Pre-req's online: Calc

[Lara26]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hey all- this is is my first time posting here. I have my BA and MA in psych and have now completely changed my mind about life and decided to go back and take the classes that I will need to apply to med school.

I'm planning to apply to a post-bac program (ie: columbia, NYU etc) for Spring semester 2007, but in the mean time I'm trying to get some of the lower level classes out of the way at community college in order to save money, specifically the general chems and calculus (I passed the AP Calc exam in HS, but I know that most places won't accept that).

So here's my question. I've seen a lot of debate on these boards about taking online classes for pre-req's but they seem to mainly concern lab classes. I have found that UCBerkeley Extention offers Calc 1A and 1B online. As calc is not a lab course and Berkeley is a well respected school, does anyone forsee this being a problem? I definitally plan to take both Chemestry courses in a regular classroom/lab setting.

Thank you,
Lara

 

[sleepy_dwarf]

Lara, it really is a matter of school preference. Schools that require calculus as a pre-requsite would probably be much more critical of an online calculus course than a school that would view it as an elective. Remember, not all schools require it.

I took an entire master's online, and my school didn't thumb their nose at it at all, given that I was working a full time job and doing my own pre-reqs at the time. So it really does depend on your individual case.

My suggestion: Contact the admissions offices of schools you are planning to apply to.

 

[mshheaddoc]

Does the berkley transcript show up as "online" classes? I think I remember someone saying that it does because they use a different numbering system then at Berkley.

 

[Lara26]

I know that Berkeley extention classes have slightly different numbering then regular Berkeley classes, but I'm not sure about online vs. not online. I'll call there today to see what they say about that and report back in case anyone is interested. Thanks all!

 

[Skaterbabe74]

I don't think that it actually says online at Berkeley Extension but because the numbering system is different adcoms may pick up on it.

If you want to take a good online calc class that definitely won't show up as online (or be recognized as online) take it through ccconline.org. Hurry though, if you sign up for an online version at the home school you choose at ccconline some of the classes start May 29, and the actual ccconline sections start June 5. (I'm pretty sure they offer the gen chem's as well FWIW, and they have microbio and A&P if you're interested).

I'm taking a bunch of programming classes, plus Calc III, Diff eq, Tech writing, and Micro through them over the next three semesters while I pay down my bill at my normal school.

 

[Lara26]

Awesome, I'll look into that. Berkeley's like impossible to get direct answers from.

 

[Skaterbabe74]

If you do decide to go through ccconline.org definitely stick with the actual ccconline sections (they'll be the ones labeled C--) cuz dealing with the bookstores for the home schools is a pain in the ass if you want to use financial aid (although it'll probably take too long to get aid at this point anyway unless you don't have to be verified).

The bookstore for my home school (FRCC) told me that i had to physically come into the store to use the bookstore voucher. Then I told them I was online, and it was impossible to go there and they said they had to fax me the receipt, have me sign it, fax it back w/ a copy of my ID. I don't have access to fax machines! lol. We've been going back and forth about all of this for 3 days now. Finally I managed to get my computer to receive faxes and I ended up emailing the signed fax and a pic of my ID back to them tonight so the earliest I will have my books sent is tomorrow (and classes start tues! eek!) assuming they don't call/email me tomorrow saying I have to burn those two files to a cdrom and take them to be printed out and then faxed to them.

CCC's bookstore on the other hand sent me an email today saying that I didn't have enough money from the financial aid to cover all my books, and asked which I would like. I told them my preference (which ended up not working out cuz of shipping) and they emailed me back with what one they put through. That one went out in tonight's mail.

So much easier to deal with (and ccc doesn't start til the 5th. I so needed the home school ones taken care of before tomorrow). Hopefully the first week will be mostly getting to know you discussions rather than tons of homework/reading.


Edit: Just an update. Definitely don't sign up for the home school online sections if you need to use financial aid to get your books. Maybe some of the other CC's are better but FRCC sucks. I got an email this morning saying that they couldn't get the file with my signed receipt to print so I'd have to go fax it. Then not 10 minutes later I received a phone call saying that financial aid said the faxed versions weren't good enough and that I'd have to physically come in. Now I am a Colorado resident, but I live over 60 miles from either campus location and don't own a car. I was so fed up I emailed financial aid, online learning, and am waiting for the interim dean's email, and I dropped 2 of the 3 classes I had through FRCC online and registered for the ccconline versions. Man I wish the 3rd was offered through ccc.

I had received an email from the bookstore person at ccconline apologizing for my frustrations from FRCC and wishing me luck, so I emailed her back, told her I just dropped the FRCC classes and registered for the ccconline ones, and asked if I would need to fill out another form to order the new books (plus the one they couldn't cover yesterday), and she's taking care of it all for me. No hassle, no wait, no extra forms.

What a week this has been!