Hi,
I am considering a career change to medicine and thought I would start out by taking a few classes. I am in the Chicago area and am having difficulty finding affordable but reputable programs. Any suggestions from those in Chicagoland? Thanks.
Well that kind of depends on whether you are looking for a post-bac program, or if you just want to take the premed reqs or if you want to get a second bachelors or what…
Chicagoland is also a very big area to make suggestions about…are you looking for something in the city, in the burbs (if in the burbs - north, south, or west).
If you don't mind a drive out to the west suburbs and just need to fill in a few prereqs I'd suggest checking out College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn. While it's a CC they tend to have pretty good science classes–or at least they did 10 years ago, and good prices.
–Jessica, UCCS
Thanks for your reply. To clarify, I am not looking for a post-bac or a second bachelors, I just need to do the science pre-reqs. I live in the city (north side). I am concerned that if I take my prereqs at a community college it will hurt my chances at admission time; on the other hand, UIC classes are either at or over 1200, which seems high! Any thoughts as to whether a community college is the way to go or other options? I appreciate everyone's help.
What about Northeastern Illinois? It is not a CC, it is a state university, although it isn’t UIC. May have better tuition rates. Lots of high school science and mathematics teachers come out of Northeastern. It has a good reputation here in town among academics, and the admissions committees at the “Chicago seven” medical schools will know it. It’s pretty strong in the sciences, and has a special program for non-traditional students. You should be able to attend as a non-degree-seeking student-at-large if you have a college degree already.
Northeastern Illinois University
The best teacher I ever had in a college course is now a chemistry professor at Northeastern. (I have enough semester hours for two bachelor’s degrees. I’ve had a lot of teachers.) The things I learned in his class, and not everything was about science, got me into medical school.
Hope this helps.
Susan - Chicago
As far as whether or not CC science credits would hurt your chances of getting into med school that kind of depends on what your other stats are…If you have a good ugrad gpa from your other degree, and get a good MCAT score, and have ECs and stuff from what I've read on these forums, the CC classes shouldn't be a detriment.
As far as $1200 sounding high…is that for one class or for 12 or more credits? If it's 12 or more credits that's actually a very good price… (I'll be paying $1600 for tuition for 11 credits this summer at a Colorado state school). If that's a single class then yes I would agree that's a bit high, but Northeastern sounds like a good choice. Also how far NIU from you? I remember that being north but I don't remember where (it may be too far out in the 'burbs to commute). If it's not a bad commute that would probably be another cost effective choice, although I'm sure Northeastern has a better reputation…
–Jessica, UCCS
Jessica -
Are you thinking about Northern Illinois University? Its main campus is in DeKalb, and there are branch campuses in Rockford, Hoffman Estates and Naperville. It’s definitely suburban; I would argue that DeKalb is still mostly farmland.
Northeastern Illinois University is on the north side of Chicago at Bryn Mawr and St. Louis, next to the channel 11/WTTW studios. Not suburban at all.
As for costs, $1200 is the going rate for one 3-hour class as a part-time student-at-large at Northwestern, Loyola and UIC. Actually, for Northwestern and Loyola, it’s more. It’s $384/semester hour at Loyola this year, and $361 at Northwestern. And there are lab fees, student fees, parking fees … Since most science classes are 4 hours, that’s more like $1600 for one semester of orgo. Northeastern tuition cost is about $110/semester hour for an Illinois resident. Big difference, although I’m sure there are fees…
The original poster is smart to research other options. This post-bacc thing can get pretty expensive. And at the “Chicago seven”, only UIC accepts community college credits without question. The other six schools range from “maybe, maybe not” to University of Chicago, which doesn’t accept CC credits at all and will recalculate your GPA to remove them. (Ouch.)
Susan - Chicago
Hey Susan~ I totally agree that researching other options is a good thing. I couldn't remember how far outside of Chicago NIU was (yes northern illinois) so I wasn't sure if it would be a doable commute or not, but I totally agree with you about Northeastern.
Thanks for the info about U of Chicago tho, my G Bio is from a CC (2 actually–took half in IL, half in CO), so it's a welcome warning that if I decide I really want to go there I'll have to retake that one first.
–Jessica, UCCS