Medical School Pre Reqs and Community College

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>I have one semester left at my community college, and have not taken any of the medical school pre reqs yet except for one year of English. After this coming semester, I will be transferring to a 4 year university to complete the rest of my two years in my bachelors degree. Do you all think I should wait to take the rest of my pre reqs at the 4 year or should I take bio 1 and pre-calculus this coming semester, and possibly take some pre reqs over the summer? The reason why I'm asking is because most people seem to take their MCAT in their junior year of college, and have finished all their med school pre reqs by then. If I continue with my route, I most likely won't be finished with all my med school pre reqs until I graduate. </p>

<p>Any advice would be greatly appreciated. :-)</p>

2

<p>Prevailing wisdom says:</p>

<p>Wait and take them at the 4 year university.</p>

3

<p>Go ahead and take pre-calc. No problem with doing that at a CC. Take Bio 1 ONLY if you will be taking 2 or more higher level bio classes at your 4 year college.</p>

<p>Since you won’t have all your pre-reqs finished and will only have 1-2 semesters of grades from your 4 year college, it might be better to wait to apply to med school until after college graduation. That way you will have 4 semesters of coursework and grades from your 4 year college to show to admissions committee AND you will have finished all your pre-reqs before taking your MCAT.</p>

<p>The MCAT will cover material from both gen chem and OChem–you need to have finished both classes before you even consider taking the exam. Give yourself a break–don’t try to take gen chem, OChem, physics and intro bio all at the same time. It’s more important to do well in those classes than to cram them all in once just so you can take the MCAT junior year.</p>

<p>While many students do take their MCAT during their junior year, many also take it during their senior year and apply after doing a ‘glide year’. Either works fine. </p>

<p>FWIW, D2 will take her MCAT in her senior year and apply after a glide year. D1 took her MCAT after graduating and working for a year.</p>

<p>There are many paths to medical school. Find the one that works best for you.</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the advice WayOutWestMom. I understand that everyone has a different path to medical school, but I’m kind of disappointed because I’m already a non-traditional student and was hoping to attend medical school by 29, and if I wait to apply during my glide year, I’ll be attending medical school at 30. Boohoo, I know it’s not that much of an age difference, but I really just want to get into med school ASAP. I heard from some other pre med advisors that they said it’s OK to take some of you med school pre reqs at a community college, just not all. I have not heard about taking more advance courses to compensate for the med school pre reqs you take at a community college, but it does sound logical. I don’t know maybe, I can take some courses during the summer and winter sessions of my four year so I’ll be caught up, but at the same time it won’t feel too overwhelming, but even if I do that, would I be setting myself up to get terrible grades?</p>

5

<p>What is your major?</p>

<p>If your major is Biology, then I would think it’s ok to take a bio pre-req at a CC because you’ll be taking enough Bio 300/400 level courses to make up for it. that’s really no different than students who use their AP credits and make up for them with higher level courses.</p>

<p>Same goes for Chemistry.</p>

<p>So…next semester, what will you be taking?</p>

6

<p>I’m a liberal arts major and the reason I chose liberal arts is so that the majority of my credits will be transferable to the 4 year university. I also would have completed the liberal arts core, which is what is required in the first two years of all 4 year universities anyway. </p>

<p>This coming semester, I plan on taking bio 1, macroeconomics, and three honors classes in human sexuality, ethics, american environmental literature. I unfortunately cannot take any math higher then practical math because of the restrictions placed under my major, and I also did not get a high enough score on the CUNY math entrance exam to merit me taking a higher math course. I may try to dispute this, but we’ll see. </p>

<p>I think what I want to do is take bio 1 this coming semester and then take either bio 2, or physics in the summer before I attend my 4 year, so this way hopefully I’ll be able to take the MCAT with all the pre reqs completed by fall of my senior year. Is that even possible?</p>

7

<p>*I unfortunately cannot take any math higher then practical math because of the restrictions placed under my major, *</p>

<p>??? </p>

<p>Your major has a math restriction? I would try to get an over-ride for that.</p>

8

<p>I think med schools might have reservations about an application from a liberal arts major who has taken some of his science pre-reqs at a CC and then not taken upper level coursework in the same field at his 4 year college. Whether it’s true or not, med schools assume that science coursework taken at a CC is not as rigorous as coursework taken at a 4 year college.</p>

<p>You may want to consider taking additional math when you reach your 4 year college. Some [many? most?] med schools require a year of college level math. (This is generally interpreted as calc 1 and statistics, but that’s not universal. You will need to check the requirements for those med schools you’re interested in for specifics. Also consult with the pre-med advisor at your 4 year college. He/she will have better current knowledge of med school requirements.)</p>

<p>Also, taking your MCAT in the fall (Sept) will mean you’ll get your score back too late to apply that year. Med school applications close in mid or late October, depending on the school. It takes 4 weeks to get your MCAT score after taking the exam. Although it appears that you will receive your score back with 2-4 weeks to spare before the application period closes, in reality, applying at the end of the period puts you at a disadvantage since many medical school practice a kind of rolling admissions with the earlier applicants getting more of the interview invitations.</p>

<p>I know that you’re anxious to get on with your life, but it’s more important to build a strong application portfolio so you will actually get accepted. </p>

<p>Will you be able to fit the expected hours of volunteering and medically related ECs into your schedule as well as completing your pre-reqs?</p>

<p>Consider this–the average age of first year medical students is now 25. (Which means there are alot of 22 years olds, but there are also a large number of students who are older than that too.) In D1’s OChem class 2 years ago was a 47 year old career changer. He aced OChem and did extremely well on his MCAT. He was accepted by our state med school and is now an M1 at the age of 49!</p>

