Anyone know anything about successfully obtaining a BS via distance learning, going on to take science coursework post-bacc, and then successfully matriculating into med school? Ever hear of it happening? Any advice to someone considering this route? Thanks!
*groan* I had a feeling my post would be taken the wrong way. I don't mean med school - a distance med school sounds like a horrid idea. A distance BA/BS program is more what I was referring to, no flames please, thanks.
Much of the required coursework is not condusive to DL in that it requires many labs. Medical schools select maybe 1 of 10 applicants, all of whom are very smart. They don't need much of a reason to reject someone. As to the answer to the question "Has it been done." Don't know.
Yeah, that's why I said take the sciences post-bacc. Just looking for a way to take lots of general ed requirements towards a BA without having to quit my job yet - the colleges around where I live aren't very condusive to non-trad students. Apparently now everyone thinks I'm one of these 18-year-old idiots trying to do things the "easiest" way possible. Sorry about this post, maybe it'll die a quiet death now. :laugh:
I don't see why you couldn't go on to med school. It's not like you did any worse than other students by getting your regular BA/BS through DL then taking the sciences afterwards. However, you might want to check out the school I'm taking my sciences from: Mountain State University in WV. I have a thread on this forum with a link to them. They have the most comprehensive science courses that include labs via CD and med schools won't know that you took them DL (just in case they don't take it seriously as a "good" education). Just a word of warning... don't try to CLEP or test out on any pre-reqs that med schools ask for. They discourage this and you'll just end up taking the class. Good luck!
You have a good idea, but this is probably not the best place to get feedback on the "is it possible to go to med school with a distance degree?" part. Visit the OldPreMeds site: http://www.oldpremeds.net/ This is a community of non-traditional premeds and med students (and a few residents). I believe I've seen at least one discussion on distance learning courses there. Next, you'll want to investigate getting your BS. (Your instincts were good there, as this is a great place to have a general discussion on finding programs.) Once you have selected a few schools that look promising, make contact with their programs and find out if they have any students who have gone on to med school. I seem to recall, from reading U of Iowa material years ago, that they have had some success with students who have been admitted to med school - I would look at that program seriously. (the U Iowa program requires 60 cr hrs to be completed before admission, but I think they may now have a program that admits you to do your pre-program work if you have less than 60 credits.) There are many good schools where you can get your BS, and as you know, it doesn't really matter what field your degree is in as long as you have the required sciences (don't take general or non-major courses without asking for advice at OPM first), and your MCAT is good. Keep us posted on your search; once you've selected some colleges to research further, there may be people here who can share their experiences. Melissa
pre=med Yeah, that's why I said take the sciences post-bacc. Just looking for a way to take lots of general ed requirements towards a BA without having to quit my job yet - the colleges around where I live aren't very condusive to non-trad students. Apparently now everyone thinks I'm one of these 18-year-old idiots trying to do things the "easiest" way possible. >>> Nothing wrong with that... If I were you, I'd look for a condensed bachelors program that included Summers, then determine their testing out policies, steer clear of math and science CLEPs,using them for lit, history, composition, thentry to zip through within two and a half. I bet it would help a great deal if you perhaps got your EMT cert and did this as a part time job... Just a few ideas... Ben
