Entering Med School with an Online Degree.

My wife's caught in a fixed. She's got a BA in Education, 2nd class uppers (From a University in Singapore - 4 year program / UK system) and she's been a teacher for the last 3 years. She recently told me about her interest in becoming a pediatric. She's thinking of applying into Med School. She's done some research and found out she lacks the 'pre-med' science requirements. She'll need to take them all.

She's thinking of 2 options at this point of time.

1. Take whatever classes she needs (Online) and use her BA to apply into Med School. (Her GPA is 3.1/4)

2. Take a whole degree online, like a BS in Chemistry or Biology (Get her pre med classes + get a higher GPA for entry into Med School)

Which would be a more competitive option for her to enter Med School ? A 3.1 GPA is not high, but her Uni does not follow the US system. It's very British based.

Will they (medical schools) frown upon classes/degrees taken online ? - assuming all classes are taken from an RA school.

She does not have much of clinical experience, but she's hoping that her job experience as a teacher might add to her application with her exposure to children. She's also thinking about finding clinical internship if possible while completing her pre-med classes.

If anyone has a third option, please do tell



Ps. My wife's a USC. We'll have to try for medical school State side. Can't really afford to go elsewhere.

 

Yes, it is good idea and you should keep continue the study.

 

A most excellent advice, considering that you completely missed the point and did not answer the OP question. Other than that an excellent post, I wish I could have said it myself. :saevilw:

 

I cannot answer which is better for med school because I do not know. However, I do know something about taking chemistry and biology classes on-line and they are a pain in the ass. The reason for this because they all require lab work and proctored tests. For example, one school I know requires that every test be taken in the presence of two independent proctors who get mailed the lab part of the test ahead of time and must swear before a notary that they observed the student doing the lab work. So my advice is that before she agrees to take any science courses on-line she looks carefully into what is going to be required to meet the lab work and testing requirements. She may find that taking science courses in a traditional environment is easier for her because of the lab work involved.

 

In my opinion, she should do everything in her power to take her pre-med classes in person starting this fall (new degree is unnecessary), and while waiting, she needs to spend her summer doing relevant work. I'd suggest she use the summer to volunteer at a local medical clinic (1 shift/week from now until application cycle in a year+) AND find a medical doctor who is willing to let her do a "job shadow" in pediatrics (20+ hours total) and then one or two in something else outside peds for additional shadows. The advice of those doctors will be VERY helpful, she'll build a network, she'll gain insight, and in addition to having a better understanding of what's involved in her potential career, volunteer hours and job shadowing are expected on applications. On a personal level, I'd suggest at least 2 of those shadows be with women.

Good luck!

 

Jennifer gave some great advice! One of my friends is currently taking the science pre-reqs, volunteering, and shadowing for her applications to physician assistant programs. She was explaining to me that different states have different requirements for the number of volunteer and shadowing hours. She has been working like crazy but still crossed off schools in a few states because of the extra requirements. I wasn't able to tell if you are currently in the US or planning to move here before she starts med school, but I would encourage her to look into the requirements for the specific programs that she is interested in applying to.

 

This!

I will only add that those pre-med classes don't have to come from a big University, I know several who completed their pre-reqs at the local community college and found admission to a medical school. That might be the most efficient way to complete them.

If she has the time and can manage it, the Health Career program in residence at Harvard Extension school comes with letters of recommendation and the benefit of an Ivy League brand on the relevant course work. I think Jonathan Whatley from this board is completing his now. Health Careers Program | Harvard Medical, Dental, & Veterinary

 

PreMed Strategy

I would definitely take the pre-med courses at a local State University (better tuition). Online courses often lack the lab component required for entry into medical school. I would certainly talk to a few medical school admission counselors and ask them what they look for in applicants. I hold both a PA and NP license and have ten years volunteering at a community free clinic. I have seen hundreds of "pre-med" students volunteer and this is what I have observed.

1. Do well on your pre-medical courses.
2. Study hard and start preparing for the MCAT. A score of 28 or greater is a must. To be competitive 30 or better. Get a tutor, study group, whatever it takes!
3. Consider both US MD and DO schools!
4. Do volunteer work. Consider getting an EMT or Phlebotomy certification and AHA BLS/CPR card before volunteering so they will give you patient interaction and not a desk job. ie: Taking vitals, medical assisting, doing labs, etc. Otherwise, having another skill like translating is helpful. (Provides a lot of observership experience)
5. Develop relationships with the Physicians at your volunteer clinic. They are usually more than happy to write LORs.

