Would this work? retaking classes

[LupaCupcake]

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So some of you have read my recent posts regarding online classes. Majority of my degree is online because we are military and stationed overseas. Some med schools have issues with this, some don't care as long as I had labs etc.

I had a #1 med school pick that I wanted badly...BADLY. It is my dream school, it is just perfect. They don't accept online credit.

I was thinking what if when we leave the military november of 2012 I retake the science prereqs at a face to face school. Best case scenario I take them at my #1's undergraduate school. Since this would tack on more time for me, I use that time to try and job shadow or maybe get a PT job at my #1's hospital so I have clinical experience and shadowing with them. Thus they will know it was quality etc.

Do you think this would work ..my bachelors is online, but as long as I do the science in person I should be owkay...right? If anything maybe this will make my chances better because I will try to take classes at their undergraduate school.

I may still end up being rejected for their med school, but at least I could say I went all out and it would open up more doors med school wise since I would have my science face to face. This also means school loans though because my GI Bill will be exhausted before then.

What do you think? Am I insane for doing this? Incredibly stubborn?😡 hopefully motivated comes to mind before stubborn rofl

btw my husband is 100% for all of this

 

[hawkbit]

Sounds like a good compromise. Just be prepared for some prejudice against online degree. Some campus science classes would go a long ways towards helping your cause. Just keep that gpa at 4.0 for your classes, and kill the mcat. With a good mcat (min 35) what are they going to say about your course work? 🙂

 

[FrkyBgStok]

Depends on what school we are talking about. Harvard? Probably not. If it is a mid tier school or a DO school, you may have better luck. Is your bachelors from university of phoenix or one of those obvious online places because that could hurt as well. And if they don't online credit, is it for prereqs or will they not recognize your bachelors. That could be a problem. What is the school?

 

[LupaCupcake]

I go to UMUC (university of maryland university college) yes they tack on that "university college" at the end. http://www.umuc.edu/
They are not ONLY online, but they have representatives at all military posts which pulls in a lot of military people to the online program. They have some arrangement with the military that has been going on for 20 or 30 years.
On paper my classes do not indicate that they are online. I did take a couple in person at the education center when they were offered so it is not 100% online.....just mostly.

My #1 school is Yale. Yes yes...I know they only take in 100 applicants every year, I know it is Ivy, I know it is NOT one of the "easier" ones to gain acceptance. I just really love this school, it fits me so perfectly. I could spend paragraphs explaining why, but I will resist that temptation. hehe

I was able to talk with a rep from Northwestern yesterday and they told me as long as my Chemistry was in person the rest can be online. Another school told me the same thing. Some say the prereqs need to be in person, but the rest they can be flexible with. I found 1 that will accept the entire thing online, University of Washington. The fact that I have only found 1 accepting everything online makes me think I need to redo the science classes. Luckily I did math in person here so I don't need to retake those.


So my hope-filled possibly delusional plan.😀... finish my bachelors here like I planned, but I will take as many in person classes at the education center as possible. So if they ask I can say I did some of it online, some of it in person.

• When we leave the military we move to New Haven. I do the science courses at University of New Haven,
• I try to get job shadowing with someone at Yale's New Haven hospital
• if I can some type of part time job at the hospital. THus I can build up more hours in a clinical setting.
• I also found some volunteer stuff in New Haven that interests me.

Then I submit my application to them along with other schools and hope it is enough. I would definitely include in my application something about being mlitary and taking classes overseas. I would not say "online" unless they asked me. I will not lie about it, but I will not throw it in their face either.



Am I completely delusional for thinking I would even have a chance at Yale with this?

• I have a strong gpa and will keep it like that,
• I will rock mcats because I know I have to,
• I have a good personal story,
• some clinical hours already but I will get more,
• some volunteer but I will get more,
• Possible research experience here, if not I will try to get some in New Haven
• I am a military veteran with a honorable discharge.
• Owner of in home daycare that also provided care to mentally and physically disabled children
• I feel like I am trying to prove my case to SDN lol..

I don't feel like I would be rolling up with a golden, rose scented application like some applicants for Yale with this aura that sang "perfect applicant". I think I would be more like double wielding , guns ablaze with an aura that sang "determined applicant".

If they deny me....well at least I tried and since I did my science courses in person I will have possibilities with more schools. Plus I can throw in some biochemistry since University of New Haven has it. They are a good school, good rankings...I already checked.

 

[graduate2be]

My advice to you would be to contact the schools that you would be interested in applying to. They'll let you know if online classes would be a problem or not. I finished two undergrad degrees, microbiology and community health promotion, and I had to take one of my organic chemistry classes and an anatomy class online so that I could stay on track for graduation last May as well as continue to work. I contacted the schools that I am applying to (before applying) to ask how they would view these classes, esp. the organic chemistry class. I was told that they would take a variety of things into consideration such as why I took the classes online, what school the classes came from, and how the grades in those classes stacked up to the ground classes that I took. I was also proactive in getting my o-chem prof to write a letter of rec for me. In it, she explained that the class compared favorably to the ground class and that all of the exams and quizzes were proctored. Finally, when I had the class evaluated at Arizona State University, the Chem. Dept. Chair wrote a letter for me attesting to the fact that the online class was every bit as rigorus as the class at ASU. I'm also finishing an online masters in pharmacology & toxicology and I haven't heard anything negative about that either.

 

[LupaCupcake]

Graduate...that is one happy avatar

I have been trying to get in contact with the schools and talk to them about the situation. Thus far I am getting positive responses, they try to work with it as much as they can and let me know where they can be feasible, but of course any sciences online have to be a grade of A. That is not an issue.

I have not been able to talk with Yale about this yet. I get the "all of our reps are currently assisting someone bla bla bla....please try back later..." those are not exact words, but something like that. I got an actual person one time and she sounded like she was having a very bad day, not to mention I called at the exact minute they were open so for all I know she didn't have any coffee yet and I was calling before she sat down.😀 I didn't even get to explain anything, she just said "we don't take online" in a very harsh tone. I got the hint that she did not want to talk so I am just going to call back on Monday and hope I get her in a better mood or someone else.

I want to thank you. I cannot believe this skipped my mind about getting a professor to write something about the classes. One of my professors used to be a professor at Northwestern. She has a pretty impressive biography that definitely shows she is dedicated to her field and she is a VERY no-nonsense, detailed type A personality. I bet she would write a very good letter stating her online classes are just as academically challenging as the face to face. If anything she would probably be insulted that anyone would assume her online classes do not meet the same standards as face to face.🙂

Either way, I am still going to do sciences in person when we leave. That is my best bet either way. Hopefully I do not need to do ALL of them when we get out.