Community College VS University Credits - Pros and Cons?

[B2PA]

Can anyone shed some light on the pros and cons of getting pre-req courses at a community college?

 

I'm very new to the endeavor of reaching PA school and still trying to get to a grasp on it all...

 

Based on the response I got from this group on another post, I'm fired up about pursuing this career, but I'm still trying to work through the logistics of it all. I have a couple of questions, can anyone help?

 

Common sense tells me that there's a big disadvantage to taking pre-req courses at a community college, but from reading other posts, I'm not sure if that's true or imagined. (For context, in my situation, I will be taking/re-taking all of the pre-reqs over the next 3 years.)

 

Has anyone had experiences, positive or negative, when taking pre-req courses at a community college?

 

For example:

We're you overlooked for people that took those courses at universities?

Did some programs only accept courses from universites?

 

Conversely:

Have you taken community college courses as pre-reqs and experienced no problems with those courses (and benefited from the convenience and cost of those courses)?

 

Any context you pros can provide would be extremely helpful to me as I try to formulate a plan to reach PA school.

 

Much appreciated --

 

 

[dmdpac]

A good chunk of my pre-reqs came from a local community college.  Well, several local community colleges.  (It was a process and I moved a couple times in between.)  I had a couple classes from a traditional four year college, also. 

 

With several of my CC classes I found the professors/instructors much more willing to spend time with the students to ensure a good grasp of the material.  Compared to some of the more traditional college classes I took I felt I did much better and learned more with the CC classes.  Under the right setting I think a CC approach can be a good thing.  Of course, there are always variables to be considered.

 

Prior to applying to schools, I met with one of the admissions staff at my school of choice (and ultimately where I attended).  She advised me that it wasn't a big deal where the classes were from so long as it was an accredited college or university.  According to her community college fit that definition.  Nobody questioned it during the application or the interview process.

 

Your mileage may vary as this may not apply to other schools out there.

[UGoLong]

 

 

I had zero issues with having taken cc courses. For best results, talk to an academic coordinator at the PA programs of interest to you.

 

Good luck!

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[taotaox1]

Got it to Duke with every single one of my pre-req classes at a CC. Interviews at multiple top 10 school.  I am sure there are a couple of schools with adcoms that care, but most do not in my experience. ymmv so call your intended schools if you are worried.

 

Unless you go to a crappy CC, paying big $ for university credits is a waste of money.

[Maynard]

Yes, it matters. This has been verified by "PAAdmissions" on her thread. Look at Amina's "Devastated" thread:

http://www.physicianassistantforum.com/index.php?/topic/11805-devastated/

She was outright told by an admissions officer that, while everyone loved her in the interview, they wouldn't be admitting her because she took her prereqs at a community college.

 

I took my prereqs at community college and I think it has worked heavily against me. I got As in all of them (along with some wicked standardized test scores and good HCE), but I may not be getting in this cycle. The thing that irritates me about it is that I took my courses at Montgomery College, which has about 60,000 students, charges over 300 dollars per credit, and is just as rigorous as university courses -- so many people in my chem 101 class failed because it was so hard.

 

If you're in a situation where you can choose between taking prereqs at community college or university, then choose university. Ask any admissions officer and they will tell you the exact same thing. It may not be fair. It may not make complete sense. But that's the way it is. Use community college to take your public speaking or humanities courses. There are certainly some people who are able to get into good schools despite community college coursework. Some people get into good schools without shadowing experience or a lot of good HCE, but that doesn't make it a good idea.

 

I'd say the one exception is when you're going to be taking higher level science courses at the university. If you're getting a degree in Biology from the university, it's okay to take Bio I & II at the CC, provided you still do well in the higher level Bio courses when you get to the big school.

[LT_Oneal_PAC]

Took most of my prereqs at CC.

[Z PA-C]

I also took most of my prereqs at a CC. The adcoms never even brought it up during interviews.

[Guest wilsonct]

It is not only taking courses at a CC. In PA school you take 4 or 5 hard courses simultaneously.  If you take 1 course at CC / term and get a B, that may be looked at poorly, versus several courses / term at a University with that same B.

