Taking Prerequisites in community college

www.westernu.edu/pharmacy/
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I think the previous poster has it about right. It's all about the professor.

I know peeps in 3rd year med school that say the anat/phys professor at the local CC teaches one of the top 3 hardest classes they have ever taken. I've had her for 2 semesters of anat/phys and 2 more semesters of med term. and love her. She does have tough tests but she is completely fair and tells you exactly what to need to know about a specific system . "Everything!" .... YEEEESH!

There are good instructors and bad ones. It doesn't take long to figure out which ones to avoid for the classes you need to know. Don't take the easy way out for classes you need. For history .. yeah, take the patsy teacher. For Organic... find a good one and work your tail off.

That applies at Univ. as well as CC. A bad teacher is a bad teacher no matter how much your paying per credit hour.
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I'm a nontraditional student as well at 32, and I am taking my classes through CC. The price of tuition was a big factor for me, and that I was able to take nonscience classes online. Next year will be an adjustment as I will start my science classes.
 
Mike1588 said:
Very interesting responses, I too am taking some of the pre-reqs at a CC then plan on transferring to a university to finish up. I also find some of the higher level courses (ie. orgo, calc, etc) difficult but doable, and was wondering if the CC grade inflation was actually true to that extent. What university did you guys transfer to, and how would you compare the classes as far as difficulty is concerned to your former CC?
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I transferred to Ferris State University after a year of community college.

I'd say the classes are exactly the same. The only thing that seems to have changed is that I have to do my own laundry now and there are drunk people who often wake me up at 3 am by yelling outside. Also, my student debt/semester increased from $2,000 to $7,000 :( :( :(

Classes, imo, are easy peasy. I'd say that organic 1 here is even easier than gen chem 2 at cc, but maybe that's just because I don't really like math.
 
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i'm a non-trad student as well, 32 yr.old with 2 children under the age of 5. :oops:
I'm finishing up my first year of science pre-reqs (Bio 1&2, Chem 1&2) at a community college because they have night classes. I think I'm going to try to get certified as a tech next semester and work for a year. Kids will be older by then and I'm planning to transfer to UT to finish up with genetics, physics, org 1&2 plus micro. I'm nervous about the 2nd year of pre-reqs, too. (Oh yeah, my stats are a 4.0 and the "CC grade inflation" theory floats in my head on a daily basis.
 
I too am taking my prerequisites at a community college because of cost. I already have a BS in Information Technology so I do not quailfy for any financial assistance, so if I have to pay of course CC it is! Compared to the university level to me the classes are equally hard and they have night classes which is a huge plus for me!

I talked to a counselor at the school of pharmacy and she stated that it is not held against you to take classes at the CC, just make good grades and you should be fine. Every one can't afford university prices so you gotta do what you gotta do!

P.S. I'm also a non-traditional student (31 years young this month:))
 
I did most of my pre-req at CC.
 
I took intro chem at a cc, and it was a breeze compared to the genchem and genbio I'm taking now at Cal State Univ. These classes are pretty competitive, and the grades reflect that -- 1/3 of my bio class got an A on their first midterm.
 
I was torn between going for pharmacy or education (teaching) coming out of high school, and I decided to go for teaching right away because at that time the ~8 years to become a pharmacist (after getting a BS) seemed too long to get out into the work force. The impatience of youth!

I attended a Minnesota State University for 4 years and got a BS in Social Studies Education, and it was a great experience over all. I really enjoyed science and managed to fit in a couple science classes (The Gen Chem series included) so I have at least a little bit of experience taking science classes from a university.

After a year in a high school I decided teaching wasn't the right career for me. About a year after that I went back to school (a community college this time) to complete my pre-reqs for pharmacy. I have to say taking classes like Chemistry, Calculus, Physics, etc. from a community college is one of the best things I could have done as far as really learning the material. This seems to be a common thread amongst the posts here but I'll say it again...the face time you get from the instructors is so nice. The instructors are teaching here because they really want to TEACH....not do research like the focus is at many universities. You have a question, you'll get it answered, and the teachers are more than happy to help you out.

