what's wrong with community college?

I am taking a couple of science courses at a community college and I am getting more confident that it really won’t affect my chances of admission that much in the end.


I have my B.S. in computer science from an average state university and master’s degree from one of the top 5 schools, rated by US News. I really can’t say that the courses I’m taking right now at a CC is any less rigorous than those I took from my undergraduate and graduate, relatively speaking.


I feel confident that I will do fine in my MCATs with the quality of education from a CC. What do you guys think? I’m thinking, as long as you do fine in your MCAT, taking classes at a CC won’t really matter. Any other thoughts?


I have been stressing about taking classes at a CC but I’ve developed tremendous respects for the professors/instructors at CC whom are more concerned about your education than those cocky famous professors at unversities.

The issue with community college is simply one of perception and wide spread attitude amongst adcoms. The courses are considered less rigorous than courses at a 4 year school and therefore you appear as a weaker candidate than someone who has courses at a 4 year school. This is an observation and assessment of the “sociological” reality that you will face with adcoms. Whether or not this perception is true, whether or not your school and professors are less rigorous, whether or not you agree with this assessment, it is a factor and attitude that appears fairly well-entrenched by the adcoms and therefore the reality that you will face when applying to med school.


The above however is not meant for you to rush out find a 4 year school. You need to place your attending CC into your personal context and “story” as a candidate. The strategy that I often recommend is if you have a 4 year degree that you did fairly well at and you did not take the premed prereqs during the original degree, then taking courses at a CC and doing well in them is a reasonable way to go. Not necessarily the strongest way to go but still good. If you had the original premed courses at a 4 year school, say, 10 years ago, didn’t do great, and now retake them at a CC, that would make you appear a much weaker candidate. Also logistics of where the school is, when courses are offered, etc, matter much more to non-trads as busy lives and family often dictate and limit where we can go to school.


Also note that the masters from a top 5 school may not carry as much weight or be as impressive to a medical school as one might think. Depending on what it is in, the motivation for getting it, the applicability of it to your career, etc.


Instead of dissecting these pieces,think about how all the pieces fit and support your “story” as candidate. For example, if you worked in the technical side of a corporation for sometime, but then got and MBA to move up in management, and got a higher position, this would show fortitude, determination, perhaps leadership.


The question most asked on masters degree is on MPH, which will most certainly NOT help in getting into medical school for most students. However, if you were currently in a field where an MPH would be useful (e.g. nurse educator, medical sociologist) and you apply it that career, it would be seen in a different light by the adcoms.


Lastly always remember taking courses, even at a CC, is much better than not taking courses at all. That sounds silly and obvious but I’d rather encourage people to try at a CC then to simply abandon the dream

I have been teaching very rigorous community college courses since 2001, so I will verify that you can indeed get a quality education from instructors who take a personal interest in your education in the CC environment.


The answer to your question, I believe, is that there are a number of the cocky famous university professors you mentioned who sit on admissions committees and harbor a distinct bias against CC science courses.


Essentially, it should be a less than monumental detail where you earned your credits, but I did read, just recently, in the application instructions for one medical school that the “quality” of the institutions on your transcripts will be considered.

  • ViceroyPlain05 Said:
I have been teaching very rigorous community college courses since 2001, so I will verify that you can indeed get a quality education from instructors who take a personal interest in your education in the CC environment.

The answer to your question, I believe, is that there are a number of the cocky famous university professors you mentioned who sit on admissions committees and harbor a distinct bias against CC science courses.

Essentially, it should be a less than monumental detail where you earned your credits, but I did read, just recently, in the application instructions for one medical school that the "quality" of the institutions on your transcripts will be considered.



No bones about it, you can certainly get a quality education at a CC & a very shitty one at "Big Ego Univ". I firmly believe the most profound factor in the "quality" of your education is the motivation, drive & dedication of the student - you only get out what you are willing to put into it.

My own experience at a CC - took my Physics pre-reqs at Dallas County CC - was of the other end of the spectrum. While my professor clearly loved teaching, was very good at it & very invested in teaching students, the quality of the students was very poor. My physics 1 course started out with 35+ students & think maybe 10 finished. Dr. Carvajal made himself overly available & on several occasions lamented to me about he wished he could do more, but just could not water down the material any more. He had to drop the vectored force component of all formulae since only 10 or so could do trig well enough to even begin to understand. After the 1st exam, which most everyone failed, he conceded to write any requested formula onto the board. They still failed miserably. He then simply wrote all the formulas you might need on the board prior to the exam...and they still failed in droves. He was an excellent teacher - the students were horrible.

However, what I think, you think or the OP thinks is not the question at hand. The overwhelmingly most common perception by med school AdCom members is that CC courses are less rigorous & are therefore given less credibility than the same titled course at a 4-yr institution.

By no means is Rich's (or anyone else's) intent to make disparaging remarks about CCs. They absolutely serve a valuable function & make higher education much more available & affordable for the masses. I would even go so far as to say there are a lot of folks with college educations who would not have one were it not for CCs.

But, the simple fact is - doing all of your courses at a CC can be an impediment. It is not a death sentence, but it can cause problems.

