Online Undergrad

[aust10n]

Good afternoon everyone,

I am an aspiring medical student who would like the input and advice from people who have 'been there done that.'

I am 26 years old and have a great career as a firefighter paramedic. I became a firefighter because that was the only way to make a decent wage with a pension as a paramedic. After years of EMS experience, I've realized that the next step for me, like many EMS providers, is to advance in the medical field. With the support of my wife, I want to go the D.O. route. Here is where I feel my roadblock lies. I obtained my undergrad in Business Management online from an accredited University. I am taking Pre-Calculus at my local University this Spring so that I can apply to post bacc 'career changer' premed certificate programs.

Will a high science GPA (>3.4) in the post bacc program, paramedic experience, and MD/DO endorsements, overshadow my online undergrad?

I am nervous about this and want to be as successful as possible.

- aust10n

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[Eccesignum]

Paging @Goro ...batsignal up!

 

[GreenDuck12]

Can you check through what body your online university is accredited? Unfortunately, this is a very important point.

Good afternoon everyone,

I am an aspiring medical student who would like the input and advice from people who have 'been there done that.'

I am 26 years old and have a great career as a firefighter paramedic. I became a firefighter because that was the only way to make a decent wage with a pension as a paramedic. After years of EMS experience, I've realized that the next step for me, like many EMS providers, is to advance in the medical field. With the support of my wife, I want to go the D.O. route. Here is where I feel my roadblock lies. I obtained my undergrad in Business Management online from an accredited University. I am taking Pre-Calculus at my local University this Spring so that I can apply to post bacc 'career changer' premed certificate programs.

Will a high science GPA (>3.4) in the post bacc program, paramedic experience, and MD/DO endorsements, overshadow my online undergrad?

I am nervous about this and want to be as successful as possible.

- aust10n

 

[aust10n]

Can you check through what body your online university is accredited? Unfortunately, this is a very important point.

Yes. My school is accredited through SACSCOC - Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
The commission accredits state Universities and other prominent colleges.

 

[GreenDuck12]

Phew! There was a case a while back where a student earned a degree through a national accrediting body and... well... you get the idea. Now, the big concern you have, it sounds like, is how will medical schools and pre-medical programs evaluate your online degree. The only way to check that is through the AAMC MSAR, which will tell you which schools accept/do not accept online degrees (just like some schools accept AP credit/CC credit and other don't). As for Post-bac pre med programs, these are a dime a dozen. Many universities have formal programs while others have informal programs. For the more selective formal programs, like Goucher and Bryn Mawr, they have extremely high admissions requirements (high gpa, test scores, high academic achievement). They may have difficulty evaluating an online degree but there is no way of knowing this for sure until you call and ask.

If you are looking for a formal post bac that will allow you to take classes and earn a committee letter, there are many places you can do this regardless of your GPA. Additionally, if you are just looking to complete the pre-med classes, you can pretty much do this anywhere (called an informal post bac). The benefit of this is that it is almost always less expensive than a formal program, and you are able to pick and take classes at your own pace. Remember, the classes are the same wherever you go. Some programs (like Goucher and Bryn Mawr) justify their price with their track record of getting students into medical school. I would argue that this is a false narrative as the students they "accept" into their program would matriculate to medical school regardless of where they went because they were highly motivated and high achievers.

If I were in your shoes, I would pick a place that is convenient and inexpensive to take pre-med classes. Actually, I am in your shoes and that is what I am doing (along with a hundred others in my program). Get a copy of the MSAR and evaluate which programs accept an online degree. Then, cast any doubt an ADCOM may have about your "academic fitness" due to your online degree by crushing your post-bac classes and earning a strong MCAT score. You have an online degree (in my mind, it is harder to earn an online degree than a degree in person) and that is not going to change any time soon. You shouldn't worry about it until you have reason to (i.e. after looking through the MSAR and contacting medical schools). Best of luck!