I laughed when I read the comment above about the girl that was just shocked pharmacy schools would accept someone who took pre-reqs from a community college...I've seen that same attitude as well and can't stand it! There was a guy who was in our interview group at Midwestern that had that same attitude about taking classes from CCs...his disgust when I brought up the fact that I'm currently attending one was palpable! But I'm getting a solid education here and am not paying out my rear end while I'm at it, so those people can scoff all they want. I was accepted at MWU-CPG with the vast majority of my science pre-reqs taken from a community college.

You can definitely get into pharmacy school taking some prereqs from a CC, but having a BS helps a lot as well for many schools. For example, at the University of Minnesota (I'm waiting to hear from them after my interview) something like ~70-75% of last year's accepted students had a Bachelor's. Don't let the naysayers get you down though...if you really want to go for it, do so! Try to get some pharmacy experience too, become active in some volunteer activities, and do well on the PCAT and you'll be fine!
 
I too am planing to attend a community College and need help on what to major in.
 
sadyeah said:
I too am planing to attend a community College and need help on what to major in.
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Doesn't really matter what you major in, as long as you take the prereqs along with other classes but if you want to get done as fast as possible and try to get into pharm school without a Degree then you need not declare a major at community college you can just take classes you need. If you wanted to be on the safe side and work toward a major that encompassed pharmacy prreqs, your best bet is looking into Biochem, Biology, Microbiology, Chemistry, Zoology or something along those lines. Almost of those majors will have similar first year classes anyway, Gen Chem, Gen Biology and toss in some baccore classes like Writing, Comm, Sociology and Psych and you would be good to go.
 
I have a B.S. in a non-science field (Education, Secondary Social Studies emphasis) that I earned before I decided to pursue pharmacy. I have taken nearly all of my science prereqs from a community college though (out of necessity because of where I live now). So far so good, I've been accepted to U of MN and MWU-CPG, it definitely can be done.
 
I started school at a community college because it was cheaper than the nearby 4-year institution that has a pharmacy program. I was wondering if my pre-pharmacy courses would be accepted if I started at a community college and transferred? Has anyone from a junior college been accepted into Pharmacy?

Thank you,
Cherry
 
i've done it...in fact, i did most of my pharmacy prereqs at the junior college..i have been accepted to one school, i have interviews at a few others
 
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I know several people personally that did everything at CC's and were accepted. Most of them had really high GPA's and average PCAT scores 75+.

I don't know about a 3.0 CC gpa and a 60 PCAT working but anyway.

Lots of people (especially on this board for some reason) like to bash on the CC's but the truth is what you put into your education is what you get out of it.... no matter how much it costs.
 
I went to CC to take all of my pre-reqs there and just got accepted into Pharmacy. My overall GPA 3.75, science GPA 3.83, PCAT 61.
 
I did my 1st two years at a CC where I finished most of my pharm prereqs. I then transfered to a university and will be completing a B.S. in May. I was accepted to a pharm school for the upcoming year. Looking back at all the courses I have completed it's kinda odd to me how I am mainly being judged on my 1st two years of college considering all the upper division chem/biochem classes I have taken, 60+ units. Well I guess that's how it goes though. From my experience it really doesn't matter where you have taken your pharm prereqs, as long as you did well in them. But I do think it is a plus if you can prove that you can do well at a 4yr university as well.
 
CHERRYB: what four year university with a pharmacy school is near your CC?
AND also... i am freshman at a local university right now and i was wondering...is it gona be a disadvantage later on if i take some of my science prereqs at my local CC. or should i just finish everything at my university?
 
...ALL of my prereqs were at the community college level. And I got accepted to my top choice. 3.88 prereq GPA and 88 PCAT.

