I've been exploring different options for completing my undergrad, and phoenix sounds promising, but my only quesiton is, will ADCOMS look at that unfavorably? I could complete an undergrad in about 18 months and then move on to my prereqs, but will the ADCOM look at the phoenix credits as a lower level college? Does anyone have experience or know the views on this?
I replied to you once already, but it got lost somehow. I’ll try again.
Phoenix U is a very risky proposition. 
I went to a satellite degree completion program of a tiny, virtually unknown, but real university. There I got my BA with a double major and then went on to a CC to finish my pre-reqs. At one medical school interview, I had to answer a lot of questions about my alma mater. They were worried I may not have had real credits, that I got credit for “life experience” or wrote some essays in leiu of actual classes. I assured the interviewer that that was not the case. It sure helped that I got all A’s, and that I took more classes than I had to to get the double major. (They weren’t impressive on their own, but a double major is impressive.) It helped that I took my pre-reqs all at the same time at the CC (BIO, Ochem, Physics) and did supplemental instruction for chemistry too. Mom of 3 too. This was impressive enough to prove I could handle a serious load. I picked up one semester of one upper level science, Biochem, at a real university too. All that together was impressive enough for at least the 2 medicals schools who’ve accepted me so far!
My advice is to get at least one appointment to talk to at least one person in med school admissions. I did this with the dean of admissions before I planned out how I was going to make this thing happen. I asked about community college credits and was told “Y-a-a-a-a-a-h, you cou-ou-ou-ou-ld, but you’d better do VERY WELL.” That meant all A’s.
Some med schools have limits on the number of CC credits you can have, though none of the schools I applied to did.
There are some other distance ed schools offering degrees that might not be as risky. U of Iowa and SUNY. But your milage may vary. Do check and get it straight from the horse’s mouth.
Wmkayak
Student DO, (the letter from the AOA said so!)
Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely consult with an adcom offical before I consider this route. It's really just a time saver as they compact the classes. I'm afraid they may not offer the same level of intensity as a regular university. Not to mention that they are very expensive.
Just goes to show there are no shortcuts in life.
Why try to “compact” the classes? if you can get a more in depth and one-one-one education via a regular school why not that route? unless of course money is an issue, and/or you are working FT. If that is not the casen ,then there is really no rush, medical school will not go away and one or two or even three more years will not make a huge difference. But, grades, MCAT, the depth and breadth of your application will. Good luck.
Univ. of Phoenix is a totally virtual university, correct? I would think you would need to take your science prereqs at a brick-and-mortar college (preferably a 4-year university) b/c they have lab components and I don’t see how you could get that over the Internet. But, if you’re just getting an undergrad degree or grad degree in something like business or accounting, then I don’t think Phoenix could hurt you. But, as wmkayak said, you may need to justify your degree to adcoms who may think Phoenix isn’t a “real” university or isn’t as challenging as a bricks-and-mortal university. Personally, I prefer the human interaction of a bricks-and-mortar university. I would even choose a 2-year CC over Univ. of Phoenix. But, that’s just me.
Love,
Stacy
UoP is not always exclusively online - depending on where you are there are on-ground options.
You can get a good education from UoP - especially for degree completers where you basically are just taking your major requirements (your breadth are all done). You are likely to be getting a degree in business admin or IS or something like that - the usual model is 1 class/month - so over a 3 month quarter you are taking the full-load of 3 classes - you just attend them serially rather than concurrently. The classes themselves can be pretty intensive - you are doing in 4 or 5 weeks the SAME work as in 12 week quarter.
I believe the OP said that after degree completion, s/he would be taking the med school pre-reqs at a conventional cc or univ - not from UoP.
still - I guess check with an admissions person about how UoP (or National Univ or U Redlands, etc) degrees are viewed - and if on-ground degrees vs. online-taught degrees make a difference.
my opinion - the adcoms want to see rigour - but a 15 month completer program on ground, with lots of group work, case studies, collaborative projects coupled with another 2 years of on-ground prereqs with lots of rigour - might look pretty good.
also - just another note on online courses - on-ground, unless you form a study group and go to office hours, you have almost no contact with peers and instructor outside of class hours - now, just from these forums we know how much personal human interaction is possible electronically - online courses offer this in spades - study groups, emails with other students to hash out problems, talk about the course, emails with professor with questions, problems, etc. - many students and instructors report more personal interactions with online courses than with on-ground courses.
Lisa
Actually phoenix does have campuses. The appeal is the shortened timespan compared to trad colleges. And yes I'd have to major in business or IT, which I'd rather not do- psych is my passion. Plus it's 500 /credit hour- that's not a typo. And my tuition remimbursement is not that comprehensive, so it would be a ton out of pocket. Still, I'd be done in literally half the time it normally takes. Then I could move on to my prereqs.
I found out today that someone at work is a teacher at Phoenix. (hey I guess all those commericals about teachers who work in the field they teach WASN'T hype)I was talking with her about it, but I was hesitant to mention my goal of med school as it may prematurely shorten my job if they know what I'm doing. I'll probably end up going the traditional route anyhow, as it's too expensive of an option
reminds himself: marathon, not a sprint
Sorry about my earlier post. I realized that I didn’t read it closely enough since you were talking about undergrad, not just the science prereqs for med school. I was also misinformed. I always thought Phoenix was totally virtual but it looks like they do have “ground classes.” 
Of course, the appeal or selling point of Univ. of Phoenix (or any other distance education) is that you can take classes any time you want and thus it appeals to working adults and esp. those with families who might have a hard time getting to class b/c of family schedules.
Lisa made some good points too. You can get a lot of personal attention/interaction from online courses. Just look how much interaction we get here online at OPM. I do love this web site. I check it religiously every day at work. Of course, I should be working… 
. I’ve gotten proficient enough at my job where I’m able to do my job, my boss’s job (he does nothing), and still have to time for the boards. 
Back to your latest post though, if you’re passionate about majoring in psych and either Phoenix doesn’t offer it or it’s too expensive, then check out either some local colleges (either 2-year or 4-year). Good luck. Lots of my friends majored in psych.
Love,
Stacy