Ok Old-premeds… I wanted to post this as I have received some great advice from this site. Tomorrow is my last day of Chem I and I am going to make an A. I have decided to take Chem II in the second summer phase as well… mind you that I’m working full time as well.
well I was talking with one of my study mates today who just moved down from Washington State to go to school here for pre-reqs and mind you i was like… dude… why are you here!!? he told me b/c they have a fast track program which allows you to take organic chem. I and organic II in the fall which is 8 weeks of both… and you combine that with a biology… and then in the spring you take Physics I and Physics II the same way… with bio II. and basiclly what you have is a nice array of pre-reqs taken care of in the timely manner of a little over 9 months.
what I’m asking is…why the heck aren’t I doing this? I am working at a job which I don’t enjoy and plan on leaving eventually anyways…this is a community college so it’s not a prestigious 4 yr. but hey who cares right… it’s great science dept. it’s cheap… only $150 for a 4 hr course. and the opportunity to fast track! i’ve never heard of that before anywhere.
anyways, I’m going to see how I do in Chem II before I sign my life away but just wanted to run it by you guys and get the spill. thanks for your time.
Honestly Miller, I’d 1) be careful of taking all your pre-reqs at a CC unless you live in Cali, 2) be careful of taking so many hard classes in such a short amount of time since BCPM grades make you or break you…now assuming neither of those are an issue, well, I had a full-time job and I fucking hated it. I quit, went to college full-time during the day, and never looked back.
If you don’t plan on working that job in ten years, but you do plan on being a doctor, then that job’s no damn good if it’s getting in the way of working towards being a doctor. Best of luck to ya man.
Yes yes…you must remember there are 1000s of jobs out there. I agree with Tim. You have to be full force about your Goal and not let the stresses of your job get in the way. I too dumped my full-time job for part-time work, thus full time school. My grades reflected it as well. 
From what advice I have received…you want to go to a university. looks better on the transcript. Tim…why to Cali CC schools look better? Just curious…
- Miller J. Said:
well I was talking with one of my study mates today who just moved down from Washington State to go to school here for pre-reqs and mind you i was like... dude.. why are you here!!? he told me b/c they have a fast track program which allows you to take organic chem. I and organic II in the fall which is 8 weeks of both... and you combine that with a biology... and then in the spring you take Physics I and Physics II the same way.. with bio II. and basiclly what you have is a nice array of pre-reqs taken care of in the timely manner of a little over 9 months.
what I'm asking is....why the heck aren't I doing this? I am working at a job which I don't enjoy and plan on leaving eventually anyways...this is a community college so it's not a prestigious 4 yr. but hey who cares right.. it's great science dept. it's cheap.. only $150 for a 4 hr course. and the opportunity to fast track! i've never heard of that before anywhere.
anyways, I'm going to see how I do in Chem II before I sign my life away but just wanted to run it by you guys and get the spill. thanks for your time.
Wouldn't do it...I think that you may find yourself at a real handicap...yeah, it sounds great because it's done over one year versus two years, but the idea isn't just to take the classes but also to understand the principles behind the classes. Not only do you want to do well in the classes, but also on the MCAT.
I can only say proceed with caution...
Kris
- Heather1215 Said:
Actually,I think the OP was talking about a school in Washington state, not Cali. Tim was referring to Cali because supposedly they are known to be a higher quality community college.
I think that if one takes prereqs at a community college it is not necessarily looked down upon...many universities require these same classes as prereqs for entry into some science programs. However, I can understand that it may be looked down upon by adcoms if you go from a university to a community college. I think as long as you take more advanced classes once getting to a uni, that should be fine.
Kris
Kriss is right…Proceed with caution. CC vs Uni has been debated ad nauseam. It will limit where you can apply. Not completely but it leaves room for questions. However with the schedule you’re looking at adcoms MIGHT think about the course load and timeframe or they MIGHT just look and say “Yeah…but it was done at a CC”
However your original question of giving up a FT job and going to school…I say go for it. My regret is not having done so when I had the opportunity. Sacrifices are going to be expected and if you can handle going to school FT sans a job then I say DO IT!!
Miller J,
Basically you’re proposing to take the three remaining prerequisites after chemistry in one 9-month school year. That’s not unusual to do; a lot of my classmates took bio, orgo, and physics in one year after completing summer school chemistry I-II. It’s just very, very intense and the block format at your CC will make it even more intensive over the short term. Orgo’s hard. You don’t want to fall behind by even one week or it becomes almost impossible to catch up again, and this more concentrated form is even riskier.
And as others have noted, taking your classes at a CC means you’re on the firing line–you had better get straight A’s or close to it, because you’re going up against 4-year uni grads with equally good grades and there is a bias against CC among some med school admissions committees. But, lots of people do get in with CC credits–just make sure your application is totally awesome.
I suggest that you keep in mind your overall goal of becoming a physician, and if that means spending two years or even three years to get your prerequisites completed, then that’s what you have to be doing. Don’t rush your prerequisites unless you have a lot of confidence in your academic abilities. It’s probably the number one mistake that people make, especially non-trads, impatiently rushing in and trying to get it done as fast as possible, and sometimes stumbling. Anyway, it’s great that you’re off to a good start and keep up the good work in Chem II!
Best of luck,
I tend to agree with Terry. Taking three of the pre-reqs over an academic year is not so unusual. I took physics, biology and gen chem at the same time. What is unusual is the format of taking all of orgo in the fall and all of physics in the spring. It’s the format that concerns me. I took the entire year of organic with labs over an 8 week summer session. Fortunately for me, I took the MCAT the week after I finished organic,
because I retained very little from the crash course. There just wasn’t enough time to spend on it. You want to have the time to really learn and understand the material so your MCAT study and the MCAT itself will go well. I’m not sure taking physics and orgo in this manner will allow you to do that.
As others have pointed out, the community college thing may be a concern. An adcom may view these accelerated courses with even more suspicion that they usually bestow upon CC courses. Of course, you can partially debunk that with an outstanding MCAT, but it’s still a risk. If you don’t plan on taking any additional upper level courses at a 4 year instituion, it becomes even riskier. People can and do get accepted to medical school with CC credits for the pre-reqs, but as others have said, it may limit your options and you really want to make sure the rest of your application is stellar.
People will often say “The CC has a great science department that is highly regarded”. That’s great if the only med schools you plan on applying to are familiar with that CC AND you do well on the MCAT. We don’t need to rehash the unfairness of a CC education largely being regarded as suspect in this thread, but you do need to be aware that a bias DOES exist and take that factor into consideration.
As for quitting your job to go back to school full time - I don’t regret it, but it was certainly a very tough decision.
Amy
- Heather1215 Said:
From what advice I have received...you want to go to a university. looks better on the transcript. Tim...why to Cali CC schools look better? Just curious...Basically as everyone else said, Cali CC schools are "better" than other CCs...all they act as are feeder schools into UCs and CSUs, so if someone takes pre-reqs at a Cali CC and then goes on to a UC or CSU, it's considered normal. Plus out here, we /have/ to take some pre-reqs to transfer anyway. I have to do at least one general bio class, full year of general chemistry, full year of calculus, and they strongly recommend to do the full year of organic chemistry as well in order to transfer.