<p>My son is a current junior in high school at an "early college" out here in Texas with a reputable junior college being the partner school. By the time he graduates, He will have completed about 64 credits (2 years transferrable). As of right now, He is most likely going to the nearby UTexas school. This is where the problem comes into play. The classes he took dual enrollment include: College bio 1 and 2, College Chem 1 and 2, Calc 1, and several english courses and other electives. As you can see, the bio, chem, and math pre reqs for med school are already finished by him. this is wat concerns me. When I was looking online through med school student's blogs and stuff, I hear that CC classes for premed reqs is BAD BAD idea even if he substitutes it with higher level bio and chem and math courses at the UT when he transfers. So can he retake all his courses again at the UT when he enters as a freshman with 64 credits instead of transferring the credits and taking junior level courses??? I hope he can because I dont want to reflect upon his high school decisions as a bad idea 5 years down the road when he is rejected by every med school. His other option is to transfer the 2 years to the UTexas and enter as a junior (but he still wants to spend 3-4 years in undergrad) so he would probs do double major or something and apply to med school after 3-4 years. Also would his grades currently in his CC college classes transfer to the UT in either of the two options he takes?
Also is there any other advice or comments on this topic? PLEASE???</p>
<p>he is also thinking of applying to out of state schools. he really wants to get into Duke, Penn, Cornell, and Vanderbilt. Also Private In state like Rice he LOVES. would this option be better for him becuase they wouldnt accept any credits? I am fine with the no accepting credits part as long as it doesnt hurt him in the long run or whatever.</p>
<p>whatever he decides to do, the grades he make will count toward amcas and tmdsas gpa even if he doesnt transfer them into his university. so he has to make sure he gets A’s in all his classes at the junior college</p>
<p>If it were my son I would have him take two semesters of upper level Bio classes, complete the two semesters of Orgo w/lab as well as the required Physics w/lab and look at taking Biochemistry to supplement his Gen Chem classes taken at the CC. Taking pre-med classes at a CC is not ideal but there is not much you can do about it now.</p>
<p>Good advice above.</p>
<p>DS needs to take higher level bio, Ochem, biochem and physics at whatever 4 year he matriculates at. Under no circumstances should he repeat coursework he already has credit for unless those grades are below a C. (It looks like he’s padding his GPA and trying to 'game the system"–which med schools don’t like.)</p>
<p>DE credits must be reported to AMCAS and TMDSAS no matter what. Even if his future college won’t accept those credits; even if he never reports those credits to his future college for evaluation/credit/placement.</p>
<p>Has he already taken ALL of those classes? There’s still time to limit his exposure some what if he’s convinced medical school is the right direction. May only be a couple classes at this point, but surely there are other options he can take.</p>
<p>I hear that CC classes for premed reqs is BAD BAD idea even if he substitutes it with higher level bio and chem and math courses at the UT when he transfers.</p>
<p>I don’t think this is true. I also don’t think med schools “look down” on kids who have CC classes while in high school since many states are now doing this. </p>
<p>Since your son would be taking the “higher up” classes, that should be enough.</p>
<p>Many kids, including my own, used their AP credits, then took the next level of classes, and are now headed to med school. </p>
<p>he is also thinking of applying to out of state schools. he really wants to get into Duke, Penn, Cornell, and Vanderbilt. Also Private In state like Rice he LOVES. would this option be better for him becuase they wouldnt accept any credits</p>
<p>I’m not sure this is true. Maybe it is for some schools. I’m not sure that those schools won’t accept those CC credits. My nephew is at Vandy, and it accepted his Dual Enrollment classes. </p>
<p>I think you’re worrying about nothing.</p>
<p>when he is rejected by every med school</p>
<p>Calm down. “every med school” will not reject him over this. You need to relax. Your child is only a jr in high school. If you continue at this level of stress you won’t make it thru his undergrad.</p>
<p>thank you everyone for advice. As of end of junior year, he will have completed teh following: Both bio semesters, Calc. And thats all the sciences. He is planning to take atleast 1 semes of chem iin senior year and a bunch of other electives. </p>
<p>I contacted every private school he wants to go to, they said that because his credits show up on his high school transcript they will accept none/mostly none credits. So if he goes to rice lets say (which he probs wont get into, btw), then he will HAVE to take bios and Calc again because the creds wont transfer rigth?</p>
<p>And as of right now, he got a B in ONE english class because of an EXTREMELY hard teacher . other than that, he is doing well. I would say, he will get a max of 2-3 Bs in all his college classes by the time he graduates.</p>
<p>I am thinking of contacting several med schools or the AAMC itself telling them of my situation and asking for advice/insight. is this a good idea?</p>
