<p>Hi, I'm Brandon. I just recently joined this site. I'm currently in a dilemma. In high school, I slacked off both Freshman and Sophomore years, so now have a solid 2.86 GPA, almost no activities, and a 23 on my ACT. Top 50% of my class. My GPA isn't stellar by any means. However, I long to be a doctor. My family's not wealthy by any means. (We're on public assistance, food stamps, all that.) Due to my financial situation, I realized that I had to enlist in some military service, so obviously I enlisted in the Marine Corps. I'm very proud of that. However, after my service in the Marine Corps is done, I want to go to college to hopefully be a doctor, hopefully in Colorado. Due to my high school situation, I fear that I won't be able to do any of that. I'm afraid I may have to use my GI bill to go to community college or something similar and then eventually transfer over to a 4 year school. Which probably doesn't look good to any med schools. So, I guess what my question really is, is this even achievable? Am I chasing after something that I can't reach? Or should I re-assess my situation? Be completely honest with me. I want it straight.</p>
<p>From people that I know who did two years community college to two years at a U, it is very, very possible to get into medical school. Three of one of my friend’s uncles did it, with one scoring in the top 01% of the MCAT(which I know is not related to going to cc, but just proves that it is not just for those who cannot go to a 4 year). You can totally do it and in fact it will save you money. The hardest things I see with going that route is that you will miss out on much of the “college feel” for those two years and there is not as much structure at a cc pushing you to graduate and move on to a Uni. Don’t be discouraged.</p>
<p>HS has nothing to do with med school; so in terms of eventually realizing your dream to be a doctor, your performance in HS is essentially irrelevant.</p>
<p>HS does play a role in where you can go to college though. Do you know what scores and GPA you need to be accepted to a school in your state? This information may be available on your state schools’ websites, but if it’s not, you should be able to get it from an admissions rep. Just call the admissions office and ask specifically about their admissions requirements in terms of GPA and ACT. If your ACT score is too low for admission, are you willing to retake it? Would you expect to raise your score? If so, retaking may be a good idea.</p>
<p>CC to 4 year probably isn’t the ideal situation for someone with med school dreams, but it’s far from the final nail in the coffin. Should you choose that route, most people here would recommend that you avoid taking the premed prereq science courses (a year or 2 semesters or 3 quarters or whatever time unit your school uses of each (labs too!): bio, orgo, gen chem, physics. You’ll also need some English and Math classes, but those are more flexible.) at the CC, and instead take those at the 4 year. The reason is that hard science classes tend to be more difficult at universities, and the competition tends to be more rigorous too; med schools want to see how you handle tough classes with lots of competition etc. </p>
<p>Typically, a degree from a 4yr university will require a set amount of university credits (that all graduates regardless of major must take–things like American history and English composition and a math class and a science class), a set amount of courses for your major, and the rest made up of elective credits–which are basically just hours (or units) toward the total you need to graduate. Depending on what major you choose, the premed prereq science classes may be a part of your major or they may be electives; it doesn’t matter to med schools which you choose. So, if you go to a CC for part of college, you should check to see how classes transfer to your desired 4 year and put together a strategy so your CC classes will be useful (perhaps as electives or as general university requirements toward graduation) but will not jeopardize your chances at med school. </p>
<p>Does that make sense?</p>
<p>ONe step at a time; let’s start with college first. Take a look at Metro State College in Denver; it’s very veteran friendly. It’s also on the same campus as University of Colorado at Denver(and Denver Community College). While not a “big” name, I know several people who have gone from Metro to medical school.
And once you get to college, it’s a clean slate. What you study,and how well you do, will be up to you. Good luck.</p>
<p>OP, here’s a bio you might want to read:</p>
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<p>[Richard</a> Carmona - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Carmona]Richard”>Richard Carmona - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>Colleges really do understand and appreciate that the military offers young people a chance to mature and develop the skills and habits necessary for college success. Perform well, get some solid recommendations and things will open up for you. Thanks for your service, and take advantage of your opportunities in the MC, because they will serve you well.</p>
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<p>Wouldn’t this mainly apply to a non-biology non-chemistry major? A biology or chemistry major would need to take most or all of these in the lower division (i.e. at CC if starting in CC) in order to be on track for on-time graduation after transferring as a junior to a four year school. However, a biology or chemistry major will have several upper division biology or chemistry courses in his/her record at the four year school.</p>
<p>For non-biology non-chemistry majors, realize that if you save all of the pre-med courses until you transfer to the four year school, your schedule there can be very crowded. Two years at the four year school typically means about 16 semester-long courses; most majors require at least 8 semester courses of upper division courses. Since the pre-med requirements include at least 8 semester courses of science, 2 of English, 1-2 of math and/or statistics, and possibly others (e.g. psychology or sociology), that can be a tight fit.</p>
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<p>I don’t know for sure but I think that process might be somewhat unique to California. In my state, for example, it’s ridiculously common for students to get their university gen eds* “out of the way” at a CC and then transfer to a state school to finish up their major classes. At my school, for example, a bio major requires a year of bio, chem, and physics (all with labs)–so an aspiring bio major could take all/most gen eds at a CC, then take bio, chem, physics and the other bio major requirements at the 4yr. I know approx nothing about how the CC and UC system works, but it sounds like it’s a lot stricter than the equivalent program here. </p>
<p>Had I wanted to go to a CC before my 4 year, I easily could have done all my science coursework at the 4 year. Additionally, there aren’t any “caps” or anything–meaning if you fall a little behind or want to take 6 years to finish your degree or graduate with 150h rather than the required 120h, whatever, you can do it. I get the impression there’s some limit to the amount of hours (units?) you can take at a UC after coming from a CC. Then again, I might be totally off.</p>
<p>Point being–I think Brandon should check with a few desired schools about how they handle CC transfers, because it seems like there’s considerable variation!</p>
<p>*Gen eds at my school: 3h math (college algebra), 3h English, 6h writing intensive classes (classes within your major count for this if you want them to), 3h American history, 3h math proficiency class (eg gen chemistry or any other class that requires calculations), 9h science, 9h behavioral or social science, 9h humanities–45h total. Most degrees require ~30h for your major (some of those hours can be gen eds, so some classes can count toward both gen eds and your major if you want). Graduation requires at least 120h, so 25h (or more, if you want) is yours to play with.</p>