I am back! Sorry it took so long for me to sort everything out.
I ended up taking Microbiology from BYU and Anatomy from UC Berkeley extension.
My experience with BYU (Professor Roxxxson): $500ish
1. If you are rushing through the course, it is possible. I took 1.5 months to complete the course. However, you will need to pay $30 to expedite the delivery of exams (overnight). IMOP, I think it is worth it. These are proctored exams.
2. To do well in the course, you will need to understand the Speedback assignments extremely well (every name/pathogens on there). You need to understand the reasons behind the problems. I am pretty sure if you didn’t do well in the first time, you can resubmit speedback assignments, for a fee of $10 or $15 (not too sure).
3. The textbook is somehow necessary. You can buy the older version of the textbook. I personally used both the older version (10th edition) and the current (11th edition) and they are identical. However, when you go over the study problems at the end of every chapter, just make sure that the answers are correct.
4. The only downside is that you need to pass the final to pass the course. For me, I could have gotten a B without taking the final. You can also retake exams including final for a fee. I do not know if the exam questions will be the same or not so I can't tell.
Overall, it is not too tough, just study and memorize and you will be fine. Study the
speedback assignments, study problems, and make sure you know the outline of each lesson. You
do not need to buy MasteringMicrobiology, you got no points, not getting scored and the materials not so helpful. I purchased MasteringMicrobiology from Ebay for $26 and I only used twice.
Anatomy from UC Berkeley extension (Professor Smxxey) $800ish
1. You can take exams online. For this part, you need to READ textbook, make sure you have the correct answers to the module’s study questions (multiple choice) because they do appear at the exams and final.
2. I think the hardest part was the assignments (case study questions) where you need to answer several questions about the case. I purchased the Lachman's Case Studies in Anatomy (Lachman's Case Studies in Anatomy (Cahill)) to help me answering some the questions and the book is quite interesting. I also purchased the current edition of the textbook.
3. The course does have so-called “lectures” which is composed of the professor reading the scripts or powerpoint slides. IMOP, I don’ think they are helpful. I stopped watching the “lectures” after the 2nd module.
4. Don’t worry about the final (although you do need to pass the final to pass the course), review the
exams and module’s study questions. The final has to be proctored. You will need to prepare an envelope for the testing center/library to send the final back for grades. You can also ask the proctor to scan the tests. Everything is multiple-choice.
Overall, this course is quite challenging but it is doable.
P.S. To request a transcript from them, you need to fax the request form. It costs $15 per transcript.
BTW, I am selling the textbooks with my notes if anyone is interested...?
One of my classmates took Physiology from UCSD extension (not too sure.. UC extension) and she said it was fairly simple since you get 10 weeks to finish the course by completing online quizzes and discussions) according the to syllabus. If anyone is interested, let me know.
Please check with your schools and see if they accept these courses before registering for these courses.
Hope this helps! Good luck!