If you do all at comm coll, then they will need to be stellar grades to compete with applicants from 4-year schools. I have several other ec's that I'm sure factored into my getting accepted b/c my school wants a more "well-rounded" individual vs those who have straight A's and high PCAT but no life experience (work, etc.)

Good luck.
 
I did all of my pre-reqs at a CC and got accepted. Your stats are pretty close to what mine were. I would consider them competitive at many schools.
 
I know for medical school, community college credits are looked down upon or sometimes even not accepted at all. I was wondering if this is the case for pharmacy school as well... is 2 years community college followed by 2 years at a university a major detriment to getting into pharmacy school? (specifically in Florida)

Also, how hard is pharmacy school admission compared to med school admissions.
 
As far as admissions go, I think you would have to look at each pharm school individually to see what the adcoms look for in applicants. Some schools are all about the numbers, while others often accept applicants with below average scores but some other quality they feel the applicant has beside just stellar grades and PCAT scores.

For community college courses, you may need to email specific schools about their policy. I'm sure others here will be able to help you with an answer.
 
If the only opportunity you have to attend a college is go through the jc route, and then transfer. If you do well enough at a JC you can even apply to pharmacy school (provided that you do really well and plan accordingly). If you go to a JC and then to a reputable 4 year university, adcom isn't going to look down upon you (after all you earned the same bs/ba degree everybody else did from that university).

FYI, i got into pharmacy school with 2 years at a CC.

No comment on med school...

good luck
 
Because i love this forum so much, and i truly appreciate every single person on this forum here who gives their advice/suggestions and their help to those who ask for it and desperately need it, I'm going to let you in on some very valuable advice coming from me and my personal exerience. I haven't given this much, or any of this advice on any other thread, but i'm going to now because i don't want you or anyone else to fall in the same dark pithole that i fell into and struggled to get out of for so long. Whether you take my advice is completely up to you, but if you do, I guarantee you won't be sorry, and you'll thank me. So here goes. [i apologize in advance for the length of this thread]

Honestly, I would not reccommend you taking courses at community college for the pre-reqs. Not to put down community colleges, i think they're great for some people like those looking for a small career change; they just take 2 years of coursework and they become a pharmacy technician/dental hygenist/book keeper or whatever. They're great for students out of highschool who need to beef up their grades to get into college, or people who just want to take courses for their own personal enrichement.

I know there are alot of people on this forum who took their pre-reqs at community college and got into pharmacy school. That's awesome, congrats to them:) But if you're just starting out, and you know pharmacy is what you want to do, I strongly strongly suggest you take the courses at a university; that's my personal opinion, and I'm speaking from experience. I took 2 years at a community college, did the majority of my pre-reqs there, and when i transferred to a 4-year university, let me just say it was an terrible transition. The curriculums at a community college and university are completely different; there is huuge huge gap in the material that is covered, and you'll find yourself way behind than the other students if you took courses (i'm talking about the science and math courses here) at a community college. This might not be the case for some students, every state and every school is different, but I'm telling you this was the case with me; generally, courses taken at a university are stronger, denser, cover more material but at the same time, they will prepare you much much better for advanced courses (and pharmacy school) than the same course taken at a community college.

Another point i want to emphasize: most of those pharmacy schools that only require 2 years of pre-reqs tell you you can take them at an accredited 4-year instituition or community college. Does it matter? if you ask the pharmacy school, they will probably tell you it doesn't really matter as long as you do really well in them. But the real deal is, it does matter. It matters ALOT. Pre-reqs taken at a university will hold much more weight and looked at more seriously than taken at community college. That's a fact. Unfortunately, I learned that fact too late. Simply because nobody told me, I had to learn it on my own. But I'm telling you now, it matters where you take your pre-reqs. Pharmacy schools aren't going to tell you not to take them at a community college. You have to make that choice. But speaking from personal experience, I would strongly advise you take them at a university. And here's why:

One, the courses are stronger and will prepare you much better. Two, at a university you will have such an enormous amount of resources at your fingertips that you can take advantage of that will help you get accepted to pharmacy school; tons of contacts, wide networking, great advisors who know what they're talking about and professors (aka. major potential letters of recommendation!:)), volunteer opportunities, tutor center, pre-health or pre-pharmacy clubs/organizations/committees, university career center, and so much more. The resources available at a university are remarkable, and when taken advantage of, they will do wonders to your pharmacy school application.

