Can I get back on a prestigious track? Ideas?

When I started the thread I was hoping for something 1-2 years... Now I think I'd be willing to do a 3+ year program if I felt it was worth it compared to AA/PA/etc.

Podiatry interests me but is a lot more like med school... 4 years plus typically 2-4 years in residency.

Now I think the comment I made about Audiology is silly. Since it's not like being a speech pathologist. Although it's a little strange perhaps, kind of like how my LASIK surgeon wore glasses all the time, lol, but it's fine. So I am quite interested in that BUT I researched the training more and it's a long path now. Since they changed the legislation. There are two DL programs but you need to have a masters degree AND experience to get into them. And these days you cannot practice after getting a masters degree, therefore, these DL programs are only for the audiologists who choose to advance due to the new legislation.

 

I believe those ROP courses linked by Ian are using the wrong terminology. They call it AA but it seems to be a lower level. The Grossman school site said Technician on their site and is 1 year and only requires a GED/HS for entry -- obviously very different from the six accredited AA programs that have entry requirements similar to PA programs, requirements which are not much less than MD programs. Also they would be only for people living in that county most likely.

 

This type of Anesthesiologist Assistant in California sounds more like a technician or medical assistant to an Anesthesiologist or CRNA or AA. The AA mentioned in the previous posts offers a program that leads to an advanced practice "mid level" license in a State that licenses Anesthesiologist Assistants with autonomous clinician privileges. One would be eligible for insurance reimbursement, possibly limited prescriptive practice, etc. The AA is much more on par with a CRNA.

I have heard of Anesthesiologist Technicians and the description provided sounds more in line with this career field.

 

I don't have much credit yet All I have is AP credits for Bio, Chem, Physics (both exams), Calc AB, and English. I have those credits banked at Excelsior and ended up dropping out, but plan to re-enroll soon. >>

TESC awards 6 credits per AP exam passed with a 3 or higher- so if you enrolled at TESC, you would already have 36 credits completed- those exams complete the English Comp gen ed requirement as well as natural science and math.

 

Jennifer!

Wow, this is great information. Makes me wish that I had applied myself in High School!

 

Ok. I think I got 30 credits at Excelsior for them. I believe it's the same credit as TESC would give. I'm not sure but it's on record of course.

I say same because those 2 Physics exams are only a half credit each I'm pretty sure, and maybe one of the others is only a half credit typically. (My scores were all 3 or more, of course, and few or no places give credit for less than a 3 score.)

Now more time has passed and I may not be able to put those credits into another program. Excelsior said that now that the credits are transcribed, they won't expire on me though.

 

>>

EC won't award credit for the (or any) English exam, but you should be fine on the others.
The College Board holds your scores for 20 years. I understand that some colleges won't award credit after X years, but EC and TESC will forever. (and so will MANY other colleges). Your credits will actually expire if you go beyond 20 years without collecting a degree- EC (or any college) is a secondary source, and so if you later applied to AnyState U, they wouldn't give you credit for anything laundered through a college first- you need official transcripts. The clock is ticking lol.

 

Thanks. Good to know! I thought I'd read 10 years somewhere for AP exams, but I guess not.

My other reasons for going with Excelsior instead of TESC were: a) Ability to get so many credits for subject GREs. Especially upper level credits. I guess the upper level aren't as important to me now since I plan to take a lot more science ECEs and DSSTs. b) That I want to take plenty of ECEs. Should I be considering TESC instead?

With subject GREs - could I hide the ones that I didn't do as well on, or no? By hiding, I mean a) I could have my not-great score not show up on my Excelsior transcript in any way AND b) I would not be obligated to share the score with the graduate program I was applying to. Obviously some might have an unusual rule, but typically I don't have to I hope?

That makes a big difference to me re: which ones I take. For example: Would it look worse to a school to have great Bio score + okay BioChem score. Versus just great Bio score. Or great Bio score + great Psych score. BioChem would be harder for me (and even plain Chem would be) but IF I could get a great BioChem score I think that would look good to some of these programs. Not like it would help that much esp if they are programs that want a good MCAT but... I wouldn't want to 'risk' getting a not-great BioChem score if I can't hide it.

