Taking labs at a Community College.

Hi I am a freshman in college in my second semester. I have not declared a major yet but I am thinking along the lines of Public Health. Last semester I took General Chemistry 1 but I could not get into a lab because all the spaces were filled. This semester I am taking General Chemistry 2 and General Chemistry 1 lab. I couldn’t get into gen chem lab 2 because you have to take gen chem lab 1 first. So now I am behind in my labs and honestly its causing a lot of issues for me. Since I am behind in my labs registering was extremely frustrating and the only lab I could get was at an unfavorable time, Fri from 2-5. I have class all MWF until 1 so that gives me an hour break in between my morning classes and lab to eat. I don’t mind that it is on a Friday but the timing is awful and really stresses me out. So my question is, will it look bad if I take both labs over the summer at a community college since I am interested in pursuing a career in science? I want to go to grad school so I want to make sure I have a good application. I am taking 16 hours this semester (which may not be a lot but I only took 12 last semester) and if I drop my lab it will open my schedule and I could possibly get a job (which I need to do).

  • I am only asking if it would look bad because I have heard taking classes that pertain to your major at a community college looks bad and am unsure of how accurate this information is.

If you go to the academic affairs office before the end of the semester and ask if they will accept transfer credit from a Community College near your home, then you can take it and ensure that it transfers back. They might want you to take it from a 4-year college near your home over the summer instead.

That being said, it might not be wise to plan taking both labs over the summer. Summer courses are much more compressed and you woudl have to take the consecutively. Stay in CHEM 1 lab and take CHEM 2 Lab over the summer.