Making up for an online degree?

[mediumdarkage]

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Background & Timeline:

• 24, white transgender male, PA resident. Specifically Pittsburgh.
• Dropped out of undergrad attempt #1 with 94 credits in 2022. I had to move away from where I was going to school due to transphobic and homophobic harassment off-campus.
  • I was majoring in Information Technology. My GPA was 3.19. My sGPA from that time is 3.30, which is one biology class and three math classes.
  • I have 22 withdrawals from this time. I was caring for my sick partner at the time. He was not sick with COVID but COVID impacted access where we were living.
• Attempted to transfer to Pitt and failed. Did nothing for a year contemplating reapplying. Realized I hated my major and would have done better if I cared at all, so I didn't.
• At this point I started thinking seriously about medicine but I was struggling with how to move forward, so I was just working. I severely cannot afford school in the area, and I don't want to take out a ton of loans. My parents are willing to help but are also getting older and I don't want to bankrupt them.
• Eventually I got a job at Starbucks in 2024, which opened a door to going back to school; they pay 100% of tuition with ASU Online. Started online BS in Biochemistry spring 2025. I will be finished in about a year.
• I don't want to transfer again if there is literally any way to avoid it, but there are obvious concerns about online pre-requisites not being accepted. I have taken Bio 1 & 2 and Chem 1 online and gotten A's in all.

Questions:

1. Is there a way to make up for being an online student? Is taking future labs in-person a logical way to solve that problem? If so, what do I do about the credits I've already taken entirely online?
2. My undergrad GPA as of now has a steep upward trend, but the classes are online. Would an SMP or post-bacc in person make sense in my case? If yes, which? If not, back to question 1 I guess.

Okay I'm not sure I've included all of the information I need to but I think I've hit the highlights for the most pressing questions I've got. Thanks much to anyone who's read this and even more thanks to anyone who can help me.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums.

At some point, you need in-person classes, primarily because it would help you to take in-person labs and connect with professors for letters. There are "career changer" postbacs, but pick ones where you are on campus (there are many that are online only). We have a resource on this:

How to Choose a Postbaccalaureate or Special Masters Program (SMP) | SDN

Finding the Best Postbac or SMP Option for You Updated July 2024 Table of Contents Introduction Define Your Goal as a Postbac Student Perks You Should

www.studentdoctor.net