If by all means, you can't get into a university right now for whatever reason, and you're stuck with no other choice than going to community college, then here's what you do. Start taking your pre-reqs, but do not take the science and math ones. Start with your english, sociology, psychology, history, humantities.....you know, those liberal arts or non-science courses you have to take. Those courses are wonderful to take at a community college because they're nice, light courses that you can get out of the way really quickly and easily. Those are the courses you want to take at a community college. Save the science and math courses for when you transfer to a university. Those are the most important pre-req courses, and trust me, taking them at a university will do you soooo much good, and you'll thank me. So, once you ace those humanities/liberal arts pre-reqs at your community college after 2 semesters, apply to the university of your choice, and you will get in. Then you'll be appointed an advisor, you take your science and math pre-reqs, and whatever pre-reqs you have to complete, do really well and study really hard, volunteer when you can, or get a part-time job at a pharmacy (another source for a letter of recommendation!:)), and then you apply to pharmacy school. You do this, and I guarantee you'll get in.
 
Good post above...

When I began college in 03, I knew that I wanted to do something in the medical field but I didn't know what degree to pursue. I took my basic sciences at a major university because I didn't want the reason for me not getting into a program due to me taking courses at a community college. The science courses that I took were far more dense in content than the 3 science courses I took at a community college. The classes are harder and my grades are not perfect from taking these courses at a university, from my experience. I knew that I could have managed a 4.0 (science gpa)at community college but I didn't want to risk it. My university classes had 300+ people in the lecture portion and I rarely had the chance to meet with my professors since they were usually busy with their own research. Just be aware of the competition and who you will be up against.
 
uncinmyheart said:
If by all means, you can't get into a university right now for whatever reason, and you're stuck with no other choice than going to community college, then here's what you do. Start taking your pre-reqs, but do not take the science and math ones. Start with your english, sociology, psychology, history, humantities.....you know, those liberal arts or non-science courses you have to take. Those courses are wonderful to take at a community college because they're nice, light courses that you can get out of the way really quickly and easily. Those are the courses you want to take at a community college. Save the science and math courses for when you transfer to a university.
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I agree...I was just talking to my roommate about this yesterday. Even if the schools don't weigh cc classes less than uni., your PCAT scores reflect the variance in curriculum. I believe that you will be more prepared for the test if you were to take them at the university, especially math & science.
 
uncinmyheart said:
Because i love this forum so much, and i truly appreciate every single person on this forum here who gives their advice/suggestions and their help to those who ask for it and desperately need it, I'm going to let you in on some very valuable advice coming from me and my personal exerience. I haven't given this much, or any of this advice on any other thread, but i'm going to now because i don't want you or anyone else to fall in the same dark pithole that i fell into and struggled to get out of for so long. Whether you take my advice is completely up to you, but if you do, I guarantee you won't be sorry, and you'll thank me. So here goes. [i apologize in advance for the length of this thread]

Honestly, I would not reccommend you taking courses at community college for the pre-reqs. Not to put down community colleges, i think they're great for some people like those looking for a small career change; they just take 2 years of coursework and they become a pharmacy technician/dental hygenist/book keeper or whatever. They're great for students out of highschool who need to beef up their grades to get into college, or people who just want to take courses for their own personal enrichement.

