To all:
I am planning to start my post bacc as a “self-study” (i.e. not part of a formal post bacc program).
Since I already have a BA and MA, I am not working towards a degree, just fulfilling the reqs.
Any thoughts in doing them in a community college vs a 4 year school?
Thanks
Rich
(aka gonnif)
(aka captain corporate america)
depends on you entirely. I di the majority of my postbacc at a CC and it was one of the best one's in the country. I am now at Barry U doing a Masters in Biomedical science that links to UM or Vanderbuilt for MD or MD/PhD.
Again, best thing to do is to call the prospective schools and let them know what you intend to do and ask for guidance as to what they like to see. Some don't care, they'll just tell you the MCAT is the great equalizer.
| QUOTE (gonnif @ Oct 15 2002, 06:23 PM) |
| To all: I am planning to start my post bacc as a "self-study" (i.e. not part of a formal post bacc program). Since I already have a BA and MA, I am not working towards a degree, just fulfilling the reqs. Any thoughts in doing them in a community college vs a 4 year school? Thanks Rich (aka gonnif) (aka captain corporate america) |
Hi there,
While some community colleges are more rigorous than some 4-year colleges, many admission's committees are biased against community college work if you do not have any university-level courses during the same time frame or if you did very poorly in previous university-level work. (Obviously this does not apply in your case) If you are trying to do damage control, the community college route is probably not the best one. If you have a previous bachelor's degree with a good GPA (above 3.2) and you just didn't take the traditional pre-med classes, I would say that the community college courses are probably not going to be a liability.
You don't want to give a school a reason to reject you but on the other hand, you may not have access to a 4-year college where you can take your pre-med courses. If you lived in Charlottesville, Va, where the University of Virginia is located, your only outlet for courses at the undergraduate level is the Piedmont Community College. The University of Virginia does not accept students who have previous bachelor's degrees at the undergraduate level and does not permit non-degree graduate study. If you have a bachelor's degree in English and wanted to take your pre-med classes, you would have to attend a community college here in C'ville. The next closest 4-year college is 50+ miles away.
You do not have to be enrolled in a "formal post-bacc" program. Many of the non-traditional folks that were in my class took only the classes that they needed for MCAT preparation. Granted they had been pharmacists and nurses before enrolling in medical school but they were able to get in without going through a formal post-bacc.
Do your classes where you can get the highest grades that you can obtain without burning your brain trying to do a long commute. As has been posted before, good grades at a community college backed up by a competitive MCAT score (above 30) speak more than a mediocre performance at a university with a marginal MCAT grade. Good luck
Nat
"if you did very poorly in previous university-level work. (Obviously this does not apply in your case) If you are trying to do damage control, the community college route is probably not the best one. If you have a previous bachelor’s degree with a good GPA (above 3.2) and you just didn’t take the traditional pre-med classes, I would say that the community college courses are probably not going to be a liability. "
I have previous BA but did quite poorly/mixed. My grades were medicore at best with few semesters of down right failure. Just outright overwork/burnout (I graduated magna cum barely). I was trying to double major (biochem/poly sci), I worked in research labs with published paper, was Teaching Assistant in both biology and poly sci, worked as an EMT in the campus volunteer ambulance and as an ER Tech in the University Hospital. I did extremely well on the allied health extrance exam (95%) and did get into the PA program but dropped out due to major personal/family/breakdown issues after 2 months.
I have a MA in sociology with a good GPA (3.8) and have worked into computers with a high-level position in a financial services company.
So my main purpose in post-bacc is to raise my science grades by repeating the pre-med courses and doing well. It would seem that a community college would be looked down upon for this.
The question then comes up on a 4 year school: The one that would be most convienent (between work and home) has a so-so reputation (the local CC appears to be have a better reputation). I am leaning to a better 4 year public school which isn’t outrageously incovenient but will add to commute burden (it is the opposite direction from home as work is).
I am in NYC area and hope to go med school here, so I think the reputation of the school I go to will carry more weight (i.e. the local med schools may know/have strong opinions on the local colleges).
I dod have two questions for you Natalie (which is my Mom’s name BTW)
1) how do you find the time/energy during a surgery residency to write so many thoughful and insightful posts here that encourage so many?
2) Do you have any “O Chem Lab” Boodles equivalent left for sale?
RSL