online classes

[kestrelcry]

So I need to take a few classes to bulk out my grad school sexiness, and I need to take online classes so, if necessary, I can move for an RA position. One of the classes I'm planning on taking won't say on the transcript that's it's online (statistics), but the other one(psychology of personality) might. Does anyone know if taking classes online might turn off grad schools?

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[Psyclops]

I can't imagine that it would be any worse than not taking the course.

 

[kestrelcry]

Very true. I just figured I'd find someplace to take it that wouldn't put it on the transcript. However, as it turns out, sometimes if you don't like the first answer you get, and you keep looking around for another one you can get what you want. Boo on continuing education advisers, but huzzah for the registrar's office! And shame on me for engaging in premature-posting. But, be that as it may, (Doing a little dance), I'm gonna take classes; I'm gonna take classes! One more step on the road towards grad school. Now I've gotta find an RA postion in my field of interest. If only that looked as hopeful. I shall now go continue to bangeth my head against a wall.

 

[leikcaj]

Out of curiousity, what good online courses are there for psych?

 

[kestrelcry]

I'm not taking anything fancy, just Statistics and Personality. I'm taking them through the University of Massachusetts system. I can't say that this is a result of an exhaustive study of online classes; I was going to take them in regular format because I live near UMass Amherst. I went for the online classes when I saw they had them, because if I get an RA position somewhere else I'll be moving. Here's hoping they're good; it'll be my first online class experience.
Newsweek has a site that's supposed to rate distance learning programs. It looked kind of ad-driven to me, but I didn't really give it a thorough look-over. Here's the link: http://www.newsweekdistancelearning.com/

 

[leikcaj]

Thanks! Very helpful - I might look into that. I'm moving to London (as in England) next month for work and I'm trying to figure out if it makes sense for me to take online classes based in the US or to do an Open University course (also distance learning) based in the UK. I almost think that US graduate schools would prefer the former...?

 

[kestrelcry]

Huh, I couldn't tell you. Maybe do both? Take classes you feel are more bread and butter from US sources and one that is an extra, but related to your particular research interest? I know that's easier said than done though; I was rather taken aback by the price of classes. Plus, I have no idea if a UK class would appeal to US graduate schools. I'd think it would be a refreshing example of your cosmopolitan background, but then I'm not on graduate school admissions committees, more's the pity. I feel like it would be a plus in undergrad admissions, but I feel like I have less of a grasp on what grad admissions want than I did on applying to colleges years and years ago.
You know, it's rather rude of the world, really. I was told about what colleges want from the age of being a wee kiddie on the playground, but I'm only now really finding out about grad school requirements (aside from the self-evident, like a BA/BS, good grades, and good GREs).
Did other people have that experience? I feel like my undergrad academic experience was very focused on achievement in the moment rather than do this and that for grad school. Not that I knew exactly what I wanted to do anyway, aside from being sure I would go to grad school for something. Or, did you see undergrad very concretely as a preparation for grad school and planned accordingly as you went along?
Leikcaj, here’s the link for the UMass program, so you can take a peep at what they have to offer: http://www.umassonline.net/

 

[leikcaj]

thanks for the link - actually just checked out the courses before this. and yes, the prices are quite.... i'm almost wondering if it would make more sense for me to try to volunteer in a lab (which may be tricky given that i have a full time job) or to take night/online courses... either way, i don't think it would help that much in terms of an application anyway. i think at some point i just need to take that plunge...

as for undergrad - i think i've had an odd experience generally in the sense that i ended up focusing very early on in a subject (in my case, political science) and getting the kind of research experience and mentoring people talk about on this forum that you need to get into a phd program, but in my case, in the wrong field i ended up graduating from college a year early (because i knew i wanted to go onto grad school and start doing research anyway so why spend another year doing taught electives), spending a year working in a research institute, going on to grad school and then suddenly realising that while i loved research and the whole academic environment, i wasn't sure if i was doing it in the right field (in a way, i kind of "fell" into it)

it's taken me a long time to finally realise what i want to do even though most people in college probably wouldn't have thought that of me... but here i am. in some ways, i think in my case, i would have benefited if i had taken the time to do more "in the moment" stuff instead of bulldoze my way through college into grad school.

 

[50960]

Get into an MSc program at a British university, and you will get a better reserch training that most Americal PhD's. OU is good if you just need courses.

 

[leikcaj]

Yeah, I looked into that but unfortunately getting an MSc at a British University requires you to have an undergraduate degree in Psychology as well... which I don't have. So my options in the UK essentially are to get another BA degree or to get a Graduate Diploma in Psychology (which the OU offers, but unfortunately it's distance learning - the other schools tend to have only day classes; the good thing about getting the diploma though is that I'd actually be eligible to do graduate work at the UK universities, so that's food for thought). Or get an Masters degree in the US.

 

[bluewheels]

Out of curiousity, what good online courses are there for psych?

BYU has some great online classes in pysch.