TESU to medical school?

[yum2177]

Hey guys,

Some background - i finished the TESU BA SS in 2017, WGU MBA in 2019, after my MBA I got a nice technical business role at a company that i'm enjoying so i've been slowly tackling the STD Comp Sci courses towards a 2nd BA in CS & Bio as well (CS classes almost done!).

Medical school is a long term goal of mine, might as well hack away at some pre-med courses too right? 

So i've completed some courses through the UCBx Post-Bacc Health Professions program. But man is it expensive! the cost of completing the prereqs through the Berkeley post-bacc program is a killer, $1200 a class, double that if you include labs.

Now the question: 
Would it be detrimental for med school admissions to complete the BA Biology AOS at TESU through SL/STD/CLEP*, to keep it cheap, then just take all the upper level biology/lab courses at UCBx?

UCBx has a severely robust offering for upper level biology, even a complete program called the Post-Bacc Advanced Biosciences program.

*sans ochem and other AOS classes that can't be completed via alternative testing/online classes.

[bjcheung77]

Woah, snap!  You're going for the same double major as I am at TESU!  Great job... here's a thread you might be interested in: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid335978

Question for you: What is your GPA so far?  At other institutions you've attended, TESU, and at WGU.  I ask because, this will be a major requirement they'll look at.  It's not a bad idea to get a BA Biology & Comp Sci if those are the fields you're interested in, but make sure to get good grades on anything that is graded.  Schools look at the overall GPA and also the last & most updated 60 credits in your educational journey to medical school.

You can take your requirements at several schools, Ocean Community College, Doane, UNE, etc.  I vouch for Logan University as they're $275/credit, so slightly cheaper than a few of those universities.  You may want to check out some threads in regards to taking the sciences through several schools - such as community college for the lower level credits and Doane/UNE, etc for the upper level credits.

BTW, how young are you now? I think it's a great idea! Do your alternative credits and only take the courses that can't be transferred in for cheap.  Your signature mentions a few Masters degree offerings, you may want to add U of Texas as well, they offer affordable Masters using MOOC as a medium, for $10K, they're probably Georgia Tech's main competition at that price range.

[natshar]

First off, I am not an expert, so I could be wrong on this.

But I'm pretty sure your all your med school prereq science courses should be done via RA credit (not study.com, CLEP,etc). Some med schools might accept AP for some of the LL reqs (ie intro to Bio with the AP Bio test) but other than that I don't think alt credit would work for med school.

So yes, could get a bio degree from TESU and use alt credit for electives and random courses but I think your best bet would be to have the key courses as actual graded courses.

Honestly, I am not sure if the BA in bio is necessary especially if it is too hard to get with all courses, maybe just get an associate's in bio instead and then transcribe on all your Science courses on a tesu transcript.

Some possibly cheaper options for sciences:

https://online.une.edu/science-prerequisites/
https://portagelearning.com/ (transcribing credit to Geneva University)

If I were you I'd look for at other threads about those who went to med school: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...read-Guide

[rachel83az]

Have you checked out the wiki for more affordable credit options? https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Ob...ts#Biology

[dfrecore]

I would not get a BA in Biology, as I don't think it's necessary. Med schools aren't generally looking at your major - they just want to see that you have your pre-reqs done. And I'd do them via RA credit only, not using anything else. And you MUST have labs.

If you have access to cheap CC, that's certainly the way to go.

If not, I'd look at Portage Learning ($198/cr, self-paced); Logan University ($275/cr, 15wk trimester courses); Doane University OpenLearning ($329/cr, 8wk courses); or UNE Online ($340/cr, self-paced).

I'd also start looking at all of the med schools you're interested in, and look at the pre-reqs, and see if they say anything about online science labs.

[yum2177]

Woah, snap!  You're going for the same double major as I am at TESU!  Great job... here's a thread you might be interested in: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid335978

Question for you: What is your GPA so far?  At other institutions you've attended, TESU, and at WGU.  I ask because, this will be a major requirement they'll look at.  It's not a bad idea to get a BA Biology & Comp Sci if those are the fields you're interested in, but make sure to get good grades on anything that is graded.  Schools look at the overall GPA and also the last & most updated 60 credits in your educational journey to medical school.

You can take your requirements at several schools, Ocean Community College, Doane, UNE, etc.  I vouch for Logan University as they're $275/credit, so slightly cheaper than a few of those universities.  You may want to check out some threads in regards to taking the sciences through several schools - such as community college for the lower level credits and Doane/UNE, etc for the upper level credits.

BTW, how young are you now? I think it's a great idea! Do your alternative credits and only take the courses that can't be transferred in for cheap.  Your signature mentions a few Masters degree offerings, you may want to add U of Texas as well, they offer affordable Masters using MOOC as a medium, for $10K, they're probably Georgia Tech's main competition at that price range.

