I was wondering if anyone has ever taken an online Organic Chemistry/BioChem course? I have been struggling to find course that will meet my lifestyle and demand and unfortuately I can not leave my full-time position? Any advice is appreciated
I took Orgo 1,2 and biochem online thru the univ New England coll of osteo med. It’s self paced with rolling enrollment. I think they give you 16 weeks but you can request an extension. I did all while working full time. Syllabi have changed since I took them so I can’t comment on how they are now, but I thought they were pretty good.
Not trying to hijack your post, but Kennymac…do those two classes count as a year of Ochem or just two quarters? Thx
The Orgo classes I took included virtual labs and count as 4 credit hours (semester) each.
Nice! So two of those should cover the year requirement. Thanks!
Just understand that not all schools accept online credits, though there are a good number that do (some on a case by case basis). I did it because it was really the only way I could take the courses in my situation (similar to the OP), but in the end it worked out.
UNE transcript doesn’t outwardly say “online” but does have a course number that is different from the undergrad course. I’m guessing adcoms are probably smart on that already. Do your research on which schools take online/distance credits before you blow cash on applications to schools that won’t actually consider you.
Fortunately, the schools I’m applying to were ok with the online classes. I actually have a few online science classes, but the labs were in-person–a hybrid course.
FYI, for anyone else thinking of taking the online classes, I spoke to Western Lebanon, and they require at least one lab from the pre-requisite sequence be taken on-campus. This is what I understood: If I take Ochem I on-campus with lab, I can take the rest online. Please verify for yourself, perhaps I may have misunderstood, and correct me if I’m wrong.
RE: “Do your research on which schools take online/distance credits before you blow cash on applications to schools that won’t actually consider you.”
just wondering; is there a way to do this research without calling every single med school on the list?
I used the MSAR available on the AAMC website. There’s a cost for an annual subscription, but it’s not bad and well worth the cost in my opinion.
The DO schools have a PDF on the AACOMAS site which has info on applying and info on all of the schools.
Some of the school websites include info on whether or not online prereqs are accepted as well. If in doubt, shoot the admissions offices an email before you spend money on applying. Some of the info, at least on MSAR, can be kind of ambiguous.
One of the benefits of taking the science courses live in the brick and mortar is that the professors can see you. This makes it easier to get LORs. Otherwise, I’d say, much of the learning can be done quite well through good online courses. I’d go with a school that has an established B&M to add to their hybrid or online courses. For the pre-req sciences, it’s probably best to go to the university classes and the actual, on-site labs, where you can interact with profs and other students.
Brick and mortar would be your best bet. You do get the interaction with faculty/students that you can really only simulate online. You do also gain the chance to get a LOR from an professor that would be questionable at best through an online course.
When I applied, I primarily looked at schools that did not absolutely require LORs from teachers and emailed admissions offices at schools I wanted to apply to that left some gray area. In all, I was only told by one school that I emailed that the requirement couldn’t be waived. I used a Dr LOR and 2 letters from my supervisors. Not sure what they said in them, but it appears to have been adequate.