distance education

[notmeadoc]

Hey,

 

Has anyone heard that UBC prefers classroom based courses versus distance education?

[ubcMDhopeful]

Hey,

 

Has anyone heard that UBC prefers classroom based courses versus distance education?

 

No one really knows as they have not release anything, but if I had to guess I would say having a transcript boosted up with distance ed courses will not be favorable in the full file review. There seems to be a limit on the number of distance ed courses you can take; furthermore, it is obvious from the transcript if a course is distance Ed.

 

I think treating distance ed courses to be easier than regular courses is warranted as they take much less time and are usually much easier.

[spuddy999]

No one really knows as they have not release anything, but if I had to guess I would say having a transcript boosted up with distance ed courses will not be favorable in the full file review. There seems to be a limit on the number of distance ed courses you can take; furthermore, it is obvious from the transcript if a course is distance Ed.

 

I think treating distance ed courses to be easier than regular courses is warranted as they take much less time and are usually much easier.

 

When you say "full file review," do you mean pre-interview or post-interview?

 

Because if pre-interview, your score is totally objective and there is no analysis of distance education courses. Post-interview, it appears that your score is majorly dependent on interview score.

[ubcMDhopeful]

When you say "full file review," do you mean pre-interview or post-interview?

 

Because if pre-interview, your score is totally objective and there is no analysis of distance education courses. Post-interview, it appears that your score is majorly dependent on interview score.

 

This comes back to the debate wheter the courses you take are important are not. Like I said before no one knows but I have the opinion that if youre transcript is filled with known GPA boosters and distance ed courses then that will have a negative influence.

[kylamonkey]

I'd have to agree with spuddy, and not UBChopeful (sorry).

 

There actually was a member here who was accepted a few years ago with a full degree from distance ed. I'm taking courses through dist ed right now, and I spoke to a number of schools (although not UBC) and they all mentioned that it would not impact me negatively. In fact, UofC says that they value dist ed courses, because it shows that you can be a self-directed learner. It will factor into my "subjective academic review" as a positive factor!

Also, sometimes dist ed courses can be easier, but they aren't always. There are also many people who have a lot of difficulty getting them done, or who are not visual learners. They can take a major hit in GPA. It's often really difficult not having anyone to explain things to you in person too. I did organic chem through correspondence, and there were certain things I just didn't get. Also, some of the sections of the text that I know were skipped at my home institution, they couldn't skip because the course has to transfer to all schools across canada. By far the most frustrating course for me was my english course. It was so hard to figure out what the prof was looking for when you couldn't meet with them in person. So hard. It was my worst mark last year, by about 10%.

[ubcMDhopeful]

I'd have to agree with spuddy, and not UBChopeful (sorry).

 

There actually was a member here who was accepted a few years ago with a full degree from distance ed. I'm taking courses through dist ed right now, and I spoke to a number of schools (although not UBC) and they all mentioned that it would not impact me negatively. In fact, UofC says that they value dist ed courses, because it shows that you can be a self-directed learner. It will factor into my "subjective academic review" as a positive factor!

Also, sometimes dist ed courses can be easier, but they aren't always. There are also many people who have a lot of difficulty getting them done, or who are not visual learners. They can take a major hit in GPA. It's often really difficult not having anyone to explain things to you in person too. I did organic chem through correspondence, and there were certain things I just didn't get. Also, some of the sections of the text that I know were skipped at my home institution, they couldn't skip because the course has to transfer to all schools across canada. By far the most frustrating course for me was my english course. It was so hard to figure out what the prof was looking for when you couldn't meet with them in person. So hard. It was my worst mark last year, by about 10%.

 

 

The distance ed courses I was talking about were the KNOWN GPA boosters like EOSC 118, FNH 200 IHHS etc...

 

For courses like chem and bio in distance ed, I have to agree that they are harder.

[kylamonkey]

The distance ed courses I was talking about were the KNOWN GPA boosters like EOSC 118, FNH 200 IHHS etc...

