Is a health sciences degree a waste? (Trying to decide on a school)

[daboywonder2002]

Let me break down my situation. 101 credits taken towards a degree in biology at my previous school. Now some classes are less than a C so they won't transfer over. Now i have a few career goals in mind. 1)Get master's degree in nutrition and go from there. 2)get a job in Health IT. I can easily get my health IT certificate. 3) and it's a long shot but go to PA school. Now i've been accepted to 2 colleges reasonably priced. First one is UMUC they accepted 65 of my credits and it would be towards a degree in Health Services management. Here's the problem. the reviews weren't good about this school. 3% graduation rate and i have no interest in managing hospitals or anything. Next school is Wilmington University. Good school. I know people who went there and can co sign this school. It's also less expensive but they only accepted 57 credits. This would be a Health Sciences degree. I know to work in nutrition i still have to take the requirements. aka organic chemistry, anatomy and physiology, etc. Maybe i can do it at a community college for a lesser cost.

[clep3705]

Taking organic chemistry and other courses at a community college makes sense to minimize costs. The other consideration is that o chem tends to be a weed out course at a university. It should be easier at a community college, although that varies by teacher.

There are limitations on the number of hours that can be transferred in. You really need to find out the specific details of the transfer policies of the schools you are interested in attending.

Are you sure about a 3% graduation rate at UMUC? Even if the 3% rate applies only to the health services management degree, 3% sounds way too low for a public university.

Wilmington is private, so if it is less expensive than public UMUC, you must be out of state for UMUC. What public universities are in your state? If you are going to get a master's degree, get your bachelor's degree at the lowest possible cost.

A degree isn't a waste if it gets you into graduate school, it's a necessity.

[daboywonder2002]

Taking organic chemistry and other courses at a community college makes sense to minimize costs. The other consideration is that o chem tends to be a weed out course at a university. It should be easier at a community college, although that varies by teacher.

There are limitations on the number of hours that can be transferred in. You really need to find out the specific details of the transfer policies of the schools you are interested in attending.

Are you sure about a 3% graduation rate at UMUC? Even if the 3% rate applies only to the health services management degree, 3% sounds way too low for a public university.

Wilmington is private, so if it is less expensive than public UMUC, you must be out of state for UMUC. What public universities are in your state? If you are going to get a master's degree, get your bachelor's degree at the lowest possible cost.

A degree isn't a waste if it gets you into graduate school, it's a necessity.

University of Maryland – University College (UMUC) in Adelphi, MD | MatchCollege.com The overall graduation rate of UMUC is close to 3%. the facebook reviews also mention a 3 percent graduation rate. Yes i am out of state. i have a sister that lives in Maryland but of course that doesn't help as far as getting out of state tuition. I am in MINnesota.

[sanantone]

Are you wanting to become a registered dietitian? If so, then just get an undergraduate degree that is accredited by ACEND. If you want to become a PA, it doesn't really matter what your degree is in. Just make sure the prerequisites are covered. If you're interested in health IT, then WGU is probably the cheapest place you can go to. They offer a degree in health informatics that is accredited by CAHIIM. The only problem with WGU, though, is that their courses are pass/fail. You won't have a GPA.

I don't know if that graduation rate is accurate, but I'm sure that UMUC's graduation rate is low because it is a school that targets adult learners and the military.

[KayV]

I started looking at your credits (from what you posted lasted year), and originally thought that TESU Natural Science and Math would be a great choice. When I started plugging those classes in, though, it turned out not to work as well for a variety of reasons. Charter Oak was similarly difficult.

What worked better was from Excelsior: a BSLA with depths in Biology and Psychology. With a BSLA, your science credits being from 1994-97 won't matter, and you can test out of most of the other classes.

This might not fit your needs, but I thought I would throw it out there in case you change plans.

