Advice

[khushi626]

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[mspeedwagon]

Normally I think a lot of pre-med advisors give bad advice, however, in this case I think your pre-med advisor is right on.

In your case, I would definitely do a second BS as a post-bac alone is probably not going to be enough to overcome an online degree. You want to show you can take on classes in a brick and mortar university and be successful.

Given the online degree, I would not start the second BS and not finish, as that looks really bad. It makes it look like you were not able to cope.

I know this is probably not what you wanted to hear, but I think the advice you are getting is good advice.

Hi guys,

I have a BS from grand canyon university, which I did online about a year ago. They are regionally accredited and they also said it wont say anywhere on the transcript it was done ONLINE. Recently, I wanted to give another shot at pursuing med school and am aware that I have to take my pre-reqs at an actual university.

I thought of doing post bac but the advisor at my local university suggested I do a second BS instead. I think that is a waste of time. I was thinking to do the 2nd BS, take the required courses and not finish.

Is this a wise choice I am making since a 2nd BS would be a waste of time and money?

The advisor also mentioned that the reason he suggested a 2nd BS was because online courses are not as rigorous as a brick and mortar classes are, which is understandable. My question is wouldn't my pre-reqs display that instead of completing the whole degree?

 

[khushi626]

Normally I think a lot of pre-med advisors give bad advice, however, in this case I think your pre-med advisor is right on.

In your case, I would definitely do a second BS as a post-bac alone is probably not going to be enough to overcome an online degree. You want to show you can take on classes in a brick and mortar university and be successful.

Given the online degree, I would not start the second BS and not finish, as that looks really bad. It makes it look like you were not able to cope.

I know this is probably not what you wanted to hear, but I think the advice you are getting is good advice.

Thank you for responding! Just wanted to clarify somethings that I did not mention above.

My degree obtained was not completely online. About 4 yrs ago, I got my AAS for respiratory therapy and I did the mistake of choosing a nationally acc. school near my home. I should have just went to a comm. college but they had a wait list for 3 yrs.

I had the hardest time with schools accepting any of my 70 credits but then I saw this school online which would accept my credit and is regionally acc. I thought I did the right thing but ..

Given the new info above, should I still complete 2nd BS or just take like the pre reqs and some upper div classes?

 

[FrkyBgStok]

i wish i could give better, more specific advice, but i can't. what i will say is i do not think al online degrees are created equal. and i also think that not all AAS programs are created equal. I plan to get my degree online, however it is from the university of iowa, so it isn't questionable. i am also doing prereqs at another university and community college because i don't have any other choices being a father of 3 and the only provider financially for my family. i work full time (60 hours a weeek) and plan on getting a cna job.

that being said i do know that the university i am taking classes allows people to take classes as continued education so i don't have to pursue a degree from them. maybe you can do something like that. you may also want to contact the schools you are interested in to see what they think about your online degree. they will undoubtedly say a university is recommended, but that doesn't mean it is required.

 

[yollom]

I would say online degrees are definitely looked down upon by med schools. When I was doing my post bacc, I started an online chem course at a local community college. The labs were in person, but the course work and tests were online. I called med schools I was interested in and asked them if they would except the work, and with the exception of one school, they all said no. I dropped the class.

In my short experience with online courses, I can say that I am not impressed. There is almost zero accountability and the learning environment is not conducive to preparing for med school or the MCAT.

 

[Law2Doc]

... they will undoubtedly say a university is recommended, but that doesn't mean it is required.

But in a competitive process where half the people don't get in, and they are sifting through 10,000 applications basically looking for reasons to lessen the pile, recommended effectively equals required.

 

[seelee]

You know, you could always take the pre-reqs, apply, and see if you get in, and if you do, then just go. If you don't then finish your degree.

 

[Law2Doc]

You know, you could always take the pre-reqs, apply, and see if you get in, and if you do, then just go. If you don't then finish your degree.

Bad advice. This is a process that does not favor reapplicants. You always are better off doing it right, even if it takes longer, rather than shooting out an application just to see. You need to get all your ducks in a row before you pull the trigger, not just fire a poorly aimed shot and hope the ducks are still there after you reload.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

But in a competitive process where half the people don't get in, and they are sifting through 10,000 applications basically looking for reasons to lessen the pile, recommended effectively equals required.

well....that just bummed me out. being that i don't really have any other choice but to pursue an online degree. but i guess it is what it is.

 

[Law2Doc]

well....that just bummed me out. being that i don't really have any other choice but to pursue an online degree. but i guess it is what it is.

There are many threads on this -- online degrees don't really have the acceptance of the adcom community as of this time. The exception is if you are in the military and attending a brick and mortar school is impossible, but otherwise, it's expected that your education is substantially classroom based. While there is no hard and fast rule, expect substantial "online education" discrimination to exist in the process.

 

[khushi626]

Bad advice. This is a process that does not favor reapplicants. You always are better off doing it right, even if it takes longer, rather than shooting out an application just to see. You need to get all your ducks in a row before you pull the trigger, not just fire a poorly aimed shot and hope the ducks are still there after you reload.

I think what seelee meant was to go ahead and take the pre reqs and upper sci courses as a 2nd BS degree at a local uni and apply. If I dont get in then finish the degree with more upper division sci courses and apply the next year with a stronger app....

I am going to try that approach and see it how it goes. It wouldn't hurt to try.

 

[Law2Doc]

I think what seelee meant was to go ahead and take the pre reqs and upper sci courses as a 2nd BS degree at a local uni and apply. If I dont get in then finish the degree with more upper division sci courses and apply the next year with a stronger app....

I am going to try that approach and see it how it goes. It wouldn't hurt to try.

Yeah, I'm saying it COULD hurt to try.

I got what he meant. And what I meant was that you never want to apply with the notion that if it doesn't go well you will fix things. The reason, you will never be as strong an applicant as a reapplicant, as you would have been if you hadn't applied yet. There is a stigma of reapplicancy. Not necessarilly insurmountable, but it exists, puts you in a different pile. You would have been better off never sending out that first application, made your application stronger and then applied. This process is harder on reapplicants. The folks who take a shot and figure they can fix things if it doesn't pan out always have a harder time than those who save their shot and do it just once. It's a "best foot forward" kind of process, and you don't get to do "do overs" without negative consequence.