Session 14 Your questions, answered here on the OldPreMeds Podcast. Ryan and Rich again dive into the forums over at OldPreMeds.org where they pull a question and deliver the answers right on to you. This week, the OPM duo takes on a dual-edged question about taking a post bacc at a community college. OldPreMeds Question of the Week: The poster needs to do some GPA-fixing, working full-time, and making pretty good money so quitting their job is not ideal. However, the only place to take classes in a DIY post bacc is at a community college. Are community college classes going to hurt? Here are the insights from Ryan & Rich: This depends on the applicant's overall background. In general, community colleges are not going to enhance your application as much as a 4-year school would. The negative impact can be minor to moderate depending on the medical school you're applying to and your background. Community colleges are definitely better than nothing. Take some upper level classes or additional classes at a 4-year school and show them that you can handle the work. If you are previously a non-science major and your first time taking your science classes, this will have less of an impact. Here are some questions to consider: Why are you at a community college now trying to fix your GPA? Were you a liberal arts major and just didn't care to study the romantic languages you were trying to learn? Have you not ever taken any science courses and this is your first time? Or are you just going to the community college because it's "easier" than the sciences courses you already took at your 4-year school you previously were at? Major takeaway from this episode: Everybody is unique so your story matters in the application. Links and Other Resources: If you have questions you want answered here on the OldPremeds Podcast, go to oldpremeds.org and register for an account. Go into the forums and ask a question. Listen to our first episode at OPMPodcast.com/1 to find out more about who we are. Also check out the Premed Years Podcast at www.medicalschoolhq.net. Find us on iTunes and go to opmpodcast.com/itunes and leave us a rating and review. Check out MedEdMedia.com for all the shows that we produce including The Premed Years and the OldPreMeds Podcast. We will soon be launching a medical school podcast as well so stay tuned! Email Dr. Ryan Gray at ryan@medicalschoolhq.net or connect with him on Twitter @medicalschoolhq