Will this look bad?

[Cemetra]

So, I was originally going the PA route and decided against it and to pursue med school. I’m attending a bigger name college online (think Penn State, Arizona State, University of Florida, etc) for Biologicall Sciences but some of my labs are virtual - which I know will look bad when applying (wouldn’t have mattered as much on the PA route).

Only on my core classes now, so I haven’t taken any prerequisites for med school, so I’m considering changing to a non-science major and getting an associates degree from my local state college in Chemistry so that I can get physical lab experience, strong LOR’s from professors, etc. In the end, my application would be an undergraduate degree from a bigger name university, associates degree in Chemistry from a small state school, and everything else will be as good as possible (LOR’s, GPA, MCAT, etc.)

I’m assuming if I do well on the mcat, gpa, apply broadly, etc I’ll be fine. Or am I wrong?

Any opinions on this?

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[bananafish94]

I'm a little confused. You're attending a four-year university 100% online? That doesn't sound quite right. I would think that you would have to do the labs in person, otherwise it's not much of a lab course. Is it possible for you to do pre-med requirements at a local community college or state school and transfer to a major four-year university? I've known a couple people who have gone that route with a lot of success.

 

[Cemetra]

I'm a little confused. You're attending a four-year university 100% online? That doesn't sound quite right. I would think that you would have to do the labs in person, otherwise it's not much of a lab course. Is it possible for you to do pre-med requirements at a local community college or state school and transfer to a major four-year university? I've known a couple people who have gone that route with a lot of success.

That is right. They only offer 2 labs in person (Chemistry I and II) and the rest are virtual labs. It’s very rare for a STEM degree to be fully online, so most people get confused by it. The labs are in an accelerated fashion for online students - it’s a week long. I’d really like to get my undergrad from there though, because it’s a bigger name school that I’ve always wanted to go to! But I might get my science prerequisites at my small state college that’s nearby. I wouldn’t want to transfer from the big name college to my small state one, though.

 

[drhop]

So, I was originally going the PA route and decided against it and to pursue med school. I’m attending a bigger name college online (think Penn State, Arizona State, University of Florida, etc) for Biologicall Sciences but some of my labs are virtual - which I know will look bad when applying (wouldn’t have mattered as much on the PA route).

Only on my core classes now, so I haven’t taken any prerequisites for med school, so I’m considering changing to a non-science major and getting an associates degree from my local state college in Chemistry so that I can get physical lab experience, strong LOR’s from professors, etc. In the end, my application would be an undergraduate degree from a bigger name university, associates degree in Chemistry from a small state school, and everything else will be as good as possible (LOR’s, GPA, MCAT, etc.)

I’m assuming if I do well on the mcat, gpa, apply broadly, etc I’ll be fine. Or am I wrong?

Any opinions on this?

Seems to be quite a bit of need to me.
Are you shooting for a DO school only?

There is a significant difference doing on line and attending a 4- year college.

Not so sure..better check with counsellors.

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[candbgirl]

So the only reason you are going to “big name online school” is because ...??? It’s not helping your Med school plans. The “big name” is for you! It won’t mean a thing to ADCOMS. But if you must, just get the Bachelors and then do a post bac at a four year school close to home. You can do the science pre reqs and some upper level courses too to prove you are up to the rigors of med school. You don’t need to get an Associates. Just take the classes.

 

[princesspeach2]

Is there a reason you can only take online classes? Are you in the military or something?

I can guarantee you that no one will be more impressed by "big name online school" then they would be by "small name brick and mortar."

Is there a reason you can't just go to the actual campus of the big name school?

Taking the pre reqs at a cc would be better than online with virtual labs. If you go that route, mark the box on your application you are working towards a 4yr or an associates, but then just take the classes you need.

There isn't an online-only medical school for a reason.