[JohnnyM2]

Perhaps it depends on the school but, if you have a four year degree from a university and got most of your pre-reqs there, I doubt any school will care if your remaining pre-reqs came from a CC. I agree that many community colleges do an excellent job but I know some schools are downright snobby. That's unfortunate but it's the world we live in.

 

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[Dunedain]

No way I could afford the 4 years around me (mostly private) with 3-4k a class. CC was my only option and I felt they were just as rigorous as my undergrad sciences.

[AREID]

I took pre requisites at a CC. I applied to 18 schools. Got interview offers at 17. If you get an interview they don't care. Once your at the interview than it's all about selling yourself. If they really cared they wouldn't have offered you an interview in the first place, I mean they offer you the interview AFTER reviewing your app. Take your pre requisites where you can

 

 

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[whoRyou]

I used to date a prof who has a Ph.D. He would conduct the same lecture, same book, same everything, the only differences were the institutions (CC vs university) and the price .

[PM2PA]

If a school won't admit you just for the fact that you took classes at a CC, then it's best to look elsewhere. In short it doesn't matter, and shouldn't matter, where you take them.

 

 

 

[Amina]

From my personal experience it does matter at least a little. When they have to choose between you and another applicant when all else is equal, that's when they start picking at things...date of application, CC classes, and anything else that may or may not be relevant. Contact the programs you are interested in and ask them if they have any preferences. I contacted my programs of interest and was told it didn't matter but, in actuality, it did. It would be best to speak with a program director. There are plenty of programs that don't have preferences. A little research will save you time, money and effort.

[Maynard]

In short it doesn't matter, and shouldn't matter, where you take them.

It shouldn't, but it does. Again, I reiterate that you can be successful in applying to PA school with prerequisites from a CC. However, it is something that can only work against you.

 

 

From Ask a PA admissions director (in response to my own question):

 

My #1 concern would be where you took your prerequisites... Our program thinks where you took the prerequisites and how many credits you attempted at one time to be important when you have applicants who may have had a rocky start to college many years ago. 

 

http://www.physicianassistantforum.com/index.php?/topic/5556-ask-a-pa-admissions-director/page-74

 

 

From an interview with Brenda Armstrong, director of admissions for Duke medical school:

 

Does it look bad to take science courses away from your undergraduate institution?

 

Armstrong: It looks bad to take your pre-medical prerequisites away. You do not ever want to do that. You can take other courses that are not required but you do not want to take prerequisites anywhere other than your base school.

 

Vault Insider Guide to Medical School Admissions. P. 99

(you can read this on Google Books)

[Dunedain]

With regard to the current trend of schools who love to get their jock on minority or underrepresented student populations (i.e non-traditional grads) it seems really elitist and hypocritical to prefer university classes over CC especially when many PhD tenured profs teach at CCs on the side. Sorry people have full time jobs or cant afford (or don't live near) a 4 year university. My undergrad cost close to 190k and I have no desire to go back and blow thousands for no reason on pre reqs....

[Maynard]

With regard to the current trend of schools who love to get their jock on minority or underrepresented student populations (i.e non-traditional grads) it seems really elitist and hypocritical to prefer university classes over CC especially when many PhD tenured profs teach at CCs on the side. Sorry people have full time jobs or cant afford (or don't live near) a 4 year university. My undergrad cost close to 190k and I have no desire to go back and blow thousands for no reason on pre reqs....

I couldn't agree more. Incidentally, I was able to get my undergraduate degree for under 5,000 dollars. Didn't have to take out a single loan. I found an online school with minimal residency credits requirements that also lets you test out of as many credits as you like. With test-outs you can get 3 credits for eighty bucks (not including textbook expenses), which is a real bargain and very sensible in a world where there's all kinds of lectures/materials available for free online. I think I ended up paying more for my prereqs than I did for my entire Bachelor's, even though I took my prereqs at community college (my CC is relatively expensive at over 300 dollars per credit). That I did have to take loans out for.

 

I'm paying for all that now, though. I had some killer stats, but I have yet to receive an acceptance and most schools won't even interview me.

