Helpful Advice Needed

[ATCky]

I have searched through this forum and found related posts, but they did not answer my questions completely. I know everyone frowns upon online classes and it appears some even take offense to them. I am looking for helpful advice regarding my situation and future plans.

I served 10 years in the military as an air traffic controller and will be 31 in March. Between deployments and family life I did not have time to attend a university. I have taken many classes online through UoP and will soon complete my B.S. in Business with a GPA between 3.9 and 4.0. I have always wanted to pursue a career in medicine, but it was never an option until recently. My wife and I are both controllers in the FAA. We are financially stable for me to resign and attend school full time.

Now for the questions! How should I approach this? I live in Indianapolis and am planning on taking all pre-req's through Indiana University. I am confident in my ability to score well on the MCAT in due time. I still have plenty of time before I will even be able to apply. My goal is start prior to turning 35. Should I pursue a second bachelor's degree from a traditional university or push on with what I have. I know the pre-req's will take, at minimum, one year to complete. Will that be enough to prove my abilities in a classroom setting? As far as volunteer work and making my application look outstanding, I feel I have that covered through life experience.

I have read all the posts about online schools, but it seems that everyone is referring to the pre-req's. With UoP being an accredited school, will my degree even matter as long as I do well on the pre-req's and MCAT?

Any constructive input will be greatly appreciated!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Mobius1985]

Much as I'd like to believe you'd be cut some slack due to your military obligations, I suspect the answer to your question about on-line classes is very institution-specific. It would be great to know now if you need to get another undergrad degee, or just need to demonstrate competency grade-wise in the prerequisites at a traditional university. You might be best served by calling the admissions office of several med schools, and making an appointment with a dean to talk by phone for an opinion on your special situation.

Also, here is a related thread with posts by other military folks you might Personal Message to ask for their perspectives. Another military person I had a similiar discussion with found out that his on-line classes would not be a problem because the transcript didn't differentiate between on-line and classroom courses.

It would be great if you'd let us know what you find out so others will know the answer if they search for it: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=538572

 

[Law2Doc]

Anecdotally, military personnel stationed abroad seem to be the one group that "gets away" with having substantial on-line coursework. It probably pays to take as long a stretch of brick and mortar classes as you can, from here on out, not worrying about getting a second degree per se (it will be the stretch of in class coursework, not another degree, that schools will care about). If you attend a brick and mortar school fulltime for, say, two years and get A's, and have all the prereqs and maybe a few other science courses, you are probably fine. But I would check with your local state school and get their thoughts -- a lot of this is anecdote and I doubt many schools have formal public policies other than that on-line coursework tends to be discouraged.

 

[QofQuimica]

Anecdotally, military personnel stationed abroad seem to be the one group that "gets away" with having substantial on-line coursework. It probably pays to take as long a stretch of brick and mortar classes as you can, from here on out, not worrying about getting a second degree per se (it will be the stretch of in class coursework, not another degree, that schools will care about). If you attend a brick and mortar school fulltime for, say, two years and get A's, and have all the prereqs and maybe a few other science courses, you are probably fine. But I would check with your local state school and get their thoughts -- a lot of this is anecdote and I doubt many schools have formal public policies other than that on-line coursework tends to be discouraged.

Agree w/ L2D. Vets are seen as highly desirable candidates (at least at my school!), and adcoms understand that it may be difficult for someone in your situation to earn a regular degree. That being said, you should definitely take your science courses (especially labs!) at a regular school. It's also a good idea to contact some of the schools to which you plan to apply and get their blessing.

You should count on having a two-year coursework plan, not a one-year plan, as taking so many science classes and labs at once may overwhelm you at the beginning. Don't underestimate the amount of time it will take to do well in a lab course based on the low number of credit hours that are often awarded for these classes; these courses are very time-intensive. In addition, you will probably want to take some other science classes like calculus, biochem, and genetics that are required by some schools, as well as a year of English. Get a copy of the MSAR (book that lists all med schools and their requirements) so that you won't be surprised later with unexpected pre-reqs. You should be able to find this book at any bookstore or in the IU library.

Best of luck.