haleym Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 I have been thinking about leaving the software engineering world over the past few years. I have a B.S. in computer science but didn't take classes that could count as prereqs for PA schools. I do work full-time as a software engineer, married, and purchased a house last year. There is a lot of consideration going into this. I have been exploring the different options to obtain the prereqs and trying to figure out which would be the best fit. I understand the prereqs differ depending on school as well. - Community college courses: cost effective, some schools really focus on upper level science coursework however - University courses: would it be worth it to get a second degree, or become a non-degree seeking student? Financial aid not available for non-degree seeking student. Or is it okay to delcare a major to get the prereqs done but don't finish it and apply for PA school since I already have a Bachelor's. - Fully online courses: for example: https://www.doane.edu/open-learning, can be the most expensive option but the most flexible for working full time - Online courses with Labs: are people finding schools are accepting online labs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VarsityMed Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 I made a career pivot without any prereqs as well and I cannot recommend community college enough for the basic science classes. It's the most affordable option, often caters towards working/non-traditional students, and is the best bang for your buck. If schools require upper level courses, you can then spend extra to take them either at your local university or online (I took 3 upper level courses online through UC Berkeley Extensions and felt they were well designed). You're also more likely to make connections by taking classes through a CC, whether it be a professor to write you a letter of recommendation or a patient care job that you find through the student news bulletin. You definitely do not need a second degree. Non-degree students often have the lowest priority picking classes as well so community college, in my opinion, is the best way to go. I even took an A&P class that was online for lectures but had lab in person on Saturdays. 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 52 minutes ago, PApivot said: I made a career pivot without any prereqs as well and I cannot recommend community college enough for the basic science classes. It's the most affordable option, often caters towards working/non-traditional students, and is the best bang for your buck. If schools require upper level courses, you can then spend extra to take them either at your local university or online (I took 3 upper level courses online through UC Berkeley Extensions and felt they were well designed). You're also more likely to make connections by taking classes through a CC, whether it be a professor to write you a letter of recommendation or a patient care job that you find through the student news bulletin. You definitely do not need a second degree. Non-degree students often have the lowest priority picking classes as well so community college, in my opinion, is the best way to go. I even took an A&P class that was online for lectures but had lab in person on Saturdays. This is the approach I'd recommend, too. I have degrees in engineering and computer science and used the community college route to take all of my coursework except for an organic chem series that I took at night at a local 4 year college. This approach can take a while but that can be good with your other obligations. (Few points are given for speeding through life.) Your background has lots of aspects that actually helps with your medical education (especially your logic and debugging skills). Best wishes! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haleym Posted February 17, 2022 Author Share Posted February 17, 2022 (edited) 5 hours ago, PApivot said: I made a career pivot without any prereqs as well and I cannot recommend community college enough for the basic science classes. It's the most affordable option, often caters towards working/non-traditional students, and is the best bang for your buck. If schools require upper level courses, you can then spend extra to take them either at your local university or online (I took 3 upper level courses online through UC Berkeley Extensions and felt they were well designed). You're also more likely to make connections by taking classes through a CC, whether it be a professor to write you a letter of recommendation or a patient care job that you find through the student news bulletin. You definitely do not need a second degree. Non-degree students often have the lowest priority picking classes as well so community college, in my opinion, is the best way to go. I even took an A&P class that was online for lectures but had lab in person on Saturdays. 4 hours ago, UGoLong said: This is the approach I'd recommend, too. I have degrees in engineering and computer science and used the community college route to take all of my coursework except for an organic chem series that I took at night at a local 4 year college. This approach can take a while but that can be good with your other obligations. (Few points are given for speeding through life.) Your background has lots of aspects that actually helps with your medical education (especially your logic and debugging skills). Best wishes! Thank you both for the insight on community colleges and very good point about making connections at CC. It would be far more difficult to do that fully online. - How many credits would you recommend per semester? - What is the average timeframe that it takes to complete preqs and be able to apply? This is where I need to temper my excitement as mentioned I do have other obligations such as working full time. Edited February 17, 2022 by haleym Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 2 hours ago, haleym said: Thank you both for the insight on community colleges and very good point about making connections at CC. It would be far more difficult to do that fully online. - How many credits would you recommend per semester? - What is the average timeframe that it takes to complete preqs and be able to apply? This is where I need to temper my excitement as mentioned I do have other obligations such as working full time. How many credits is a personal decision based on other demands on your time. I personally would start with one class to see how it fits in with your life and how starting on your journey makes you feel. I took organic chemistry because it was a stress test for me -- 30 years after my last college chemistry class. Another option is to take something that is closer to medicine, like physiology or anatomy. Then you can see what you have time for/can handle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VarsityMed Posted February 18, 2022 Share Posted February 18, 2022 19 hours ago, haleym said: Thank you both for the insight on community colleges and very good point about making connections at CC. It would be far more difficult to do that fully online. - How many credits would you recommend per semester? - What is the average timeframe that it takes to complete preqs and be able to apply? This is where I need to temper my excitement as mentioned I do have other obligations such as working full time. I probably overdid it and took 3-4 a semester while working which I don't necessarily recommend. Keep in mind that some classes will be in a sequence so taking General Bio 1 and General Chem 1 will set you up to take Bio/Chem 2 the next semester, etc. Depending on how demanding your work is, 2 classes could be reasonable. You can also take classes over the summer (which I never did in undergrad) so you never "lose" a semester. I spent about 2ish years taking classes. Classes like Psych or Statistics can also be peppered in whenever you feel like you have time if schools require them. My CC had psych classes fully a-synchronous online so I took them more or less on my own time which was really helpful. And I agree that your background will be a nice advantage! I was a UX Designer in my past life and oooooh boy so I have thoughts and insights in to how to make medicine more user friendly :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohiovolffemtp Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 My undergrad degree is in computer science from the days of punched cards. I started with a chemistry class - majors chemistry, with lab, and took 1-2 classes/semester. If I did 2, I did 1 during the day and 1 at night. I would only do 1 science and 1 other, like sociology or psychology, at a time. I later took an early retirement and became a full-time student, taking 2 concurrent sciences and 3-4 other classes. I did all but 1 class at a community college that was a branch of the University of Cincinnati. The community college was much cheaper, class size was smaller, had real faculty vs teaching assistants, and parking was free. Definitely the way to go. I paid my bills by working a 48 hour shift as a firefighter/paramedic every weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baobeier Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 I was just curious why you are making the switch from software engineering to PA? I'm pre-PA and currently applying for PA school. But I am considering going back to school for computer science and becoming a software engineer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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