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Point of view on online courses


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My little red light goes on whenever someone says "never EVER." 

 

I took statistics on-line and thought it was a reasonable way to get it done. Still went in for exams, etc.

 

I would be less inclined to take an on-line class for a subject that can require a lot of instructor interaction, as I felt physiology and pathophysiology did.

 

Good luck!

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I took Genetics online because my traditional class was canceled at the last minute. I believe it was much more difficult than the traditional class as compared to friends' experiences in a traditional class around the same time. The material is difficult and I often had to ask the instructor the same question multiple times before he ever understood what my question was (and I was very clear and specific) This process could take a week or more to get one question answered as he only had to respond within 3 days. Part of the problem was that the instructor does not write the questions in an online course and mine often couldn't answer the questions himself. Hopefully this is an isolated case but be prepared to teach yourself very very difficult material. I read every page of the textbook and did all the end of chapter problems, wrote 10 papers, and had a tutor and still saw stuff on the 3 hour final that had never been taught. Additionally there was a fluctuation in terminology between the book, on-line lectures, homework assignments, and instructor that was confusing. If you don't have any other options the online course is convenient but I would have been much happier in a traditional course. BTW my class was thru Berkeley Extension with rolling enrollment so no two students were at the same place in the material at the same time so there was very little support and the teacher was all over the place....sigh. It was frustrating.

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I'm taking a hybrid anatomy course online right now. The labs and exams are in person but lecture notes are online. I don't see why this would be inferior in any way to the traditional format. So much of the introductory material is memorization that I prefer to do at a faster pace anyway.

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For people working 40hrs a week, sometimes this is the only way to get some pre-reqs out of the way. With that said, I took intro to pysch and medical terminology online; you work at your own pace and it's up to you to learn the material and I felt this was perfect for me since I worked full time, volunteered, and shadowed.

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If the material is from a reputable school, there really should not be much difference in course content. As was suggested above, online might actually be a little more difficult due to a couple of issues. First, communication can be a little more difficult. Second, if the course is given in a self-paced, asynchronous fashion it can require a great deal of self-discipline for the student to keep chugging through the material.

 

As always, check with the places you intend to apply.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I took virtually all of my pre-reqs online (note: I was a non-traditional student, living in a very rural area, with no access to brick/mortar within 200 miles).  Many of my pre-reqs were old so I had to repeat them (pathophys, microbiology, A&P, chem, to name a few). I had NO PROBLEM getting interviews and acceptances. I went, I graduated, I passed PANCE.  That being said:  my program even referred us to Youtube for some learning methods.  I also diligently made certain that the programs I applied to accepted online coursework.   And, we only had DIAL-UP at the time !!  "Never say Never!"

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I took Genetics, Statistics, Nutrition all online and i can tell you from my experience there was nothing easy about these classes.  I did it because i needed the flexibility in schedule. Living in Southern CA the local community colleges are totally full.  I had to take the classes at some more obscurely located (but accredited) schools or wait until i could get in at a closer school.  Not worth the wait for me. 

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