Online Classes

[aiLoveJuh]

Hi everyone I consider my self nontraditional because I am 19 and I have a 6 month old daughter at home.
Now this may be a stupid question or it may not be, but I was wondering if online classes are looked down upon by med school's? Or even universities because I do plan on transferring from a community college after a year or two, and most likely I would try and get into a private college.
Thanks in adance!

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[Kateb4]

Hi everyone I consider my self nontraditional because I am 19 and I have a 6 month old daughter at home.
Now this may be a stupid question or it may not be, but I was wondering if online classes are looked down upon by med school's? Or even universities because I do plan on transferring from a community college after a year or two, and most likely I would try and get into a private college.
Thanks in adance!

There is no straight forward answer to this. It really depends on the class and the institution that you are taking it from. Lab class should be in-class as much as possible, and universities like U of Phoenix are most likely to be frowned upon. I did take several online classes though. They were all through my university, and two from a local community college. They do not show up on my transcripts as online classes in any way, so an adcom would have no way to see that there was any difference from an in-class section.

As long as you are taking the classes through a reputable college and it is not "Online Chemistry" or titled something similar that would differentiate it from a traditional section of the class, you should be fine.

 

[Vith]

You should be fine. I believe the rule of thumb is to not take any pre-reqs online or CLEP.

 

[Krisss17]

I agree with Kate. It's not a black and white issue. I, personally, would stay away from online schools that do not have a university/college base. However, in the case of long established colleges and universities that offer the option of taking a class online versus sitting in class is not necessarily a bad thing nor easier than onsite visits. It requires a lot of self-discipline. I've a friend that is going for a degree and taking all of her classes online and it is tough, a lot of reading, a lot of writing and most of all a lot of self-discipline.

Just because a class is on site doesn't mean that you are getting all that you can from some classes. Sometimes it is amazing to me how much bs occurs before we can even get into some material. The fact is, you are not in high school any more, and that means, more is expected out of students than just sitting and being lectured at.

sorry, I'm off my soap box now.

 

[DrJosephKim]

You can also take some public health courses online since many MPH programs are offered online.

U Mass Amherst lets you take some courses as a non-degree student. Then, you can transfer those credits if you enter the program.

Taking courses in public health won't help you prepare for the MCAT, but it may help demonstrate a commitment to public health issues.

 

[notdeadyet]

Many medical schools flat out do not accept online learning for prereqs, regardless of course titles. You may find yourself asked point-blank if any courses were online learning. If you say "yes", you either need to scramble to re-do some (as I did) or decline admission.

Caveat emptor....

 

[Law2Doc]

Many medical schools flat out do not accept online learning for prereqs, regardless of course titles. You may find yourself asked point-blank if any courses were online learning. If you say "yes", you either need to scramble to re-do some (as I did) or decline admission.

Caveat emptor....

Agreed. Unless you are in the military and stationed overseas I probably would hold off on the online offerings and wait until you get to a "brick and mortar" school. Perhaps someday med schools will give the same weight to online courses, but that day hasn't come yet.

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

I was looking through a list of University of Utah's residents the other day and was suprised to find out one of them did their UG work at University of Phoenix...

I wouldn't recommend this, but it has been done. If you're going to do the online thing try to getting a university based program where they do not differentiate between their classes and online classes (these usually require a proctor of some sort so you will still have to be away from home to at least take tests). If you are able to get in a classroom at all I would recommend using that time for your pre-reqs. I'm guessing the better you do on the MCAT the less the school will focus on the fact you attended an online school in UG.