<p>i'm currently in my first semester as a bio major at a community college. my advisor and my biology professor (who applied to and was admitted to medical school) have said if i plan on transferring to a four year as a pre-med then i should enroll in the bio major meaning i would take gen chem, calc I/II, gen bio, gen physics, cell biology, genetics and o-chem before transferring. the science program here is well respected, all the courses are matched to the same courses at BU and Umass Boston. i feel confident that even though this is a community college, that the curriculum is solid and gives me the right foundations to transfer into advanced pre-med coursework at a four year. am i wrong? that's what i'm worried about. i checked the Umass med school website and they say they want to see rigorous course work at a four year institution...should i be putting these course off until after transfer? or does that not apply since these courses are modeled after the same courses at a four year and specifically designed for pre-med and bio majors? sorry this is so long, but i'm kind of confused about this. btw, i have no design on ivy league med schools, if i could get in that would be great, but i'm planning on applying to mostly state schools.</p>
<p>DO NOT TAKE ALL OF YOUR PRE-MED PREREQS AT COMMUNITY COLLEGE.</p>
<p>I read an article written by a med school admissions officer who said that they look closely at were certain classes were taken, and that it would reflect poorly on your transcript if you took difficult courses at your local community college(they would think that you are doing this only to get a higher grade and have an easier time getting a high science GPA) My advise is to get out of CC as soon as possible and take your harder science courses (such as O chem, Calc II) at a 4 yr college, I would try to take as many as possible at 4 yr college actually, but if you can't do that, try to do the harder ones at the 4yr.</p>
<p>There's no such thing as "advanced premed coursework." Premed coursework consists of intro courses.</p>
<p>Since you're a bio major, you will be taking bio courses after transferring. So, there's no harm in taking genetics, cell bio, etc. before transferring. I would try to take as many of the nonessential premed courses (calc, stats, English) at the CC as possible and try to hold off on gen chem, orgo, physics until after the transfer.</p>
<p>ok, so i should avoid even gen chem? but if i transfer as a junior wont the MCATs be that year? i wont have time to take all the courses to be ready...why does the community college push this program so hard to their pre-med students if its not going to get me anywhere? and i cant take genetics or cell biology if i havent completed the gen chem sequence, so if i put off that i put off those courses too. thanks for replying by the way, i was thinking the same as you guys after what i read on the Umass med school website...i just don't understand why my CC is advertising this as OK for pre-meds if its really not. and now i'm unsure of how to plan out my courses. i was hoping to do the full 2yrs at CC and get into a better 4yr...BU, Northeastern and College of the Atlantic are my top choices. Would i be better off just doing 2semesters here and heading to Umass Boston (where i can get in after 2semesters) rather than aiming for better 4yrs? Or should i just do the full 2yrs here (minus the essential pre-med stuff) get into a better 4yr and maybe delay applying to med school with a gap year so i can finish all the pre-med reqs at a 4yr? hehe again, sorry for the length, but i'm confused and don't want to screw this up.</p>
<p>One poster here was at a CC and was told that in fact some medical schools will flat-out refuse to accept prerequisites which are completed at a community college. He chose to defer them all.</p>
<p>This meant, of course, that he was unable to take the MCATs along the normal timeframe, and I believe he opted to take a year off between undergrad and medical school.</p>
<p>not to direct the OP question to me but I am in a simuilar boat...</p>
<p>I currently attend a small (city name) state university but am looking to transfer to Emory 2nd semester of my sophomore year. Should I atleast take calc1, bio, and chem for the first semester of my sophomore year so that I am not too behind and take everything else at Emory or should I hold off on all of them entirely and take them at Emory assuming that is where I end up.</p>
<p>would it be wise to email the med schools i'm looking at and ask them? i was going to do that but i wasnt sure if it was a ridiculous question that i should already know the answer to or something lol</p>
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would it be wise to email the med schools i'm looking at and ask them?
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<p>No. Med schools are not there to provide you with admissions counselling. Try your own school's resources.</p>
<p>Well -- what's the problem with being behind?</p>
<p>well my schools resources are telling me this is where anyone considering pre-med should be, that's what is confusing me. im hearing no premed at community colleges but the schools is telling me to do all my premed work with them. being behind isn't necessarily a problem, i just wanted to avoid it if possible, but i dont think thats going to be possible.</p>
<p>Well -- you've got our opinion. Unfortunately there's not a lot more we can do for you.</p>
<p>Why don't you just take gen eds, like the ones you would be required to take as a bio major at any school anyway. Do that this year, get most of them out of the way, and than transfer after this year to what ever four year school you were planning on. Than next year you can start your pre-med requirements. You may still end up being a year behind, but who cares, you would still be younger than the average med school applicant.</p>
<p>thanks everyone for replying, i think you guys are right. from what ive read on other med school websites commuity colleges dont seem like the place to be taking most of the pre-reqs. i guess my CC is just being unrealistic about the scope of the program they are offering. im really glad i found this website and heard all your feedback lol i would have just taken all the pre-reqs here and never known it would be a mistake.</p>
<p>PorcupineTree (nice name btw), I'm in the same boat. I go to Bunker Hill CC in Boston. I talked to a personal friend, who is also an anesthesiologist, and he said basically what you need to do is take your prereqs at the CC so you can have the MCAT done in time but take at least one sequence class of all your prereqs. This shows that your knowledge is on par with the university's classes.</p>
<p>Oh, he took all his prereqs at a CC too. :)</p>
<p>that sounds like good advice. ill probably end up taking gen bio, gen chem, calc I and maybe cell bio here and the rest wherever i transfer in. that way i wont be too far behind but i'll still be doing a good amount of the pre-reqs at a 4yr. are you a bio major at bhcc? maybe we have a class together? lol</p>
<p>I am but all my classes are at the CSDL. I'll have classroom courses next semester. :)
Make sure you take Applications and Concepts too for Cell Biology. It's a prereq, along with Bio I and Chem I.</p>
<p>whats applications and concepts? thats the computer course right? i might try and test out of it. how do you like the csdl? i'm taking mat195 and its not what i expected, it's alot more structured than i thought. i didnt know there was an attendance requirement which has made it really hard for me.</p>
<p>Why is an attendance requirement making it difficult?</p>
<p>Yes, it's a computer class. You can test out but I have no idea what the test is like. I can't imagine it's hard because the description says it's just about MS Windows and Office. </p>
<p>I like working by myself at the CSDL but I don't think I'll opt to have all my classes there again though. It's hard to work up the courage to spend 70 minutes on the train to get to school when I don't have a teacher. I live in Allston. I'll be happy to be in an actual classroom next semester.</p>