Online Prereqs

I apologize if this question has been asked/answered elsewhere.


I was just curious if anyone had an opinion about the online premedical sequence available through University of New England?


I would prefer to take this route, but don’t want to spend the money if completing prereqs through a distance format puts me at a disadvantage.


I had a friend who successfully used UNE for PA school prereqs, and another who is taking them for CRNA school, but have yet to meet anyone who’s done it for medical school.

The 2 schools that I have talked to said: they view online courses with a degree of camparability. AND then she said - If “few” courses are taken online, then the higher level courses should be taken in “real” environment.



I took several classes online during my undergrad years and would note two facts about them:


(1) they were much more work than the traditional sit-down-in-a-classroom courses


(2) nowhere on my transcript was it indicated that these courses were in fact online.


I can see how taking classes online might appear attractive and doable but be prepared to work harder than in a regular setting. And if these classes are going to be designated on your transcript as ‘on-line’ then I would rethink the idea.


Kasia

FPGuy


I enrolled in Physics I online this semester and dropped the first week. For one I am taking my pre-req at a CC. Adding the on-line mention to it didn’t seem a good deal as far as rigor is concerned.


I think that since you are putting the time (and to me this is much more important than $$$$), I would take them on site and at a 4 y university if you can.


I am going to a CC because with 2 kids to watch almost full time and a part-time job, 4 year univ don’t provide the flexibility I need right now (not to mention the cost, but this is secondary).


At least I am acing the pre-reqs and ranked top of class in any class I have taken so far (GChem, OChem and Stats). Hopefully it will help attenuate the CC issue.


So the bottom line: On-line < CC < 4 year U. If you really have to take an on-line class, I wouldn’t take more than 1 or 2 and each should be followed by strong upper level on-site. 4.0 a must. AND MAKE SURE TO CALL YOUR TOP CHOICES TO CHECK about that!


And as another posted said, online classes are more work and in fact require more discipline than on-site ones (you have to pace yourself).



I think online classes from a brick and motor school would be okay. I have one or two right now. They are not my pre-reqs though. I think getting online credits from somplace like UoP (just using them as an example) is a big no no. Most places see those schools as degree farms, whether fair or unfair.


As far as the difficulty of online versus classroom. I found that basically they were more like two different approaches. The online class required more effort on your part to keep up with the material rather than having an instructor there to say today we do chapter… I also found that the online class required more work to prove that you read the lesson. While the classroom class was graded by mearly tests to prove your acumen, the online class had little essays, or assignment questions, or forum postings on top of the tests. That being said since I took my tests online they were all open book/note. Since I treated the class like a classroom class I actually knew the material before the test, but I could see how someone could slide through with rarely cracking a book. Thus that is probably why online classes have a negative perception. That being said I don’t know if brick and mortar schools indicate if the classes were taken online or not.

I have taken several online classes because of schedule, etc. However, they are not noted on my transcript as online. I have noticed that there is generally a lot more work in an online course than a regular course. Like BaileyPup said there always seems to be little postings every week, as well as at least one project, sometimes 2…in addition to the exams.

  • FPguy Said:
I apologize if this question has been asked/answered elsewhere.

I was just curious if anyone had an opinion about the online premedical sequence available through University of New England?

I would prefer to take this route, but don't want to spend the money if completing prereqs through a distance format puts me at a disadvantage.

I had a friend who successfully used UNE for PA school prereqs, and another who is taking them for CRNA school, but have yet to meet anyone who's done it for medical school.



I spoke at length to Dr. Rebecca Rowe, who is the director/recruiter for the UNECOM online post-bacc as well as the founder of the program whose escapes me at the moment (I think he retired). They had little followup on students, seemingly to budget and staff constraints and were just starting to do so. I have some anecdotal information of students successfully doing a large percentage of courses online.

However, this is the cutting edge. Remember, when you are on the cutting edge you can bleed alot. Medicine and medical education as a culture tends to be dynamic in information, content and knowledge but very conservative and slow to change in process. On the other hand, non-traditional implies atypical.

As has been advised to me by multiple admissions officer and recruiters, explore schools contact say 4 to 6 asking their opinions. Yes, you CAN and SHOULD ask PRIOR to starting any premed work. You may find some that are more accepting than others. If you find any info, please post and share here on OPM

As Rich indicates, med schools are Very Slow to change their habits. And online pre-reqs are not something most med schools are anxious to accept. I recommend that applicants go to the most rigorous four-year institution that time and money will allow. Naturally, you need to do what works best for your own situation, but keep that in mind. You will be investing a ton of time (and eventually money) into this endeavor. Give it your best shot fromt he git-go.


Cheers,


Judy