Are there better ways to do online/distance learning?

[Lamine]

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So, I'm currently taking a gap year between undergrad and (hopefully!) med school. Somewhat unfortunately, I was a double-major in two non-sci disciplines, so I never really had a chance to take certain upper-level medicine-related classes, like genetics/anatomy/physiology/micro bio/molecular/cell bio. I don't have any huge plans over the coming year (besides working & volunteering), and I was thinking it would actually be kind of fun to learn some of this stuff just to make sure I'm not too far behind all you lovely bio/chem majors. 🙂

My question is, what is the best way to possibly get credit for this? I'd be happy to just learn some of it on my own, but it would be nice if, for all these secondaries that want to know what I'm doing in the next year, I could write down some classes that I'm taking. Somehow I feel that if I write "Well, I'm going to study in all my spare free time and learn everything there is to possibly know about upper-bio!" adcoms will rightly go "rofl, yeah right". I understand that online/distance courses are not highly looked upon, but I don't live close to a university anymore and I work 8-5. Are there any legitimate schools (i.e. not University of Phoenix and the like) that offer somewhat affordable distance learning classes? I could take these at my home university, but it would be $1500 a class, which I find completely ridiculous for something I can happily study on my own. I'll shut up and stop whining now, but if anyone has been in this situation and found some good programs, I'd love to hear about them. 😍

tl;dr - Are there affordable and legitimate distance learning classes available? Also, whining and b!tching.

 

[pasiley]

Yes there are legitimate schools that offer independent distance learning courses for credit.

I know some MD schools will not accept online or independent distance learning courses. Some schools look down on these courses even if they are technically only suggested and not required. So even though you want to impress them by taking genetics, a distance learning course is not the best way to go about it. They won't know unless asked or they realize you were not living in the vicinity of the university because in most cases they do not show up any differently on transcripts as classroom based courses.

 

[Lamine]

Hm... I'm not worried about med schools accepting the credit (since this wouldn't be for pre-reqs). I do agree that a distance learning course isn't as quality as actually being there, but I really can't work out the logistics to do that. I'm just trying to find a way to make any independent learning I do official, rather than just hearsay.

 

[sinombre]

Make sure you have all of the pre-reqs for the schools you plan on applying to... plenty of them require upper division science courses (which by definition have to be completed at a four-year institutiion)

 

[Lamine]

Thanks Sinombre...I do have some upper-level bio classes (in biochem and endocrinology) so I'm not completely in the dark. It's just other areas of biology besides these where I know next to nothing. 😛