Was wondering about prereq classes taken online. I see that I can take Chemistry online with an online lab? Is this possible? If so does it still count and do DO schools accept it?
Was wondering about prereq classes taken online. I see that I can take Chemistry online with an online lab? Is this possible? If so does it still count and do DO schools accept it?
There are a bagillion posts about this, but to answer your questions, yes, yes and yes. (Your second sentence wasn't really a question, although you ended it with a question mark.) Just messin' with ya.
You will get conflicting opinions about how schools view online courses, but I think the majority are fine with it.
And as I've stated before, unless it specifically states on your transcript that the course was delivered online, their not going to know you took it online anyway.
For the record, I took all of my pre-reqs online. But, my personal/work situation called for this... I would recommend taking them in-person if you are a hands-on learner.
You took your sciences classes with the lab online?
While I believe most schools accept it ( I'm sure some outright reject it), it is not ideal as in truth the experience of actual work within a lab environment is not only beneficial but integral in deciding the competence of an individual in the sciences, more so even than the theory components.
I think the UNECOM courses are relatively respected, but I am inclined to believe that application wise you're not doing yourself any favors.
Yup. BIOL 1 & 2, CHEM 1, 2, 3, &4 and PHYS 1 & 2. Taking Biochem in the fall in-class.
This is a good point. I would advise taking in-class courses, especially if you are an auditory learner. (I mistakenly said hands-on learner above.) I've always learned best by teaching myself, so for me it worked. All of my chemistry courses required that you purchase lab kits and conduct experiments in your kitchen. I'm proud to say I still have a kitchen, and eye lashes.
That's actually an interesting learning method. Obviously you're not going to be allowed to play around with some of chemicals that require fumigation, but I imagined that most of these labs entailed you doing a game of plugging in numbers, java based animations happening, and colors indicating that you've grasped it followed by questions.
Not trying to be rude at all, but the information above is totally incorrect. OP, just search the forums and you'll find plenty of info on this topic. There are several now-med students and residents who have taken their pre-reqs online.
The problem I am seeing is that there are multiple people who go both ways on this. I do understand how having an online lab can be weird
Thanks FutureDrB for your imput I really do appreciate it. Are you applying this cycle?
I think its fine taking online coursework, it doesn't matter about the "prestige" of the institution where you have taken you're pre-reqs online. You're going to be evaluated on all of you're pre-reqs on the MCAT anyways, if you do well then it truly did not matter if the pre-req was online or not. I'm sure some prefer the course be taken in person because, as @FutureDrB stated, there is a stigma to these online courses with some people but i believe its more stigmatized with allopathic schools since they want an applicant with a 5.0 GPA, over 9000 MCAT score, and EC's where you have saved the universe at least twice.
No problem. I'm applying next year.
Like I said before, you will get conflicting opinions on this. But as I stated, there have been plenty of people around here who've gone the online route, including labs. You'll also see these same people pointing out that it really doesn't matter if it was online or not, because unless it specifically states on your transcript that it was an online course, the schools will never know anyway.
@GreyF0X just mentioned this very thing above as I was typing this response.
(There is also a topic where people comment about never being asked in interviews regarding what format their courses were taken.)
There is also a thread on here from a few days ago where someone posted a list of all of the schools and their official position on online courses, all but two said it was fine. I want to say the two were Harvard and some other Ivy League institution.
I'll also go "on the record"... haha... as saying online labs (in my opinion) are much more difficult than in-person labs, because usually you are teaching yourself a lot of the material, and working alone. So I'm not sure why online courses/labs have a stigma of being easier or less-educational.
I know the labs I've taken for other science courses were a joke. Pretty much show up and get an A. Plus, since you almost always work in a group, one person ends up doing all of the work, so unless you really take the initiative to be a part of the group, it can be hard to grasp the material.