Taking Prerequisites in community college

[ad1585]

YES you can take your course at a community college.

Thanks .... i really didnt think so.

Does this apply for all pharmacy schools??

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[ad1585]

Thanks .... i really didnt think so.

Does this apply for all pharmacy schools??

WILL IT REPLACE MY ORIGINAL GRADE ?

 

[ttran01]

WILL IT REPLACE MY ORIGINAL GRADE ?

im guessing that might depend on each school. some schools might average the grades together.

 

[tdkneo]

WILL IT REPLACE MY ORIGINAL GRADE ?

no, it depends on the school youre applying to, some schools actually let you replace the grades if you retook your class at the same school otherwise it will just average out the two grades, hopes that help........

 

[ad1585]

Thanks for the help guys

 

[UCB2005]

Your best bet is to contact the schools that you wish to apply to and ask them how they gauge your grades. Generally speaking, counselors will always advise you to take pre-reqs at a four year university rather than a community college. If you can take classes at a CC, the admissions board will regard them as "less challenging" than courses at a university and thus A's and B's at a community college will not be considered as A's and B's at a university. Statistically speaking, PharmCas (the application tool for most pharmacy schools) computes ALL college grades equally. Check out the following link to have a clearer idea of how they compute grades. http://pharmcas.org/applicants/gpa.htm

 

[TennisBoy78]

Your best bet is to contact the schools that you wish to apply to and ask them how they gauge your grades. Generally speaking, counselors will always advise you to take pre-reqs at a four year university rather than a community college. If you can take classes at a CC, the admissions board will regard them as "less challenging" than courses at a university and thus A's and B's at a community college will not be considered as A's and B's at a university. Statistically speaking, PharmCas (the application tool for most pharmacy schools) computes ALL college grades equally. Check out the following link to have a clearer idea of how they compute grades. http://pharmcas.org/applicants/gpa.htm

I agree somewhat with this assumption, but if you prove you can kick a** with your pre-reqs at a CC, it should not be as important. If you get B's and C's though, it's not good. Admissions could use the argument of "well, if this person took this at a university instead of at a CC, he/she would get a grade lower." However, if you get A's at a CC, you have mastered the subject, as there is no guarantee that this assumption will be as true, because getting an A in a particular subject at a CC means that you can very well get an A at the university.

 

[ad1585]

If so, did the pharmacy school have any issues with this??? How many of the Prereq courses did you take at a CC?????

 

[Pharm47]

If so, did the pharmacy school have any issues with this??? How many of the Prereq courses did you take at a CC?????

I took Physics at CC. I already have my BA, but I needed a few remaining courses. I might have to take Speech Communications at CC also. No problems with it. Although I'm going to take Anat&Phys this year, my #1 school specifically said that had to be at a 4-year school. So I'm probably going to have to quit my job, since there are no night classes!

 

[Bill_252001]

no problem in taking courses at a CC. I took most of mine at a CC. I have bachelors in Engineering though.

 

[UCB2005]

I agree with TennisBoy. Also a lot of schools today require the PCAT and I believe how you do on your PCAT will affect how they interpret your grades at a CC. Good grades at a CC and a good score on the PCAT is . Nevertheless, I encourage you to contact the schools you are interested in for the most accurate information of how to improve your application.

 

[UCB2005]

Yes, I am taking my pre-reqs at a CC. I graduated from Cal last year and I am working while taking classes. CC offers the most flexible schedules and it is the least costly option. Some CC classes are a bit of a joke and others are truly challenging and educational. I encourage you to go to http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/index.jsp to have an idea of how good the instructors are before enrolling in classes.

I believe that you can have an adequate education for your pre-reqs at a CC but you have to hand select each of your professors and you have to challenge yourself beyond the scope of each course. Some courses at a CC will not have adequate laboratories (which is one of the major gripes of the admissions board) and you will need to consider taking those courses at a four year university. Hope this info helps you out.

 

[ad1585]

Yea so im guessing im gonna have to call each pharmacy school im interested in individually to ask which courses have to be taken at a 4 year school and which can be taken at a CC.

 

[elmoz]

I agree with TennisBoy. Also a lot of schools today require the PCAT and I believe how you do on your PCAT will affect how they interpret your grades at a CC. Good grades at a CC and a good score on the PCAT is . Nevertheless, I encourage you to contact the schools you are interested in for the most accurate information of how to improve your application.

I agree with them too. CC is fine, but you want to have other areas of your application strong if you want to be accepted. I know of several people who did their pre-reqs at a CC, but they had a previous degree from a university, excellent grades at the CC, work experience, excellent PCAT scores, etc. If I had known that CC was okay, I definitely would've done my pre-reqs there to save some cash! Plus the CC in my town is top notch.

