University vs. Community College

dooleyk · Post by **dooleyk** » Mon Feb 20, 2012 5:10 pm

This previous summer, while performing an engineering internship, I discovered that Biomedical engineering was not my passion and something I did not want to pursue the rest of my life. I have always loved medicine and this is what caused me to decide to pursue becoming a PA. Since this previous summer I began taking bio classes and scheduling to shadow local PA's. The complication lies in that I am a senior and I would only be able to complete the bare minimum classes required to get into PA school before graduating (5 bio, 2 chem and 1 statistic). I could stay a 5th year, however, I am extremely hesitant due to the extreme cost of tuition.

I would like advice on the extra classes PA schools recommend students to take. Should I bear with the cost of a 5th year and complete these classes at UC Irvine or should I just take these classes at a community college? Is there any preference to taking PA prerequisites at a university such as UC Irvine compared to a community college? Anyone know?

Thanks.

Post by **PaulK** » Mon Feb 20, 2012 11:42 pm

Between a 5th year at a university with full tuition and a community college, this is a no-brainer to me. There may be some schools that don't like community college courses as much as university ones, but not many. You'll have a degree from an outstanding institution (UC Irvine), and all you'll have left is the prereqs for PA school.

My favorite 3 reasons to go to a JC:

1) Way cheaper to go the community college route.
2) You'll probably shine (academically) among the less motivated students that are common in community colleges
3) The smaller environment can give you more personal connections on which to draw when you need a letter of reference. At a university, you're often just a number.

No, my vote is community college all the way.

Other opinions?

rkgPA · Post by **rkgPA** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 2:25 am

Hi
I agree with Paul, I\'m currently going to a university for my soc degree and taking prerequisites at CC. I like it fine, but I have heard some schools do look at where you took your prerequisites. so just keep that in mind.
Also some classes like biochem and genetics ( or other upper division class) aren\'t offered at community college, and a lot of PA schools want those classes.
But at the same time I would tell you to stay at uci and take the needed classes and if possible try to minor in bio or chem. This will help you a lot and look good on your app.
Regardless your graduating from UCI and its a really good school.
-Rkgpa

geekdriver · Post by **geekdriver** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 2:49 pm

I am a big fan of Community Colleges! The education that I received at the CC I attended was certainly right on par with that of the big 10 university I transfered to. The big difference I noticed in the professors is the fact that at a CC they are there to teach, not obligated to. The fact that a CC will cost far less is just gravy in my opinion. Tuition costs and professor motivation aside, like all things in life, you\'ll get out of it what you are willing to put into it.

I did get accepted to both of the PA schools that I applied to, so going to a CC must not have hurt my application too much!

AlSter_PPA · Post by **AlSter_PPA** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 9:30 pm

Yay for ditching BME! I did the same thing. Started shadowing an EP since I loved cardiac electrophysiology from my BME classes (I was trying to figure out the roles of an engineer in that field) and realized I liked the \"bio\" and \"medical\" part rather than the \"engineering\" part. The PA that worked with the doc turned me on to the PA track and here I am! I already graduated before figuring this out so I\'ve since started taking prereqs at other institutions. From most of what I\'ve read from PA blogs/forums and PA program sites, CC courses are fine! If you know what specific schools you might be interested in, then check with them either by calling or checking out the website. Good luck to you!

lpsterns · Post by **lpsterns** » Sun Feb 26, 2012 2:05 pm

I agree with what everyone has said; I did every single one of my science prereqs except biochem at CC, and some people told me I might have to \"defend\" that in my interviews. No one ever asked about it, however, and I was accepted into two top 25 schools, so I guess it was fine! I would just say make sure you get really good grades there...I always figured a B or a C would look worse from a community college than from a university (although I don\'t have evidence to back that up). You\'ll be fine!

elgallo · Post by **elgallo** » Fri Mar 02, 2012 2:24 pm

I am looking to apply to PA school in 2013 in large part because I am way more than ten years out of college and was not a science major either. I asked a PA that is associated with the admissions panel at the one school in my state and he said that they do not care where you get the grade, they only care about the actual grade. I was surprised by this and disappointed at the time because my strategy was to get straight As from the local top twenty research university rather than one of the numerous local CCs as a way to offset (in my mind) my less competitive direct patient care experience. But after finding this out it may be a boon because I can (again in my mind) more easily get As at the CC, pay less, and have a higher chance of finding any particular class given at night rather than the day (I have a current full time job). We shall see. My recommendation would be to call all the PA schools you are planning to apply to and asking them directly if they weight the source of the grade or just the grade itself.

Post by **PaulK** » Sun Mar 04, 2012 7:49 am

I agree with you, egalo, and I would add that if your HCE is a little soft, you might do well to work on that while you're in the community college. Depending on their instructors, the classes aren't typically easy. But if you're used to a top 10 university, as you mentioned, you might find them so.

Just remember, every little bit of HCE counts!

Archer · Post by **Archer** » Mon May 14, 2012 5:27 pm

This makes me feel so much better. I can't afford the commute back and forth to the university where I did my undergrad but I need to take some more classes. Thank you!

Shimon · Post by **Shimon** » Wed Jul 13, 2016 6:36 pm

I agree with you 100%! My anatomy teacher told me the same. He said that alot of teachers in university are there to research and don't care much to teach. In CC, it's all about teaching. Graduate programs know that. In addition, you got in! This just comes to prove that it generally speaking does not make that big a difference.

geekdriver wrote:I am a big fan of Community Colleges! The education that I received at the CC I attended was certainly right on par with that of the big 10 university I transfered to. The big difference I noticed in the professors is the fact that at a CC they are there to teach, not obligated to. The fact that a CC will cost far less is just gravy in my opinion. Tuition costs and professor motivation aside, like all things in life, you\'ll get out of it what you are willing to put into it.

I did get accepted to both of the PA schools that I applied to, so going to a CC must not have hurt my application too much!

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