Well, just to throw another option out there for people:
I took genetics through the
University of Kentucky Independent Study Program (BIO 304 - 4 hrs, $1300 [yikes!]). All the schools I applied to seem to have accepted it (CSU, WSU, OrgSU, Tufts, Cornell, and UC-Davis).
It was a correspondence course, so all the assignments were on paper and sent through the mail (though I know they are working on getting more online/email options). You can sign up any time, and you get one year to complete the class. You can also get a 4-month extension for $50.
You also do not need to worry about having met their specific pre-reqs for the course (i.e., you don't need to send them your transcript or anything) unless you happen to be a current University of Kentucky student.
Pros: Even though the class is through the mail, I felt the professor was very helpful. She gave me lots feedback about things I got wrong on the assignments, including writing out the correct answer and drawing pictures to help explain things better. She also sent me a blank old final exam (with answers on a separate piece of paper) to help me study. She was much more helpful and involved than a lot of in-person professors I've had.
Also, transcripts from them are $5 each (including regular mail postage; I've never tried to do overnight or anything like that with them), the least expensive I've run into.
Cons: The textbook is one of the most poorly written, unengaging textbooks I may have ever read. And since it's your only real "lecture" material, you have to read rather a lot of it. I like to look at the bright side, though, and I think it did help me understand genetics better since, after reading the chapter, I had to go back and figure out what it
really meant.
If I remember correctly, there is only one exam (the final), and it does need to be proctored (some people consider this a con). I found it pretty hassle-free to get that set up.
