<p>Hi, I'm completing my 3rd year at a california jc and will hopefully be transferring to a UC. I know that GPA isnt the only factor that med schools take into consideration when selecting students, however would taking my bcpm courses at a community college ruin my chances? I received A's in all of my bcpm courses (ochem, bio, physics, chem, calc 1-3, stats). I plan on taking my upper-division biochem courses at a UC, but will taking all of my bcpm courses at a jc ruin my chances at med school?</p>
<p>bumpbumpbumpbump</p>
<p>General knowledge on this board will tell you it’s not ideal but it’s probably not going to completely kill you. People go to community colleges for a variety of reasons, and if you have a particularly compelling reason that you can write eloquently and convincingly about then you should certainly have a good enough shot that it would be worthwhile to apply. </p>
<p>You’ve taken your prereqs and it sounds like you’ve done well in them. Presumably you have a pretty high GPA. Would having taken these classes at a CC be such a disadvantage that you should retake those courses? I can’t imagine that would be true (and to think of all the time, money, and effort you’d spend! Not worth it in my mind). </p>
<p>Is it a good idea to do well in your upper level UC classes? Absolutely. </p>
<p>The trick is going to be cultivating a variety of experiences during your time at the UC (unless you’ve already got most of this under your belt too?). Building relationships with profs and docs (that can ultimately lead to summer positions, research jobs, and stellar rec letters) takes time (2-3y at least?), and you may not have tons of time if you’re only going to the UC for a year or two. </p>
<p>I personally (and have nothing to base this on except my own experiences) think having a solid set of experiences and recommendations is at least as important as having solid numbers, so if I were in your shoes, I’d focus much more on building up those aspects of the application than I would worrying about GPA (since it seems like your GPA is fine, and there’s nothing you can do about the fact that you took the classes at the CC anyway). </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>