Tried 3 times to get this question put into the non-trads forum - ONLINE DEGREES

[mmcintosh]

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Seeing that times are so different and we are in an information and IT driven world. Does anyone know of anybody that received their undergrad degree from an online degree program and got accepted into med school?

• did they attend a post bacc program to complete thier pre-req's?

• did they do a ma program for biomedical sciences?

• or did they do thier pre-req's at another school to fullfill the lab requirement?

if so how did they get LOR's? 🙂

 

[Old Grunt]

Seeing that times are so different and we are in an information and IT driven world. Does anyone know of anybody that received their undergrad degree from an online degree program and got accepted into med school?

• did they attend a post bacc program to complete thier pre-req's?

• did they do a ma program for biomedical sciences?

• or did they do thier pre-req's at another school to fullfill the lab requirement?

if so how did they get LOR's? 🙂

I don't know the answer to your question. I certainly wouldn't think an online degree would make for a compelling application. As far as if anyone who did so got accepted into med school; I am sure stranger things have happened.

There might be someone on here who has done this, but I personally don't know of anyone (FWIW.)

 

[Mister T]

Seeing that times are so different and we are in an information and IT driven world. Does anyone know of anybody that received their undergrad degree from an online degree program and got accepted into med school?

• did they attend a post bacc program to complete thier pre-req's?

• did they do a ma program for biomedical sciences?

• or did they do thier pre-req's at another school to fullfill the lab requirement?

if so how did they get LOR's? 🙂

Take your pre-reqs (physics, orgo, gen chem, bio) at a college, and the rest of the stuff can be taken through CLEP exams, DANTE, ECS.

You can do it, but you should have a mix of the two.

http://123collegedegree.com/collegecredits.html
http://bain4weeks.com/

Are two sources you should take a look into. They detail the accounts of people who took exams to get credit for a lot of the bull**** classes that you have to take before you get your bachelor's degree, and let's face it, the rest of the world doesn't have these bogus requirements in fine arts, or philosophy, humanities, etc. they just do the pre-reqs before going to med. school (med. school is after high school in Europe and Asia), and their doctors are better than American ones.

But like I said, take your pre-reqs at real universities, and just pass out of lots of classes through exams.

 

[mmcintosh]

Take your pre-reqs (physics, orgo, gen chem, bio) at a college, and the rest of the stuff can be taken through CLEP exams, DANTE, ECS.

You can do it, but you should have a mix of the two.

http://123collegedegree.com/collegecredits.html
http://bain4weeks.com/

Are two sources you should take a look into. They detail the accounts of people who took exams to get credit for a lot of the bull**** classes that you have to take before you get your bachelor's degree, and let's face it, the rest of the world doesn't have these bogus requirements in fine arts, or philosophy, humanities, etc. they just do the pre-reqs before going to med. school (med. school is after high school in Europe and Asia), and their doctors are better than American ones.

But like I said, take your pre-reqs at real universities, and just pass out of lots of classes through exams.

Thanks so much....I am 39 years old and married with a 4 year old. I don't have a heck of a lot of time to spend on pre-req's. I've worked in software development for 12 years after working in clinical diagnostic and pharma research. I have some what of a scientific background and then life went forward another direction. i always wanted to be a physician but life doesn't wait for dreams. I appreciate your insight. I will PM you with some question if you don't mind. Oh and love that signature line below....that is my family's reality also....

thx
M

 

[kristieb1]

Your degree has to be granted from a regionally accredited college. ITT Tech and other vocational colleges are NOT regionally accredited. Even if you take your pre-reqs at a regular college that is regionally accredited, you have to make sure your degree fits the bill as well!

Western Governors University (an exclusively online school that is not for profit) has complete regional accreditation. You can earn your degree there. But you'd have to take the pre-reqs in person somewhere else since they aren't offered online.

But me, I went to a vocational school (not regionally accredited) and will be getting my bachelors degree in May. But it's absolutely worthless! I have to start all over. So I'm going to be attending my local state school, Weber State University, starting in the fall.

So make sure you attend a regionally accredited school!

 

[Mister T]

Your degree has to be granted from a regionally accredited college. ITT Tech and other vocational colleges are NOT regionally accredited. Even if you take your pre-reqs at a regular college that is regionally accredited, you have to make sure your degree fits the bill as well!

Western Governors University (an exclusively online school that is not for profit) has complete regional accreditation. You can earn your degree there. But you'd have to take the pre-reqs in person somewhere else since they aren't offered online.

But me, I went to a vocational school (not regionally accredited) and will be getting my bachelors degree in May. But it's absolutely worthless! I have to start all over. So I'm going to be attending my local state school, Weber State University, starting in the fall.

So make sure you attend a regionally accredited school!