 

[konkan]

hey everyone,

I will be graduating Seton Hall University with a bachelors in Psychology. My main goal has always been to become a pharmacist but certain obstacles have come up, forcing me to finish my undergrad as a psychology major.

I was originally a Chemistry major so I have taken most of the prerequisites(general chem I &II ...Orgo Chem I & II...Calculus II ...etc) but most of these have to be repeated in order to get a B or higher.

Will I be able to take these courses over in a community college once im done with my undergrad????? This would be good because they will cost me less money and also ide be able to take these during the summer time.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a person in my situation???

Is there anything wrong with the fact that I will be graduating with a psychology degree???

Yes, you can take prereqs at a community college, but be careful coz a lot of pharm. schools "like" when people take them at their university or at least at other universities. For instance, I took all but a few classes at community college, and was accepted, but mainly because I got a good pcat score. I talked to about 20-30 people from my class - they all took prereqs at universities.

 

[bananaface]

Oregon Steate requires that a few of their science prerequisites be taken at a 4 year school. I haven't seen any other schools with this policy but there may be some out there. I wouldn't worry too much unless OSU is on your list.

 

[pakcw]

If so, did the pharmacy school have any issues with this??? How many of the Prereq courses did you take at a CC?????

If you have straight A for your pre-requriement science course plus any work exp. in pharmacy then you have no problem to get into pharmacy school even w/o BA or BS degree.
I see peple get into pharm school in this competitive state, CA straight from CC.
Thus, do not worry too much getting A, I feel like you have to go through as much as university dose in CC, too.

 

[JGo]

I'm applying for Fall 2007 Admission. ALL of my prereqs have/will be done at a Community College. The way my advisor put it, "if you do well on the PCAT, they most likely won't say you are unadequately prepared coming from a Community College.." (GPA counts too!) I am going to try and do outstanding on the PCAT to solidify my seat in Pharm school next year. That and you could also boost your app with Pharmacy experiance, some good LORs, ECs, and a great PS.

 

[ad1585]

I'm applying for Fall 2007 Admission. ALL of my prereqs have/will be done at a Community College. The way my advisor put it, "if you do well on the PCAT, they most likely won't say you are unadequately prepared coming from a Community College.." (GPA counts too!) I am going to try and do outstanding on the PCAT to solidify my seat in Pharm school next year. That and you could also boost your app with Pharmacy experiance, some good LORs, ECs, and a great PS.

Thanks alot ..... i feel more confident about taking my prereqs at a CC now

 

[ad1585]

I'm applying for Fall 2007 Admission. ALL of my prereqs have/will be done at a Community College. The way my advisor put it, "if you do well on the PCAT, they most likely won't say you are unadequately prepared coming from a Community College.." (GPA counts too!) I am going to try and do outstanding on the PCAT to solidify my seat in Pharm school next year. That and you could also boost your app with Pharmacy experiance, some good LORs, ECs, and a great PS.

I know this might sound stupid but im new to this forum stuff and dont really know what you meand by LOR's, EC'S and a great PS. what do they stand for?

thanks

 

[UCB2005]

We were all new at one point too...don't worry about it.

LOR = Letter of Rec
EC = Extra-curricular activities
PS = Personal Statement

 

[kvl1027]

If so, did the pharmacy school have any issues with this??? How many of the Prereq courses did you take at a CC?????

I got my A.A. and all of my pre-reqs at CC. I dont think they look down upon it at all so long as you have Competitive PCATS. %30 of my class are from CC.

 

[tennismn]

I had a BS in Microbiology and Chemistry from the school I was applying to, but I had to take Anatomy I & II and Speech at the local community college. I didn't have any problems getting in, and the community college work never came up as an issue.

One thing they school did say was that this was the first year they accepted online classes to count for pre-req's. If you're looking into online classes, check with the school to make sure they accept them.

 

[the_labrat]

I am planning on taking all my prereq's at a community college..... When I spoke to the credentials analyst at UW she said everything i was planning on taking is going to qualify.

 

[ceruleansky]

I'm in the same boat too...I graduated from a university, but there are still a couple of classes I am taking this fall at a cc on top of working full time (Chem 1b and Public Speaking...argh!!!)

 

[mustangrolla]

Is anyone stuck in the same dilemma as I am? I've been wanting to take speech for a long time and to get over it but I keep on putting it off since I don't know which one I'll have to take. Some schools, like USC, requires the interpersonal communication type and others, like UCSF, requires public speaking. I don't want to pick one and end up having to take the other speech class. So unfortunately, I feel like my best thing to do is just to push it back to the summer before matriculation. Any comments?

