getting prerequisites done while working...

[egil_skallagrimsson]

Hi everyone. I am currently contemplating applying to medical school and it's been about two years since I've graduated. I'm in a bit of a bind though. I need to take Orgo I and II and due to my full-time job and lack of funds there aren't really any options in my area. The community college doesn't offer Orgo II and the other school nearby is insanely expensive ($5000+ per course!) and is out of the question. On top of this, I was told I would need to take biochemistry, but because this doesn't appear to be a prerequisite at most schools I am wondering if I can self-teach the material on my own time? Does anyone have any suggestions for getting these prerequisites done and how much am I hurting myself on the MCAT by not taking biochemistry? I am going to have a little over a year to study (albeit on top of working full-time and volunteering/shadowing) and I will likely devote 90% of my study time to the bio/biochem and chem/physics sections as I'm fairly confident I can do well on the others with minimal studying.

Also...how bad is it going to look that I have a withdrawn from orgo on my transcript from a prestigious university (which incidentally has nothing to do with my performance in the course. I only dropped because my major changed. Woops) and that I will be taking it at a less prestigious university now?

I did see that many DO schools will accept online coursework, but I was planning on applying to MD programs....Sigh. I'm starting to think my only option might be a long commute multiple times a week for 8 months which might kill my soul since I already commute quite a distance for work.


Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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[Apollo1]

due to my full-time job and lack of funds there aren't really any options in my area.

If you're worried about course expense, I assume you would also be worried about needing to take out loans for the post-bac work. I also get the impression that you're in a hurry to get into the closest application cycle. You're either looking at moving to get closer to a school that offers what you want, or you should work for a bit, save some money and take other science courses to bolster your gpa in the meantime.

 

[egil_skallagrimsson]

Where is your full-time job compared to the school that offers Orgo? Could you move to live closer to one or the other? Maybe it will look bad that you withdrew from Orgo before, but you can explain that on secondaries if they ask about your performance and I think it's probably fine. I failed Orgo once and got interviews at 50% of the schools I applied to!

It is about 40 minutes. But I already spend an hour a day commuting in a gas guzzling vehicle that ain't exactly brand spankin' new. Moving isn't an option. Given loans and bills I would be saving a grand total of 0 dollars per month if I moved.

If you're worried about course expense, I assume you would also be worried about needing to take out loans for the post-bac work. I also get the impression that you're in a hurry to get into the closest application cycle. You're either looking at moving to get closer to a school that offers what you want, or you should work for a bit, save some money and take other science courses to bolster your gpa in the meantime.

I already took out enough loans to satisfy two undergraduates so no that's not an option. I do have a significant amount of savings (20k +), but I cannot blow that on 4000 dollar courses. The only course I need is orgo I and II. I fulfilled all the other prerequisites (not biochem). My GPA is already 3.8+ so I doubt it is going to go anywhere but down or stay the same. I went to a pretty prestigious undergrad and I have a lot of research experience including multiple publications. I just need to get the stupid prereqs and nail the MCAT.

Oh and to paint a rosier picture I just found out my work won't be able to help with tuition costs at all. Feeling pretty discouraged at the moment.

 

[JDMcNugent]

It is about 40 minutes. But I already spend an hour a day commuting in a gas guzzling vehicle that ain't exactly brand spankin' new. Moving isn't an option. Given loans and bills I would be saving a grand total of 0 dollars per month if I moved.



I already took out enough loans to satisfy two undergraduates so no that's not an option. I do have a significant amount of savings (20k +), but I cannot blow that on 4000 dollar courses. The only course I need is orgo I and II. I fulfilled all the other prerequisites (not biochem). My GPA is already 3.8+ so I doubt it is going to go anywhere but down or stay the same. I went to a pretty prestigious undergrad and I have a lot of research experience including multiple publications. I just need to get the stupid prereqs and nail the MCAT.

Oh and to paint a rosier picture I just found out my work won't be able to help with tuition costs at all. Feeling pretty discouraged at the moment.

Look into UNE for your orgo courses. I took orgo 1 and 2 with the "virtual lab" components and the schools I applied to were all cool with it. I couldn't tell you if they viewed it more favorably than the other applicants who took it as a traditional course but the important thing was that they did accept them and it worked out well for me while working full time. It's about $1200 per four credit course FYI.

Edit: I applied all DO and my state MD program which approved of the courses.

 

[Apollo1]

I already took out enough loans to satisfy two undergraduates so no that's not an option. I do have a significant amount of savings (20k +), but I cannot blow that on 4000 dollar courses. The only course I need is orgo I and II. I fulfilled all the other prerequisites (not biochem). My GPA is already 3.8+ so I doubt it is going to go anywhere but down or stay the same. I went to a pretty prestigious undergrad and I have a lot of research experience including multiple publications. I just need to get the stupid prereqs and nail the MCAT.

Oh and to paint a rosier picture I just found out my work won't be able to help with tuition costs at all. Feeling pretty discouraged at the moment.

I agree w/ JDMcNugent, re: looking into UNE (make sure UNE courses would be accepted by whatever schools you want to apply to). You mentioned a CC that offers only Orgo 1; what if you at least took that course through them in the interim?

 

[egil_skallagrimsson]

Look into UNE for your orgo courses. I took orgo 1 and 2 with the "virtual lab" components and the schools I applied to were all cool with it. I couldn't tell you if they viewed it more favorably than the other applicants who took it as a traditional course but the important thing was that they did accept them and it worked out well for me while working full time. It's about $1200 per four credit course FYI.

Edit: I applied all DO and my state MD program which approved of the courses.

I know that at least one of my state schools doesn't accept online coursework at all. The others don't really specify so I would have to contact. But I'm not sure limiting myself in this way is a good idea.


Would I be hampering myself considerably by taking orgo at a community college when it comes to the MCAT? I'm already going to be trying to teach myself biochemistry and if I'm not learning much in a CC class then that is just more time I have to study outside of class....

 

[JDMcNugent]

I know that at least one of my state schools doesn't accept online coursework at all. The others don't really specify so I would have to contact. But I'm not sure limiting myself in this way is a good idea.


Would I be hampering myself considerably by taking orgo at a community college when it comes to the MCAT? I'm already going to be trying to teach myself biochemistry and if I'm not learning much in a CC class then that is just more time I have to study outside of class....

Understandable. Don't do that online option if it's going to be limiting in your app selection.

As far as the MCAT goes, I don't see how or why taking orgo at a cc will hamper you. Much of orgo has to be self taught through lots and lots of practice and understanding the basics in orgo will help considerably when trying to understand some biochem concepts. Unless things changed in terms of the orgo content on the MCAT from a couple of years ago, you really only need the basics for that particular content on the MCAT but that is not to say it is easy by any means.

Hope that helps and good luck!

 

[egil_skallagrimsson]

Understandable. Don't do that online option if it's going to be limiting in your app selection.

As far as the MCAT goes, I don't see how or why taking orgo at a cc will hamper you. Much of orgo has to be self taught through lots and lots of practice and understanding the basics in orgo will help considerably when trying to understand some biochem concepts. Unless things changed in terms of the orgo content on the MCAT from a couple of years ago, you really only need the basics for that particular content on the MCAT but that is not to say it is easy by any means.

Hope that helps and good luck!

Thanks for the response. Anyone have any input how useful organic lecture is? I'm heavily considering signing up for the course that is far away and only going to labs and exams. The tuition is extremely affordable and once or twice a week isn't going to kill me.