There's Excelsior College too in NY

 

[mmcintosh]

There's Excelsior College too in NY

Wow Kristieb1,
I am so sorry that you had to find out the hard way about vocational schools....it's really a shame because they are so expensive too....im actually attending a state school. and will be doing my prereq's in the fall and completing them by the summer Lord willing.

thx for your input folks....really appreciate everyone. so glad there is a non-trad group here on SDN... others would not have it that way TRUST ME............. OH WELL TOO BAD GET OVER IT..

oh and i think that some of the people on SDN don't like the idea of non-trad's having the audacity to pursue medicine. well to them i say WE DON'T CARE.... GET USED TO IT....THIS IS THE NEW GENERATION OF MEDICINE....IT'S CALLED REAL PASSION AND A DREAM DEFERRED IS NOT A DREAM DENIED......NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO DETERMINE WHAT YOU WILL BE AND HOW SUCCESSFUL. SOME OF THESE PEOPLE ARE DOWN RIGHT SENT TO DISCOURAGE OTHERS AND ARE VERY NASTY......AND SOME OF THEM ARE MODERATORS....

 

[QofQuimica]

Wow Kristieb1,
I am so sorry that you had to find out the hard way about vocational schools....it's really a shame because they are so expensive too....im actually attending a state school. and will be doing my prereq's in the fall and completing them by the summer Lord willing.

thx for your input folks....really appreciate everyone. so glad there is a non-trad group here on SDN... others would not have it that way TRUST ME............. OH WELL TOO BAD GET OVER IT..

oh and i think that some of the people on SDN don't like the idea of non-trad's having the audacity to pursue medicine. well to them i say WE DON'T CARE.... GET USED TO IT....THIS IS THE NEW GENERATION OF MEDICINE....IT'S CALLED REAL PASSION AND A DREAM DEFERRED IS NOT A DREAM DENIED......NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO DETERMINE WHAT YOU WILL BE AND HOW SUCCESSFUL. SOME OF THESE PEOPLE ARE DOWN RIGHT SENT TO DISCOURAGE OTHERS AND ARE VERY NASTY......AND SOME OF THEM ARE MODERATORS....

If you're alluding to my attempt to discourage you from pursuing an online degree, I just want to clarify that I was *not* discouraging you from pursuing medicine in general. In fact, my intention was to help you be *more* competitive for the med school admissions process, not less. At this point, I have gone through the entire med school app process as a nontrad applicant myself; I have served as a member of the admissions committee at my med school for the past three years; and I have counseled dozens of nontrad applicants on how to improve their apps for med school, including many SDN members. Based on my personal and professional experiences, I would be doing you a major disservice by encouraging you to do something like getting an online degree, when I know for a fact that having an online degree would decrease your competitiveness for medical school admissions.

As I explained previously, medicine is a conservative profession. While there is certainly more acceptance of older applicants and students now than there ever has been before, there is *not* a general acceptance of online degrees by medical school adcoms. Online learning may be the wave of the future, but at present, med school adcoms are still standing on the beach watching that wave go by. Is it possible to be accepted with an online degree? Maybe, if the rest of your app is stellar. But again, you would be making the already difficult road to med school even more difficult by not going the tried-and-true route. As anyone who has already gone through the app process can tell you, it's hard enough to get into medical school even when you do everything exactly by the book. Why would you want to create extra obstacles for yourself that are completely avoidable?

I'm glad you decided on attending a state school for your prereqs rather than trying to do them online. Again, it's a good decision in terms of maximally strengthening your competitiveness as an applicant, especially if you do well in these classes (3.8+). Don't forget that you must also get some sort of clinical experience if you haven't done so already (shadowing, volunteering etc. in a medical setting).

Hope this clarifies where I'm coming from, and I wish you the best of luck. 🙂

 

[mmcintosh]

If you're alluding to my attempt to discourage you from pursuing an online degree, I just want to clarify that I was *not* discouraging you from pursuing medicine in general. In fact, my intention was to help you be *more* competitive for the med school admissions process, not less. At this point, I have gone through the entire med school app process as a nontrad applicant myself; I have served as a member of the admissions committee at my med school for the past three years; and I have counseled dozens of nontrad applicants on how to improve their apps for med school, including many SDN members. Based on my personal and professional experiences, I would be doing you a major disservice by encouraging you to do something like getting an online degree, when I know for a fact that having an online degree would decrease your competitiveness for medical school admissions.

As I explained previously, medicine is a conservative profession. While there is certainly more acceptance of older applicants and students now than there ever has been before, there is *not* a general acceptance of online degrees by medical school adcoms. Online learning may be the wave of the future, but at present, med school adcoms are still standing on the beach watching that wave go by. Is it possible to be accepted with an online degree? Maybe, if the rest of your app is stellar. But again, you would be making the already difficult road to med school even more difficult by not going the tried-and-true route. As anyone who has already gone through the app process can tell you, it's hard enough to get into medical school even when you do everything exactly by the book. Why would you want to create extra obstacles for yourself that are completely avoidable?

