Online classes, other ideas on obtaining an education??????

[colleen10]

Hi everyone,

This past holiday weekend I was able to spend a day with my best friend who drove into my area to visit her parents. She is a stay at home mom of a 6 month old. So, money is tight, as well, she has a degree in Human Development & Family Studies and has a large amount of student loans out.

She is extremely interested in becoming a Physcian Assistant and before she became pregnant even attempted to begin classes at a local college but was unable to get into any of the pre-req. classes like Bio. and Chem because it is a small school and those classes are reserved for "Science Majors" - aka unsupportive staff who were not willing to go out of their way to assist her in getting the classes she needs. She ended up becoming pregnant shortly thereafter and it was a bit of a drive to get to that particular school anyway, so it became a moot point.

However, now that things with the new baby have settled down she is again interested in pursuing this. The problem is that she is in somewhat of a rural area and there are no Community Colleges which can provide low tuition costs. She received information from a technical school regarding their LPN program because she felt that it would be a good way to get her foot in the door so to speak. The Tech. school, however, only offered classes during the weekdays, 8-5, and she is unable to attend those because of taking care of her child. Penn State is very close to where she lives, however, I believe tuition there is up to $300.00 a credit which she is unwilling and unable to pay.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what she can do to start getting her pre-req's. out of the way? Even if she does decide to go a different route like RN to Nurse Practitioner instead, she will still need the same pre-req's. like Biology, Chem., A&P, etc.

Does anyone have ideas on how she can get these as cheaply as possible, perhaps on line?

I would really like to help her any way I can but it just seems that the classes are too expensive or are offered at times that she cannot attend class (M-F, 8-7PM).

If you have any ideas or would like to share your experiences, please do so.

Thanks,

Col

[iliel]

http://www.ccconline.org

they are a community college system based in colorado. they have tons of classes. Labs are done via cd rom and books, registration, etc can all be done on line. If a class requires a prereqs she needs to send in an unoffical transcript to one of the community colleges. I signed up through Community College of Denver. you can do every thing online. they have a ton of classes too!

Rio Saldo college in Arizona is a good one too but you can't do science classes or anything with a lab on line.

Check on line for the cost. I know with CCC online the cost is about 134.00 per creidt hour.

[manna, BSN, RN]

Originally posted by iliel

http://www.ccconline.org

they are a community college system based in colorado.

Here's one that sounds VERY similar- based out of Mississippi - http://www.msvcc.org

Not sure what the tuition is for out of state students. I've taken classes through this system for four semesters, and am very pleased.

Good luck to your friend... Most of us non-trad students can relate to how frustrating it is trying to schedule classes around

work, kids, etc.

Now, as far as PA schools go.... most of the PA schools that I've seen information about pretty much require you to have some sort of health care experience before applying/being accepted, so she may need to look into something like LPN, tech, etc first anyway.

Feel free to PM or email me if I can help ya in any way or you have any questions about the above link.

[mitchsmom]

Here's the Florida version - a search of all online classes at state colleges and universities:

http://www.floridavirtualcampus.org/onlineCatalogs/credit.cfm

I think most states probably have this if you can search and find the links-

I did most of my prereqs online while my baby was little!! I actually found out about it from my advisor at my community college when a class I needed was full, so you may want to ask them to tell you how you can find out about online offerings (keep asking until you find someone who can help you with this).

Best wishes

[New Castle Ken]

Colleen,

As far as the pre-reqs she can take them at a distance or online at hundreds of schools that offer online courses. Prices vary so she will have a lot of choices. She should make sure the school is accredited. She can search on the Web or use a guide book like:

1. Distance Degrees by Mark Wilson (http://www.collegeathome.com)

2. Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees Nontraditionally by John and Mariah Bear (http://www.degree.net)

I can not recommend my book for this search because it is only healthcare related degrees. There are many more choices with prereq courses, especially at the community college level. Over 50% of public colleges now offer online courses.

She should also think about challenge exams. They are inexpensive and accepted at many colleges. The most well know is CLEP

CLEP

[chris_at_lucas_RN, RN]

Unless there is a good reason to stay where she is, maybe she could consider a move nearer a school she can afford? She should also keep in mind that she needs to be near people she knows (i.e., family and/or friends). Social network is highly underrated, until they aren't there!

Tell her good luck from us!

[mona b RN, BSN, RN]

Rio Saldo college in Arizona is a good one too but you can't do science classes or anything with a lab on line.

Rio Salado classes also have online science classes with a lab. As a matter of fact, they now offer an online Micro in addition to A&P, etc. Believe me these classes definitely get you aquainted with lab experiments and lab reports. Very challenging classes.

mona

[colleen10]

Hi everyone,

Thank you so much for all of your responses. I am forwarding them onto her. It looks like you have all provided info. on exactly what she was looking for.

Unfortunately, she cannot relocate d/t her husbands job. At least they live in the same area as her inlaws. Hmmm... maybe that's not so good

There are a number of PA and NP schools where she lives but that will be expensive enough. If she can spend the least amount of money as possible on pre-req's it will help her out immensely.

Thank you so much, you have given her a lot of hope because we weren't even sure that there were online classes where you could also take the lab online too.

Col

[mitchsmom]

about the labs... some people can't believe I took lab science classes online - I even took A&P with the labs online through St. Petersburg College. It was pretty challenging and I actually learned a LOT - I am still very satisfied with the experience and I wouldn't be in my BSN program right now if I couldn't have done it that way! We used a lot of slides, activities, and "PhysioEx Laboratory Simulations in Physiology" CD-ROM for much of the lab stuff. I had Dr. Gingerich for A&P I and I really liked her - would highly recommend her internet class. I had Lancraft for A&P II and I liked him pretty well also (but would pick Gingerich again given the choice) - neither one was easy but being forced to learn so much, so well is helping me now that I'm in pathophysiology, assessment, etc. and really use that A&P info constantly.

Here's a link to info on Gingerich's A&P I

Here's a link to info on Lancraft's A&P II

I also took Nutrition there too, with Gerhart, was happy with it, not too hard.

I took Dev. Psych and Psych. through Brevard CC (also in Florida) with Donald Dement, good, very easy, recommended. Took Sociology there, can't remember instructor's name but was easy too. Took a lab chemistry there with T. Fred Johnson and hated every minute of it but I did end up with a B. (I usually get A's but was happy with the B after that class. It's not too horrible if you understand that it's really a telecourse and not much of an internet class- it took me a while to understand this and it led to a lot of frustration. Actually an ok class if you are a math phobe like me - not much math considering it was chemistry. Just understand the previous caveat going into it)

Just some scoop for anyone who may be interested