I know there are alot of people on this forum who took their pre-reqs at community college and got into pharmacy school. That's awesome, congrats to them:) But if you're just starting out, and you know pharmacy is what you want to do, I strongly strongly suggest you take the courses at a university; that's my personal opinion, and I'm speaking from experience. I took 2 years at a community college, did the majority of my pre-reqs there, and when i transferred to a 4-year university, let me just say it was an terrible transition. The curriculums at a community college and university are completely different; there is huuge huge gap in the material that is covered, and you'll find yourself way behind than the other students if you took courses (i'm talking about the science and math courses here) at a community college. This might not be the case for some students, every state and every school is different, but I'm telling you this was the case with me; generally, courses taken at a university are stronger, denser, cover more material but at the same time, they will prepare you much much better for advanced courses (and pharmacy school) than the same course taken at a community college.

Another point i want to emphasize: most of those pharmacy schools that only require 2 years of pre-reqs tell you you can take them at an accredited 4-year instituition or community college. Does it matter? if you ask the pharmacy school, they will probably tell you it doesn't really matter as long as you do really well in them. But the real deal is, it does matter. It matters ALOT. Pre-reqs taken at a university will hold much more weight and looked at more seriously than taken at community college. That's a fact. Unfortunately, I learned that fact too late. Simply because nobody told me, I had to learn it on my own. But I'm telling you now, it matters where you take your pre-reqs. Pharmacy schools aren't going to tell you not to take them at a community college. You have to make that choice. But speaking from personal experience, I would strongly advise you take them at a university. And here's why:

One, the courses are stronger and will prepare you much better. Two, at a university you will have such an enormous amount of resources at your fingertips that you can take advantage of that will help you get accepted to pharmacy school; tons of contacts, wide networking, great advisors who know what they're talking about and professors (aka. major potential letters of recommendation!:)), volunteer opportunities, tutor center, pre-health or pre-pharmacy clubs/organizations/committees, university career center, and so much more. The resources available at a university are remarkable, and when taken advantage of, they will do wonders to your pharmacy school application.

If by all means, you can't get into a university right now for whatever reason, and you're stuck with no other choice than going to community college, then here's what you do. Start taking your pre-reqs, but do not take the science and math ones. Start with your english, sociology, psychology, history, humantities.....you know, those liberal arts or non-science courses you have to take. Those courses are wonderful to take at a community college because they're nice, light courses that you can get out of the way really quickly and easily. Those are the courses you want to take at a community college. Save the science and math courses for when you transfer to a university. Those are the most important pre-req courses, and trust me, taking them at a university will do you soooo much good, and you'll thank me. So, once you ace those humanities/liberal arts pre-reqs at your community college after 2 semesters, apply to the university of your choice, and you will get in. Then you'll be appointed an advisor, you take your science and math pre-reqs, and whatever pre-reqs you have to complete, do really well and study really hard, volunteer when you can, or get a part-time job at a pharmacy (another source for a letter of recommendation!:)), and then you apply to pharmacy school. You do this, and I guarantee you'll get in.
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I agree with most of the above post. I did two years at a community college and this is my third year in college (1st year at university) and i honestly don't find things to be much different. If anything this was my easiest year so far. But that does not mean that it would be the situation for everyone. It just so happened that the cc i went to was pretty good and did a good job with the material. I did more than 90% of my pre reqs there. i had to redo my anatomy 1 at the university b/c i didn't complete the sequence at the cc. so comparing the anatomy i course at the cc and the univeristy, it was much tougher at the cc. much more material to learn. especially the lab. practical was much tougher at the cc. but like i said it all depends on which cc you are planning on attending. i went to cc only b/c of my financial situation. not all cc's are like good like the one i attended. so if u can, avoid the risk and go to a university.
 
uncinmyheart said:
One, the courses are stronger and will prepare you much better. Two, at a university you will have such an enormous amount of resources at your fingertips that you can take advantage of that will help you get accepted to pharmacy school; tons of contacts, wide networking, great advisors who know what they're talking about and professors (aka. major potential letters of recommendation!:)), volunteer opportunities, tutor center, pre-health or pre-pharmacy clubs/organizations/committees, university career center, and so much more. The resources available at a university are remarkable, and when taken advantage of, they will do wonders to your pharmacy school application.
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One: The courses at my college are exactly the same as those taught at the university 5 miles away. Same book, same labs. The only difference is paying 3-5 times more in tuition. All of my science instructors and many of my other intructors have PhD's. They teach because they want to, not because they are required to.