Also what about retaking subject GREs (sucks that they are only 3 times a year with 2 clustered together) -- could I report only the highest score? The 2nd question mostly matters if hiding is NOT possible but could have purpose otherwise.

 

From what I understand, the premedical studies diploma can be earned only in person in Cambridge. However, if you do well it carries quite a bit of weight (you get recommendations, etc).

 

Perhaps I should try to get into the Excelsior BS in Health Sciences program. Especially since they have waived the $895 enrollment fee through the end of the year. Obviously it is not nearly as good as the Harvard Pre-Med year program but it'd look better than the Excelsior Biology BS. Anyone have any tips or advice either way? The program is meant for people with an associates degree generally. How could I get the the 20 health science credits needed for admission by Dec 31st (ideally with some days to spare)?

If I could enroll in the Excelsior Liberal Arts program (costing $$$) and then take a bunch of their Nursing ECEs that would be awesome, but I'm guessing that they don't count these Nursing credits as Health Science credits? It seems to me that they want clinical credits. If this would work, of course, I'd do the little extra to graduate from the Liberal Arts program too (with a Bio or Psych BS I figure) since I already paid the enrollment fee. I would love to have two bachelors degrees.

I know I should ask Excelsior but I am not currently enrolled in anything with them, and I don't know if they would answer in detail.

I found this link to Excelsior's Health Science courses: https://www.excelsior.edu/Excelsior_College/Excelsior_College_Courses/UNDERGRADUATE_HEALTH_SCIENCES_COURSES?DEPTS=HSC&LEVEL=L,U
They have Gerontology courses listed so I wonder if their ECE in Gerontology would count. That's only 3 credits though. Anyway they seem to have fourteen courses starting in Sept that are 3 credits each (I am not counting the capstone or the Spanish course). If I worked VERY hard, maybe I could enroll in 7 of them and complete them in time? Would it not be allowed for some reason? Of course it would be stupid to do if I was not getting good grades in the courses as it would look bad. Some of them sound pretty easy though, like the stress management one. I think most likely that is too much to take on, but maybe 4 of the Excelsior courses at once plus some other way to get enough Health Sci credit by the end of the year?

I am also not "in practice" when it comes to studying, but I can hopefully just jump right in. I do have great test taking skills, writing skills, research skills, reading skills. Not good memory skills and attention/focus can be a problem. I believe I could put in as much as 60 hours a week, or even more, and not work and not do much else besides eat, sleep, errands, and a few movies.

Ok, a better idea... if I could find an EMT course around here, then try to get Excelsior to accept that for credit. Problem is not enough time? I found one EMT course that ends Jan 6th and this other one apparently ends Dec 5th. You take the certification exam on that last day, and it probably takes time to get the score back? I'd have to decide and apply soon for either of those two I found. What would be GREAT is a "full time" course which doesn't take as long to complete, or self-paced / accelerated.

I know First Aid and CPR are easy to get, but that may be only 3-6 credits. I see First Responder and Phelebotomy classes.

I wonder if it would be worth trying to get Excelsior to give me health science credit for internship/volunteer work. I guess if I could get the credit by application it would cost me $95 x 20 = $1900. That is not wonderful but is fine. How much credit I could get and what would be acceptable?! i.e. Would shadowing a doctor count for anything? Shadowing a nurse? What if it was only for a week, that might not count for much? I could have maybe three months of "internship" in one place, but then they might say it's only worth one course if it's one internship. Versus doing three one-month internships. Volunteering in an old folks home? Medical assistant work (secretary)? Medical transcription? Attending a medical seminar? Witnessing an operation? Etc. I should ask them I suppose?

And I wonder if there are any downsides to the Health Sciences BS program vs the Biology BS (Liberal Arts & Sciences) program. Like does it look funny at all to some schools.

