Thanks everybody for replying 
Hi I’m currently taking courses at an expensive university and community college to complete my B.S in Interdisciplinary Studies (Business and IT) . If I take the prereq at the university it will cost a lot more in terms of time and money whereas at the community college I can fit it in during the summer. I also did very poorly in my early undergrad years and considering to take the courses again to improve my chances. I had AP credits for Biology, courses work for Engineering Chemistry (2 semesters of Chemistry in 1) and Physics I . I did ok in them (B) but I took them at my old university about 2 years ago when I was in deep depression and was not motivated to do any work. I did very poorly at that school later on. I also had Organic CHemistry but I didn’t get credit for it because I didn’t have money to pay for that semester. SHould I retake them all again ? ( I probably do want to so I can be prepared for the MCAT) and where should i take them ? DOes it make a difference ??
The community college is Northern Virginia Community College which I think is a very good community college system. Their courses use the same book as my university and cover the same materials.
Or should I try to finish my B.S and go for a post-bacc. program ?
Lots of different issues in this post…
First of all, I agree that of all the options open to you, the least desirable one would be to continue paying exorbitant rates for courses. You should be able to do your prerequisites at a school other than the expensive one at which you’re completing your degree. Med school $$ is bad enough; don’t burn through more money than you have to.
Should you retake courses you got a B in? NO. Although you’d like to have A’s in your prerequisites where possible, I don’t thinik repeating coursework for a B is advisable.
Chemistry - I am familiar with engineering chemistry and the two-semesters-in-one concept. But how many credits did you receive for it? You will need 8 credits of general chemistry. If that’s not what you earned, you’ll be able to start getting your prerequisite GPA up by taking another semester of chemistry and doing well in it.
Biology - you say you got AP credit. Here again you’ve got a chance to add on some credits, 'cause those AP credits are probably not going to count toward your prerequisites.
Organic - if you don’t have a grade on a transcript, you didn’t take the course, so you’ll need to re-do this.
Where - You mention NVCC which I’m familiar with, and the private school you’re at now. There is another option which I would strongly urge you to consider, and that is George Mason University. It’s more expensive than NVCC but WAY less than a private school, and I found the science courses there to be top-notch. The schedule is less “non-trad friendly,” in that classes are generally daytime during the week, but I felt VERY well prepared for the MCAT and for medical school by taking gen-chem, o-chem, bio classes and physics there. Do look into it if you can.
If it’s not an option, community college may be possible IF the rest of your application package is strong. Some schools are disinclined to consider CC credits - you should know what schools you’re crossing off your list by doing prereqs at a CC. Find out ahead of time rather than being surprised later! if you do your prereqs at a CC, you will need to shine on the MCAT to show them that you really learned something.
Finally, you mentioned that a desirable aspect of the CC was that you’d be able to do your prereqs this summer. That sounds WAY too fast and WAY too much. Don’t be in such a big hurry that you sacrifice the quality of what you’re learning, or your grade. It is much, much better to go slow and get it right than to hurry up and fall short.
Good luck!
Thank you Mary for replying . I really appreciate it .
I am currently at Baltimore but my parents’ place is in Centreville. I am still relatively young for a non-trad… just going into my early twenties. I am taking some courses at NVCC long distance to fulfill some core curriculum requirements for Hopkins Business & Education School. The thing is my early undergrad years I learned everything on my own. I had Physics II and O-Chem but never got credits for them i.e I went to the classes and sit-in on the lectures but didn’t pay. I didn’t learn anything in class at my old university. THe place just wasn’t for me . I don’t think I attended any class there…just went to take exams for some courses such as engineering chem. and “screwed” the rest. Fortunately I found my way out and return to my roots in Northern Virginia and started fresh again last semester. George Mason is really too close to home and I’ve sat in the classes there and University of Maryland. I really like the classes at Hopkins and the accomodations there. I feel like I needed to start fresh as far as my science courses are concerned so I can prove that I can do well in them when I actually put some work into the courses.
You are right about being in a hurry so if possible I think my best chances are I will take it slow and take as many prereq. at Hopkins as possible. I think that’ll be my best chance. But I really want to take them all over again to have a better foundation. George Mason is an option but their classes don’t fit into my schedule or residency contraints (it would mean I have to spend at least a full semester at my parents’ place). DO you have other options ??? Any disagreements ? Thank you for your advice. THis is to plan my coursework for the summer and next semester . I know this may be early but I need to define my goals clearly so I can keep my motivation up. Thank you .
Nax,
One of the best kept post-bacc secrets in Maryland is the program at Towson Univ. I don’t have much time to write about it now (big exam Friday) but do a search for Towson and you should find some posts I’ve written about it before. After my exam, I can answer some questions about being a post-bacc in Baltimore.
Tara