 

For courses like chem and bio in distance ed, I have to agree that they are harder.

 

OK, fair enough, but those courses are known GPA boosters in the classroom course versions too. I'm not sure what the evidence for "dist ed is easier" is coming from. A GPA booster is a GPA booster, whether it's online or face-to-face.

To answer the OP's question, I don't actually think there is a subjective portion to the AQ really. Certainly it doesn't come pre-interview. Many students get in with these "known GPA boosters", and it seems to be the way to ensure you get a high GPA.

 

Like I said, the only pros/cons to dist ed that I have found seem to be:

-US schools don't like it

-the only cdn school that says anything one way or another seems to be UofC, and there it will increase your score. If you want to know more about it, feel free to PM as I made it a small section of my app there this year.

[kazin]

Well, you see, they take your grades and plug them into a formula. I highly doubt they weight it so GPA boosters and distance education courses are worth less. 1500+ applications...

[ADH]

Although this article is far from being objective (it is essentially an advertisement), and the sample size is n =1, you may still find it interesting to read this interview about someone who got into UBC med after doing a second degree through distance education.

 

http://www.tru.ca/distance/about/OLStudentsTestimonials/m_evans.html

[kylamonkey]

Although this article is far from being objective (it is essentially an advertisement), and the sample size is n =1, you may still find it interesting to read this interview about someone who got into UBC med after doing a second degree through distance education.

 

http://www.tru.ca/distance/about/OLStudentsTestimonials/m_evans.html

 

FWIW- there was another student on this forum who took the same program, and was admitted to UBC med. I'm enrolled in it now too. Sorry if I seem overly defensive of distance ed courses, but it does present its challenges, especially with a full courseload.

[rmorelan]

some schools like Waterloo don't even have any difference on the transcript for these sorts of courses. I am really not sure where the idea that DE courses are easier from except perhaps early on when most DE courses were first year courses. those were made first as of course they are the most popular ones for people to want to take etc. Little point in developing a full DE course initially when only 10 people are going to take it

[stressed]

FWIW- there was another student on this forum who took the same program, and was admitted to UBC med. I'm enrolled in it now too. Sorry if I seem overly defensive of distance ed courses, but it does present its challenges, especially with a full courseload.

 

Good point. I'd also like to add, after looking through the forums that many people who take programs through distance do so, because they are also working full-time and cannot forgo their work for the regular class hours. I've taken courses through distance and in person, and the only difference I found was that I saved a lot of time in commuting for my DE courses, but lost out on more face to face contact with my profs (but technology makes up for that!). Also, one of the DE courses I took through UBC had a 63% average, while the class offered in the winter semester had 72%...

 

DE programs require good time management, motivation and dedication, all important qualities for success in intense programs like med, dent, etc. I don't think it matters how you completed your course. People have very different lifestyles, careers, priorities, etc so whatever interests you and works in attaining a solid GPA is the path that you should aim for.

 

I'm also pretty sure UBC doesn't discriminate between DE and in person courses.

[ADH]

FWIW- there was another student on this forum who took the same program, and was admitted to UBC med. I'm enrolled in it now too. Sorry if I seem overly defensive of distance ed courses, but it does present its challenges, especially with a full courseload.

 

I actually did my entire first year through distance to allow me to help out with family issues in the home, so I know how much work they can be! Nevertheless, if a distance course is well organized, it is amazing how much more efficiently one can complete the course when they don't have to run around from lecture to lecture, which, at least for most first-year courses, are so large you can't really interact with the prof, so it is almost like watching a video that you cannot pause, rewind, or fast-forward.

 

Also, I agree with the previous comment about distance courses being often much more comprehensive than the corresponding in-person courses, since the "sale" of a distance course like Orgo. is dependent upon it covering learning outcomes from a wide range of different universities.

This combined with the fact that there is usually no bell-curve can make distance courses relatively difficult.