Two: Shocker, I have access to all those same resources at my college! And heck, it was even easier to get a letter of reference from my professors cause guess what? They offered to write them for me after they found out I was a pre-pharmacy student. Why? Because its easier to get face time with a professor in a class of 50 versus 300.

Stop perpetuating this FUD. Yes, there are some idiotic schools that refuse to take community college credits and look down upon community college students. But those are the rare exception, and you know what? fsck em, its their loss. I know half a dozen people I went to school with, who did all their pre-pharmacy coursework at a community college. One is at UCSF, two are at Arizona, one at Colorado, and two more at Chicago. Not to mention at least another few who got into Midwestern Glendale or USN. And still, some people will continue spreading FUD about community colleges. About how if two students are exactly the same otherwise and one went to a CC and the other a university the university student will get picked. Maybe that's true, too bad that circumstance will never, ever occur.

Stop worrying about the single tree in the forest.
 
azPharmD2B said:
One: The courses at my college are exactly the same as those taught at the university 5 miles away. Same book, same labs. The only difference is paying 3-5 times more in tuition. All of my science instructors and many of my other intructors have PhD's. They teach because they want to, not because they are required to.

Two: Shocker, I have access to all those same resources at my college! And heck, it was even easier to get a letter of reference from my professors cause guess what? They offered to write them for me after they found out I was a pre-pharmacy student. Why? Because its easier to get face time with a professor in a class of 50 versus 300.

Stop perpetuating this FUD. Yes, there are some idiotic schools that refuse to take community college credits and look down upon community college students. But those are the rare exception, and you know what? fsck em, its their loss. I know half a dozen people I went to school with, who did all their pre-pharmacy coursework at a community college. One is at UCSF, two are at Arizona, one at Colorado, and two more at Chicago. Not to mention at least another few who got into Midwestern Glendale or USN. And still, some people will continue spreading FUD about community colleges. About how if two students are exactly the same otherwise and one went to a CC and the other a university the university student will get picked. Maybe that's true, too bad that circumstance will never, ever occur.

Stop worrying about the single tree in the forest.
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lool, get a hold of yourself please:laugh:. nobody is spreading fud, or whatever the heck you said about community colleges. did you miss the part of my post that said community colleges are great for most people?? of course, community colleges differ from state to state, even county to county; there are good ones and there are not-so-good ones. If the community colleges in your area teach the same exact courses, word by word, same book, same lab, same instructor, whatever, as the university down the street, and they get the same praise as the university then you're in a great spot! really. i would pick the community college over the university too and save some big bucks!. But that isn't the case for everyone; it sure as hell wasn't for me, and I'm sure it wasn't for a lot of other people. The community college i went to was even below the not-so-good catagory; it really put me behind when i transferred to university. I'm at a university now (thank god), and I felt a huge huge difference in every aspect; the courses, the advisors,the professors, the resources, everything. To me, I feel the university is preparing me to become the best pharmacy candidate i can be.

yeah, it's a shame some schools don't take community colleges seriously because there are some really good colleges out there. I want to go to UNC for pharmacy school; it's reeeally competitive to get in. So to be more competitive, in my position, it's best to take your courses at a university than a community college.
 
How would it look to take a physiology class at a CC simply because my university doesn't have that class with a lab?

I am asking because University of Wyoming says all science courses must have a lab.
 
I edited my response..it sounded to harsh.
 
