Upper Division PreReqs

[LindsK]

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Hi All,

Apologies as I'm sure this has been asked before, but I tried searching and could not find an answer. Anyway, I already have a bachelor's degree but it was in a non-science major. I am trying to determine the best way to obtain the necessary prereqs for veterinary school by attending a Junior College (no university in my state allows second bachelor's students, except on a very limited basis). I can get the basic prereqs out of the way, but how would I fulfill the upper division prereq requirements? Do post-bacc (aka extension) programs work for that? Any other suggestions? Are online courses considered acceptable, except where noted otherwise on a vet school's website?

Please help, I keep going around and around in circles and getting nowhere!

Thanks!
-Lindsay

 

[EB73674]

Hi All,

Apologies as I'm sure this has been asked before, but I tried searching and could not find an answer. Anyway, I already have a bachelor's degree but it was in a non-science major. I am trying to determine the best way to obtain the necessary prereqs for veterinary school by attending a Junior College (no university in my state allows second bachelor's students, except on a very limited basis). I can get the basic prereqs out of the way, but how would I fulfill the upper division prereq requirements? Do post-bacc (aka extension) programs work for that? Any other suggestions? Are online courses considered acceptable, except where noted otherwise on a vet school's website?

Please help, I keep going around and around in circles and getting nowhere!

Thanks!
-Lindsay

Post-bacc programs are designed for this - ABSOLUTELY no need to get a second Bachelors! Also, a number of public universities allow non-degree-seeking students to enroll & take the specific classes they need, but generally get last pick on popular classes. I have done both (a structured post-bacc and cobbling together courses as a non-degree student), and I would say to at least begin in a post-bacc program if you can. I found the support and resources a lot better, especially starting out and especially beginning science classes for the first time. I’m just taking classes at my state’s public university now, but I’ve gotten to know how to work things a bit better after 3 years in a structured program.

As far as online/correspondence courses or those from a junior college/community college, that will vary by school. Cornell is fine with all non-lab pre-reqs being done online or at non-four-year schools up to organic chemistry, and many schools are completely fine with non-science courses being taken online. Classes with labs and the upper level science classes are generally harder to get approved to take online, but not impossible. But I did have one school essentially state that any online or community college courses wouldn’t look all that good, meaning my online English classes wouldn’t qualify.

So, basically, if you can afford it (NOT by taking loans if you can remotely help it), go for a post-bacc or a four-year state university. If you can’t swing it or if you don’t have one close enough, email the schools you’re interested in directly to see if they’d accept junior or community college pre-reqs. But definitely don’t enroll in a second bachelors!

 

[EngrSC]

Agree with everything said above.

I took gen chem and gen bio at a community college, which admittedly were hard to get into as a post-bacc student because I had lowest priority registration. I ended up applying to and attending my local 4-year school as a degree-seeking student and I had priority registration because of the number of credits I have. I did not actually finish the degree.

I think whether you go with the non-degree seeking student method (crashing classes), degree-seeking but only taking the classes you need, or a structured post-bacc program will depend on what’s available to you. Also consider cost, as it’s not worth it to take out loans for these programs with the increasing cost of vet school (imo).

I’ve heard of people having success taking online classes through University of New England but they look pretty pricy. I would highly recommend looking at the schools you think you want to apply to and making sure they accept online classes before you shell out the money.

 

[meelc]

I took a bunch of science courses through UCSD extension (microbio w/ lab, physiology, immunology, toxicology, genetics, cell/molecular bio, and med terminology). While it was pricier than taking a course though my local community college, I actually thought the prices were relatively reasonable especially for the convenience of it being completely online since I was working full time. Feel free to message me if you have any questions!

 

[LindsK]

Hi All,
Thank you so much for replying. I feel much better about earning my upper-division pre-reqs through post-bacc programs. I have decided to take my lower div pre reqs at Santa Monica College (proximity and a it's a pretty decent cc) and fulfill the upper-divs through UCLA extension or UC Berkeley extension.

HERE IS MY QUESTION: It seems like veterinary schools have such disparity in their requirements. I am basing my choices at SMC off of what UC Davis School of Vet Med accepts from SMC for chemistry and biology, but I am concerned that these will not be accepted by other vet schools, even if their admissions guidelines do not explicitly state otherwise. Does this seem like a sensible thing to do, at least as far as bio and chem go?

Side note: UGH! I wish I had never received a bachelor degree - this process would be so much easier than starting again after having received one (at least in California, where almost no public university allows for second bachelor students or allows a person to transfer in if that person already has a bachelor degree.)

 

[PippyPony]

HERE IS MY QUESTION: It seems like veterinary schools have such disparity in their requirements. I am basing my choices at SMC off of what UC Davis School of Vet Med accepts from SMC for chemistry and biology, but I am concerned that these will not be accepted by other vet schools, even if their admissions guidelines do not explicitly state otherwise. Does this seem like a sensible thing to do, at least as far as bio and chem go?