Q: What constitutes credit in a health science field?
A: Courses with titles such as, clinical practicum, patient assessment, physical assessment, advanced emergency care, parmed tech, intervention treatment etc. would be acceptable. Subject areas that are not accepted toward the 20 required admission credits are chemistry, biology, physics, anatomy, physiology, etc. however these courses would apply toward the arts and sciences component.

Q: Who is eligible for admission into the program?
A: Admission into the baccalaureate degree program requires a minimum of 20 credit hours in a health science field, such as mortuary science, dental hygiene, nutrition, to name a few.

 

You should try to pick up some of these hours and skills through a local community college. It would be cheap and you could take a full course load.

It is HIGHLY doubtful that 20 hours of health sciences is something you would be able to get by volunteering. As someone who has worked in a hospital in a human resources department and as a volunteer with the translator team (pretty cool job because you go to ANYWHERE in the hospital from the ER, to the OR, to ICU, to the psych wards, and to the morgue)--- volunteer work is going to never really be with direct patient care (unless you are already credentialed and doing something like doctors without borders, etc). The regulations, insurance considerations, liability, etc will just not permit volunteer work as part of clinical patient care.

Here are my thoughts excel.

You sound like a very ambitious woman. I can appreciate that-- I am as well. However, I think for what you are looking at trying to do (some pretty high level medical positions), you really need to reconsider your approach.

I am a proponent of testing out if it is allowed for your program. Heck it financially makes sense. However, the type of work you are wanting to do (in the medical field) for some of these higher level positions there are reasons why you are required to do some level of lab work, clinical work, etc. Also for things like PA programs, vet schools, medical schools, pharmacy, nursing even-- there are reasons why typically those 20 some odd hours of science courses are required. They provide a solid base for ALL of the things you will be learning later.

None of those fields are a cake walk. PA school (for those that I have known who have become a PA -- as an aside I have a cousin who is going to PA school on the military's dime and who is in the same boat as you right now and had to take all of these foundation courses) is just as hard as medical school to get into (and some say like vet school harder since there are just not as many of them) and the coursework is demanding.

I think testing out has its place-- I myself took two Dantes to pass out of 2 final required courses and would have made As if my school had awarded a letter grade for each one, but I don't even delude myself in thinking I mastered the material or even know it for the long term. I don't! I crammed to pass.

For some posters when I am responding to them I tend to review their past posting history, and it looks like you have been decision making for the past couple years and trying to decide what you want to do (please do not take my observations as malicious heck it took me until 2008 to graduate from college at the age of 30 and I attribute a lot of that to life and my lack of focus during my youth).

I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting a job that is meaningful, makes great money, and has some respect already built into it, but I caution you from trying to pursue some of these jobs in the "fast as you can" thought process.

If your end goal was an MBA I would not have any qualms with trying to get the Bachelors as super fast as possible-- because honestly with an MBA a lot of those courses will be refreshed in a condensed form in the foundation courses some schools require for non business majors, BUT typically there is a reason why some of these jobs are respected and are prestigious. It is because few can really handle the academic duration necessary to complete the coursework and be successful.

If you want to be an AA or a PA or heck an MD (because I believe you can do whatever your true heart's desire is to be), then concentrate your focus on how to get a BA of any sort first (get a liberal arts one or something), then focus on getting through those 20 hours of science foundation courses through like a community college or a pre-med prep program like Harvard's (I am sure other schools have them) and do a kick ass job so it will be perfectly easy for you to gain admission into one of those programs you desire.

 

I believe that these health science courses are meant for students who have been admitted to the BS Health Sciences program and need the extra credits to graduate. You need to have the 20 credits in a health related discipline completed, before you are accepted into this program. An EMT might work for you, provided that you can find one that offers 20 credits.

 

Yeah, I figured it would be difficult to get 20 credits, especially before the end of the year. Maybe Excelsior will waive the enrollment fee sometime next year too and I can reconsider it.