As far as a foreign degree (B.S.), please ask the medical school admissions counselor if there is anything else needed. ie: Degree evaluation, transcript translation, etc.

 

There are options available for completing the science prereqs online WITH LABS. Here are a couple of options:

Ocean County College - follows on-campus semester calendar.

Science Prerequisites for Health Professions | UNE Online - two start dates per month. Complete anytime within 16 weeks (extension available).

 

Do you know people that actually got accepted to a US medical with online pre med from Orange County CC? The competition is fierce! The key is scoring very high on the MCAT. Trust me, you can't get the feel for dissecting a human cadaver on a computer. You need hands on looking through microscope, culturing organisms, palpating real organs and seeing disease processes like cancer spreading to a real liver. Online lectures may enhance your studies but it can never substitute the level needed for basic sciences. It is a half baked recipe that yields have baked clinicians!

 

Some medical schools explicitly will not accept online prerequisites. Some will. Some may accept them but disfavor them. Competition is tough even among people with all the prerequisites earned on the ground.

UNE doesn't offer Physics II (by distance), and Ocean County's link regarding an online Physics II seems to be dead.

 

In 2013, there were 20,055 people who matriculated at US medical schools. But there were 48,014 applicants competing for those 20,055 slots.

So there are more than twice as many applicants as there are available slots. This means that more than 50% of applicants get rejected from every medical school that they apply to -- even if they meet all of the prerequisites.

To be a competitive med school candidate, you have to meet all of the prerequisites, and also rank in the top 40-50% of the applicant pool, based on things like GPA, MCAT score, school reputation, relevant experience, and recommendations. The online approach may not be ideal in some of these respects.

 

It's Ocean County CC and no, I do not. However, judging from this list, quite a few med schools (but certainly not all) do accept online prereqs.

Schools Accepting Online Prerequisites | Student Doctor Network

I'd suggest that the OP's wife contact the schools she is interested in applying to and ask for their policy re: this topic.

 

The list shows 21 schools that accept online courses and others that are on a "case by case basis". There are 171 DO and MD schools in the USA. If admission is very competitive, you are limiting your odds of getting accepted by doing the coursework online. I'm not saying it is impossible. I also believe hands on training "lab" is extremely valuable and online labs do not cut it! If I had no choice and I absolutely had to do it online, I would consider University of New England. Should take about two years to earn the pre-requisites.

Science Prerequisites for Health Professions | UNE Online

 

Not all online courses have virtual labs. Some will require you to buy a lab kit and document every step with photographs or video.

 

Of applicants to U.S. MD-granting medical schools between 2011-2013 with GPAs between 3.0 and 3.19, 18.6 percent were accepted somewhere.

The rest, just over 80 percent, were rejected at every U.S. MD school to which they applied.

123 applicants came improved over these relatively low GPAs with out-of-the-park MCAT scores of 36 and higher. Around half of these inherently awesome, inspiring comeback stories… still were rejected from every U.S. MD school to which they applied.

Applicants and Matriculants Data (AAMC)

Comebacks from starting positions with low GPAs are achievable. Notably, the GPA isn't static, and the OP's wife apparently has at least one academic year (full-time equivalent) of science coursework ahead of her. DO-granting (osteopathic) medical schools, statistically, accept students with moderately lower GPAs overall than MD-granting, and have provisions for "grade replacement" by retaking courses.

 

As usual in these things, I agree entirely or almost entirely with Jennifer. The almost is only because, hey, other things could call on her time this summer, like preparing for those science courses! (For instance, some specific foundational math skills will likely be expected and important, particularly algebra word problem solving for gen chem and physics, and some trigonometry and vector operations for algebra-based physics.)

 

Thanks for the data! The mean MCAT looks around 28 with a GPA of 3.5.

 

I'm not sure which population you're referring to. In "Table 24: MCAT and GPA Grid for Applicants and Acceptees to U.S. Medical Schools, 2011-2013 (aggregated)," we can see that in the cell of people

• with a GPA between 3.40 and 3.59
• and an MCAT score between 27 and 29

only 34.6% got a single acceptance to a U.S. MD school.

 

I know very little about this specific area, but it looks like grades earned from postsecondary institutions outside the U.S. or Canada are not counted in applicants' official "AMCAS GPA." This could give an applicant with a low GPA equivalent from another country some more latitude than if they were so counted. Still, I have to imagine medical schools won't totally blind themselves to foreign-school transcripts and thus grades.