Open Courseware Discussion

[Bullseye_18]

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Hey dudes! I just met the good idea fairy, and I wanted to pick your brains on the matter!

Assumptions:
• All prereq's have been approved for online (Personal: all biology has been taken in person)
• School's require only certain courses (i.e., Biochemistry but not organic chemistry or chemistry... vice/versa)
• Stellar GPA
• Volunteer/Shadowing are accounted for
• Interesting life which makes you stand out
• Independent learner

Case:
Say, if your schools require that you take many upper level sciences but not beginner's sciences, would it be a good idea to just save a dime and take the Open Courseware offered from places like Yale/MIT? I figure, as long as you can put your best food forward and show that you truly know the material (and ace the upper level, required courses), then this is actually a great idea.

Benefits:
• Cost savings
• Complete on your own timeline (faster)
• Access to a great education

Cons:
• Not taking (for credit) many "recommended" courses, even though you [will theoretically] rock the MCAT.

Just looking for thoughts! With the following assumptions, does anyone else think that this would be a good idea? I simply wouldn't want to hinder how an application looks by not taking (for credit) classes that most others take, but are not necessarily even required for entrance into the MD programs.

 

[EasyEveryoneWouldDoIt]

for required classes you still need to take the classes for credit. most schools won't budge on it. i scored 130 on my B/B section without taking biochemistry and email several schools and none of them will budge on the biochemistry requirement despite my score. though some schools no longer have requirements most of them are the harvard class of medical schools

i saw you said recommended and not required. i would talk to the school you are applying to directly. each one is different and how they view recommend classes though from the ones i talked to. they will take you MCAT in consideration, but most still want to see taking those classes for credit.

 

[wholeheartedly]

In theory, but not so much reality. I'm a big fan of opencourseware and the like.

But there are huge issues with "proving" people legitimately took the courses, even when getting the certificate option. So I would consider them personally beneficial, but schools aren't going to put much if any weight on them. If you want to put your best foot forward take some of the recommended upper levels at a 4 year university.

OTOH if you're doing something like taking organic chem a few years after gen chem or need a physics refresher for the MCAT, then I would support doing an MIT or Khan Academy type review. or if you're taking an epi, clinical research, python, or bioinformatics type course to supplement your research project.

 

[operaman]

I did something quite similar to what you’re saying. I did the pre reqs and mcat study entirely DIY with Khan Academy and iTunesU (other open courseware didn’t exist yet). I too was still working in my past job and was traveling too much for brick and mortar courses, so this was the fastest way to shave time off the whole process. I took the MCAT, rocked it, and applied while simultaneously taking some upper level brick and mortar courses to legitimize the self taught knowledge. I had to get special permission from department to do so without having taken pre reqs but they were pretty flexible after meeting with me. Got in sometime in February, about 8-9 months after starting the whole thing and while still taking some classes.

So it can be done. I didn’t think it would work honestly but figured I had little to lose by firing off a few apps to schools that were open to it. And it worked! Shaved a couple long years off an already long process.

So it’s doable but will take some legwork and some personal contact with schools to get them to look closely at your application. With strong numbers and a compelling story and reason for doing things differently, I think you have a great shot.

 

[QofQuimica]

There is plenty of anecdotal evidence here for people who've done all kinds of weird things. I got into medical school with no grades or credit hours for any of my prereqs (albeit I took them at a brick and mortar school). That doesn't mean it's the most likely path to success for you or for anyone else. While what you're proposing might work out just fine if you're very academically talented and you have some serendipity, no, in general, it's not a good idea to stray far from the beaten path, and doing so will almost certainly hurt your chances of being accepted. Odds are also good that if you have to ask whether you're enough of a rock star to stand out as a maverick in a positive way despite a non-evaluable academic record, then the answer is that you aren't.

You know what would be a much better path to a free college degree/post bac, especially if you're not an academic rock star? Work for an employer that has tuition reimbursement as a perk, or even work for a local four year college/university that waives tuition for its employees. There are way more people who succeed via that method than via what you're proposing.

P.S. Not that I'm in any way a proponent of flushing money down the toilet for no reason, but in the interest of some general perspective here, whatever you spend on your post bac will likely be peanuts compared to what you're about to spend for medical school. In the long run, you're probably going to end up much better off financially by doing whatever you can do to improve your chances of getting into a (cheaper) state med school rather than ending up at an expensive private med school.

 

[Bullseye_18]

Thanks for all of the advice guys! Yes, the primary idea was to self-study some of the pre-req's for the MCAT (and take them after, when they are offered on a semester basis). Additionally, my number one school does not require Biochemistry, but I know that taking Biochem is overall important. And if I can self-study some non-required courses, then that frees up semesters for more upper level Bio (all of my biology work was complete 9 years ago).

Getting another job on top of my 80hr work week is impossible; but I DO like the idea of that. Maybe at my next assignment (military), I will be able to work more gentlemanly hours and pick up a side-gig in research... that's the pre-med dream 🙄

Thanks for the advice! I think I will do about a half and half... a course or two from UNE (my own timeline) and a course or two independent-study pre-MCAT. Here's the goal: MCAT in early May (we go on a work-trip from England to the US for most of May). Back-up: Take MCAT in late June AFTER I finally PCS and move back to the motherland. Is it pretty? No. Is it impossible? NO! Greatness may come with time; but it may also come with challenging yourself and seeking victory, knowing you will win.

Will it all blow up in my face, and I won't be prepared for the MCAT? It might... but then I will just take those courses (as currently planned) the following year and take the test in January.

Thanks again, guys!! I appreciate the advice from folks who can help balance my wild dreams and keep me relatively down to earth.