Dual Enrollment Credits

[panicky2000]

Hey I'm new to SDN and I have seen numerous posts about dual enrolling. From what I understand, many med schools prefer that you take prereqs at a 4 year university, correct?

Well, I am part of a dual enrollment program where I finish my last two years of high school along with my first two years of college, earning a high school diploma and an AA (not AS) degree. All of the classes I take are college classes at a local college (it used to be a community college, but it's not anymore). In terms of premed reqs, I will have taken Gen Chem 1 and 2 (both with labs), Calc 1, Statistics (taken over the summer), Bio 1 (with lab). I am a HS junior and soon, I will be applying to college as a freshman, not a transfer. Those are the program rules. I know that some colleges may take my credits, some won't.

Is it bad if I don't retake these classes at a 4 year uni? Are there still some med schools that would accept me (assuming my other scores are also good obviously)? I am not only aiming for top tier schools. My college GPA is currently a 4.0.

Also, when should I take the MCAT? Assuming the college I go to accepts all my credits, wouldn't I have a junior standing? I won't have taken ochem, biochem, or physics yet, which I have heard are important to take the MCAT. I could take some of these classes in my first year at that college (my third/junior year overall), but would I still be able to take the MCAT in time to apply and go to med school without taking an extra year or something?


One more thing. I have heard of Early Assurance programs, like Northeastern, where you are admitted to med school without having to take the MCAT. However, many require certain prereqs done before your junior year, some of which I don't have. Does this mean I would not be eligible for these programs at all?

Sorry this is long, but I would appreciate any feedback!

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[AttemptingScholar]

1) Some people are surprised when they find their dual enrollment counts towards the GPA they apply with. Make sure you ace these classes. (this isn't a warning against doing this, there are just more than a few threads over on the pre-med forums who were surprised when the C's they thought didn't count tanked their stats. It looks like you're doing fine, but it's worth repeating)
2) Do not retake any classes unless you get a failing grade. It looks like you're trying to get a GPA buff. In order to show actual college-level proficiency, I would recommend taking higher level classes at your four-year. Maybe hold off on stats until you get there? And take at least biochem, maybe if your four-year has molecular bio take that to show you really can do math and bio at the college level.
3) At your four-year, you will see which classes you actually get out of because of this. If they allow you to graduate after only two years (e.g. count your dual enrollment credits as FR/SO credits), take orgo for a year, physics, and biochem, take the MCAT, and you'll probably have a gap year. Otherwise, you'll figure it out. The most important thing is that you take it when you are ready, so you should probably take most of the prereqs before the MCAT.
4) At the very least, the Tufts EA program requires that all premed coursework be taken at Tufts University. All I can find from Northeastern is their EA pharmacy program, but I imagine it's similar. Like your MCAT question, it really depends on if you come in as a freshman, sophomore, or junior. If you come in as a freshman, you would most likely need to start over at the beginning to be eligible.
5) If you're worried about it being an AA and not an AS, don't worry. I'm getting a BA in biology because that's all my school offers. Chemistry and Biochemistry are also BAs. It's weird.