Sorry, I didn’t realize that my comments could be construed as putting down CC. My intent was that the entrenched perception by adcoms is that CC’s are not as rigorous as a 4 year school. Unfortunately this perception is the reality that an application is reviewed under.


BTW, the perception also goes across 4 year schools as to which is better. My favorite and personal example is in discussions with an admissions person at a NY medical school, I had mentioned that I was taking organic in the summer at a nearby middle of the road state school. She suggested that I should have considered traveling the hour or so each way to take it at the much more rigorous and prestigious state school. I laughed and told her the professor who taught the course in the morning at the prestigious campus then went and taught the same exact course at the middle of road state school in the afternoon, where he was a faculty member. he had been doing this for some 20 odd years. So perception often does not reflect reality

  • In reply to:
But, the simple fact is - doing all of your courses at a CC can be an impediment. It is not a death sentence, but it can cause problems.



A better way to look at this is terms of strengths and weaknesses and how it fits in with all the pieces of your application. Also patterns and consistency are vitally important. As I said previously, if you have a hard science BA and masters (but no premed prereq), a CC path is a reasonable path (but you'll be expected to blow the courses away in CC). You can bolster this with a few upper level bio courses at a 4 year school

If you previously had the prereqs at a 4 year school and you now retake them at CC, that would be considerably weaker situation.


I’ve said this before, so sorry if this is a repeat. The adm director at my school of choice said that they didn’t have a preference for where the pre-reqs were taken…particularly since the local CC has an excellent reputation (well deserved). She added that there was at least one post-bacc like myself currently enrolled in med school who had chosen that path, CC for all pre-reqs. She also said something along the lines of the MCAT being a great equalizer.


I chose to do Gen Chem, maths, and A&P at the CC, with a year of post-bacc at a 4-yr. (I have found the students at the new school to be less motivated and prepared than the students at the CC. It’s a big surprise. The quality of the education at the CC would have been just as good, probably better.)


The problem is, even if your school of choice likes CC courses, and even if you learn marvelous things there…there will be some ad coms who think less of your application. And this process is all about giving it your best shot at getting in, somewhere, anywhere…(sigh)


I’ve been thinking about the people I met who applied 2 and 5 (yes, 5!) times before they got in. Whatever I can do to strengthen my app, I’m there.

I completely agree that doing what ever is within your means to maximize your chances at success are wise. But, those choices, obviously, must be balanced with your “life” obligations. However, bear in mind that the process of applying is expensive monetarily, emotional & physically. That is why we always advise what we think is the best options, but underline the caveate that there are many ways to skin this cat & there are few ‘death sentences’ to an application.

I wonder if it depends on which CC you go to. I am taking a few pre-reqs at a CC in Orange County, California. And I have been led to believe that there courses are just as good as the ones I might have taken at a UC school. But, if I had gone to a CC in a not-so-well-known part of the country, the CC may not have been as highly valued. I don’t know if that is true or not, it’s what I have been led to believe by people I have spoken to. Would love to hear your views on this topic.

California CC’s are the exception as they are evaluated by California Medical Schools as sufficiently rigorous courses. However, that level of acceptance across the USA may vary widely.

So what about taking gen ed’s at a cc… things such as english that while a pre-req is not a science course and doesn’t change much over time? Or psychology (not planning on psychiatry after med school) … or required electives for a bachelor’s? My husband is 26 and only has about 1.5 years of college with about a 3.0 gpa. We are trying to put all of our eggs in one basket for money costs. We currently live in Tulsa and Oklahoma State University has their D.O. program in town. They only require 90 credits for admission and my husband could finish most of his stuff at the local cc and then hopefully enroll at University of Tulsa (it’s an expensive private school, almost as expensive as medical school) for his science pre-reqs which if he were concurrently enrolled he could finish everything in two years. At which time he would be 28 and if accepted into the OSU Osteopathic program would have residency status saving us about $20,000 a year in med school costs, has acquaintance where he works (he is currently a Corrective Exercise Specialist and Certified Personal Trainer, both certs through the National Academy of Sports Medicine) who is currently is residency after completing OSU’s D.O. program, who could give a reference. Besides the $80,000 we would save from tuition we would also save about $10,000 in moving expenses and with the cost of living being so cheap here about $72,000 to $120,000 in just the cost of our rent. (the second figure is if he stayed here for residency). Would that be a doable situation?

Just a quick note - most med schools state that they require 90 semester hours for admission and don’t mention any requirement for a degree, but it is very, very rare that they admit someone without a four year degree. The intention of the “90 hour” specification is usually to cover students who are accepted to a combined BS/MD program or to allow for admission of the occasional truly exceptional student w/o a degree.


In any case, your husband should plan on completing a four year degree prior to matriculation in medical school.

Emergency! is right. I asked the same question of several medical schools and was told the same as what Emergency! wrote. According to one school, “we did allow one person in using that rule a couple years ago because he couldn’t graduate because he failed the mandatory swim test at his college.” [Yes, there are still colleges that require a swim test to graduate. And, no, there are not only the service academies.]