Excelsior College Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts
Depths in Biology and Psychology

Arts and Sciences Component
WER 1: English Composition I 3
WER 2: English Composition II 3
HUM 1: Humanities 201 3
HUM 2: Humanities 202 3
HUM 3: Need UExcel Bioethics 3UL
SOC 1: Intro to Sociology 3
SOC 2: Intro to Psychology 3
SOC 3: Educational Psychology 3
NSM 1: Precalculus 3
NSM 2: Statistics 3
NSM 3: Botany 3
CAP: Need Liberal Arts Capstone LA 498 3UL
ASE 1: Vertebrate Morphogenesis with Lab 4UL
ASE 2: African-American History 3UL (EC HIS-325)
ASE 3: Need Uexcel Social Psychology PSYX-325 3UL
ASE 4: Need Uexcel Psychology of Adulthood and Aging PSYX-315 3UL
ASE 5: Need UExcel Pathophysiology BIOX-410 3UL
ASE 6: Genetics with Lab 4 (EC BIO-250)
ASE 7: Microbiology with Lab 4 (EC BIO-220)

That takes care of the Arts and Sciences component minimum with 21 upper level hours in Arts and Sciences.

You need nine more hours of upper level credits, either Arts and Sciences or Applied Professional:
DSST Business Ethics 3UL
DSST Substance Abuse 3UL
DSST Intro to Law Enforcement/ Civil War and Reconstruction/ any UL exam etc. 3UL


Within all of your Arts and Sciences credits, you will have two depths: Biology and Psychology.

Depth 1: Vertebrate Morphogenesis with Lab 4UL
Depth 1: Microbiology with Lab 4 (EC BIO-220)
Depth 1: Genetics with Lab 4 (EC BIO-250)

Depth 2: Intro to Psychology 3
Depth 2: Educational Psychology 3
Depth 2: Social Psychology PSYX-325 3UL
Depth 2: Psychology of Adulthood and Aging PSYX-315 3UL

You need one hour of Information Literacy from Excelsior or Coopersmith, and the rest of your degree can be almost any college credit.

Need Information Literacy 1
Speech 3
Spanish 101 3
Spanish 102 3
Spanish 201 3
Spanish 202 3
World Civilization I 3
American History I 3
Health 3
Foundations of Education 3
PE (Archery) 1
PE (Advanced Bowling) 1
General Chemistry I with Lab 4
General Chemistry II with Lab 4
Botany Lab 1
Intro to Biology with Lab 4

After this, you would need 15 hours. You could get that with the CLEP Social Science, CLEP Natural Science, and one more 3-hour exam.

[daboywonder2002]

[quote=KayV]I started looking at your credits (from what you posted lasted year), and originally thought that TESU Natural Science and Math would be a great choice. When I started plugging those classes in, though, it turned out not to work as well for a variety of reasons. Charter Oak was similarly difficult.

What worked better was from Excelsior: a BSLA with depths in Biology and Psychology. With a BSLA, your science credits being from 1994-97 won't matter, and you can test out of most of the other classes.

This might not fit your needs, but I thought I would throw it out there in case you change plans.

Excelsior College Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts
Depths in Biology and Psychology

Arts and Sciences Component
WER 1: English Composition I 3
WER 2: English Composition II 3
HUM 1: Humanities 201 3
HUM 2: Humanities 202 3
HUM 3: Need UExcel Bioethics 3UL
SOC 1: Intro to Sociology 3
SOC 2: Intro to Psychology 3
SOC 3: Educational Psychology 3
NSM 1: Precalculus 3
NSM 2: Statistics 3
NSM 3: Botany 3
CAP: Need Liberal Arts Capstone LA 498 3UL
ASE 1: Vertebrate Morphogenesis with Lab 4UL
ASE 2: African-American History 3UL (EC HIS-325)
ASE 3: Need Uexcel Social Psychology PSYX-325 3UL
ASE 4: Need Uexcel Psychology of Adulthood and Aging PSYX-315 3UL
ASE 5: Need UExcel Pathophysiology BIOX-410 3UL
ASE 6: Genetics with Lab 4 (EC BIO-250)
ASE 7: Microbiology with Lab 4 (EC BIO-220)

That takes care of the Arts and Sciences component minimum with 21 upper level hours in Arts and Sciences.