I'm glad you decided on attending a state school for your prereqs rather than trying to do them online. Again, it's a good decision in terms of maximally strengthening your competitiveness as an applicant, especially if you do well in these classes (3.8+). Don't forget that you must also get some sort of clinical experience if you haven't done so already (shadowing, volunteering etc. in a medical setting).

Hope this clarifies where I'm coming from, and I wish you the best of luck. 🙂

funny how you were able to respond to this post but not all of the other PM requests to move this thread to NON-TRAD. how did you mysteriously find me?

just to reiterate. this is not a new process. i have friends that are graduating from med school after completing their u-grad degree online. let's face it your experience, however valuable to you is not going to be everyone else's. additionally, i don't see that your intention is to encourage anyone to be more competitive. it actually sounds like the same ole pompus med school admissions rhetoric that most MD schools put people through as opposed to straight talk and what the facts really are to get in.... im only intersted in the facts not discouragement. im not a small child that is easily swayed into a direction of defeat. as stated above i have worked in clinical diagnostic and pharmaceutical research for 8 years and additionally in the following clinical capacities: pathology asst., OR tech, ER tech, Lab tech. patient interaction was at 85%. i will be applying to both MD and DO programs.....additionally, all of my clinical experience was prior to managing financial and pharmaceutical software development for 12 years for global organizations and afterwhich starting a recruiting firm. so i think that i can handle a challenge, no matter how rigorous the task and admission's commitee.

 

[fizzgig]

i'm a bit confused now - if you have friends who have done this then THEY would be the best sources of info as to how to get through the process with an undergrad degree earned online...

 

[Happy Wife]

Maybe I can answer a few questions.

Does anyone know of anybody that received their undergrad degree from an online degree program and got accepted into med school?

My husband never attended a real university. He took classes at a community college, CLEP/DANTES/Excelsior/etc tests for credit, and transferred them to an online school and got a BS degree. He was complete in December, applied to 8 schools, and received interview invites/acceptances from 7 so far. To my knowledge, no one brought his degree up. One did ask how he managed to work full-time, spend time with his family, volunteer, and complete nearly 40 credits in one semester. I think for a non-traditional student to be able to finish a degree while working and caring for a family says a lot about how determined they are to succeed. And probably a lot of medical schools like this type of diversity (non-traditional student, non-science background, real life experiences).

did they attend a post bacc program to complete thier pre-req's?

He completed his science prereqs at a community college.

if so how did they get LOR's? 🙂

Community college professors.

 

[vc7777]

funny how you were able to respond to this post but not all of the other PM requests to move this thread to NON-TRAD. how did you mysteriously find me?

Could it be because QofQ is one of only four monderators in the Nontrad Forum? As opposed to 14 in the Pre-Med Allo Forum

When you scroll down to the bottom of the forum pages, it lists the moderators.

It's therefore kinda hard to post without QofQ finding out...

On that note...Hi QofQuimica!

OP, please too, let's settle down...You asked people their opinions, and they gave it to you.
I don't think Q is saying you can't get in. Q is saying it isn't the most ideal situation. I would have to agree.
Only you know how to balance the pros and cons of attending on-line, in the bigger picture of your overall application.

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

funny how you were able to respond to this post but not all of the other PM requests to move this thread to NON-TRAD. how did you mysteriously find me?

just to reiterate. this is not a new process. i have friends that are graduating from med school after completing their u-grad degree online. let's face it your experience, however valuable to you is not going to be everyone else's. additionally, i don't see that your intention is to encourage anyone to be more competitive. it actually sounds like the same ole pompus med school admissions rhetoric that most MD schools put people through as opposed to straight talk and what the facts really are to get in.... im only intersted in the facts not discouragement. im not a small child that is easily swayed into a direction of defeat. as stated above i have worked in clinical diagnostic and pharmaceutical research for 8 years and additionally in the following clinical capacities: pathology asst., OR tech, ER tech, Lab tech. patient interaction was at 85%. i will be applying to both MD and DO programs.....additionally, all of my clinical experience was prior to managing financial and pharmaceutical software development for 12 years for global organizations and afterwhich starting a recruiting firm. so i think that i can handle a challenge, no matter how rigorous the task and admission's commitee.

If you worked as a pathologist assistant shouldn't you already have a master's degree? Likewise if you were a lab tech didn't you have at least an associates?

I agree with the above post, chill the freak out man.

 

[7starmantis]

Yeah this thread went wrong quick didn't it?

OP, calm down. You asked for opinions and drop the move request thing man, no one is targeting you for "not moving a thread" discrimination.

If you have friends who have done what you asked advice on, why are you here exactly? This is just too weird now.

I'm out.

 

[sumstorm]

This is a random curiosity question related to the OP's question. When I was accepted to med school (over a decade ago) many of the pre-reqs required labs. Has that changed in such a way that online courses suffice now?

