Where pre-reqs are taken

I have been out of school for 10 years…so all of my pre-reqs were taken at least 12 years ago. I understand that many schools want them to be more current. I have an appointment with an advisor at U of Penn in 2 weeks to discuss their post-bacc programs. They have a pre-med option (where you take or retake pre-reqs), and a special science option where you take more science since you already have the pre-reqs. I suspect that I will be told it behooves me to retake the pre-reqs.
My question is how much does it matter where you take them? With the exception of Physics and Orgo I took all other pre-reqs at a community college. Could I save myself the money that a Penn would charge me, or am I better off having the name of “Penn” behind me. Otherwise I would just take the courses again at a community college or more economically feasable 4 year school.
Also…has anyone here been through Penn’s post-bacc program? Comments?
Thanks.

Assuming you did well on your pre-reqs the first time around, it may not be necessary to retake them, however ad-coms will want to see that you have current classroom experience in these subjects. The special science program you mentioned might serve you well for this. Plus your options might be limited at a community college since they may not offer much in the way of classes above the intro level. (Also, many colleges do prefer courses taken at a 4-year institution.)
As for whather to do this at Penn or not, it really depends on what you're looking for. If you want the support of a formal post-bacc program that might work well for you, but if you feel comfortable just taking the courses and going it on your own that's fine too. I think that there are a few other post-bacc programs in that area, so you may want to check them out, too. Good luck!

I did well in the pre reqs the first time around A's and B's, except for Orgo…I got a B and C+ in Orgo 1 and 2 respectively so it might be a good idea to retake Orgo.
I was looking into Penn mainly because their program fits my schedule the best, as I am still working full time. Their night and weekend classes are perfect as far as timing.
I also felt the support of a post-bacc program would enhance and 'organize' my prearation and application.
I thought that if I did need to retake the pre-reqs that I could so far more econmically at my CC, however I didn't know if a medical school would treat them as seriously as say a class taken at a 4 year school.
Thanks

trkk,
also note that some schools have time limits for what they will accept. So that, for example, if your pre-reqs were taken more than 7 years ago you would have to take them again regardless of grades achieved previously. If you was in your boots, I would call the admissions folks at the schools I was interested in to find exactly what their policies are. Further, I would get it in writing as sometimes you can get different answers depending on who you talk to in a given office. This topic has been addressed a few times. Try doing a search to read some of the old posts.
Later!

Thanks dmaes.
I have seen some of the other posts regarding the topic of how long pre-reqs are good for. Like I said…my question was mainly does it matter where you take them? I didn't see so much on that in the former posts.
I had checked with a few school and they were very vague in their answers, just telling me what they require rather than how good the classes are valid. I did it via email though so perhaps a phone call would be in order.

Yes, it may matter where you take them so be careful. Although CC's are just as good (some of them not all) as 4 year institutions, there is a bias against CC's. If you look at old threads this has been discussed…

the prereqs serve 3 purposes IMNSHO -
1) prepare you to take MCAT
2) give common background for med school students - if biochem is prereq, basic biochem knowledge can be assumed when setting medical biochem curriculum
3) give adcom some comfort level on your abililty to handle complex science/academics
I think it depends on your specific situtation to some extent - e.g. if you have a 4 year degree but it is non-science, and you take your prereqs as lower div at a cc - that satisfies #1, #2 but isn't so strong about #3.
here you might want to supplement with some upper division bio course or two.
if you have a science degree but it is old, retaking prereqs will review for #1, satisfy #2 (again) and your degree + recent good grades would hit #3 (maybe, YMMV, any other disclaimer)
for me, I took prereqs at cc, but then completed a bio degree - so I hit 1 and 2 at a cc, but have recent good upper div grades for #3.
It would be hard to take prereqs at a 4 year w/out being enrolled for a degree - at least it is out here - that is where post-bacc programs are handy - getting the space in a seat for you at a university.
another item to consider - UCSD prefers/specifies/requires that at least 1 (if not 2) of your science LOR be from a prof at a 4-year univ - I haven't seen this at other schools though.

Trkk–
I've posted about cc's before–you can search under my username to find some of them. I think there are other threads on the subject too–try doing a keyword search and you might find some useful stuff. Hope that helps!
-andrea