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Do you think that a good MCAT score and good grades in the upper-division courses in math, biomath, neuroscience, etc. would be enough to dispel any doubts about taking calc/chem/ochem/physics/bio/english at a CC?
I suggest you go to SDN and type in CC classes, you will find plenty of med students there who went to CC, they could give you a good idea of what helped them.
Interesting discussion - one that is somewhat special to a California student - CC’s are a part of educational landscape here. Unlike the rest of the country they are not (within California) considered a second rate option. Indeed, for many they are the only option ($18 per unit, close to home, open enrollment, welcoming to re-entry students). Speaking from my own experience, the quality of instruction I received at CC was excellent, especially in the sciences.
I opted for the CC to UC route because I wanted a solid lower division education to prepare me well for upper division work and the the MCAT. I also wanted to attend a large research oriented university (Berkeley) and the only route in for non-trads with any college credit is via the CC’s.
I am most pleased with the route I took. I am prepared for upper division science courses, actaully rather better prepared than many of my fellow students who did their lower division work at the University. I have yet to sit the MCAT and no ADCOM has looked at my CC work. I am banking that a respectable MCAT score combined with solid grades in science courses at UCB will lower any raised eyebrows in ADCOM-land.
That said, I would not have have taken this route had I planned to major in a non-science area (and thus would have no University science grades to show that I dun lerned somethin at CC). California med schools are definately hip to the California CC thing. I spoke with the nice folks at UCSF, UC Davis and TUCOM - all who welcome if not recruit CC grads, especially URM’s. Cali schools are however among the most competitive in the country. It would be a foolish thing to assume acceptance at any school and not to make one’s choice of premed education carefully. Especially if yer pushin forty as I am - I would rather get it right the first time and not have to worry about a post-bacc.
One last thing - it is almost impossible to transfer to the better UC’s (UCLA, Berkeley) from the CSU system. CC students are given “preference,” which in practice means "others need not apply."
Lawrence
I understand what you’re saying, czyja, and I feel the same way about my own CC experience. But just as an example, Wake Forest med school states on their website that “community college coursework is not acceptable” for prereqs. If I take their website at its word, which I’m doing and therefore not applying to that school, I can only assume that Wake Forest doesn’t CARE how good a CC is. They just don’t. Maybe they don’t even want cc’s to be good. Who knows. I’m glad to hear you got good news from the CA med schools though.