Thoughtful Suggestions?

[GenericQuestions]

I am currently attending an online school to attain a Bachelor’s in Psychology. I am fully aware most medical schools, if any, will not take seriously an applicant who earned an online degree. That being said, I also intend on acquiring a B.S. in Biology and B.A. in Chemistry from a traditional brick and mortar. I would like to transfer in my liberal arts electives earned online (e.g., social science and English classes), but I am unsure if medical schools will look less favorably on them if they were not earned the traditional way. Any thoughts about this?

In addition, I will be starting volunteer work at a prison ministry (non-medical), hospital (medical), and homeless shelter (non-medical). Will these extracurricular activities be sufficient for serious consideration of my medical school application? Keep in mind, I will also be doing shadowing (a must) at a hospital, and I am required to do a psychology internship for my undergraduate degree. While I will truly enjoy partaking in each of the activities listed, I am wondering what else I can participate in to strengthen my EC's section of the medical school application.
Any input given toward any or all of my questions is greatly appreciated.

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[Jewels86]

Why not finish up the BA/BS in Psychology and then return to a brink and mortar school for your premeds?

I think that's very noble to work with the prison ministry!! I think that's a great way to show your compassion towards humanity! I think the quality of your EC's will override the quantity. With that being said, it's very obvious you have a heart towards people. That's foundational since medicine is about people.

Wish you ALL the best!!

 

[GenericQuestions]

Returning to finish solely the pre-med minimum requirements is something I have seriously considered. I think, however, obtaining the B.S. in Biology and B.A. in Chemistry will help me to be more academically prepared for medical school; I quite honestly am looking forward to the classes.

I want to thank you for your reply and wish you a Merry Christmas!

 

[Mad Jack]

The triple qualifications seem a bit excessive. Either a B.S. in biology or a B.A. in chemistry would be fine, so long as you do well on your medical school prerequisites. Having a prior qualification from an online school certainly will not hurt your application if you have also earned a degree from a brick and mortar school. So far as coursework, I don't think that medical schools will particularly care where you took your social sciences once they are required in 2015, nor will they care where your English courses were taken, unelss you are looking to get into some of the top MD programs. The non-clinical extracurriculars will really help your application shine. I would see if you could do some clinical paid or volunteer work in the hospital if possible, as this would make your application quite solid, so long as your GPA and MCAT are competitive. You have a few years to go by the sound of it, so you should have ample time to fit a little of everything in. And enjoy the journey. It is long, but rewarding. Merry Christmas!

 

[NuttyEngDude]

I voted "not at all" but that is different than what I recommend for your situation which is to continue on the path you're on. I dont believe most medical schools will care about your non-pre-reqs being online. I feel that as far as education goes taking online liberal arts courses goes against the spirit of the curriculum design but then it underscores an assumption I'm making about the quality of classes delivered in person vs online.

 

[GenericQuestions]

The triple qualifications seem a bit excessive. Either a B.S. in biology or a B.A. in chemistry would be fine, so long as you do well on your medical school prerequisites. Having a prior qualification from an online school certainly will not hurt your application if you have also earned a degree from a brick and mortar school. So far as coursework, I don't think that medical schools will particularly care where you took your social sciences once they are required in 2015, nor will they care where your English courses were taken, unelss you are looking to get into some of the top MD programs. The non-clinical extracurriculars will really help your application shine. I would see if you could do some clinical paid or volunteer work in the hospital if possible, as this would make your application quite solid, so long as your GPA and MCAT are competitive. You have a few years to go by the sound of it, so you should have ample time to fit a little of everything in. And enjoy the journey. It is long, but rewarding. Merry Christmas!

Thank you so much for your reply. Merry Christmas!

 

[GenericQuestions]

I voted "not at all" but that is different than what I recommend for your situation which is to continue on the path you're on. I dont believe most medical schools will care about your non-pre-reqs being online. I feel that as far as education goes taking online liberal arts courses goes against the spirit of the curriculum design but then it underscores an assumption I'm making about the quality of classes delivered in person vs online.

Thanks for the reply. Merry Christmas!