Although, of course, you are "never" too old to go back to school, in reality I am less likely to go back as I get older. Even now, I am not sure if I would be willing to do more than about 3-4 years total, and that's only because AA seems like a nice fit for me and interests me. But I'll think about doing more years.

So yeah, I was hoping to figure out a way to only spend about 1-1.5 years and satisfy all the admission requirements for a good program, in case I choose to go that route. That includes MCAT, volunteer work, excellent GPA, etc. Yes it makes sense if I am not able to find a way to complete all that in under 2 or 3 years or even more. Even if I could complete it in 1-1.5 years, well, partly that's just to help me feel like it's surmountable and worth it to me -- things tend to come up and drag on and then it would likely take me 2-3. I just feel like if 2-2.5 was the minimum reasonable then it might drag on to 3-4 just to meet admission requirements. And, once the requirements are met, sometimes you have to wait months for the start dates / application dates / etc to come around again. So then we are talking possibly up to a year to just wait, apply, interview, choose, move, etc. Again that's even before I would step into the school that would last for 2.5 years.

So, maybe I will go for RT since the admission requirements are way less. No MCAT and not as many science classes needed and they won't be nearly as picky about GPA, volunteer work, etc. Even that could be pretty difficult for me. OTOH, I don't want to be in RT regretting that I didn't go for AA.

I might end up doing nothing more than the easier bachelors. Who knows. Last time I really got motivated for this, I dropped out, as I said. Things were different though. Back then I did not want a different career, I wanted to continue to be self employed from home. I also was less healthy and had some other things in life I hadn't accomplished and so I went and did those things essentially. I was also younger and now I feel like it's coming to the time where this could be my last shot at having the excellent or great career. I was less mature for various reasons. But yeah, maybe I am STILL not ready. I have a few more things to sort out in life, and maybe another path is better for me.

Anyway my current plan is still to go for the Bio BS at Excelsior, with all the good science ECEs and DANTES. With taking the Bio GRE but maybe I won't have to use it. Probably some nursing ECEs and health sciences courses at Excelsior if I am allowed to (and I'm pretty sure I am allowed to). And other basic science courses, mostly DL ones. I wish Excelsior would allow two degrees from the LA&S school.

 

Exel-- I think you should go for what you want to go for.

You are NEVER too old to go back to school in ANY field. In undergrad days, I knew a guy whose dad went back to medical school in his mid 30s from an engineering background.

I think you are focusing too much on the "time."

Most health sciences programs are pretty competitive so you will need to show that you are capable of handling the rigors of the scientific/math courses.

If the shoe was on the other foot, here is what I would do.

1. Finish a BA/BS that you can at Excelsior. I would do the easiest and the one you can complete with as many testing courses as possible. I would *NOT* try to do a scientific degree necessarily and try to take those credits and apply them to the core requirements that you will need for a medical career. I think other schools may look at testing out poorly and you will have vested a significant amount of time only to come right back to having to fulfill the coursework traditionally.

***Note I believe this is correct as I was considering at one point how to meet all of the pre-veterinary requirements. I asked the admissions committee about the GRE and CLEP/DANTES etc. They stated that under no certain terms could a test replace actual coursework whether it was a GRE or MCAT or anything else. They did say that they didn't care if I took the course distance, in a condensed semester, or from a community college. They viewed all of those equally. Just from browsing Case Western who has an AA program it looks like they are the same and they had a helpful list of the required science courses: http://www.anesthesiaprogram.com/admissions.htm

2. While you are completing the requirements at Excelsior (I am assuming you have most of those in progress and only lack a few that you could complete with tests), go ahead and enroll in your local community college (Fall should be starting shortly) or another school that has condensed sessions (we have a few schools in my area that offer 8 week sessions). Start your prereqs there. 20 hours could be accomplished in a year (if you are able to focus full time).

