Should I take these classes as CC or my current university?

[tonymel]

Hello everyone! I was hoping I could get some advice on when I should take some required classes. I'm currently a 3rd year student at my university and I am scheduled to graduate in 3 quarters. Would it make a difference if I take Organic Chem lab or Anatomy/Physiology at a community college? I can fit these classes into my current schedule, but if I want to graduate on time, it would require me to take 4 classes each quarter (10 weeks) while working and staying active in my clubs and volunteering. I can totally do it as I've done it before, but I'd rather not because it was hell haha! I'm taking some classes for my major during the summer, but I also enrolled in the anatomy/physiology classes for the summer because my school only offers them at that time. Should I just focus on graduating and completing the required classes for my major and take organic chem lab or anatomy/physiology classes at a community college, or should I squeeze them all into my remaining 3 quarters + summer sessions at my current university?

[hustleforthePAC]

Take it where you feel the teacher ranks higher ratemyprofessor.com. the community college bell curve might work in your favor.

 

 

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[MT2PA]

Personally I'd say take them at your university.  I don't think using a professor rating system is really the way to decide this (highly subjective reviews) but at a university these courses may be considered higher course levels which in the end is usually preferred for applying to PA school.

 

Something to consider - if you are going to need financial aid to take these, you'll likely need to take them from your university before you graduate.  If I remember correctly you can't get financial aid to take random classes after you've graduated (because you aren't seeking a degree) so that's something to think about.

[UGoLong]

I took almost all of my prereqs at community college and suffered no penalty for it. In fact, many of the local prestigious four-year university premed students came over to CC to take biochem from an English-speaking PhD. 

 

In an ideal world, we could all go take our classes at Stanford, but in the real world, do what you need to do.

 

Good luck!

[panglossian]

Organic chemistry and anatomy/physiology are important prerequisites. In which situation do you think you'll get better grades? I don't think it will matter where you take these courses, but more that you do well in them. As many have found post-graduation, it is incredibly difficult to improve a low undergraduate GPA. 

 

As MT2PA mentioned there is also a financial component to this that you should consider. Graduating on time will obviously be less expensive than an additional semester and community college courses are often comparatively inexpensive. If I were in your position and was financially able, I would focus on completing my bachelor's degree and take any unfinished prerequisites at community college.

[tonymel]

I already signed up for the anatomy and physiology classes in the summer so I'll likely just take those here. I'm only taking one other class with them so I should do fine. I'll likely end up taking the O chem lab and micro + lab at a community college instead. Thanks guys!

[pabound2016]

There have been many successful stories of applicants taking prerequisites at CC's. I took my A&P courses at CC. I could've taken it at my university but my university only offered a combined A&P I and II course of 4 credits. I needed 8 credits and PA schools are really strict with this requirement. I decided to attend CC while attending my university. I suffered no consequences in getting interviews and acceptances. Got into my top pick. You should be fine if you believe taking CC would be the best route for you.