 

[PharmMnM]

I took Physics at CC. I already have my BA, but I needed a few remaining courses. I might have to take Speech Communications at CC also. No problems with it. Although I'm going to take Anat&Phys this year, my #1 school specifically said that had to be at a 4-year school. So I'm probably going to have to quit my job, since there are no night classes!

which schools require prereqs to be taken at a university???
what happens if all my prereqs were taken at a community college?

 

[pakcw]

which schools require prereqs to be taken at a university???
what happens if all my prereqs were taken at a community college?

I know two case who only took their requirement in CC w/o having US Bachelor degree.
One got into western U. the other got into LL(even with international status)
as far as what I found out through these two student is they are both almost 4.0 students in CC.

Thus do not worry too much as long as you keep up the good GPA

 

[cy19861126]

I took all my 2-year prerequisite courses at a community college. Most of the schools in the States still recognizes it, but I'm not sure if I'm disadvantaged in the admission

 

[wnnr1119]

Since I found this website, I have read many threads and some people said that CC credits might hurt a chance of getting into a pharmacy school. Well, if say so, how could cc students get accepted from a pharms school. What is the difference between taking a class in 4 years college and a cc? In my opinion, if I keep good GPA (more than 3.5), it would be O.K to get my seat in a Pharmacy school. I don't think CC classes are less qualifier than a class in 4 Univs. There is only a difference between 4 and 2 colleges is students usually don't take a college entrance test like SAT or ACT, but students in 4 yrs college do. However, if someone who wants apply to a phram school, he or she must be a good student who has well done both GPA and PCAT. There are various reasons students take a class in cc is not only a financial problem but a low high school GPA. It would be a great chance to go to a pharm school without a 4 yrs Univs credits. But if a student who has straight As' his or her pre-reqs from a Univs might have more benefits to entrance a school than a student who has all As' pre-reqs from CC. It make me scare that it would happend to me.. Most applicants are great students who have a superior GPA and PACT score. I have no idea how to get 99% from PCAT and maintain over 3.9 GPA.. What is the best way to prepare for getting into a pharmacy school?? Any suggestion?? I'm nervous to get A's from all pre-reqs in CC. Making straight A is never easy for me... P.S Is there anyone who is studying in UF pharmacy school? If so, how many international students are studying there? why?? just curious.. Is an international student eligible applying to a pharms school? My friend told me that an international student can't apply to a pharms school..?@@? If so, I have to move other states.. So sad, isn't it??

 

[az_drugdlr]

I can't be of much help on the international student thing, but I would say that community college classes are viewed with less regard from some schools, and many schools will not accept CC credits, will only accept so many, or say no CC credits for math/science classes. Therefore, you would need to make sure the schools you apply to will accept CC credits. If there is a financial or other reason you specifically did not do the University thing, I would probably explain that to the admissions committee. From experience, I can say that the calibur of education is entirely different. I've taken all of my units at the University of Arizona, but I took physics with lab over the summer at a CC (mainly because I didn't have time to take it during the year), and it was a joke as far as the expectations, the teachers' knowledge and abilities, etc. It took minimal effort to get a 4.0 in physics over the summer, and EXTREME effort to get a 4.0 at the U during the school year (both of which I have done).

 

[RachGator]

I do have a Bachelors degree but I took many of my sciences at a CC. I got into several very good schools and they didn't have any problem with those classes. Good luck!

 

[wnnr1119]

I can't be of much help on the international student thing, but I would say that community college classes are viewed with less regard from some schools, and many schools will not accept CC credits, will only accept so many, or say no CC credits for math/science classes. Therefore, you would need to make sure the schools you apply to will accept CC credits. If there is a financial or other reason you specifically did not do the University thing, I would probably explain that to the admissions committee. From experience, I can say that the calibur of education is entirely different. I've taken all of my units at the University of Arizona, but I took physics with lab over the summer at a CC (mainly because I didn't have time to take it during the year), and it was a joke as far as the expectations, the teachers' knowledge and abilities, etc. It took minimal effort to get a 4.0 in physics over the summer, and EXTREME effort to get a 4.0 at the U during the school year (both of which I have done).

Thank you for your response. Well, I sent e-mail to the admission committee, but they have not sent it back.. I will probably call or go to the school. I assume that you extremely worked hard to get a 3.98 all pre-reqs at Univs. How long did you study in a day? and How many As had made before you applied to a school? What is CPHT? Good luck

 

[az_drugdlr]

I do work EXTREMELY hard, and my sleep usually suffers. I am usually doing homework until at least 2 AM, but more often 3 or 4 AM. My only B is actually in second semester o-chem lab (the rest are A's), but I'm going through a grade appeal to get an A because I felt the lab TA did not follow proper procedures and university policy when grading. After that is finished, I should have my 4.0 back. I am just now applying to schools, planning on sending in my applications this week. CPhT stands for Certified Pharmacy Technician. Thanks for the luck!