Email the schools you think you might one day be interested in applying to and ask whether they would accept the courses.

It's a question they get all the time from post-bac students. Better to ask and know for sure rather than assume --> worry --> be wrong

 

[EngrSC]

Side note: UGH! I wish I had never received a bachelor degree - this process would be so much easier than starting again after having received one (at least in California, where almost no public university allows for second bachelor students or allows a person to transfer in if that person already has a bachelor degree.)

Yep, this is one (of many) reasons I left California. I was having to crash classes as a post-bacc student and didn’t get a seat many semesters. It was super hard to hit the ground running. Their educational system is a nightmare as a post-bacc student.

I know back in 2014-ish you could apply for admission to a CSU school as a post-bacc student but you had to have a professor in the department of whatever you wanted to study “sponsor” you. Thankfully we ended up leaving the state but I was really close to going to the school and begging a professor to vouch for me.

 

[EB73674]

I agree, write out a list of schools based on the pre-reqs that you may eventually want to apply to & e-mail them. I literally spent 3 hours doing this one night, and then listed out all the questions I had to ask each school about requirements. Very helpful to have it in a document or Note that I had between my laptop & phone so I could easily reference. Everyone was super nice about answering, and only Tufts said they really want all of your pre-reqs to come from 4 year colleges. They really are used to getting these questions constantly!

 

[bkitw]

I took a bunch of science courses through UCSD extension (microbio w/ lab, physiology, immunology, toxicology, genetics, cell/molecular bio, and med terminology). While it was pricier than taking a course though my local community college, I actually thought the prices were relatively reasonable especially for the convenience of it being completely online since I was working full time. Feel free to message me if you have any questions!

Hi, I'm thinking about taking the courses through USCD extension also. Are those courses self-paced by any chance?

Thanks in advance!

 

[itseunsss]

Hi, I'm thinking about taking the courses through USCD extension also. Are those courses self-paced by any chance?

Thanks in advance!

I haven’t taken any classes through UCSD extension, but I took a whole bunch through UCLA and UCB extension. Some online classes are self-paced. For example, my genetics class (MCBX 143) was self-paced. We were given up to 6 months to complete the course 🙂.

 

[bkitw]

I haven’t taken any classes through UCSD extension, but I took a whole bunch through UCLA and UCB extension. Some online classes are self-paced. For example, my genetics class (MCBX 143) was self-paced. We were given up to 6 months to complete the course 🙂.

Awesome! Thanks for letting me know!


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[meelc]

Hi, I'm thinking about taking the courses through USCD extension also. Are those courses self-paced by any chance?

Thanks in advance!

Some of them were self paced, others were more so "you have to complete x, y, z by the end of each week". Honestly I found the courses super straightforward and not terribly difficult, came out with A's in all of them. I like that it is set up on the quarter system because it makes things go by very quickly.

 

[bkitw]

Some of them were self paced, others were more so "you have to complete x, y, z by the end of each week". Honestly I found the courses super straightforward and not terribly difficult, came out with A's in all of them. I like that it is set up on the quarter system because it makes things go by very quickly.

Definitely, thanks a bunch !!


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[Stroganoff]

I took a bunch of science courses through UCSD extension (microbio w/ lab, physiology, immunology, toxicology, genetics, cell/molecular bio, and med terminology). While it was pricier than taking a course though my local community college, I actually thought the prices were relatively reasonable especially for the convenience of it being completely online since I was working full time. Feel free to message me if you have any questions!

How did the lab component work for microbio? That's super convenient, but I'm picturing like your own home lab with a Bunsen burner, tons of agar and petri dishes, tubes, separate refrigerator, a hundred live samples a fancy microscope, autoclave, and tons of dyes and stains. Maybe a centrifuge. Obviously that's not realistic, so curious how UCSD Extension ran their online lab.

 

[meelc]

How did the lab component work for microbio? That's super convenient, but I'm picturing like your own home lab with a Bunsen burner, tons of agar and petri dishes, tubes, separate refrigerator, a hundred live samples a fancy microscope, autoclave, and tons of dyes and stains. Maybe a centrifuge. Obviously that's not realistic, so curious how UCSD Extension ran their online lab.

It was so convenient!! Here's the link to the lab website that gives some more info on what each of the labs focus on Microbiology Lab Kits & Distance Learning | Hands-On Labs It wasn't anything too crazy. Provided everything to make your own plates, various broth tubes, things for sample handling/creating, stains to makeup microscope slides, etc. There were actually only like 3 different biologic samples I had to work with (brewers yeast, e coli, and one other I honestly can't remember). It was all things that were safe as long as you followed proper safety protocols. It also did not require a microscope, there was a virtual microscope that was provided.

 

[J.Bed]

Not sure if someone said this, but if you go to a 4 year as a non degree seeking student, you may be very last for registration. If you need to work around a career that can make it very difficult. I switched to degree seeking and went straight to the top of the registration list and got the classes I needed.
I of course didn’t actually get a second degree, but it made my life much easier and kept my timeline in check.