Thread: I gotta new question...

If you have all the pre-reqs done but no bachelors degree, can you get a bachelors degree online? What are acceptable schools to do that with and what is the quickest turn time...thanks

Nope...go back to college, get your degree. There are old threads regarding this if you search, some of which I have replied to. The short of it is that it's not going to happen, and not a good idea even if it could happen. There are no short cuts to getting your MD (unless you happen to get into a 7 year **/MD program) and an online Bachelor's isn't getting you into any med school you'd want to go to.

I agree with S.Levit. Go to college and get into a good school, preferably one in the states as things are only getting more difficult in the Caribbean now.

Can someone explain why Caribbean schools are becoming more difficult now (as far as getting placed in the States)? Why now? Has anything been officially stated or are people assuming (Y2K, 2012 END of the world etc.)

Originally Posted by MD-BAM

Can someone explain why Caribbean schools are becoming more difficult now (as far as getting placed in the States)? Why now? Has anything been officially stated or are people assuming (Y2K, 2012 END of the world etc.)

#1 Expanded enrollment of US-MD schools.
#2 Increasing number of DO schools.
#3 Increasing number of US-MD schools.
#4 Stagnant number of US residency spots.

I tend to agree with the above post, and caution you against aiming to get admissions into the caribbean medical schools as your first choice. An important reason left out from the above list is the rising tuition (in all the schools that receive US gov't loans). The current estimates available for the full cost of the degree never take into account the tuition hikes that occur every september, like clockwork. You have to ask yourself if you will be able to pay back the loans and still live a reasonable life style after graduation.

Having said that, I will say that my bachelor degree was a distance learning degree (technically not an online degree, but similar). I completed an associates from a community college, and distance learning bachelors by getting course credits through examination after independent study.

I have learned that which undergraduate school you get your degree from matters when applying to medical schools in the US. So I would try to get your degree from a big name school if you can afford to spend the time and money; try to get into US medical schools first. This will also afford you better residency opportunities and the chance to earn higher salaries depending upon your chosen specialty (as one method of getting through this "Tuition Bubble" unscathed).

Despite the caution, if you are determined to go into Caribbean schools, then I believe your MCAT, GPA, and Letters are probably more important for admissions here. As far as the bachelor degree goes, I did just as well as my colleagues who graduated from "public ivy" schools. If you are not completing a bachelors for engineering or other specific discipline that may help you outside of getting into medical school, I personally believe these four years to be a big waste of time and money. They don't truly enrich your medical education, except perhaps by preparing you for the rigorous educational requirements. You need a basic understanding of biology (covered in the pre-reqs), and don't really need to be a bio major to do well. Without a hard work ethic and committing 6.5 days out of your week to medicine, your bachelors degree and prior accolades will not help. Strangely enough, I have seen a colleague who graduated from a public ivy with a major in a particular discipline actually fail the course in that same discipline in our curriculum.

So there is no question of "Can this be done?" It has already been done. The question is: Is this the right path for me, considering all the arguments for and against?