9

<p>*I think med schools might have reservations about an application from a liberal arts major who has taken some of his science pre-reqs at a CC and then not taken upper level coursework in the same field at his 4 year college. *</p>

<p>I agree…</p>

<p>That’s why I think pre-med kids who start at CCs almost need to choose a hard science for a major…to show their science strengths in 300/400 level courses. </p>

<p>I have no idea of any stats on the subject, but I just have a gut feel that someone who takes pre-med pre-reqs at a CC and then takes 300/400 level liberal arts classes at the university for the degree will not look like a strong candidate. But, that’s just my opinion and I could be way off base. :)</p>

10

<p>I do not think it possible for you to apply to medical school for the year after you graduate. To do that, you need to take the MCAT in the Spring (Summer at the very latest) of Junior year so you can apply during the summer between junior and senior years. Applying later than the summer puts you at serious a disadvantage. </p>

<p>So, to take the MCAT, you need to have 1 year of biology, 2 years of chemistry (one year general, one year organic) and a year of physics. It would be extremely difficult to complete all of that in one year, particularly when it will be your first year at a 4 year college. You will do well to complete all of that in 1.5 years so that you can take the MCAT in the Spring of your senior year. </p>

<p>I understand why you want to move quickly, but having the right resume is much more important.</p>

11

<p>This sucks. I wish I did more research when I started out at my community college. I read some and thought it was just advised to not take med school pre reqs at a community college so I didn’t. Then I was told to major in liberal arts so all my credits would transfer to a 4 year so I wouldn’t have to postpone graduation, but now I’m realizing that I’m now going to have to wait to goto medical school even longer! Such ******** that there isn’t pre med advising at my community college.</p>

12

<p>Ok…</p>

<p>Let’s see if this can be saved…</p>

<p>What classes have you taken so far?</p>

13

<p>American Civilization (History), General Psychology 1 (Psychology), Intro to Sociology (Sociology), American Presidency (Political Science), French 1 (Language), Ethics and Morality in the Health Profession (Philosophy), Honors Human Growth and Development (Psychology), English 1 (English), Modern America 1920-Present (History), Literature and Film (English), English 2 (English), Honors Health Concepts/Wellness (Health), Practical Math (Math), Intro to Earth Science (Science), Honors Effective Public Speaking (Speech), Drawing 1 (Art), Photography 1 (Art).</p>

<p>This coming semester I will be taking Honors Ethics (Philosophy), Macroeconomics, Honors Human Sexuality (Health), Honors American Environmental Literature (English), and hopefully Biology 1 (Science). </p>

<p>For some reason the impression I got from advisers was that I should major in liberal arts so that if I wanted to transfer to a top school like Columbia General Studies or Emory that I should take a vast array of classes in Liberal Arts where they could see that I have academic excellence in a variety of different subjects. Then once I transfer to the 4 year I would have completed their liberal arts core curriculum, and could go straight into taking classes into whatever major I declare. I didn’t know about the dates to send in applications for med school or what classes were required to have taken before the MCAT, which is my fault. I just kind of assumed that I would be able to finish the rest of my pre reqs at the 4 year and then just goto medical school right afterwards.</p>

14

<p>Ok…I’m too ADD to read that, so…</p>

<p>American Civilization (History),
Modern America 1920-Present (History), </p>

<p>General Psychology 1 (Psychology),
Honors Human Growth and Development (Psychology), </p>

<p>English 1 (English),
English 2 (English),
Literature and Film (English), </p>

<p>Honors Health Concepts/Wellness (Health),
Honors Effective Public Speaking (Speech),
Intro to Sociology (Sociology),
American Presidency (Political Science),
French 1 (Language),
Ethics and Morality in the Health Profession (Philosophy),</p>

<p>Practical Math (Math),</p>

<p>Intro to Earth Science (Science), </p>

<p>Drawing 1 (Art),
Photography 1 (Art).</p>

<p>This coming semester I will be taking </p>

<p>Honors Ethics (Philosophy),
Macroeconomics,
Honors Human Sexuality (Health),
Honors American Environmental Literature (English),
hopefully Biology 1 (Science). </p>

<p>This summer…
Take pre-cal - get permission if you need to or take somewhere else
An English lit class if you’ll need it for a degree.</p>

<p>Next fall, can you take…</p>

<p>Cal I
Bio I
Chem I
something not difficult.</p>

15

<p>I want to note that by next fall I will be starting my fall semester in my junior year in my 4 year. I can def take those courses, I think they should be Cal 1, bio 2, chem 1, and some random class. I just emailed emory career center for some advise, so I’ll wait to hear back from them. At the moment, it looks like I won’t complete my pre reqs in time to transfer to medical school after I graduate, unless maybe I take courses in the winter or summer. I appreciate the effort from everyone in this thread for helping me with this endeavor.</p>

16

<p>???</p>

<p>Are you saying that you’ll be at your 4 year university in Fall 2011?</p>

<p>If so, I think we thought you still had a semester to go at a CC, but you must have meant THIS semester. </p>

<p>What school are you going to next fall?</p>

17

<p>Yes Mame. I haven’t been accepted to any schools yet, but hopefully it’ll be Emory or Columbia GS. Of course, I’m applying to other schools as well, but those two are my top choices.</p>

18

<p>What is Columbia GS? Is that different from Columbia?</p>

<p>Where else are you applying?</p>

19

<p>Columbia GS is Columbia school of general studies, which is a school at Columbia University catered to non-traditional students such as a myself. I’m also applying to Emory, UPENN LPS, Cuny Hunter, Suny Binghamton, NYU Steinhardt, UT Austin, Rice, John Hopkins, and Cuny City College.</p>

20

<p>Are you instate for UT?</p>

<p>Otherwise, it will be very expensive…so will NYU.</p>

<p>BTW…it’s Johns Hopkins</p>