I was just curious as to what schools are actually considered “community colleges”. The reason that I ask is because previously I attended the University of Georgia, which is obviously not. When I left for the military I held a GPA of 1.87 with 28 GPA hours. Once leaving the military, my hopes for med school were rekindled. I currently attend Columbus State University, where I have managed to maintain a 4.0 GPA after two semesters. I don’t want it to seem as though the coursework at my current school is any easier, because it definitely is not. However, I love the smaller class sizes here and less expensive than if I were to transfer back to UGA. Should I consider transfering back to the more reknowned instituion?
It’s my understanding C.C. actually has the words “Community College” in it…or “Junior College”. These types of campuses generally offer associate’s degrees, so even though you may be able to get all pre reqs out of the way at a comm college, you might run into trouble actually obtaining a bachelor’s there. There are a few exceptions, but from all I’ve gathered, that is the concensus.
Community Colleges, in essence, do not offer 4 year degree programs. Name doesn’t really matter - a lot of our community colleges in Ohio have “state” in the name - Northwest State, Columbus State, etc.
Whether or not to take classes at a CC frequently comes up on these boards - if you do a search, you will find that there has been extensive discussion. The general rule is that, if possible, you should always take your pre-med courses at the most rigorous 4 year institution available to you and that you can afford. This is especially true if you have a poor GPA that you need make up for.
Now, it’s definitely acceptable to take humanities courses at a CC - if you are working on an initial bachelor’s degree, this can be a great way to save some cash if you can take your English, Psych, History, etc types of classes and then transfer them to a 4 year institution. Its not even the kiss of death to take gen bio or chem at a CC. However, if you decide to take some of your pre-reqs at a CC, you should strongly consider taking upper level science courses at a 4 year institution.
I looked up Columbus State and they offer bachelors’ and graduate degrees so yup, definitely a 4-year institution. (generally a “university” offers advanced degrees) You like the atmosphere there and that means a LOT. I say, stay put!
Mary
This is definitely a subject that has been brought up a lot. If one is able to do their prereqs in a 4-yr, that’s great. But if for whatever reason one is not able to, it might not be a bad idea to take advanced sciences at the 4-yr if you have to do/or did your prereqs at a 2-yr. It just so happens that the CC that I took Bio and Gen Chem is now a 4-yr state college offering bachelors degrees in some areas…so I an still take my organic chem/physics here with nice small sized classes (48 per lecture) at a 4 yr. Then it is off to Tampa to take Biochem, genetics and physiology to show that I am able to handle the upper level sciences!
Thanks a lot guys! Yes, CSU is an actual university… The only reason that I questioned is because at one point, the institution was considered a “community college”, I think more because of the size rather than the degree offerings. Because of the increasing number of new students, the university has been able to expand many of its programs and maintain a low tuition cost in an area where the cost of living is more than affordable. So all things considered, I really feel that I am getting the most for what I put in. Again, the small class sizes are greatest part of being here. I could live with paying more for what I get here, but I just did not want to stay if it would really hinder my chances. Thanks again everyone!
- jeremias.duarte Said:
Again, the small class sizes are greatest part of being here.
This is what I love the most! Neither my organic chemistry or physics classes will have more than 48 students, plus the labs are linked. If I had gone to one of the universities for these classes, I would be 1 of 300 students...getting into a lab is no guarantee since there are only 72 open lab slots (and many of those filled by past ochem students waiting for the lab), and a much lower chance of the professor really getting to know me and writing a strong LOR for me.