I am not opposed to quality online courses; I took sevral business courses online to finish out pre-reqs for my current school, but my upper level sci pre reqs (genetics, molec bio, biochem, microbio) all required labs. So when I read this thread, I was startled by the idea of a mostly online or totally online degree might be viable. I do know in my field community colleges are only acceptable for lower level courses and labs are required.

As a non-trad, I don't understand the OP's angst about advice, which is essentially anothers opinion based on his/her experience.

 

[mmcintosh]

This is a random curiosity question related to the OP's question. When I was accepted to med school (over a decade ago) many of the pre-reqs required labs. Has that changed in such a way that online courses suffice now?

I am not opposed to quality online courses; I took sevral business courses online to finish out pre-reqs for my current school, but my upper level sci pre reqs (genetics, molec bio, biochem, microbio) all required labs. So when I read this thread, I was startled by the idea of a mostly online or totally online degree might be viable. I do know in my field community colleges are only acceptable for lower level courses and labs are required.

As a non-trad, I don't understand the OP's angst about advice, which is essentially anothers opinion based on his/her experience.

labs r still required, im doing my prereq's at a state school.....

 

[mmcintosh]

Maybe I can answer a few questions.



My husband never attended a real university. He took classes at a community college, CLEP/DANTES/Excelsior/etc tests for credit, and transferred them to an online school and got a BS degree. He was complete in December, applied to 8 schools, and received interview invites/acceptances from 7 so far. To my knowledge, no one brought his degree up. One did ask how he managed to work full-time, spend time with his family, volunteer, and complete nearly 40 credits in one semester. I think for a non-traditional student to be able to finish a degree while working and caring for a family says a lot about how determined they are to succeed. And probably a lot of medical schools like this type of diversity (non-traditional student, non-science background, real life experiences).



He completed his science prereqs at a community college.



Community college professors.

Happy Wife,

Well said, thank you for your very appropriate responses. I appreciate how you just answered the questions without all the drama and criticism of the question. In fact, this information is extremely valuable because your husband excelled against the odds. I am compiling this information to let others know that it is indeed possible and that they too can succeed against the odds. This site should be an inspiration as well as a source of information. I am sure that you are proud of his accomplishmments as they ought to be applauded. I too have a husband and a four year old.


Thanks again
M

 

[EdLongshanks]

This site should be an inspiration as well as a source of information.

I disagree with this assessment of what SDN should be. First of all, since we are fairly new to SDN, it's not our place to correct the moderator's vision of this forum.

But secondly, I don't see why the purposes of this forum should include "A source of inspiration" as a top-of-agenda item. Inspiration is not going to get us through this slog. Pollyanna will not make it through med school. If you follow the blogs of people who are currently enrolled in medical school, you will see that reality hits pretty quickly, and that those who snuck in under the wire do, indeed, have academic struggles.

What I am looking for from this forum is accurate information and realistic views. I'm interested in Tris's depression struggles and the doctor's who don't believe that medicine is a worthwhile career. I don't think that we should cast these opinions out because they are not "sources of inspiration".

I can see how a person could get an online degree/CLEP score/community college degree in a pretty short time that would not be challenged significantly. I also see that such a path might land the student in trouble once she was in medical school and found out that there are no shortcuts to memorizing the anatomy, patology of the human body.

 

[Mister T]

I can see how a person could get an online degree/CLEP score/community college degree in a pretty short time that would not be challenged significantly. I also see that such a path might land one in trouble once they were in medical school and found out that there are no shortcuts to memorizing the anatomy, patology, and drug interactions within the human body.

Just to be clear, there' snothing wrong with taking the CLEP/DANTE/Excelsior exams to bypass bull**** classes. A person can bypass all those stupid requirements you need to graduate and still take the required premed classes do well in all of them, satisfy all major requirements, and graduate early. If they ask, you just tell them what your situation was.

You really don't need to waste 4 years to get your undergrad, and undergrad really is overrated.

Besides, I don't even think you can take the pre-req sciences online anyways you need the labs for those classes too and as far as I know you can't do a lab online.

And in any case, everyone comes in unprepared when it comes to medical school, and it's not like taking 400 level immunology is going to do much good as medical school science's focus is completely different from undergrad's (which is dryer and more professor-specific which sucks). So for all practical purposes, everyone starts on the same slate in medical school more or less.

 

[dotdash]

And in any case, everyone comes in unprepared when it comes to medical school, and it's not like taking 400 level immunology is going to do much good as medical school science's focus is completely different from undergrad's (which is dryer and more professor-specific which sucks). So for all practical purposes, everyone starts on the same slate in medical school more or less.

I don't believe this to be true. Those who have worse preparation going into medical school struggle more, and that is true of both knowledge and mental preparedness. Which is not to say that you can't get through medical school with minimal preparation -- just that on average you will have more trouble than your better-prepared classmates.

 

[7starmantis]

I don't believe this to be true. Those who have worse preparation going into medical school struggle more, and that is true of both knowledge and mental preparedness. Which is not to say that you can't get through medical school with minimal preparation -- just that on average you will have more trouble than your better-prepared classmates.

