taking online classes

[applicant]

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Hi.

I am planning to take online classes to raise my GPA.

How do online classes look on application?

Do they count in the GPA calculated?

Also, if anyone has taken online classes,
could you tell me how grading works (such as what percentage is assignment and what percentage is test) and how the difficulty is compared to a class in college?

Does anyone know which unversity offers good online classes in New Jersey?

I would appreciate any input.

 

[Hardbody]

Hi.
I am planning to take online classes to raise my GPA.
How do online classes look on application?
Do they count in the GPA calculated?
QUOTE]

I would highly recomend against online classes, they are evil. The only classes I have gotten a B in during the past 2 1/2 years. Stay away from them!

 

[SuperC]

I did fine in a online graduate course at UF. Yes they are calcualted in your GPA and to my knowledge schools can't tell if the class was online or not.

-C

 

[SunnyDay]

Hi.

I am planning to take online classes to raise my GPA.

How do online classes look on application?

Do they count in the GPA calculated?

Also, if anyone has taken online classes,
could you tell me how grading works (such as what percentage is assignment and what percentage is test) and how the difficulty is compared to a class in college?

Does anyone know which unversity offers good online classes in New Jersey?

I would appreciate any input.

They definately count towards your gpa, but be careful how difficult the course is. I have heard some online courses are ridiculously hard and others are really easy. I don't think you can necessarily assume it will be easy just because it is online.

 

[PickMe]

i agree that schools cant tell if they are online or not. check with your school to see if it comes up on the transcript. ive taken a couple gen ed courses online through community college over the summer and they were an absolute joke. they transferred easily to my university too-although the grades did not. but aadsas will calculate these grades in the gpa and no schools asked me about them.

 

[Mike MacKinnon]

Hey

I have a previous degree and a full time job which is often 12 or 24 hour shifts. regular CC was out of the question for me. I have taken Inorganic Chem I & II, Bio I & II and will be taking physics I & II online.

I will tell you that after already being to university for 2 previous degrees, these classes are bar NONE the hardest I have ever worked to get A's in. Many CC's are offering these type of classes and the majority are done with exams where you sit and write at a testing center. These schools have something to prove with their online classes. That is, simply, that they offer classes accepted at university with the same difficulty as ones done within the classroom. If they did offer alot of BS classes where noone learned anything, then they would lose money when universities did not take them as transfer credits.

While some of my classes have given credit for "discussion board" this is no different the the participation marks often given within a normal class. Also, since they have no way to judge your learning, this offers a way to ask a question which brings concepts togeather in order to be answered. None of my classes had this discussion part worth more than 10%. Often, assignments were worth 20%, chapter tests about 10%, discussion 10%, and midterm/final equal to 60%. I have taken many university science classes where the marking scheme wasent so heavily weighted on finals and midterms.

In anycase, the only smart thing to do is call a few local schools and see if they accept credits from that CC or Online. Taking the chance of "duping" the admissions people by hoping that your transcript wont reflect "online" is deceptive and un-ethical. Just ask out right.

 

[duh?]

Hey

I have a previous degree and a full time job which is often 12 or 24 hour shifts. regular CC was out of the question for me. I have taken Inorganic Chem I & II, Bio I & II and will be taking physics I & II online.

I will tell you that after already being to university for 2 previous degrees, these classes are bar NONE the hardest I have ever worked to get A's in. Many CC's are offering these type of classes and the majority are done with exams where you sit and write at a testing center. These schools have something to prove with their online classes. That is, simply, that they offer classes accepted at university with the same difficulty as ones done within the classroom. If they did offer alot of BS classes where noone learned anything, then they would lose money when universities did not take them as transfer credits.

While some of my classes have given credit for "discussion board" this is no different the the participation marks often given within a normal class. Also, since they have no way to judge your learning, this offers a way to ask a question which brings concepts togeather in order to be answered. None of my classes had this discussion part worth more than 10%. Often, assignments were worth 20%, chapter tests about 10%, discussion 10%, and midterm/final equal to 60%. I have taken many university science classes where the marking scheme wasent so heavily weighted on finals and midterms.

