I decided to end up going to COD for my 1st year or even 2nd year and transferring. however, i read somewhere that medical schools prefer that you complete pre-med requirements at a 4-year undergraduate school, not a community college. can anyone give me advice on whether this is definite or false and if so any recommended classes from me to take at COD for 1st and maybe 2nd year.
thanks in advance
Med schools do strongly prefer that you do your science pre-reqs at a 4 year college–chem. bio, physics. A handful of med schools will not accept CC credit to fulfill science pre-reqs. A much larger number will only accept CC science pre-reqs if you have taken additional upper level electives in the same discipline at a 4 year college. (IOW, if you take 2 semesters of intro bio at the CC, you will need to take at least 2 upper level bio electives after you transfer.)
For your first year, concentrate on completing any GE courses needed for graduation at your intended 4 college and non-science med school pre-reqs–psych, soc, 2 semesters of college writing and calc 1. GEs typically include foreign language and humanities requirements. Check the student handbook at your intended college to see what exactly it requires in the way of GEs.
What’s your intended major at the 4 year college?
If it’s bio, biochem or chem, you will probably need to take gen chem and intro bio if you stay at your CC for a second year so that you won’t fall too far behind in fulfilling your major requirements for graduation. Since you will be taking lots of upper level bio and chem classes at your 4 year, earning top grades in those upper level classes will go far toward alleviating any concerns the adcomm may have about the rigor of your CC classes.
If you don’t intend to major in bio, biochem or chem, save all your science pre-reqs for after you transfer.
BTW, since you will spending your first year or two at a CC, plan on applying to med school only after you’ve graduated from college. You’ll need at least 2 full years of grades from your 4 year to support your med school application.
so would it be okay to take regular bio in CC as long as i take upper courses at a 4-year college.
my major is psych at the 4-year college.
would it be okay to use my AP credits for the gen eds like calc, psych, and english.
thanks for the response it was really helpful
Calc, Psych & English are NOT gen eds–they’re med school pre-reqs. (Some med schools require 8 social science credits for admission; most don’t. But… sociology & psychology now have their own test section on the MCAT: Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior.)
Med school policies about AP credits are all over the place. Most med schools will accept some AP credits–which APs varies by school. There’s no universal policy. You’ll need to check on the specific policies of the med schools you intend to apply to.
Some med schools will accept AP credits only if they are supplemented by additional coursework at college. Again you’ll need to check the policies at specific schools.
No med school will accept AP credit for any exam score with a score of 3 or lower.
And this is very important, med schools that do accept AP credits will only do so if your AP credit is recorded on your official college transcript as credit for a specific course offered by your college.
YES-- AP Calc AB (score=4) 4 credits MTH 121
NO-- AP Calc AB (score=4) 4 credits mathematics
It’ll be Ok to take bio at your CC only if you plan to take several additional upper level bio classes at your 4 year college.