I dont agree with this. As Mr T stated, you just can't "prepare" for medical school. While this issue has been beaten to death on SDN, I am simply one of the people who believes you can't prepare by taking undergrad courses. Sure there are some courses that have a bit of a layover to med classes but only as much as mowing the yard has to do with running a marathon.

 

[EdLongshanks]

Just to be clear, there' snothing wrong with taking the CLEP/DANTE/Excelsior exams to bypass bull**** classes. A person can bypass all those stupid requirements you need to graduate and still take the required premed classes do well in all of them, satisfy all major requirements, and graduate early. If they ask, you just tell them what your situation was.

You really don't need to waste 4 years to get your undergrad, and undergrad really is overrated.

Besides, I don't even think you can take the pre-req sciences online anyways you need the labs for those classes too and as far as I know you can't do a lab online.

And in any case, everyone comes in unprepared when it comes to medical school, and it's not like taking 400 level immunology is going to do much good as medical school science's focus is completely different from undergrad's (which is dryer and more professor-specific which sucks). So for all practical purposes, everyone starts on the same slate in medical school more or less.

I have several courses that I CLEP'd and I wish I had done more. Unfortunately, the CLEPable course are the low-level courses that all of our advisors told us to take during the first year of college. I shouldn't have wasted my time on taking American History,or Intro to Psych, or Comp I and II, or even Humanities I & II.

But, since we are not medical students, I doubt that we can say with authority that taking Anatomy in undergrad didn't help AT ALL with medical school anatomy. This seems counter-intuitive.

 

[7starmantis]

But, since we are not medical students, I doubt that we can say with authority that taking Anatomy in undergrad didn't help AT ALL with medical school anatomy. This seems counter-intuitive.

You dont have to be in med school to understand the structure of med school curriculum. This is what I call the "experience fallacy". You can't really talk about something unless you have actually experienced it. Well, I've never experienced hemorrhoids but can hold a decently intelligent debate on their treatment.

Plus, if you buy into this type of thinking, you can search SDN for many "med students" who agree. Also, I didn't say "not help at all" I said "can't prepare". Very different ideas.

 

[dotdash]

only as much as mowing the yard has to do with running a marathon.

I like any metaphor that includes a lawn mower. Nice.

 

[Mister T]

I have several courses that I CLEP'd and I wish I had done more. Unfortunately, the CLEPable course are the low-level courses that all of our advisors told us to take during the first year of college. I shouldn't have wasted my time on taking American History,or Intro to Psych, or Comp I and II, or even Humanities I & II.

But, since we are not medical students, I doubt that we can say with authority that taking Anatomy in undergrad didn't help AT ALL with medical school anatomy. This seems counter-intuitive.

undergrad anatomy is completely different from med. school level anatomy and is levels below in difficulty and volume learned. It's a really easy class whereas the med. school one can be hell.

In any cae, the main point I'm trying to make is that the CLEP/DANTES/ECS/Excelsior exams are good for bypassing all the bull**** stuff like hte music requirement, the humanities requirement, the language, american history, intro to psychology bull**** that you really don't need a professor to "teach you" (yeah like you can't teach yourself this bull****)


The op needs/should probably take genetics, biochemistry, anatomy ad physiology, statistics, become an EMT-B to "prove" to the adcoms that he/she has "what it takes" to get into medical (read: it's a stupid game). Of course, if you have a feeling that one of the classes I just mentioned are going to be ridiculously hard where you're going to take it, maybe you shouldn't take it at that school or try to get old exams. The professor you pick will either make it or break it for you in your classes, and a good one will make the experience pleasant whereas an ******* can really **** around with your grade.

 

[NTF]

I have several courses that I CLEP'd and I wish I had done more. Unfortunately, the CLEPable course are the low-level courses that all of our advisors told us to take during the first year of college. I shouldn't have wasted my time on taking American History,or Intro to Psych, or Comp I and II, or even Humanities I & II.

But, since we are not medical students, I doubt that we can say with authority that taking Anatomy in undergrad didn't help AT ALL with medical school anatomy. This seems counter-intuitive.

Can't speak for myself but of the several of my classmates I know who took anatomy during ugrad, all of them have stated that it wasn't much help to them in gross. Often times the clinical focus and perspective of a medical anatomy class differs a great deal from other anatomy courses. Now I'm sure that there are some ugrad anatomy courses that take a more clinical approach. But just don't bank on an anatomy course "helping" for med school.

What I can speak to from my own experience is that taking biochem and physiology did help me in medical school. There's just certain basic things that I didn't have to learn from scratch that made my life a lot easier. It won't necessarily guarantee you an excellent grade or anything, but it will definitely make the break-neck pace of the beginning of these courses more manageable.

