Hi all. 
First post, but I’ll post an intro thread in one of the forums soon.
I plan on taking most of my pre-reqs at Northwestern here in Chicago since they have a decent enough post-bacc program. However I’d like to take pre-calc and possibly statistics (does the latter count as science) as well, and those are offered only a couple of terms a year at NWU. It won’t look bad on my app if I take those two classes at a community college (Harper in my case), will it? And, they get averaged into my undergrad GPA just the same.
Thank you!
Hi Cass-
After talking with admissions advisors from the Illinois schools, taking pre-reqs at a CC is fine, especially since you already have a degree. I’m not sure about other schools, so you will probably want to contact them directly.
There are some on here that feel CC courses are not acceptable, but it really depends on the school. You will find many who took basic pre-reqs at a CC and got in.
Quote:
Hi Cass-
After talking with admissions advisors from the Illinois schools, taking pre-reqs at a CC is fine, especially since you already have a degree. I’m not sure about other schools, so you will probably want to contact them directly.
There are some on here that feel CC courses are not acceptable, but it really depends on the school. You will find many who took basic pre-reqs at a CC and got in.
Hi, Meg.
Thanks. I guess I’m only really talking about some -really- basic pre-reqs like the pre-calc and stats that I mentioned at least. I’m guessing if anyone didn’t like CC classes, they’d most likely have a problem with things like bio/chem/ochem/physics? NWU covers all of them in their post-bac program anyway (at like $1200/class
).Technically I had chem I and II and then pre-calc and calc back in 1992 I think, but the grades were sub-par and they were both -so- long ago it isn’t like I can remember anything. hehe.
Yeah, I had Gen Bio/Chem over 10 years ago, so I re-took them at the local CC for a refresher. I’m also planning on taking Physics and O-chem there, too, mostly because of cost and scheduling. After I take the MCAT I plan to really cut back on my work schedule, so I’ll probably take higher-level bios at NIU to show the adcoms on the interview trail that I am serious and can handle it.
Otherwise, they’ll have to accept me as I am, CC credits and all!
I took all of my math courses and my Gen Chem sequence at a CC. It didn’t seem to be an issue with schools. Of course, it may vary depending on the medical school too.
When I was calling the Chicago area med schools, I was definitely told the same thing Meg was - that all will accept credits from a community college. The admissions staffer from Northwestern that I spoke to though did point out that community college coursework would not be as competitive as coursework from a 4-year school. As she explained it, I really couldn’t fault them - she was basically saying that all other things being equal, the student with a 4.0 from a CC just isn’t as competitive as the student with a 4.0 from Stanford. Go figure 
That said, they all certainly do accept CC coursework, and it is entirely possible to get in with CC prereqs. While I shifted/am shifting more of my coursework to NEIU after speaking with her (the NWU courses you’re taking are beyond my budget, unfortunately), I am still taking some courses at the CC I started at last fall. It’s one of the better CCs in the Chitown area, and I have had some excellent instructors there. In the end I’d rather take the class I can afford with an instructor I know can teach the material well and prepare me for the MCAT than take a chance on a similar course elsewhere that might give me an infinitesimally better chance of getting in somewhere but I don’t know will be taught as well.
Besides, I wouldn’t worry at all with the courses you’re talking about. Schools might wonder a bit if you took gen chem at NWU but then shifted to a CC for o-chem (or some other comparable case of doing the easier coursework at a higher-level school and the harder coursework at a CC) but I wouldn’t think what you’re talking about would give them any pause whatsoever.
Yea, after reading ucjames’ post I forgot to mention my own caveats with regard to giving others my opinions:
I have a B.S. and M.S. in Communication Disorders and Sciences (fancy for speech-language pathology) plus spent about 60 hours in a Ph.D. program before switching (with teaching, publications, professional supervision of students, etc. under my belt). So that’s why I really haven’t had much of a negative response re: CC classes. Most IL med school ad coms have reviewed my transcripts and noted that I have maintained a 3.9 GPA in graduate school, so I probably would be able to handle a med curriculum as well.
I also run my own therapy business, so time and money are a factor when choosing classes. Therefore, the CC route has appealed to me. If I were going back for my 1st B.S. or with only a B.S. in something other than Biology, I might have taken a different path, say formal post-bacc. But that’s just my own path.
Thanks for the last few replies.
Well, I admit the only reason I’m taking the NWU classes is because my employer will pay $4000/year towards tuition so I figured I might as well go to one of the best places I could. That still won’t cover the whole thing, but I might as well abuse my current job’s income level while I have it. Still, 6 classes a year (if I do 21 months) comes out to like $8000 so I have to pay half of that myself.
I’ve not seen a lot of options for chem and ochem classes+labs in my general area, so the $1200 or so per class for NWU ends up the same as at like Roosevelt. So I think I’ll just stick with a couple rather ‘basic’ math classes. At least I’m assuming I can handle precalc…I had it like 14 years ago. lmao.
Makes sense for you Meg, given the other degrees. I just have a history BA degree (from a good school at least) and want to counteract that. 
I wouldn’t worry about taking those classes at a CC, if that’s what works best for you. Stats and precalc are not required prereqs for very many schools, as far as I know (maybe precalc is, but I’m not sure). I took calc 1-2 and stats at a CC, and I found myself very well prepared for the biostats unit we had here in med school last fall.
Thanks.
I did take pre-calc and calc ages ago, so I do meet the pre-reqs on those anyway. I guess I’m taking them so I can get an A this time around, and then for a refresher. Honestly, how much stuff sticks from 14 years ago? I know my biology has stuck, but I liked that.
A bit late but some schools will positively not accept CC courses. Call around and make sure. There’s a four letter school in one of the Carolina states that doesn’t take CC courses. 
There is also a state school in the crabcake state which doesn’t take CC courses. There website doesn’t say anything about it.