If I take prerequisite science classes on campus but complete other coursework online, will I have trouble with admissions?

[LydiaRomo]

Hi. 

I am a very non-traditional student. I'm about to turn 27 and dropped out of college in my freshman year, and am just now starting over. I worked in sales (including medical device, working in the OR) and marketing prior, but I am now a clinical research coordinator taking general education classes online to fulfill a bachelor's degree.

I work for a great teaching hospital, Northwestern University, that provides a tuition benefit, so I am transferring to an online bachelor's degree in Health Science with Northwestern. However, I am planning on taking pre-req sciences courses and labs in person, on campus. Will this generally be a problem for most schools? The general advisor (not mine specifically) told me that she's never seen a future PA student major in Health Science or do any classes online. 

If I were 20 and had no bills, I would commit to an on-campus program in something like Biology, but since I am nearly 27 and working full time, it feels like the best bet is to major in Health Science and take as many courses online as I can for time's sake. Will admission panels generally see the online/Health Science aspect as "too easy" or not competitite enough, even if I take pre-reqs like microbiology, anatomy, chemistry etc, on campus?

And as a final thought...I want to do this, but I don't know if I'm crazy for it. I am nearly 27, recently married, and I am still a solid 3+ years away from having a bachelor's degree. I would be applying for PA school at 30, maybe 31 or even older. I know many PA students are in their late 20s and beyond, but since I haven't even finished my bachelor's I feel like I am even more behind. Any thoughts, encouragement etc, would be greatly appreciated. 

Edited September 14, 2023 by LydiaRomo
i mispoke/typo

[EMEDPA]

Take all your labs on campus and you will be fine. Online coursework for everything else is fine. It does not matter what your major is as long as you fulfill all the prereqs. 

31 is not old to start PA school. Slightly older than the current avg, but not by much. The avg age in my PA class was 35. There is someone here on the forum who started PA school at 58. 

[UGoLong]

On 9/14/2023 at 5:43 PM, EMEDPA said:

Take all your labs on campus and you will be fine. Online coursework for everything else is fine. It does not matter what your major is as long as you fulfill all the prereqs. 

31 is not old to start PA school. Slightly older than the current avg, but not by much. The avg age in my PA class was 35. There is someone here on the forum who started PA school at 58. 

That would be me (the 58 year-old).  There were some disadvantages (no all-night cramming anymore) but some advantages as well. It's doable.

Best wishes!

Edited October 20, 2023 by UGoLong

[exsqueezeme]

Hey!

I was also not a traditional student. My major was public health. I got my bachelors, did prereqs at a community college, and then online science courses in a masters program. Now im a PA  I did make sure that the main prereqs that needed labs were in person. so as long as you have the prereqs down, youre good. 

Also, I dont think you should care about your age  we all have different paths so there should be no shame. Probably 25% of my class were people 30 years+. Keep your head up, you got it!