Extension Programs & Difficulty

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ShopgirlNY152

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I was hoping some of you might be able to recommend some extension schools that are

1) Affordable (most are)
2) Not insane difficulty (I've heard Harvard Extension School is CRAZY Hard) I'm looking for GPA repair
3) Allow for distance education like HES (I live in Virginia)

If you know of any traditional post-baccs that will accomplish this, please recommend, but I know these can be $$$. On a teacher's salary, I can't afford much extravagance.
 
Just to be clear, are you looking for online post-bacc work?
 
Just to be clear, are you looking for online post-bacc work?
Either or, but I am limited to the DMV area. Online is preferred. HES in particular does not mark on their transcript if it is online, something like that would be ideal.
 
Either or, but I am limited to the DMV area. Online is preferred. HES in particular does not mark on their transcript if it is online, something like that would be ideal.
Online programs are generally looked down upon, for good reason. You should try and do in-class if possible. If you have to do online, then it will need to be a program with some teeth (i.e. HES.) Doing some random state-school's year-old online program will impress no one, unfortunately. I imagine this is an especially difficult decision when you have a family.

Cheers
 
Online programs are generally looked down upon, for good reason. You should try and do in-class if possible. If you have to do online, then it will need to be a program with some teeth (i.e. HES.) Doing some random state-school's year-old online program will impress no one, unfortunately. I imagine this is an especially difficult decision when you have a family.

Cheers
Oh I don't have a family, just a job haha. And thank you! It's just finances will not allow it. I live near Goucher College has an AWESOME post-bacc that I'd love to go to....but it's expensive, and you have to give up your job. So, that's just a route I'm choosing not to go down.

I'm going to look into Berkley Extension as well.
 
Oh I don't have a family, just a job haha. And thank you! It's just finances will not allow it. I live near Goucher College has an AWESOME post-bacc that I'd love to go to....but it's expensive, and you have to give up your job. So, that's just a route I'm choosing not to go down.

I'm going to look into Berkley Extension as well.
I would search the non-trad forum for ideas. good luck
 
Just to clarify, you can't complete your pre-reqs online at HES. None of the pre-reqs have an online component. Some classes may have recorded lectures, but you still have to be there for labs and exams.
 
Just to clarify, you can't complete your pre-reqs online at HES. None of the pre-reqs have an online component. Some classes may have recorded lectures, but you still have to be there for labs and exams.
Yeah! I've finished all of my prereqs at a 4-year. Will be using HES for med sci courses.
 
Yeah! I've finished all of my prereqs at a 4-year. Will be using HES for med sci courses.

You'll still have to be there for exams, though (some have labs as well). So, if you can swing a trip to Boston one or twice per month to do it, then maybe you can pull it off.

TBH, though, I think you might be better served doing a post-bacc in your area. You won't be at a disadvantage doing it at Georgetown, VCU, or one of the many other legit programs in your area as opposed to Harvard. Let's not overestimate the clout of the Extension School. It's a legit way to complete pre-reqs but it's not the only way.
 
You'll still have to be there for exams, though (some have labs as well). So, if you can swing a trip to Boston one or twice per month to do it, then maybe you can pull it off.

TBH, though, I think you might be better served doing a post-bacc in your area. You won't be at a disadvantage doing it at Georgetown, VCU, or one of the many other legit programs in your area as opposed to Harvard. Let's not overestimate the clout of the Extension School. It's a legit way to complete pre-reqs but it's not the only way.
So I spoke with them and a few alumni, a good amount of HES students take exams using a proctoring form. Any University professor can serve as a proctor. It's pretty streamlined, with an online proctoring service.

I'm still thinking HES! The closest place to me is Goucher College, which is hella expensive as I am not an MD resident, but work out of Maryland. I'd love to attend UMBC or something but again, the residency makes it so expensive.
 
You say you need GPA repair. Please understand that if you have a low GPA, you can't use the experiences of normal premeds, or nontrad premeds with no GPA damage, to plan your redemption.

You say you'd do Goucher if you could afford it. But you say you've completed the prereqs. This suggests that you're not familiar with the differing purposes of postbac programs. Goucher is a VERY competitive postbac for high GPA holders-of-non-science-bachelors-degrees to get the prereqs done. Since you're already done with the prereqs, and your undergrad performance was apparently poor, Goucher is not a relevant program.

You say finances won't allow you to quit your job to take more classes. I suggest that you'll spend plenty of money on online/distance learning that doesn't get you where you want to be. Don't buy a product that doesn't do the job.

You say you don't have local options for taking classes without quitting your job. I suggest you should look harder for local options. Baltimore is densely populated with colleges.

You say you're done with the prereqs and that you're looking for upper divs. If you got less than a B in any prereq, or if you did not sufficiently master the content so that you don't have to relearn it for the MCAT, then you should reconsider whether you're done.

You seem very motivated to do distance/online learning, and very resistant to the advice you're given here by multiple posters. By not doing classroom learning, you don't get access to faculty who can recommend you for med school. By not doing classroom learning, you add more stain to a low GPA transcript. By not doing classroom learning, you deprive yourself of the motivation and intangibles that come from being surrounded by other premeds, who will form the basis of your professional network, and frequently share key strategic tidbits, long term. Online/distance learning is appropriate for military serving overseas, or similar, where there are literally no other options. Online/distance learning is not questioned when a med school candidate has already produced a med-school-worthy academic performance, and is just supplementing a class or two, such as U Toronto's famous online biochem.

I suggest that you have put too many requirements on your list, before you have researched possibilities. You should be considering all options that include night classes, cutting back to part time, finding employment on a college campus that gives you tuition/reg benes, slowing down your premed pathway, and anything else that allows you to use a reality-based checklist to get yourself ready to apply to med school. Every year over 45,000 applicants compete for around 20,000 US MD seats. Last year there were almost 50,000 applicants. Respect your competition. Numbers are the gateway.

Best of luck to you.
 
No, I don't intend on enrolling at Goucher's post-bacc, I know that's for students who don't have a science background. It's just a local college where I could take science credits. Similarly, colleges in the area (like UMBC) are still expensive or around the same cost as Goucher because I am not in-state for MD, but work and live in Baltimore. And my cGPA isn't awful (above a 3.6), so I just need to do a bit of repair. I have an upward trend in my GPA, and want to continue that for the years between college and medical school.

And, yeah, I do have to keep my job. But HES is really affordable, just 1,250 for a 4-credit course, so it's a great deal for me.

I did not receive lower than a B on any of my pre-requisite courses. And the ones I did do poorly in (Anatomy), I do not plan on retaking because they were a C or above. All of my lower grades in science were during the first two years of college. And, as a Biology Education major, 60% of my courses were Education, and another 10% general education. I only have had a handful of science courses (literally only the prereqs and A&P I/II), so my sGPA will benefit from more science courses a lot more than my cGPA. I don't want to spend time retaking courses, I want to take different upper division courses.

As far as Faculty recommendation goes, HES offers a sponsorship. I've been speaking to them for about a month now, and they've said many students who do live in Boston do the distance courses, it's not mentioned in the letter or the transcript that they are distance classes, and everything is taped and TA's are available all the time. As a full-time employee, I don't get how sitting in a lecture would be more beneficial to me. Plus, the HES sponsorship and associated recommendation is said to be an awesome letter.



Thank you for your advice, but I've spent a considerable amount of time doing my research.
 
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