Hello hello,
Super glad to find this forum. I am considering applying to a medical program and need to take perquisite courses for my application (I have a PhD in an Engineering field, so no biology or chemistry has been taken!). I came across the FAES program at National Institute of Health in Bethesda, MD, http://www.faes.org/ that offers courses with credit at a reasonable price. I was wondering if anyone here has experience with taking courses at this program and if they will be regarded as eligible courses by AMCAS?
Thanks so much!!
- lalvasas Said:
Hello hello,
Super glad to find this forum. I am considering applying to a medical program and need to take perquisite courses for my application (I have a PhD in an Engineering field, so no biology or chemistry has been taken!). I came across the FAES program at National Institute of Health in Bethesda, MD, http://www.faes.org/ that offers courses with credit at a reasonable price. I was wondering if anyone here has experience with taking courses at this program and if they will be regarded as eligible courses by AMCAS?
Thanks so much!!
Super glad to find this forum. I am considering applying to a medical program and need to take perquisite courses for my application (I have a PhD in an Engineering field, so no biology or chemistry has been taken!). I came across the FAES program at National Institute of Health in Bethesda, MD, http://www.faes.org/ that offers courses with credit at a reasonable price. I was wondering if anyone here has experience with taking courses at this program and if they will be regarded as eligible courses by AMCAS?
Thanks so much!!
A quick review of the website above shows short graduate level courses that DO NOT fulfill any of the required prerequisites for medical school. These are roughly as outlined below
1 year general/introductory/fres hman biology w/lab
1 year general/introductory/fres hman chemistry w/lab
1 year general/introductory/fres hman physics w/lab
1 year advanced biology w/lab
1 year organic chemistry with lab
1 year English
1 year Math (typically Calculus though Statistics may count)
some schools require and/or recommend Biochemistry, Genetics, Microbiology, or similar
Except for the Math and Physics, which I assume you have, you would need to take the rest, likely at undergraduate level though there are many masters level post-bacc programs. Take a look at the http://services.aamc.org/postbac/ which list most of these programs.
The NIH site would be a good addition to your application but in no way can it substitute for the premed requirements.
Thanks so much for your response. The program also offers undergrad courses http://www.faes.org/pdf/fall2010catalog.pdf , general biology, chemistry and organic chemistry (at the undergrad level). So I was wondering if these will be accepted as course requirements?
Thanks again!!
Lalvasas,
The FAES website does mention undergrad classes as you say. However, I could not find this institution listed at the primary accreditation agency in your region: The Middle States Commission (link below:)
http://www.msache.org/institutions_director y.asp
The website also mentions that FAES is accredited by the Maryland Higher Education Committee, so I looked for that agency in this list (link below) and did not find it there:
http://www.ope.ed.gov/accreditation/Agencie s.aspx
Perhaps FAES is only narrowly regionally accredited. Suggest you do some research before committing to classes there. It should be easy enough to ask the Director if they are accredited by the Middle States Commission or in the process of getting accredited. And sometimes even if the institution is accredited by the primary agency, you have to make sure it is accredited for the purpose you seek (pre-med courses.) For example, here in San Diego, National University is a small regional institution that is fully accredited, but only for Nursing Programs and MBA courses (quoting from vague memory, so not fully sure.) Except Biology, it did not have any other pre-med type courses that I needed.
Reading the catalog further, it seems that while FAES is associated with NIH, as DullHead points out, it does not appear as a typical accredited institution but rather operates under just state education commission (use of the word accreditation below is misleading for premed needs
- FAES Catalog Said:
Accreditation
The FAES Programs operate with the approval of the Maryland Higher Education Commission.
The FAES Programs operate with the approval of the Maryland Higher Education Commission.
As not accredited by the middle-states association, transfer of credits would be optional and that would make these suspect to an adcom
- FAES Catalog Said:
Transfer of Credit
FAES courses do not currently lead to degrees. A student should not assume that credit for work done in FAES courses at NIH will be granted by any particular college or university, although such credit is generally given. The student who wishes to work for an undergraduate or higher degree should consult in advance the dean or departmental chairman of the institution from which he expects to receive the degree, and receive approval for any courses in the FAES Programs at NIH that he plans to use toward his degree.
FAES courses do not currently lead to degrees. A student should not assume that credit for work done in FAES courses at NIH will be granted by any particular college or university, although such credit is generally given. The student who wishes to work for an undergraduate or higher degree should consult in advance the dean or departmental chairman of the institution from which he expects to receive the degree, and receive approval for any courses in the FAES Programs at NIH that he plans to use toward his degree.
Lastly, the courses seem to be less credits than typical (ie 2 credits for introductory biology) and do not usually have a lab component.
- FAES Catalog Said:
Courses in the FAES Programs at NIH do not include laboratory work unless this activity is stated specifically in the course description.
After I have said all that, I could see this working with your background (PhD in engineering) HOWEVER, there is no guarantee that a medical school would accept them, the could easily be used to reject your application, and are not at all advisable
BTW, here is a link to some history of FAES