In anycase, the only smart thing to do is call a few local schools and see if they accept credits from that CC or Online. Taking the chance of "duping" the admissions people by hoping that your transcript wont reflect "online" is deceptive and un-ethical. Just ask out right.

I had no idea that it's possible to take science classes WITH LABS online. How do you get the lab part done?

 

[Mike MacKinnon]

Hey

Actually, the lab section is a kit which you buy and do all the labs at home. I had already taken Chem I and II in a previous degree (but near 9 years ago so i would have had to retake) and these labs were very similar but on a smaller scale.

I actually found the labs quite hard. Doing the experiment alone and then the report alone often took me 4-5 hours in the chem classes and in bio easily 6 hours per lab. That part was alot of work for a relatively low percentage of the mark. I didnt like that much as the labs for BIO were all of 10% of my mark but took 70% of my time. However, the labs ended up being about 20% of the questions which were on the exams. Ugh.

Not so different from the university sciences class labs I did except i had to do them all alone and didnt have a class of people to check my results against.

Overall, I would say these classes are NOT for most people. Well why?

1) The workload (from my experience) was higher than that of a typical science class in university.

2) You have to make time to get things done as there are due dates just like class but noone to push you. Totally 100% self motivated.

3) There is no student prof relationship. Ergo, you get no grease for being a great student then screwing up one assignment. There are no extra points at all. You are marked absolutely unbiased.

4) There is no extra help avaliable.

5) There are no classmates to do assignments with, check answers against, do labs with or study with you are alone.

Add to that the fact that the people looking to do classes online are those with kids, jobs and responsibilities, this is a hard road to take. My suggestion is that if you need a class and you can take it at a CC do it before you do online.

I had no idea that it's possible to take science classes WITH LABS online. How do you get the lab part done?

 

[duh?]

Thanks for the info. 👍

Hey

Actually, the lab section is a kit which you buy and do all the labs at home. I had already taken Chem I and II in a previous degree (but near 9 years ago so i would have had to retake) and these labs were very similar but on a smaller scale.

I actually found the labs quite hard. Doing the experiment alone and then the report alone often took me 4-5 hours in the chem classes and in bio easily 6 hours per lab. That part was alot of work for a relatively low percentage of the mark. I didnt like that much as the labs for BIO were all of 10% of my mark but took 70% of my time. However, the labs ended up being about 20% of the questions which were on the exams. Ugh.

Not so different from the university sciences class labs I did except i had to do them all alone and didnt have a class of people to check my results against.

Overall, I would say these classes are NOT for most people. Well why?

1) The workload (from my experience) was higher than that of a typical science class in university.

2) You have to make time to get things done as there are due dates just like class but noone to push you. Totally 100% self motivated.

3) There is no student prof relationship. Ergo, you get no grease for being a great student then screwing up one assignment. There are no extra points at all. You are marked absolutely unbiased.

4) There is no extra help avaliable.

5) There are no classmates to do assignments with, check answers against, do labs with or study with you are alone.

Add to that the fact that the people looking to do classes online are those with kids, jobs and responsibilities, this is a hard road to take. My suggestion is that if you need a class and you can take it at a CC do it before you do online.

 

[Mike MacKinnon]

Anytime :O)

Thanks for the info. 👍

 

[Missserica]

Has anyone taken University of California online classes? If so, can you share your experience with me? I am thinking of taking Biochemistry online...

 

[ihopetobeado2]

The following was posted in another forum, but I thought the quote would aptly answer Missserica's question:

"I think UC Berkeley's online natural sciences courses--prefixed by a "X," rather than a "XB"--are cursory and geared mainly for pre-allied health professionals and nurses. Based on the courses' outlines, they look to be less comprehensive than what would be expected from the traditional pre-professional courses. But, if the the schools you're plan on applying to will accept them as meeting the prerequisite requirements and your undergraduate college will accept them, then go for it. The tuition is about right--around $220/semester unit--and you can take the courses at your own pace. Heck, you can even take the courses for a Pass/No Pass grade in order to protect your GPA."

 

[cgDDS]

Yes they are calcualted in your GPA and to my knowledge schools can't tell if the class was online or not.

-C

There is an option on AADSAS to mark a class as a "distance learning/on-line" course....although it doesn't show up on your transcript as on-line, I went ahead and did it anyways just to be safe....