You need nine more hours of upper level credits, either Arts and Sciences or Applied Professional:
DSST Business Ethics 3UL
DSST Substance Abuse 3UL
DSST Intro to Law Enforcement/ Civil War and Reconstruction/ any UL exam etc. 3UL


Within all of your Arts and Sciences credits, you will have two depths: Biology and Psychology.

Depth 1: Vertebrate Morphogenesis with Lab 4UL
Depth 1: Microbiology with Lab 4 (EC BIO-220)
Depth 1: Genetics with Lab 4 (EC BIO-250)

Depth 2: Intro to Psychology 3
Depth 2: Educational Psychology 3
Depth 2: Social Psychology PSYX-325 3UL
Depth 2: Psychology of Adulthood and Aging PSYX-315 3UL

You need one hour of Information Literacy from Excelsior or Coopersmith, and the rest of your degree can be almost any college credit.

Need Information Literacy 1
Speech 3
Spanish 101 3
Spanish 102 3
Spanish 201 3
Spanish 202 3
World Civilization I 3
American History I 3
Health 3
Foundations of Education 3
PE (Archery) 1
PE (Advanced Bowling) 1
General Chemistry I with Lab 4
General Chemistry II with Lab 4
Botany Lab 1
Intro to Biology with Lab 4

After this, you would need 15 hours. You could get that with the CLEP Social Science, CLEP Natural Science, and one more 3-hour exam.[/QUOTE

hmm ill look into that. I will apply just to see how many credits they actually accept. If it's more than 63 then awesome.

[KayV]

Spend $25 with the Peace Officers Association of Georgia to become an associate member and get partnership pricing.
https://www.poag.org/membership-signup/

If you tell them you're a member you get the application fee waived.
Excelsior College | Peace Officers Association of Georgia
Click on the Financial Aid and Partnership Pricing tab on the left for cost details.

[cookderosa]

Let me break down my situation. 101 credits taken towards a degree in biology at my previous school. Now some classes are less than a C so they won't transfer over. Now i have a few career goals in mind. 1)Get master's degree in nutrition and go from there. 2)get a job in Health IT. I can easily get my health IT certificate. 3) and it's a long shot but go to PA school. Now i've been accepted to 2 colleges reasonably priced. First one is UMUC they accepted 65 of my credits and it would be towards a degree in Health Services management. Here's the problem. the reviews weren't good about this school. 3% graduation rate and i have no interest in managing hospitals or anything. Next school is Wilmington University. Good school. I know people who went there and can co sign this school. It's also less expensive but they only accepted 57 credits. This would be a Health Sciences degree. I know to work in nutrition i still have to take the requirements. aka organic chemistry, anatomy and physiology, etc. Maybe i can do it at a community college for a lesser cost.

I can help you with the nutrition part.

To "work in nutrition" you have to either choose a licensed occupation or a non-licensed occupation. Licensed work includes Registered Dietitians (RD), Nutritionists, Licensed Nutritionists, and Nutrition or Dietetic Tech. These are considered "legitimate" nutrition occupations, and are heavily regulated in the United States. EVERYTHING else is non-licensed and exceptionally slippery. There are fringe organizations (for profits) that will sell you credentials, please be careful. In many states it's illegal to use the word (the literal WORD) nutrition in any professional capacity. ACEND, for good or bad, has big teeth and takes pleasure in rooting out people using the credentials they own- in short- they don't want anyone claiming any nutrition knowledge unless they've sanctioned it. I'll leave that discussion for another thread.

If you ever want to work for a doctor, hospital, WIC program, health department, outreach program, college, research university, and others, you need an official licensed credential.