[Lexapro]

I couldn't agree more. Incidentally, I was able to get my undergraduate degree for under 5,000 dollars. Didn't have to take out a single loan. I found an online school with minimal residency credits requirements that also lets you test out of as many credits as you like. With test-outs you can get 3 credits for eighty bucks (not including textbook expenses), which is a real bargain and very sensible in a world where there's all kinds of lectures/materials available for free online. I think I ended up paying more for my prereqs than I did for my entire Bachelor's, even though I took my prereqs at community college (my CC is relatively expensive at over 300 dollars per credit). That I did have to take loans out for.

 

I'm paying for all that now, though. I had some killer stats, but I have yet to receive an acceptance and most schools won't even interview me.

 

Hmm. I wonder if it's your atypical undergrad institution that is killing you and not the prereqs at a CC?

[Maynard]

Hmm. I wonder if it's your atypical undergrad institution that is killing you and not the prereqs at a CC?

I am certain that my atypical undergrad approach has really hurt me, probably more than taking the prereqs at a CC. But it's not an either-or situation. Neither factor has worked in my favor.

[SocialMedicine]

I would also say your future patients have the right to a clinician who has the capacity to handle a complex science field. Im sorry you are worried about blowing money on a university education. Do CC prepare individuals for this and provide adequate foundation ? That's something that could be debated. My local community college has a HS biology teacher and chiropractor teaching the A and P course. My local university has research professors teaching.

[Pedra]

I took all my pre-reqs at CC and am in my second year of PA school right now.  There was only one school that I looked at that had as a requirement that a certain number of pre-reqs be taken at a 4-year university.  And I agree with the post above…once you are invited for the interview, you have met their requirements.  They just want to see who you are as a person and if you fit in with the program and would make a good PA.

[Dunedain]

I would also say your future patients have the right to a clinician who has the capacity to handle a complex science field. Im sorry you are worried about blowing money on a university education. Do CC prepare individuals for this and provide adequate foundation ? That's something that could be debated. My local community college has a HS biology teacher and chiropractor teaching the A and P course. My local university has research professors teaching.

 

So does my CC....

[whoRyou]

So does my CC....

So does mine ... 

[whoRyou]

I would also say your future patients have the right to a clinician who has the capacity to handle a complex science field. Im sorry you are worried about blowing money on a university education. Do CC prepare individuals for this and provide adequate foundation ? That's something that could be debated. My local community college has a HS biology teacher and chiropractor teaching the A and P course. My local university has research professors teaching.

Mine has everything; Masters, PhD's, MDs, and research prof's teaching at the local CC. In fact I asked a research prof of mine who is a MD why does he teach at the CC. His response was he preferred smaller classes and wants to motivate people at the CC level.

[taotaox1]

I would also say your future patients have the right to a clinician who has the capacity to handle a complex science field. Im sorry you are worried about blowing money on a university education. Do CC prepare individuals for this and provide adequate foundation ? That's something that could be debated. My local community college has a HS biology teacher and chiropractor teaching the A and P course. My local university has research professors teaching.

 

Research professors is not an automatic plus for many undergrad classes.  Many have little no interest in teaching the courses and do so to "earn their keep" so as to have continued support for their research.  Plenty of good ones too, but it in no way is an instant "good" class.  CC profs and profs at non-research school tend to be people that teach for the love of it....

 

My CC college classes were 30 or less people and I had direct access to the professor all the time.  They had a master's degree or PhD.    

 

My CC classes were variable in hardness, just like the classes at my 4 year college were.  It did not matter because I studied hard because I wanted to know more.

 

Say what you will about Chiropractic as a form of medicine.... That Chiropractor has a doctorate and likely knows MSK/Biomechanics better than you or I ever will. 

 

 

 

@Maynard

 

From what you are describing, it sounds like you pretty much got a degree from a degree mill.  You may have learned the material and have deserved your degree, but that is how an adcom is going to see what I think you are describing.    The CC has pretty much nothing to do with it unless you are applying to the couple of schools who do care (and those schools are going to care even MORE about just testing out of a bunch of classes).  All of my pre-reqs were at a CC, and my undergrad was in English and I got lots of interviews.