Take your histories, Englishes, governments, and physics at community college.

Take all your chemistry, biology, math, all that other hard core science stuff at the university.

And get your degree.

Makes life sooo much easier. :D
 
ScratELT said:
I know for medical school, community college credits are looked down upon or sometimes even not accepted at all. I was wondering if this is the case for pharmacy school as well... is 2 years community college followed by 2 years at a university a major detriment to getting into pharmacy school? (specifically in Florida)

Also, how hard is pharmacy school admission compared to med school admissions.
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LOL you know most Pre-Pharm kids at FCCJ get accepted to UF COP. :D
There's a COP in Jacksonville :).

Why would they put a COP in jax anyway if they didn't have good schools there? (i.e. UNF and FCCJ)

There are other UFCOP's other than Gainesville (obviously) and Jax. There's one in Orlando too and i dont know the rest. heh though you could look it up. :)

Of course not all CC's are not the same. I read somewhere in a UF website that if someone took classes in a CC they would base their "quality" on how the previours students from a specific CC did on the Professional program.

go gators :D
 
PearLBenzene said:
Take your histories, Englishes, governments, and physics at community college.

Take all your chemistry, biology, math, all that other hard core science stuff at the university.

And get your degree.

Makes life sooo much easier. :D
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I agreed.
 
Is it possible (or should I say likely) to get your prerequisites in a community college and go to pharmacy school, or does a bachelor's degree really increase your chances of getting in?
 
PearLBenzene said:
Take your histories, Englishes, governments, and physics at community college.

Take all your chemistry, biology, math, all that other hard core science stuff at the university.

And get your degree.

Makes life sooo much easier. :D
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Well said :D
 
coldkatanagirl said:
Is it possible (or should I say likely) to get your prerequisites in a community college and go to pharmacy school, or does a bachelor's degree really increase your chances of getting in?
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Again, it really depends on what schools you're applying to, so check with each school. Some require a bachelor's degree, some only 2 years of pre-reqs. Generally, a bachelor's degree gives you more of a competitive edge when applying to pharmacy school, but if you can enroll at a university that has a pre-pharmacy curriculum (usually those universities have a pharmacy school so if there's one in your area/state and you intend on applying there, i suggest you do your pre-reqs there) and do your pre-reqs and do really well then apply. you'll have a good chance of getting in. usually, those universities who only require 2-year pre-reqs readily accept more of their own students into their pharmacy school.
 
I think it's a really good point to remember that every school is different. Even 4 year universities can differ a lot. In the Fall semester of this year I took Cell Bio and the girl I sat next to (before I freaked and dropped the class a month in :laugh:) had already taken the class at a different school 50 miles away. She completed her freshman year at a state university and decided to move to my city and transfer as a sophmore to our private university. Well my school didn't accept her cell bio credit she had from her other school. She had passed it with an A. She said that apparently the curriculum is way different and so she had to redo it. Bummer huh! :( Right before I dropped the class she said to me that at her old school the class was so much easier and the most she was hoping for at this current school was a B. She was a pre-physical therapy student.

Point being that every school can differ a lot in their curriculum and how it's taught. Ugh, I've even found that if there are 3 different professors teaching the same class, each of them is going to likely do it differently. Some will be easier and just kind of sweep over the stuff and others really get intense and dig in there deep.

My brother is a business major and has spent his first 2 years of college at a community college where he has an almost 4.0 gpa. He's going to a Kansas State this fall for his junior year. Hearing from him about what the comm. college is like I personally would feel ok going there but I have decided not to. My reason for it is simple... I just like attending a 4 year university. I've looked forward to being able to go for so long that it would feel bad if I went elsewhere. Hope that makes sense. What would be ideal is if a person could talk to someone currently attending the comm. college they are looking into and talk to them about what it's like and then make a decision based on that.

I personally also have so much already stacked against me that adding in the community college stuff would only complicate it more.
 