But you'll be surprised how quickly the "advantage" of having taken similar courses in ugrad dissipates. Usually by the second (third at the latest) set of exams your success will be almost entirely determined by whether you've been able to establish an effective and EFFICIENT study routine. Your prior ugrad training (as a general rule) isn't going to matter much, except the ability to be disciplined, focused, and manage your stress.

 

[Mister T]

Can't speak for myself but of the several of my classmates I know who took anatomy during ugrad, all of them have stated that it wasn't much help to them in gross. Often times the clinical focus and perspective of a medical anatomy class differs a great deal from other anatomy courses. Now I'm sure that there are some ugrad anatomy courses that take a more clinical approach. But just don't bank on an anatomy course "helping" for med school.

What I can speak to from my own experience is that taking biochem and physiology did help me in medical school. There's just certain basic things that I didn't have to learn from scratch that made my life a lot easier. It won't necessarily guarantee you an excellent grade or anything, but it will definitely make the break-neck pace of the beginning of these courses more manageable.

But you'll be surprised how quickly the "advantage" of having taken similar courses in ugrad dissipates. Usually by the second (third at the latest) set of exams your success will be almost entirely determined by whether you've been able to establish an effective and EFFICIENT study routine. Your prior ugrad training (as a general rule) isn't going to matter much, except the ability to be disciplined, focused, and manage your stress.

This is exactly it. **** opinions, this is the truth.

 

[dotdash]

This is exactly it. **** opinions, this is the truth.

Opinions are often based on real experiences -- why are you so quick to dismiss the honestly-offered experience-based opinions of others? (And what's with all the asterisks?)

 

[Mister T]

Opinions are often based on real experiences -- why are you so quick to dismiss the honestly-offered experience-based opinions of others? (And what's with all the asterisks?)

Because they're ******ed.

 

[dotdash]

Because they're ******ed.

Wow, you must be really smart to be so sure the opinions of others are ******ed. Nonetheless, sadly, I'm adding you to my "ignore" list.

 

[EdLongshanks]

Because they're ******ed.

I'm with dotdash. You have too many words and too many insults with too little information involved. You're on my ignore list also.

 

[Mister T]

Wow, you must be really smart to be so sure the opinions of others are ******ed. Nonetheless, sadly, I'm adding you to my "ignore" list.

I'm with dotdash. You have too many words and too many insults with too little information involved. You're on my ignore list also.

Coming from you two, that doesn't mean a lot... and nobody really cares what a premed thinks.

 

[EdLongshanks]

But you'll be surprised how quickly the "advantage" of having taken similar courses in ugrad dissipates. Usually by the second (third at the latest) set of exams your success will be almost entirely determined by whether you've been able to establish an effective and EFFICIENT study routine. Your prior ugrad training (as a general rule) isn't going to matter much, except the ability to be disciplined, focused, and manage your stress.

I can see why that would be so. If the first set of information is new to some and familiar to others, then those who have familiarity have an advantage. But eventually you reach a level where all of the information is new to everyone. At that point, the student who has learned how to assimilate the mostest in the leastest has the advantage.

 

[mmcintosh]

I disagree with this assessment of what SDN should be. First of all, since we are fairly new to SDN, it's not our place to correct the moderator's vision of this forum.

But secondly, I don't see why the purposes of this forum should include "A source of inspiration" as a top-of-agenda item. Inspiration is not going to get us through this slog. Pollyanna will not make it through med school. If you follow the blogs of people who are currently enrolled in medical school, you will see that reality hits pretty quickly, and that those who snuck in under the wire do, indeed, have academic struggles.

What I am looking for from this forum is accurate information and realistic views. I'm interested in Tris's depression struggles and the doctor's who don't believe that medicine is a worthwhile career. I don't think that we should cast these opinions out because they are not "sources of inspiration".

I can see how a person could get an online degree/CLEP score/community college degree in a pretty short time that would not be challenged significantly. I also see that such a path might land the student in trouble once she was in medical school and found out that there are no shortcuts to memorizing the anatomy, patology of the human body.

I TOTALLY DISAGREE WITH YOUR VIEWS......IT SEEMS YOU ARE SUFFERING FROM TUNNEL VISION AND YOU ONLY WANT "THE NEGATIVE" SIDE OF MEDICINE. THERE IS BEAUTY IN EVERYTHING as well as enough negativity in the world. I for one, do not want to make the difficulty of pursuing medicine my goal. It is already difficult enough. I am fully entitled to have any opinion that I wish....Non-Trad's already have several things stacked against them. If you are excited about the negative side of things then that's you, but you won't be able to shift my perspective at all. I don't faint easily. Additionally, if the so called facts that you are looking for are all saturated with depression and so forth why on earth would you want to pursue that. I need facts not "the fat" associated with it. By now you should know that this is not at all easily accomplished how many times do you need to hear that? I am having the time of my llife because I went into this fully undserstanding the difficulty that lies ahead. I'm not new to adversity.

