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My recommendation would be to start by shadowing a DO. You are going to have to do this at some point (DO schools LOVE a letter of recommendation from a DO) so you might as well do it first and get an idea of whether medical school is even a good idea for you given what the work is like. Fifty hours including primary care and anything else that might interest you (emergency medicine, women's health, pediatrics) would be sufficient.

Buy access to MSAR. This is for MD schools but the general ideas will be helpful. Some schools will not accept credits earned online but many will. The MSAR will also spell out the requirements for the sciences and everything else required academically. In short you will need 1 year of general biology with lab, 1 year of general chemistry with lab, 1 year of physics with lab, 1 year of organic chemistry with lab. There are additional courses that are either recommended or required depending on the school. My own personal recommendation is that you brush up on algebra if you haven't taken math courses since HS. Some schools will require statistics and that's not a bad idea.

What is your undergrad GPA at this point? Have you been employed at any time since HS graduation? Have you been engaged in community service of any kind since HS graduation?

A formal post-bac program might be a good choice under the circumstances after you establish that you want to go to medical school. You might need to go part-time or nearly full-time for 2 years. There are many and AAMC might have an online listing that, while not comprehensive, might be a good starting point. A good post-bac will also guide you in obtaining research experience and clinical experience while you are enrolled. Those experiences as well as community service are pretty much the unwritten requirements.

Good luck!
 
All your experiences sound solid for med admissions. It's good to hear that you have a strong background in math as that can be a challenge for some students, particularly when taking physics. Your GPA sounds good although I don't envy you needing to request all those transcripts! Thank goodness for common apps.

Here's the starting point to gather more info about post-bacs:

students-residents.aamc.org

Postbaccalaureate Programs

Postbaccalaureate programs begin after an undergraduate degree and are designed to support the transition to professional school.
students-residents.aamc.org students-residents.aamc.org

Don't waste your time and money on the GRE until you figure out if it will be needed. Many schools are moving away from it.
 
Do biology at an in-person school and take it with a lab. Given your age and academic & personal history, no one would fault you for taking it at a less expensive school (e.g. community college). I doubt anyone would look at the circumstances and think you were choosing community college to avoid a weed-out course at your own school (particularly given that you are an online student). That is the biggest gripe, I think, against community college is that people take courses there to avoid taking a weed out course like physics or o-chem at a school where they will face stiff competition in notoriously difficult courses.
 
LizzyM said:
Do biology at an in-person school and take it with a lab. Given your age and academic & personal history, no one would fault you for taking it at a less expensive school (e.g. community college). I doubt anyone would look at the circumstances and think you were choosing community college to avoid a weed-out course at your own school (particularly given that you are an online student). That is the biggest gripe, I think, against community college is that people take courses there to avoid taking a weed out course like physics or o-chem at a school where they will face stiff competition in notoriously difficult courses.
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Oh okay, that makes sense. Thank you.
 
LizzyM said:
Do biology at an in-person school and take it with a lab. Given your age and academic & personal history, no one would fault you for taking it at a less expensive school (e.g. community college). I doubt anyone would look at the circumstances and think you were choosing community college to avoid a weed-out course at your own school (particularly given that you are an online student). That is the biggest gripe, I think, against community college is that people take courses there to avoid taking a weed out course like physics or o-chem at a school where they will face stiff competition in notoriously difficult courses.
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It is much easier to do it online at my school than the local CC just due to administrative reasons. Would it be that big of a red flag for the first semester of general bio? It's across town, I've got no car, and I'd have to pay out of pocket. I'm just trying to weigh all my options.
 
Check your desired schools on MSAR. You can def shoot for MD with a decent MCAT but some schools will flat out not accept online labs.
 
Disclaimer, I'm also non traditional, did half my labs online, and am matriculating MD in 2 weeks
 
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