Haha thanks! Yeah i actually got the inspiration from some of your old posts to just cash out the Bio AOS since the prereqs will be there.

Overall GPA right now is 3.4 due to a 2.9 avg in some concurrent enrollment classes in high school when I didn't know which direction i wanted to go. That 3.4 is only across a few graded courses which is great news, I still have a huge amount of premed courses that I want to take to flip the tide there. 

Great point on the UT Master's for $10k - my sig hasn't been updated in a few yrs but I'm actually leaning towards MS Systems Engineering programs as a generalist technical degree. Something to 'round out' my time working in Silicon Valley before I move towards medical school completely. Been a huge goal of mine to have a technical degree.

I'm 24 yrs old currently so time is in my favor here - I just maintain other financial obligations ( like everyone else lol ) like a mortgage, child, bills, etc. so i'm mindful of the overall expenditure. Super thankful for finding this site when I was 17 though, I completed my first BA & MBA for under $10k which is insane.

First off, I am not an expert, so I could be wrong on this.

But I'm pretty sure your all your med school prereq science courses should be done via RA credit (not study.com, CLEP,etc). Some med schools might accept AP for some of the LL reqs (ie intro to Bio with the AP Bio test) but other than that I don't think alt credit would work for med school.

So yes, could get a bio degree from TESU and use alt credit for electives and random courses but I think your best bet would be to have the key courses as actual graded courses.

Honestly, I am not sure if the BA in bio is necessary especially if it is too hard to get with all courses, maybe just get an associate's in bio instead and then transcribe on all your Science courses on a tesu transcript.

Some possibly cheaper options for sciences:

https://online.une.edu/science-prerequisites/
https://portagelearning.com/ (transcribing credit to Geneva University)

If I were you I'd look for at other threads about those who went to med school: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...read-Guide

Thank you for pointing out Geneva University and their Portage Learning solution, looks like a great program. You're correct that prereqs should be completed via RA and I think I can hedge costs significantly with a combination of Portage & Doane to knock out the 101/201 level prereqs then keep at UCBx for the upper levels.

The second AOS in Biology was me being opportunistic to cash out the credits while I'm already finishing the prereqs - plus I think it helps the 'narrative' on a traditional resume (but that could just be me).

Have you checked out the wiki for more affordable credit options? https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Ob...ts#Biology

Thanks for pointing this out! I didn't realize the wiki was updated within the last year so this is a great resource.

I would not get a BA in Biology, as I don't think it's necessary.  Med schools aren't generally looking at your major - they just want to see that you have your pre-reqs done.  And I'd do them via RA credit only, not using anything else. And you MUST have labs.

If you have access to cheap CC, that's certainly the way to go.

If not, I'd look at Portage Learning ($198/cr, self-paced); Logan University ($275/cr, 15wk trimester courses); Doane University OpenLearning ($329/cr, 8wk courses); or UNE Online ($340/cr, self-paced).

I'd also start looking at all of the med schools you're interested in, and look at the pre-reqs, and see if they say anything about online science labs.

Hey @dfrecore! thanks for the feedback, you helped me create my first templates back in 2016 and I still use them to this day haha.

From above, I think my best bet moving forward is completing 101/201 via Geneva/Portage + Doane, then continuing on with UCBx to keep everything RA. The second AOS in Biology was me being opportunistic to cash out the credits while I'm already finishing the prereqs since I've already been working on the CS courses - plus I think it helps the 'narrative' on a traditional resume (but that could just be me).

Some other options I was considering:
1) Cash out CS classes as an undergrad certificate at TESU
2) Just apply to MS Systems Engineering programs and work on that for a year before continuing with the med school prereqs so I can fulfill that desire of having a technical degree.

Thanks everyone for the brainstorming session!

[Ideas]

In your situation, I would probably apply for MS Systems Engineering programs and forget the rest. Then do prereqs afterwards so they are fresher in your mind and more recent credits.

[yum2177]

In your situation, I would probably apply for MS Systems Engineering programs and forget the rest. Then do prereqs afterwards so they are fresher in your mind and more recent credits.

If i applied now, you think I should finish off the BACS or just go ahead and apply now? I have 4 classes on STD & the capstone left.

[bjcheung77]

In your situation, I would probably apply for MS Systems Engineering programs and forget the rest. Then do prereqs afterwards so they are fresher in your mind and more recent credits.

If i applied now, you think I should finish off the BACS or just go ahead and apply now? I have 4 classes on STD & the capstone left.

Do you have a specific MS Systems Engineering program in mind? Which school/program? I don't think many will just accept a BALS with a Social Science concentration as entry requirements. So technically forgetting the pre-req would not work in this case. The same goes with your pre-req's for the pre-med.

[danger455]

Suppose you want to prepare better in medicine and be more experienced. In that case, it is best to go to medical school at the beginning and then, realizing that you want to connect your life with this, go to work or further improve your qualifications.