Non-licensed occupations (like me, I'm a chef) have to be thought of as "personal enrichment" and not much more. In other words, I can teach nutrition in a culinary program at a university, I can teach nutrition in a culinary program at a college, I can teach nutritional cooking in any adult education / continuing education program. I can NOT teach nutrition from a nutrition department or biology department.
Interestingly enough, I taught Culinary Nutrition for a long time before earning my master's, so my master's was more of a cherry on top - it wasn't the credential that qualified me for the job if that makes sense. In short, there are no professions I know of where a non-licensed master's in nutrition is the required degree.

I urge you to use caution because the usefulness of a master's in nutrition may be different than you expect.

[daboywonder2002]

I can help you with the nutrition part.

To "work in nutrition" you have to either choose a licensed occupation or a non-licensed occupation. Licensed work includes Registered Dietitians (RD), Nutritionists, Licensed Nutritionists, and Nutrition or Dietetic Tech. These are considered "legitimate" nutrition occupations, and are heavily regulated in the United States. EVERYTHING else is non-licensed and exceptionally slippery. There are fringe organizations (for profits) that will sell you credentials, please be careful. In many states it's illegal to use the word (the literal WORD) nutrition in any professional capacity. ACEND, for good or bad, has big teeth and takes pleasure in rooting out people using the credentials they own- in short- they don't want anyone claiming any nutrition knowledge unless they've sanctioned it. I'll leave that discussion for another thread.

If you ever want to work for a doctor, hospital, WIC program, health department, outreach program, college, research university, and others, you need an official licensed credential.

Non-licensed occupations (like me, I'm a chef) have to be thought of as "personal enrichment" and not much more. In other words, I can teach nutrition in a culinary program at a university, I can teach nutrition in a culinary program at a college, I can teach nutritional cooking in any adult education / continuing education program. I can NOT teach nutrition from a nutrition department or biology department.
Interestingly enough, I taught Culinary Nutrition for a long time before earning my master's, so my master's was more of a cherry on top - it wasn't the credential that qualified me for the job if that makes sense. In short, there are no professions I know of where a non-licensed master's in nutrition is the required degree.

I urge you to use caution because the usefulness of a master's in nutrition may be different than you expect.

I would definitely want to become licensed. i wish more schools had an online bachelors in nutrition but there aren't many. would it make sense to major in health sciences or even Environmental science then get my master's in nutrition?

[cookderosa]

I would definitely want to become licensed. i wish more schools had an online bachelors in nutrition but there aren't many. would it make sense to major in health sciences or even Environmental science then get my master's in nutrition?

Non-licensed people with degrees in nutrition (myself) are qualified to give general food and nutrition information that applies to the population at large- I can say "in this recipe, you can take out the butter and use olive oil because......" or "vitamin supplements are usually......." and so on.


So here's an important distinction. A licensed nutrition worker is qualified to counsel a specific person about their specific health - they are a clinician. They are a health care provider providing services covered by health insurance.

An RD can say "I'm putting you on the Mediterranean Diet. Here is the dietary plan to follow at home. We'll meet each Thursday to discuss your cholesterol levels." That would be an illegal conversation for me to have in North Carolina where I live. I could be charged with practicing medicine without a license.

I'll leave you to it- but here is a list of schools you can choose from.
If you find an online option, know that your clinical work (called Didactic) will still be face to face. RDs don't need Master's Degrees, and a Master's Degree won't back-track to qualify you for RD status. For example, if I wanted to become an RD, I would have to start with a Bachelor's Degree through an ACEND program and follow the same steps. (my master's wouldn't count because it's not ACEND)

1) Bachelor's Degree through an ACEND approved program
2) Obtain placement into a Didactic program for your clinical hours (this is competitive, and like medical school, you may not get to choose your placement site)
3) Pass your licensing exam

Accredited and Approved Dietetics Education Programs - Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics - from the Academy