<p>You need to consider the kid staying in college 3-4 years inspite of the 64 credits. I have been looking at several kids who went to TAMS and most of them seem to do 3-4 years if they are applying for medicine. </p>
<p>All his credits count for the medical application but the question really is whether he is prepared for taking MCAT despite completing all those classes. If he is not, he needs to do more classes in subjects as kdog suggested. You also should check with Texas medical schools how they consider the community college credits and whether they are looking for college credits for the medical application classes.</p>
<p>One thing you can do, stop him from taking science classes in community college during senior year and aim for other subjects.</p>
<p>I agree with mom2collegekids: please don’t worry about your the validity of your son’s achievements. If he has made A’s in the courses he has taken that will satisfy medical school admission requirements, then he doesn’t need to re-take them. Instead, he needs to continue to establish a record of academic success, show a sincere commitment to a medical career, gain some experience in the medical area, and do well on the MCAT. Having served on medical school admissions committees, I can assure you that they are looking for bright, well-rounded individuals with a devotion to service in a medical career that combines realism with idealism. The prerequisites, if obtained with superior grades, are pretty much a check-off item, not a deciding factor.</p>
<p>I will only let him take chem 1 senior year 1st semester. I will get him to refrain from taking science courses like chem 2, physics or more math. Instead ill let him take stat or antrholopology or other electives</p>
<p>@texas, He plans on staying 3-4 years at the UT if he goes there even after teh creds transfer. And yea he will def taking upper level bio, chem, etc to show med school adms that he cna handle the courses there and also can substitute for the med school reqs. What i am worried about is the GPA factor for the AMCAS. He will already have two Bs! also when he goes to WAHTEVER college he goes to, his GPA might not be as high as his CC gpa because CC is easier, we all know that. Won’t med school adms take this and look at it suspiciously?? or with a heavy weight? I understand that I can’t change what is already happening.</p>
<p>My premed advisor’s rule: If a parent ever contacted a medical school, under any circumstances, that was an automatic rejection for the child. Period. College students were considered grownups and should be making such contact on their own.</p>
<p>I doubt they would track such things a couple years in advance of any actual application, but you never know.</p>
<p>What if he contacted the med school or the AAMC? He wants to. I just would think that him asking the question would seem “desperate” or illadvised because its extremely premature.</p>
<p>AAMC will not respond to his inquiry because AMCAS doesn’t vet the validity of CC course credits or set the admissions policies/requirements for individual medical schools. </p>
<p>I think it’s way too early for him to be contacting medical school admission offices. He is years away from applying. Anything they tell him now may change during the next 4 years.</p>
<p>I hear that CC classes for premed reqs is BAD BAD idea even if he substitutes it with higher level bio and chem and math courses at the UT when he transfers</p>
<p>That is talking about a different situation, and likely does not include the process of taking higher level courses. That is talking about the situation where the student has graduated from high school, went to a CC for two years, took the pre-med pre-reqs, transferred to a 4-year, and then applied after junior year with not much to show yet. </p>
<p>Your child is not in that situation. Your child is doing what thousands of smart students are doing; they’re participating in Early College, Running Start, or whatever that state is calling their program. As you mention, even tho he’ll have “junior status” when he goes to college, he’ll still go for 4 more years. </p>
<p>What you’re describing is common. Kids in these programs, as well as IB/AP students are entering universities with junior status (or close to it). Both of my kids had nearly junior status when they went to college from their AP credits (Bio, Chem, English, History, etc). That isn’t unusual. Their friends did as well. And, those who applied to med school were ACCEPTED! </p>
<p>Think about it…do you really think all these brainy kids who are doing Early College will be denied med school admission? Do you really think that there are Adcoms out there who’ve never heard of these Early Programs and would discount your kid? Heck, some of these Adcoms have children or grandkids in these programs as well. </p>
<p>Your child will attend college, take higher level classes, likely have opportunities to do some fab research, and will have an awesome resume by the time he’s ready for the next stage in his life…whether that’s med school, grad school or whatever. Frankly, right now, who really knows if he’ll want to go to med school 6 years from now?</p>
<p>Thank you very much for all of your advice/insight. I feel alot more confident right now. Out of all this there is one that thing that my son will learn. Any college class you take will stay with you for the rest of your life so take it seriously no matter when you take it (including senior year 2nd semes during “senioritis”).</p>