & Medical School subforums on this site and start reading.
And remember, there are no short-cuts to getting into med school. Only the top students get in, whose grades, MCAT scores and (somewhat) demonstrated interest – working, volunteering, shadowing in a medical setting – get in.
However, I caution you against choosing easy classes just so you can secure a spot at the UC. You will be under-prepared, since you did not put in the hard work to begin with. As to ‘bad’ teachers: you just need to deal with it. Some profs are great, some are okay, some suck. It is up to you to get through the class. Justifying bad grades on a bad prof is immature, IMO.
Make sure to check whether med schools even accept CC credits.
BTW what visa are you on? Since you are a foreigner many med schools simply wont let ylu apply
UCs will look at your grades AND your course rigor.
Med schools will want many classes taken at the CSU/UC level.
The semester will soon be over. Do your best to get that B to a B+.
I am very grateful guys for you great responses.Otherwise, i am an INT student (f1 visa) i can’t to apply to a med school? =((
For my first semester,i took non-transferable courses to know what i am going to take as classes and know more about the system and to set my objectif. Hopefully, i did good by wasting 1 non transferable semester (was it wise?)
I have a niece who is at a top med school after having gone to a CC and then transferring to UCSB. It CAN be done, but you have to be smart about it. UCSB didn’t accept some of her transfer credits, so it took her longer to graduate. She made sure ALL the classes she needed for med school were taken at UCSB to ensure rigor. She had excellent grades; she studied for about a year for MCATS, scoring in the 99th percentile. During the summers, and a bit during school, she worked in a doctor’s office. At the CC she was involved in a pre-med club, at UCSB she was very involved in the biology association.
In the end, she was accepted at 3 med schools, including one of the top ones in the country.
You may be better off applying to medical schools in your home or other country. US medical schools are more difficult to get into than most of those elsewhere, partly because there is more money in medicine here.
look forward to hearing your response .