 

[mmcintosh]

Just to be clear, there' snothing wrong with taking the CLEP/DANTE/Excelsior exams to bypass bull**** classes. A person can bypass all those stupid requirements you need to graduate and still take the required premed classes do well in all of them, satisfy all major requirements, and graduate early. If they ask, you just tell them what your situation was.

You really don't need to waste 4 years to get your undergrad, and undergrad really is overrated.

Besides, I don't even think you can take the pre-req sciences online anyways you need the labs for those classes too and as far as I know you can't do a lab online.

And in any case, everyone comes in unprepared when it comes to medical school, and it's not like taking 400 level immunology is going to do much good as medical school science's focus is completely different from undergrad's (which is dryer and more professor-specific which sucks). So for all practical purposes, everyone starts on the same slate in medical school more or less.

well said Mr. T.......i totally agree with all of your assessment...

 

[mmcintosh]

Can't speak for myself but of the several of my classmates I know who took anatomy during ugrad, all of them have stated that it wasn't much help to them in gross. Often times the clinical focus and perspective of a medical anatomy class differs a great deal from other anatomy courses. Now I'm sure that there are some ugrad anatomy courses that take a more clinical approach. But just don't bank on an anatomy course "helping" for med school.

What I can speak to from my own experience is that taking biochem and physiology did help me in medical school. There's just certain basic things that I didn't have to learn from scratch that made my life a lot easier. It won't necessarily guarantee you an excellent grade or anything, but it will definitely make the break-neck pace of the beginning of these courses more manageable.

But you'll be surprised how quickly the "advantage" of having taken similar courses in ugrad dissipates. Usually by the second (third at the latest) set of exams your success will be almost entirely determined by whether you've been able to establish an effective and EFFICIENT study routine. Your prior ugrad training (as a general rule) isn't going to matter much, except the ability to be disciplined, focused, and manage your stress.

well said, especially stress management.........this something that is going to be apart of our lives forever... we must learn to eliminate the excess unnecessary stress

 

[EdLongshanks]

I TOTALLY DISAGREE WITH YOUR VIEWS......IT SEEMS YOU ARE SUFFERING FROM TUNNEL VISION AND YOU ONLY WANT "THE NEGATIVE" SIDE OF MEDICINE. THERE IS BEAUTY IN EVERYTHING .

Thank you for shouting. I wasn't able to hear you previously.

 

[pooker]

mmcintosh, it seems like you just wanted people to boast about the acceptance of online degrees into medical school. Any advice towards the contrary gets a verbal assault from you.

 

[7starmantis]

mmcintosh, it seems like you just wanted people to boast about the acceptance of online degrees into medical school. Any advice towards the contrary gets a verbal assault from you.

On a side note, pooker, you should post on the "what does your screen name mean" thread....cause.....

 

[ChE04]

I TOTALLY DISAGREE WITH YOUR VIEWS......IT SEEMS YOU ARE SUFFERING FROM TUNNEL VISION AND YOU ONLY WANT "THE NEGATIVE" SIDE OF MEDICINE. THERE IS BEAUTY IN EVERYTHING as well as enough negativity in the world. I for one, do not want to make the difficulty of pursuing medicine my goal. It is already difficult enough. I am fully entitled to have any opinion that I wish....Non-Trad's already have several things stacked against them. If you are excited about the negative side of things then that's you, but you won't be able to shift my perspective at all. I don't faint easily. Additionally, if the so called facts that you are looking for are all saturated with depression and so forth why on earth would you want to pursue that. I need facts not "the fat" associated with it. By now you should know that this is not at all easily accomplished how many times do you need to hear that? I am having the time of my llife because I went into this fully undserstanding the difficulty that lies ahead. I'm not new to adversity.

it's not negativism, it's realism... You've been pretty disrespectful to people who have only been trying to help you out; sounds to me like you're the one with tunnel vision. You don't like their opinions, you don't have to take their advice, but having sunshine blown up your ***** about how a very tiny minority of people got into medical school won't do you much better.

 

[mmcintosh]

mmcintosh, it seems like you just wanted people to boast about the acceptance of online degrees into medical school. Any advice towards the contrary gets a verbal assault from you.

obviously,
you didn't read any of the posts. boasting helps no one anyway. on the contrary, i simply had a question but was made to feel inferior that i asked. i mean after all the post was generated in the NON-TRAD'S forum. does that mean "not" non-trad when they want to put a limit on someone else's experience and limit what thier success testimonial should be?

let's be honest, some may feel cheated because perhaps they did the contrary... "took the traditional route" no one is frowning upon them. we are in a new age called unforeseen possibilities (more than one way to accomplish a task). I really admire them that are not afraid of taking a chance and succeeding against the odds. they ought to be applauded.

it is also apparent that others that feel contrary or had other experiences
don't appreciate this even being known, or spoken about. the path you take is the path that you take. no one can deny the success of either paths.....tradtional and non-traditional.

