Is a online BS degree taken seriously???

The only thing I can suggest is that you involve yourself in some extra curricular program at the local college or in the community. It will not require a great deal of time and you can try to schedule it around some of the pre-reqs you are already taking. Also you can smash the MCATS and get a 4.0 in all your pre-reqs. I guess that is kind of a given though!

litebrightgirl said:

Hi everyone. I am 30 yrs old, married with 2 kids. I don't have a bachelor degree just yet. I am thinking about enrolling in Drexel University or University of Illinois online psychology program. It's completely online. I am going to take the necessary science courses at my local community college. My question is when I go to apply for med school, will it make it harder to get in since I went the online route? I'm a nurse so I don't have a whole lot of time to spend on campus. Any thoughts?????

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It's good that you're thinking about medicine and asking these questions before you proceed with a major life decision like this. Although I've heard people successfully matriculating in medical school after taking some of their pre-requisite courses at community colleges, I have never personally heard of anyone being accepted after completing their bachelor's degree online. If you go to individual medical school's website, almost all of them will require you to obtain a 4-year Bachelor's degree from an accredited brick and mortar institution.

There are varying levels of debate about this. If you contact and call the medical school themselves (which is always a good idea because certain medical schools have different requirements), most of them will probably clarify their degree requirements and advise you to get a Bachelor's from a brick and mortar institution. Part of this stems from bias on the part of the admissions committee (in the past, there were a lot of online scams involving degree mills, so the medical schools are really hesitant about admitting anyone who received an online degree - even one connected with a well-known institution). The other reason that admissions committee require you to personally attend lectures and classes is to develop maturity and responsibility by getting to know your professor (very important since you need their recommendation letters) and by working with other people in your class.

For this reason, I would highly recommend that you try to find a 4 year institution close to where you live so that you can get a degree from there. You mentioned that this is hard because you have children. I can understand that, however, many parents with small children have been able to successfully graduate from 4-year college while raising kids (if you tell the medical schools that you earned an online degree because you were too busy raising your kids - they'll probably question how you'll manage the demands of medical school). You mentioned that you are married, I would suggest that you cut back on the number of hours that you work, or ask your spouse to do some of the child-raising aspect so that you can find a 4 year institution close to your home and get a bachelor's degree there.

BIG mistake, in my opinion. people from top 10 colleges have a hard enough time getting into med school. even if you get a 4.0 from an online school, you won't even be in the same league as most applicants. unfortunately, the road to med school (and beyond) will require major sacrifices on your part. you need to decide if this is what you really want to do, and then make some tough decisions (eg. quitting your job or going part time, taking out loans...). you just can't cut corners if you want to be competitive. but please please please objectively assess whether you have the ability and the commitment to go through with all this before embarking on it. was high school a breeze for you? what about nursing school? if the answer is no, please don't waste time and (lots of) money by getting a BS that you won't use (esp if you already have a nursing degree)....i've seen way too many people get halfway down the road to med school before realizing that they can't hack it. just my 2 cents.

if possible, look into nursing at an academic hospital, then take your classes at the affiliated university. it will make school much easier to fit into your life and you will get a huge discount on classes - ours is 85% (making courses cheaper, in most cases, than if taken at a community college). i realize that your circumstances may make this impossible, but it's an option to consider.

Sorry, the answer is no. I've personally contacted several MD and DO schools about taking some science courses that are via distance education that are from a different college. All of the schools want you to take the science courses in a normal classroom. That is just the way it is.

litebrightgirl said:

Hi everyone. I am 30 yrs old, married with 2 kids. I don't have a bachelor degree just yet. I am thinking about enrolling in Drexel University or University of Illinois online psychology program. It's completely online. I am going to take the necessary science courses at my local community college. My question is when I go to apply for med school, will it make it harder to get in since I went the online route? I'm a nurse so I don't have a whole lot of time to spend on campus. Any thoughts?????

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OP, I know how you feel. If you are a nurse, why not get the B.S. degree in nursing? This would make much more sense. I went to school with a few ladies that had children, were nurses, and were trying to get the B.S. degree so they could move up in the ranks of the medical profession. Many of them had to work nigh shifts and go several days a semester with no sleep.

Taking the science courses at a CC is NOT the way to go.

Getting into medical school is tough, real tough.

Agree with the above advice.
Also, if you are already a nurse, I'd strongly consider doing something to take your nursing career to higher level(s) vs. starting all over with 7+ years of med school + residency. You wouldn't have to make all the big time and m money sacrifices and you'd actually have some time to hang out with your kids. Seriously, I'm an internist and I like it but nursing is super important and challenging and is a broad career field as well. If you aren't enjoying it that much, think about whether it's your particular job and maybe you'd like it better if you got a master's degree, went into a different area like ICU nursing, administration or public health nursing, or became a CRNA or something. I'm just saying...

Also, think about whether your spouse and kids are willing to move half way across the country for you, since you might have to go to any med school that will take you, if you even end up getting in. Only maybe < half of applicants even get in the last time I looked.

litebrightgirl said:

Wow. I didn't think about alot of the things that were mentioned. There's a university 10 minutes from my house that I'll look into. Thanks for the advice!

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From the sound of it, I really think you may want to give more thought about going into this (being a doctor that is). Most people spend months planning and deciding on a "plan of action" before they start taking the pre-requisite classes, taking the admissions exam, and going to medical school. Applying to medical school and deciding on a career calling is not something that you want to do by the seat of your pants. The reason is simple; it's a very long, arduous, and expensive road. For someone who didn't graduate from college, it'll be at least 12 years or so before you can be practicing physicians (you need to go to college and complete a bachelor's degree, graduate from a medical school, and spend several years as a resident).

As the other posters have said, when you go to medical school and do your residency training, you should be prepared to move away from your family (or have them move with you to whatever school or hospital you will be training at). I know a lot of people try to get into a medical school close to where they live, but there just aren't that many medical schools or residency programs out there. Very likely that you will not have a choice as to what medical school you want to attend or what hospital your will do a residency at. I know that it might sound discouraging, but I really do hope you do some soul searching first - think about the sacrifices that you will have to make and your priority. Realize that there are a lot of opportunities in nursing and that if you get an advanced degree - your salary can be competitive with those of family physicians. Finally, if you still want to become I physician, I recommend that you browse through the SDN forum and get in touch with a premedical advisor at a local 4-year college.

Lbgirl - if this is your dream, you have the heart/passion for this profession, and you have the support from your family, then DO IT.

Find the right path though. It may start slower than you want, but get on the path and keep it moving. Do things right each step of the way (no online courses!) You may want to keep your options open though along the way ie get a bio degree, if you don't get into med school or change your mind get an accelerated BS in nursing and then on to Nurse Practitioner masters, etc.

Also look at www.oldpremeds.com for more success stories and advice from people in your shoes.

AA