Online Degree

[FrkyBgStok]

I have been searching this and reading the related threads and while I am little discouraged, I am not completely because none of this applies to my situation and I am looking for anyone else that is in a similar situation.

I got my AAS degree from a CC and took extra classes online and in the classroom. i also attended a year at a respected private school to take some prereqs. Didn't do so hot. (Bio 1- C, Bio 2- B, Chem 1- B, Chem 2- C, Physics 1 and 2- C). I am currently retaking Chem 1 at a community college and plan on retaking physics at the original private school. I also will take organic chemistry 1 and 2 and biochemistry at said school. Assuming I get Bs in orgo and biochem (which naturally i want As) i will be at a cGPA of 3.67(ish) and a sGPA of 3.30(ish). I am taking the MCAT in september.

Anyway I work full time nights (60 hour avg) while my wife is home with our 3 kids (she works a little bit). We have a plan for med school, but that plan also includes finishing my 4 year degree from a big ten state school. This is actually an online degree. When this is completed I will have done a total of 52 credits online from the state school completing my Bachelors of Applied Studies. I currently drive a semi over the road while attending class on mondays (my prof was a godsend allowing me to do this) and when i get a scheduled run I plan to get a weekend job as a CNA (nights). I also on shadowing a DO again on a regular basis (would depend on my schedule on the actual dates and times).

I am not asking what my chances are. I am not looking for how i compare. What i am looking for is the answer to my question. Am I screwing myself completely with the online degree? I plan to only apply osteopathic schools(couple of reasons, but mostly due to location). I would like to set my application up fairly well because I really want to attend one school in my area. This is the only reason I am worried. Is this just an incredible waste of my time? I would love to attend the private university again, but i just cannot do it.

Is anyone else in a similar situation? Sorry for the long post.

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[mspeedwagon]

Unfortuntaely, I am going to be the bearer of bad news. An online degree is frowned upon and you are setting yourself up for a denial. Taking a few non-related courses to the degree online is probably ok, but I wouldn't go beyond that. I understand this may be hard given your circumstances. I've known a few people to apply with online degree (though to MD programs) and I have never known anyone to get in. I've yet to see a post from someone on sdn or mdapplicants that states they had an online degree and go in (very, very unlikely I will).

On a side-note, how are you calculating your GPA. It took me forever to overcome one C and bring my science GPA back to above 3.5 (actually, I'm still working on it). Do you have all As in every other class you have ever taken or are you assuming grade replacement (given your interest in D.O.)?

I have been searching this and reading the related threads and while I am little discouraged, I am not completely because none of this applies to my situation and I am looking for anyone else that is in a similar situation.

I got my AAS degree from a CC and took extra classes online and in the classroom. i also attended a year at a respected private school to take some prereqs. Didn't do so hot. (Bio 1- C, Bio 2- B, Chem 1- B, Chem 2- C, Physics 1 and 2- C). I am currently retaking Chem 1 at a community college and plan on retaking physics at the original private school. I also will take organic chemistry 1 and 2 and biochemistry at said school. Assuming I get Bs in orgo and biochem (which naturally i want As) i will be at a cGPA of 3.67(ish) and a sGPA of 3.30(ish). I am taking the MCAT in september.

Anyway I work full time nights (60 hour avg) while my wife is home with our 3 kids (she works a little bit). We have a plan for med school, but that plan also includes finishing my 4 year degree from a big ten state school. This is actually an online degree. When this is completed I will have done a total of 52 credits online from the state school completing my Bachelors of Applied Studies. I currently drive a semi over the road while attending class on mondays (my prof was a godsend allowing me to do this) and when i get a scheduled run I plan to get a weekend job as a CNA (nights). I also on shadowing a DO again on a regular basis (would depend on my schedule on the actual dates and times).

I am not asking what my chances are. I am not looking for how i compare. What i am looking for is the answer to my question. Am I screwing myself completely with the online degree? I plan to only apply osteopathic schools(couple of reasons, but mostly due to location). I would like to set my application up fairly well because I really want to attend one school in my area. This is the only reason I am worried. Is this just an incredible waste of my time? I would love to attend the private university again, but i just cannot do it.

Is anyone else in a similar situation? Sorry for the long post.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

I am using the gpa calculator I found here and I am using the grade replacement idea for DO schools. I also currently have 163 credits completed with lots of As.

 

[lovemesomeTJ]

Since you have a specific school in mind, maybe you should set up an appointment to speak with someone from the admissions office. That's the only way you are going to find out if you really have a chance at that school.

My thing is: what does your transcript look like? Does it differentiate between online and live classes? You may not even have to address this issue if your transcript looks uniform throughout. If it does distinguish, then you really do need to talk to an admissions officer.