 

[mmcintosh]

it's not negativism, it's realism... You've been pretty disrespectful to people who have only been trying to help you out; sounds to me like you're the one with tunnel vision. You don't like their opinions, you don't have to take their advice, but having sunshine blown up your ***** about how a very tiny minority of people got into medical school won't do you much better.

you have a right to your opinion and so do i... this kind of rhetoric does not move me at all. the disrespect is coming from them that feel free to criticize the alternative efforts that others have taken to succeed at the SAME GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!! choose your own path don't try to influence mine. knowledge is powerful......it is a shame that the game of getting accepted into med school creates such a cut throat environment amongst fellow applicants and students. what a waste of time.

 

[mmcintosh]

i'm a bit confused now - if you have friends who have done this then THEY would be the best sources of info as to how to get through the process with an undergrad degree earned online...

thx, but I wanted to get more exposure for the question and get some other perspectives. btw I love that scripture in your signature...........

 

[anonymousername]

When I see threads like this I laugh. I wonder if the OP actually has what it takes, I admire her motivation, I think that she has unrealistic expectations of "beating the odds," and then I go back to work.

 

[mmcintosh]

When I see threads like this I laugh. I wonder if the OP actually has what it takes, I admire her motivation, I think that she has unrealistic expectations of "beating the odds," and then I go back to work.

so sad that there is such an attitude of negativity on this site.... are you sure that you want to be a doctor to help the "healing process". is the glass half empty all the time?
i won't be defeated in my effort to make real inspriation a sustainable reality on this site. there is still time to turn it around people........

 

[anonymousername]

so sad that there is such an attitude of negativity on this site.... are you sure that you want to be a doctor to help the "healing process". is the glass half empty all the time?

I usually drink my beverage in its entirety before the glass goes into the dishwasher. 😉
And to be quite honest, I couldn't care less about the "healing process," I'm looking for a career that can provide financial security and still be interesting.

there is still time to turn it around people........

I think it's great that you're pursuing your dream but I also think that you've been watching too many medical dramas on TV. In the real world your career life will be 5 to 10 years max. You're now 39 years old, fast forward 8 years and you will be 47. Assuming that you want to start practicing ASAP after med school graduation, you would would be looking at a residency in Family Practice which is anywhere between 2-4 years of very low pay and long hours. You are now anywhere between 49 and 51 when you actually start practice. In essence you wouldn't be pursuing a long awaited dream but incurring a lifetime of debt and work.

 

[Happy Wife]

One possible benefit from getting a recommendation letter from a community college professor is that they usually don't have a lot of smart students. If you really do have what it takes to do well in medical school, you'll probably really stand out at a community college. Both of my husbands recommendation letters say he iss the most intelligent, well-spoken, and talented student they have had in their teaching careers. I doubt it would be easy to get such a strong letter from a university professor.

 

[Mister T]

One possible benefit from getting a recommendation letter from a community college professor is that they usually don't have a lot of smart students. If you really do have what it takes to do well in medical school, you'll probably really stand out at a community college. Both of my husbands recommendation letters say he iss the most intelligent, well-spoken, and talented student they have had in their teaching careers. I doubt it would be easy to get such a strong letter from a university professor.

All the more reason to go to a community college for the first 2 years and transfer out to an easy university for the last 2 years.

God, society is so stupid, I was too when I was sold that "name" matters 98% of the time it doesn't, and going to a harder school only screws you more.

 

[mmcintosh]

One possible benefit from getting a recommendation letter from a community college professor is that they usually don't have a lot of smart students. If you really do have what it takes to do well in medical school, you'll probably really stand out at a community college. Both of my husbands recommendation letters say he iss the most intelligent, well-spoken, and talented student they have had in their teaching careers. I doubt it would be easy to get such a strong letter from a university professor.

well said i agree with you totally............

 

[mmcintosh]

I usually drink my beverage in its entirety before the glass goes into the dishwasher. 😉
And to be quite honest, I couldn't care less about the "healing process," I'm looking for a career that can provide financial security and still be interesting.

I think it's great that you're pursuing your dream but I also think that you've been watching too many medical dramas on TV. In the real world your career life will be 5 to 10 years max. You're now 39 years old, fast forward 8 years and you will be 47. Assuming that you want to start practicing ASAP after med school graduation, you would would be looking at a residency in Family Practice which is anywhere between 2-4 years of very low pay and long hours. You are now anywhere between 49 and 51 when you actually start practice. In essence you wouldn't be pursuing a long awaited dream but incurring a lifetime of debt and work.

so glad this kind of cheap discouragement doesn't affect me and i hope others won't be bothered when they read this nonesense. there is a young man that is 58 years old that is an MS2 in a reputable school in NYC. I just happened to hear about him on a visit to the school. he was a TRUCK DRIVER for many years b4 persuing his dream. Believe it or not youth is not always valued over a lifetime of experiences...............just incase you haven't heard debt is apart of any educational experience. Shouldn't you know that by now.....