3. After you complete the fall semester in December contact the programs you are interested in and show your grades. It may be possible that they will do an early admissions because of your strong performance, etc. I know in my area nursing, radiology, PA, etc all sometimes have a year waiting list or longer. Most of the time the programs decide admission based on point systems and are very upfront with the points and how they assign. It is a good idea to go ahead and meet with the people who would be deciding if you can be admitted whether that is through email, telephone, or in person. At Case, they allow you to shadow a AA for the day so you can see the job in practice and see if that is what you are interested in-- I think that is a wonderful resource. I am not sure where you are located I pulled the school off randomly from the http://www.anesthesiaassistant.com/AnesthesiologistAssistantEducation.html website.

 

Hm. They might say it the school doesn't matter or that DL is given the same weight, but that seems somewhat unlikely. I am more likely to actually complete DL classes especially ones where I could work fast some weeks, slow on other weeks.

Ok, so supposedly they hate testing out. Would ECEs be looked upon negatively too? I thought with ECEs, Excelsior makes it look like a graded course and they can't tell you (essentially) just took the final exam? They can tell about CLEPs and DANTES?

Excelsior seems to have given me 34 credits for those AP exams, since they said I needed to do the following:
5 Lower Level Arts & Science credits
21 Upper Level Arts & Science credits
50 Lower Level Applied Professional/Additional Arts & Science credits
9 Upper Level Applied Professional/Additional Arts & Science credits
That's pretty good but they are all Lower Level, which makes sense. (I did their 1 credit Information Literacy course too.)

[Bleh, I keep getting BA and BS confused and thinking BA is much easier.]

Even with ECE/CLEP/DANTES that would take a while. If I don't go the subject GRE route as planned.

I figure that I could test out on all the non-science courses at least. Well, they'd want me to have a little bit of math and English that's 'real' too. But history worries me and some other areas.

I suppose I'd be open to enrolling in another school instead. Especially, of course, DL and self-paced.

Could be good if I could go for the quickest/easiest bachelors from Excelsior and then spend a year in a good program.

 

AA seems a little easier to get into than PA, which is easier than MD. Based on their avg MCAT scores, GPAs, hours experience needed, etc. But I did more research on med school admissions and I still think getting into the AA could be difficult. They would most likely average in my poor grades from long ago. Some med schools apparently accept AP exams towards prereqs, surely not many. Before the AP exams, I did take those college level classes complete with labs (Chem, Bio, 2 Phys), other science classes with labs, etc. Anyway, seems like I would need a 4.0 GPA from B&M to be safe, and probably the minimum I could get and still have a very good shot is a 3.6 or 3.7 because of the old grades being factored in. Most schools would probably take into consideration the medical reasons for the low grades but it wouldn't look good anyway. On the plus side, I am not as worried about the MCAT as I was before. Soooo that would probably take me 5 years total and that's if I work at it pretty efficiently. Because of forgotten knowledge, volunteer work, etc.

 

Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want something badly enough. They are there to keep out the other people.

(Randy Pausch)

 

Sure, it's a demanding job and should be difficult. Otherwise I would fear getting anesthesia much more. I'll still consider it, but I started out trying to find a career to get into that would take me about 2-3 years, maybe a little more. Of course I did mess up in the past too; others might only 3.5 years or less to do AA compared to my estimated 5+.

I'm pretty interested in RT which I could do in 2 years or less (although I'd probably need to wait for the program start date too) -- although I was reading about Independence U and certain problems. I'll research it all more and see what is available locally and so on. Plus during the 2 years I could probably also complete an easier Bio BS/BA. Then I could go for an RT bachelors. So far RT is my main interest other than AA and it seems about half as difficult to me with all factors considered (clinical hours too) -- except that doesn't consider having to relocate for 2-3.5 years for AA which makes AA significantly more difficult.

At IU, apparently the CRT is self-paced except the clinicals, so that is very attractive to me, if I could work hard and long hours... (as I am not in the same situation as most adult learners)... also students can start any time.

Also if I got my CRT then it would look good on an AA application (better than just lower level EMT certs). Obviously by that point I may have spent at least 2 years pursuing the RT path, and then it would still be 3-4+ more if I wanted to go for AA then.

Gotta think about these two and other options more. I should possibly consider clinical psychology more.