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Full time vs Part time Undergrad


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Hello All,

 

I am curious on people's opinions here especially from those who have done this before. I am currently AD military and am set to get out in two years. I will most likely be able to complete my bachelor degree within that timeframe, however I am only able to take one class at a time, and the education I have been receiving from the base education center (albeit from an accredited university) is lacking. Should I just finish out my degree while still active and apply for PA school, or should I take one or two full time semesters after I get out to better prepare/refresh myself on the more important topics (at the time I get out, it will be 4 years after I completed A&P).

 

Any and all input is appreciated.

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Hello All,

 

I am curious on people's opinions here especially from those who have done this before. I am currently AD military and am set to get out in two years. I will most likely be able to complete my bachelor degree within that timeframe, however I am only able to take one class at a time, and the education I have been receiving from the base education center (albeit from an accredited university) is lacking. Should I just finish out my degree while still active and apply for PA school, or should I take one or two full time semesters after I get out to better prepare/refresh myself on the more important topics (at the time I get out, it will be 4 years after I completed A&P).

 

Any and all input is appreciated.

 

Have you looked into IPAP?

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Interesting question.  Unless the classes and degrees have changed dramatically since I was in, you are most def going to be taking classes afterwards anyway.  To get to a reasonably competitive level and open up a decent amount of schools to you, you need a couple years of hard sciences with lab, and probably biochem and genetics.  I'm sure you know this.  I don't think UMUC or similar is going to offer any of that.  

 

Provided you have the GI Bill, I personally think the best plan might be to get all of your little classes out of the way (English 101, electives, etc) during your remaining time and then transfer everything someplace and hit it hard afterwards.  This way you have a degree in whatever you choose from Local University Of Your Choice and you do have some full-time college on your record, as well as getting used to it a little. 

 

That's sort of what I did and it worked for me.  Some of the non-science classes (math, etc) taken while in never expire.  Some of mine were 15 years old. :)

 

Of course, you certainly can do the degree while in and then take the classes at the local CC.

 

The A+P ... I think at the 5-year point since taken, you may be splitting schools about down the middle, 50% or so might want it within 5, some may not care.  That is a guess.  It has been a while but that was my impression at the time.

 

Good luck!

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Interesting question. Unless the classes and degrees have changed dramatically since I was in, you are most def going to be taking classes afterwards anyway. To get to a reasonably competitive level and open up a decent amount of schools to you, you need a couple years of hard sciences with lab, and probably biochem and genetics. I'm sure you know this. I don't think UMUC or similar is going to offer any of that.

 

Provided you have the GI Bill, I personally think the best plan might be to get all of your little classes out of the way (English 101, electives, etc) during your remaining time and then transfer everything someplace and hit it hard afterwards. This way you have a degree in whatever you choose from Local University Of Your Choice and you do have some full-time college on your record, as well as getting used to it a little.

 

That's sort of what I did and it worked for me. Some of the non-science classes (math, etc) taken while in never expire. Some of mine were 15 years old. :)

 

Of course, you certainly can do the degree while in and then take the classes at the local CC.

 

The A+P ... I think at the 5-year point since taken, you may be splitting schools about down the middle, 50% or so might want it within 5, some may not care. That is a guess. It has been a while but that was my impression at the time.

 

Good luck!

Thanks for the input! I could have given a little more background I suppose. I was a full time student for 3 years before joining and was getting an exercise science degree (kind of a joke of a degree from the school I was attending). I had most of the easier college classes done. All I really have left now is Chem 1 and 2, organic Chem, stats, and a couple 300 level bio classes of my choosing plus some other school specific lower level courses. Everything I have taken to date is in person with labs. I have good grades but for some reason not feeling overly prepared or confident in the education I have received thus far, especially since it has been stretched out for 8 years and I have at least 2 to go just for undergrad.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Get all the classes done that will transfer to a 4 yr university towards a specific degree you can while active. That way some of your gi bill will spill over into PA school, if it's a yellow ribbon program they'll cover what the gi bill doesn't.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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  • 2 weeks later...

Get all the classes done that will transfer to a 4 yr university towards a specific degree you can while active. That way some of your gi bill will spill over into PA school, if it's a yellow ribbon program they'll cover what the gi bill doesn't.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Right now I'm thinking the GI Bill will cover all of PA school if I go to a public in-state university. I suppose I should try my hardest to get it all done before hand just to give me the assurance that I won't be paying out of pocket.

 

Thanks for the insight.

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