 

[cycloketocaine]

I do work EXTREMELY hard, and my sleep usually suffers. I am usually doing homework until at least 2 AM, but more often 3 or 4 AM. My only B is actually in second semester o-chem lab (the rest are A's), but I'm going through a grade appeal to get an A because I felt the lab TA did not follow proper procedures and university policy when grading. After that is finished, I should have my 4.0 back. I am just now applying to schools, planning on sending in my applications this week. CPhT stands for Certified Pharmacy Technician. Thanks for the luck!

I agree that most CC classes are a joke. (75% of my pre reqs are at a CC) But I took Gen Chem at my CC and O Chem 1 and 2 at a univeristy and the Gen Chem was about 1,568,954 times harder than my Org Chem. I had a really good, but difficult professor who loved making us squirm. And in rural Oklahoma, there really are not many univeristies to go to unless you plan on driving or move, so that was my best option. Just my 2 cents.

 

[cdpiano27]

Don't worry. High school in many foreign countries, especially in China, is a lot more difficult than in the US. And in China, organic chemistry is taught in high school, and in fact, students there start medical school right after high school, since they are very well prepared.

Wnnr, I do not know what country you are from, but I think that you should not worry. You probably had a very solid high school education equivalent to the first two years at many good universities in the US.

 

[wnnr1119]

Don't worry. High school in many foreign countries, especially in China, is a lot more difficult than in the US. And in China, organic chemistry is taught in high school, and in fact, students there start medical school right after high school, since they are very well prepared.

Wnnr, I do not know what country you are from, but I think that you should not worry. You probably had a very solid high school education equivalent to the first two years at many good universities in the US.

I come from Korea (not north).. Well, if you are an Asian, you might have any problem in a math class at CC (I guess a math class at Univs 100,000 more difficult than CC). American students are strong "English" and "Science" classes..I would not be the top student in any English and Science classes if I studied at Univs. What do you think?? Any pharmacy school in Korea, it is impossible for me to get in because pharms schools exist only 7~10 and most applicants must be a "super intelligent". They are so smart and have ablilities to get into any IVY schools in the U.S. I didn't see any person who could apply to pharms while attending at high school even though my highs was a great....
There is only 4-years program at any Pharms in Korea. They Only select high students who have almost 98% of Korean SAT. No extra curricular, letters of recoms, working experience need!!! Sound awful, isn't it.. How about China and Japan??? I guess more serious ...

 

[wnnr1119]

I do work EXTREMELY hard, and my sleep usually suffers. I am usually doing homework until at least 2 AM, but more often 3 or 4 AM. My only B is actually in second semester o-chem lab (the rest are A's), but I'm going through a grade appeal to get an A because I felt the lab TA did not follow proper procedures and university policy when grading. After that is finished, I should have my 4.0 back. I am just now applying to schools, planning on sending in my applications this week. CPhT stands for Certified Pharmacy Technician. Thanks for the luck!

I bet you will get accepted from a pharms where you desire to study (99.9% I am sure).. How long had you worked in a day before appling to. Do you have any working experience and a license? Thank you for your info..

 

[cdpiano27]

There is only one Japanese in my department. I do not know anything about pharmacy in China, but I know that entrance to the top colleges is very tough, and is based only on an entrance exam. And you "choose" your top choice majors (three of them) and your top choice schools. And depending upon how high you rank in your province, is whether or not you get into that particular university. And other majors are more competitive and have higher thresholds than others.

 

[az_drugdlr]

I bet you will get accepted from a pharms where you desire to study (99.9% I am sure).. How long had you worked in a day before appling to. Do you have any working experience and a license? Thank you for your info..

Thanks for the vote of confidence. As I said, I worked full-time as a CPhT (licensed) in summer 2005, and work intermittently whenever I am in my home town. My boss told me I can come back whenever I want - so I usually just work a few days or a week at a time.

 

[futureRXdealer]

I can't be of much help on the international student thing, but I would say that community college classes are viewed with less regard from some schools, and many schools will not accept CC credits, will only accept so many, or say no CC credits for math/science classes. Therefore, you would need to make sure the schools you apply to will accept CC credits. If there is a financial or other reason you specifically did not do the University thing, I would probably explain that to the admissions committee. From experience, I can say that the calibur of education is entirely different. I've taken all of my units at the University of Arizona, but I took physics with lab over the summer at a CC (mainly because I didn't have time to take it during the year), and it was a joke as far as the expectations, the teachers' knowledge and abilities, etc. It took minimal effort to get a 4.0 in physics over the summer, and EXTREME effort to get a 4.0 at the U during the school year (both of which I have done).

