medhoping Posted March 13, 2017 Report Share Posted March 13, 2017 Hello! I'm really hoping that someone can clearly explain to me how online courses work. I have emailed Western but have been waiting for a reply. I am in my final year of UG and would like to take an online course just to be certain that I will meet cutoffs. I was told that online courses are only considered in GPA calculations when taken as part of a degree program. Does that mean the online course must fulfill a degree requirement or can it just mean that it must be taken alongside a traditional degree between Sept-Apr? Thanks to anyone who can help!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medhoping Posted March 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2017 Also something important to know is that I am currently taking 6 courses at my University in order to round out all of my mandatory credits. As a result, I am not able to be approved for an LOP (letter of permission) to take any online courses because our school caps us at 18 units. Is there any way for me to get around this if I just take the courses on my own time, outside of the permission of the school I am attending, or would that not qualify as "part of a degree program"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CardiacArrhythmia Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 Unless that online course is going towards your degree, unfortunately, it won't count. Early in my undergrad career, I asked them if I can take an online course separate from my degree, but they told me in order for it to be included into calculation, it needs to be on an LOP (assuming the course was from another university). This is because they only take courses that are a part of your degree and an LOP indicates that your home university allows the external course to be counted towards your graduating degree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medhoping Posted March 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 Thank you! Unfortunate for me, but I appreciate your time and clarification. Unless that online course is going towards your degree, unfortunately, it won't count.Early in my undergrad career, I asked them if I can take an online course separate from my degree, but they told me in order for it to be included into calculation, it needs to be on an LOP (assuming the course was from another university). This is because they only take courses that are a part of your degree and an LOP indicates that your home university allows the external course to be counted towards your graduating degree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 Also something important to know is that I am currently taking 6 courses at my University in order to round out all of my mandatory credits. As a result, I am not able to be approved for an LOP (letter of permission) to take any online courses because our school caps us at 18 units. Is there any way for me to get around this if I just take the courses on my own time, outside of the permission of the school I am attending, or would that not qualify as "part of a degree program"? even if it was possible - do you think you can handle 7 full time courses in a single term? That sounds a bit dangerous to me (side note - how many courses did you take last term?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcs.tmng Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 even if it was possible - do you think you can handle 7 full time courses in a single term? That sounds a bit dangerous to me (side note - how many courses did you take last term?) I second that. Online course do not necessarily imply bird course... it really doesn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aspinstergoingbacktoschool Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 Unless that online course is going towards your degree, unfortunately, it won't count. Early in my undergrad career, I asked them if I can take an online course separate from my degree, but they told me in order for it to be included into calculation, it needs to be on an LOP (assuming the course was from another university). This is because they only take courses that are a part of your degree and an LOP indicates that your home university allows the external course to be counted towards your graduating degree. Wait… what?! I'm taking my research project course this the summer, paperwork is all done and only 4 courses next fall and 4 courses next winter will count towards my degree... So even if I take extra courses at the same school, adcom will not take into account that year GPA?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CardiacArrhythmia Posted March 18, 2017 Report Share Posted March 18, 2017 Wait… what?! I'm taking my research project course this the summer, paperwork is all done and only 4 courses next fall and 4 courses next winter will count towards my degree... So even if I take extra courses at the same school, adcom will not take into account that year GPA?? Your summer research course won't count towards your western GPA as they only take Fall-Winter courses. The only exception to this rule is if you are in a coop program. You can take courses at your home university cause it'll likely be accounted for in your degree prior to conferring it. What they won't allow is, for example, you take 9 courses at your home university and 1 course at athabasca without an LOP. In this case they won't count the athabasca course cause your home university isn't considering it as part of your degree. However, if you have an LOP with the athabasca course, they will consider it. On note. I wasn't talking about the entire year not counting, I was clarifying if a course was taken at an external institution without your home institution approving it in this case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted March 18, 2017 Report Share Posted March 18, 2017 Wait… what?! I'm taking my research project course this the summer, paperwork is all done and only 4 courses next fall and 4 courses next winter will count towards my degree... So even if I take extra courses at the same school, adcom will not take into account that year GPA?? Extra courses in the summer, no, not for most medical schools. To standardize as best as they can evaluation most schools require you do to at least 5.0 credits between Sept and May (10 standard courses). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eurekaneurosciences Posted March 19, 2017 Report Share Posted March 19, 2017 I think what they meant by extra courses was courses taken during the regular school year that won't count towards their 120 credits degree requirements (or 20 depending on the credit system). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aspinstergoingbacktoschool Posted March 19, 2017 Report Share Posted March 19, 2017 Your summer research course won't count towards your western GPA as they only take Fall-Winter courses. The only exception to this rule is if you are in a coop program. You can take courses at your home university cause it'll likely be accounted for in your degree prior to conferring it. What they won't allow is, for example, you take 9 courses at your home university and 1 course at athabasca without an LOP. In this case they won't count the athabasca course cause your home university isn't considering it as part of your degree. However, if you have an LOP with the athabasca course, they will consider it. On note. I wasn't talking about the entire year not counting, I was clarifying if a course was taken at an external institution without your home institution approving it in this case. Those courses won't count towards my degree but they would show up on my transcript specifically as non-degree courses (we have a limit of 5 courses at my school) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aspinstergoingbacktoschool Posted March 19, 2017 Report Share Posted March 19, 2017 Extra courses in the summer, no, not for most medical schools. To standardize as best as they can evaluation most schools require you do to at least 5.0 credits between Sept and May (10 standard courses). I'm planning to take those courses during the regular school year I think what they meant by extra courses was courses taken during the regular school year that won't count towards their 120 credits degree requirements (or 20 depending on the credit system). Yeah pretty much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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