I was thinking about taking micro and A&P 2 at a community college this summer since i can not afford it at my university during summer (no scholarships and no financial aid in summer). It is incredibly expensive for 2 4 credit classes $400 cc vs $1800 UV.

My University (University of Michigan) wont transfer these credits since they have this policy that once u are in and they offer the class u take it there and nowhere else. Anyway i don't need this classes or credits to graduate since i will fulfill the requirements but since i never took any classes at community college, how with this look in my application.
 
Is this a new policy at UofM? While I attended there, I took summer classes at 2 different universities and they transferred with no problem. I think the community college policy was that they would only transfer while you are sophomore level. However, taking science classes at community college has not affected my application negatively. I switched careers and took most of the pharmacy prereqs post graduation at a community college and have been accepted into a school and am interviewing at my other school. I only applied to 2 schools.

Albo said:
I was thinking about taking micro and A&P 2 at a community college this summer since i can not afford it at my university during summer (no scholarships and no financial aid in summer). It is incredibly expensive for 2 4 credit classes $400 cc vs $1800 UV.

My University (University of Michigan) wont transfer these credits since they have this policy that once u are in and they offer the class u take it there and nowhere else. Anyway i don't need this classes or credits to graduate since i will fulfill the requirements but since i never took any classes at community college, how with this look in my application.
Click to expand...
 
I go to the Dearborn campus and i will be a senior next year. At our campus there is this rule that unless the class is not offered you can not take it anywhere else.

Anyway anyone else has any take on this matter, that would be really appreciated.
 
Hello :) I'm not real sure I understand what you mean. Do you mean that your pharmacy schools won't accept the credits or do you mean your 4 year university won't accept it? Isn't it most important if the pharmacy school will accept them? Sorry, not trying to be ridiculous but I'm confused. If you clarify you might have more answers coming your way. :D
 
In Texas, some pharmacy schools frown upon science courses taken in the summer. Most suggest that you take them at a 4-year university as well. Since you are in a financial bind, they make take that into consideration though.
 
My 4 year university would not transfer them or accept them but the Pharmacy schools at least here in Michigan accept any courses taken from an accredited college or university.
The problem is will the Pharmacy School frown upon that this 2 courses were taken at a community college.
 
I think it all depends on your overall application, I took all my pre-reqs at CC was accepted at 1 school so far.
 
I go to a prestigious private university which does not offer several of the pre-pharm prereq courses (speech, english composition, microbio, and human anatomy). I contacted several of the pharmacy school admissions, and they said that if they are not offered at my school, that I should take them at a community college... which I plan to do.

However, I was thinking of graduating a little earlier, so I wanted to take a course that IS offered at my university and just take it at the community college. Would it look bad/suspicious (that I'm taking an easy way out) that I took a course at a community college instead of at my school when it IS offered at my school?

Thanks for your help! :)
 
littletwinstarr said:
I go to a prestigious private university which does not offer several of the pre-pharm prereq courses (speech, english composition, microbio, and human anatomy). I contacted several of the pharmacy school admissions, and they said that if they are not offered at my school, that I should take them at a community college... which I plan to do.

However, I was thinking of graduating a little earlier, so I wanted to take a course that IS offered at my university and just take it at the community college. Would it look bad/suspicious (that I'm taking an easy way out) that I took a course at a community college instead of at my school when it IS offered at my school?

Thanks for your help! :)
Click to expand...

i took all of my pre-req at CC and got into the top private school in FL(NOVA)..as long as the school you trying to get into accepts courses taken at CC you are fine...
 
If when you called the pharm school to ask they told you to take them at a CC then there isn't any reason you shouldn't. I mean, they told you to. It seems pretty clear then that they are not only fine with it but are encouraging it. It's strange that your school does not offer those classes, those are fairly basic really. Is your school tiny? I go to a private school also that is about 7,000 students and they offer everything the larger nearby state universities offer.
 
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