If you dont mind me asking....what CC did you take physics at and which session?

 

[phuongvu]

I agree that most CC classes are a joke. (75% of my pre reqs are at a CC) But I took Gen Chem at my CC and O Chem 1 and 2 at a univeristy and the Gen Chem was about 1,568,954 times harder than my Org Chem. I had a really good, but difficult professor who loved making us squirm. And in rural Oklahoma, there really are not many univeristies to go to unless you plan on driving or move, so that was my best option. Just my 2 cents.

I agree with you about the classes at cc. Some classes I am taking right now at a CC are really jokes. I decide to move to a university for the next semester !

 

[az_drugdlr]

If you dont mind me asking....what CC did you take physics at and which session?

Pima CC, Tucson, AZ. 10 credits over the summer (both semesters of physics with lab).

 

[wnnr1119]

I agree with you about the classes at cc. Some classes I am taking right now at a CC are really jokes. I decide to move to a university for the next semester !

Hey, there. Where are you living? I am wondering what classes made you going to a Univs. Is it easy for you transfer to a Univs? Do you have any offical test score (SAT or ACT)? or have enough college credits? in my case, I didn't want to go to CC, but I had a financial problem..

 

[wnnr1119]

Vietnamese is strong about science classes, especially "math". Don't any person agree?

 

[smallkitty00]

I'm Vietnamese and I agree. However, not 100% of them are and those are "strong" must work hard too.

Best!

 

[phuongvu]

Hey, there. Where are you living? I am wondering what classes made you going to a Univs. Is it easy for you transfer to a Univs? Do you have any offical test score (SAT or ACT)? or have enough college credits? in my case, I didn't want to go to CC, but I had a financial problem..

I had finacial problems, too. But you know what, I can't stand the way some professors teach at CC. I just gotta move asap. They - professors - come to class late and they spend most of the time in class talking about random stuff that has nothing to do with learning lessons...I am so tired of them....Not that I dont care about stuff outside school, I just dont want to waste my time listining to those #$%# cuz I have those classes at 7:00 am.

I am only taking English and history classes at CC. I am having a zoology class at CC right now, and thank GOD, I have a good professor. He is infamous with the title "the toughest guy" on campus b/c he doesnt give "A". I dont know if that's true, but I like him. He make me to try my best though it is only the first week of school.

I took some AP classes at high school and I have more than 20 credits done before entering college.

 

[rick hunter]

PLEASE,I NEED RESPONSES PRONTO!!!
I have a problem ... I attended a community college in california about 9 years ago...I attended for two semesters and dropped the last semester with all w's ( thats what I thought) I went to add this college to my pharmcas and I noticed that the cc did not give me w's but grades,horrible grades.
I am at a 3.925 GPA, the grades drop me down to a 3.37GPA. The thing is I do not need any of the courses from this cc. my current cc advisor told me not to put it into my transcript request because it of the possible error on there part and that there is no way that pharmcas will know if I do not report it...It bothers me because of the integrity issue BUT I am also bothered because it was a class withdrawl issue not my academic standing issue. has anybody heard of someone getting in trouble because of this issue...do I include this transcript which I have no classes that I need to transfer over or do I keep it on the DL. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

[NexusMD]

Hey all, I had question. How bad does it look to take a couple scieince classes at a community college?
Heres my situation
I came in with AP Bio credit. I've taken and will have taken physics 1, organic 1, genetics, and bio 3 at my 4 year university. I've already taken chem 1 at a community college. My questiion was whether it'd be ok to take chem 2 at my communiity college as well? I'll still take organic 2, phys 2, and biochem at my 4 year school.

Anyone know if this is a good idea? I'd rather take it at my community college then be forced to stay at my school over the summer.

Thanks

 

[the_labrat]

I am currently taking all my prerequisites at a community college. I was told by a couple of schools that this wouldnt be a problem, including one that is out of state.

However, I do know there are some universities (OSU?) that very clearly state that community college credits in certain classes CANNOT be applied.

My advice to you is to call up the admissions committee and ask if community college credit is accepted. Typically, if the course is designated as "guaranteed transfer" to the local state university, it can be considered just as viable as the university equivalent.

EDIT: I do know some universities do not allow AP credit to qualify as a prerequisite. You might also want to check that out with schools of your choice.