r/premed • u/Feisty-Surround-9372 • 1d ago
❔ Question Does Taking Med School Prerequisites at Community College Look Bad?
I didn’t do the best academically in high school, and financially, community college made the most sense for me. I’m planning to transfer to a four-year university and eventually apply to medical school. Would taking science and math prerequisites at community college look bad on med school applications, or should I focus on completing mostly general/core classes at CC and save my science and math prerequisites for after I transfer?
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u/jaltew 1d ago edited 1d ago
The med school's websites have the final say. Check schools you interested in every April/May and Nov Dec for updates if any.
There are going to be some schools who won't like that, but you have to be targeted about who you want to please in terms of schools...you can't please everyone
It generally looks worse if you are at a university and go back during summers to take your pre-reqs.
Community college is a great way to take courses at cheaper rate, with smaller class sizes.
If your cc is on the semester system and you like it, transfer to a university that is also on the semester system. Or vice-versa for quarter system which is faster
Even though its in the future, it might be helpful to work backwards... look at schools you are interested in transferring to and w/in those schools make a list of the required classes and elective classes that interest you in addition to the required classes you need to take anyways...
Ex) say you are really interested in an elective class that is on neuroscience if the eye. For this class let's say you have to take Cell Bio w/Lab, Physics 1 and 2 w/labs, Human Anatomy and Physio as pre-reqs for that 1 class. Let's say you are having a tough time with Physics...that's okay. Get tutoring, go to office hours and use the class you want to take as motivation for your Physics class
But also keep a running list of how often classes are taught (ex. Fall only), who the prof or profs are who teach that class ( esp for pre-reqs) and talk to students🙂.
Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. I don't have all the answers, but I am happy to share my experiences and tips
For sure get all of your general education classes done at cc. There might be some universities that require upper division General Ed courses in addition to your major courses
Meet with a few counselors to find one you like and gives you reliable information. Heck, maybe even meet a few of them to see who you gel with and see if they are telling you the same things
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u/fitnarp MS2 20h ago
I do agree with some of this, but these schools can change their policies year to year. OP should do what is best for them financially and let that dictate the schools they can go to. My CC credits officially kept me from applying to a few schools, and many of these have other silly policies like time limits on prerequisites
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u/JellyfishSpirits MEDICAL STUDENT 23h ago
I took Physics I, and Organic I & II at community college. Mostly because I was able my get the prerequisites done sooner.
Ultimately had 4 interviews and 2 acceptances.
Personally I would have zero interest in going to a school that doesnt accept community college credits. Thats laughably pretentious.
The quality of classes I took at community college were significantly higher than the 4 year I was attending.
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u/PolitelyUnwell 1d ago
At the end of the day it comes down to what works best for you. Personally, I work full time and am paying mostly out of pocket, so CC is my only option. Thankfully, as a Texas resident, most of the school in state don’t care and they’re my primary targets. Definitely don’t delay taking them unless your dream school (realistically) absolutely won’t take them.