Graduate now or delay?

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Faux

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I'm a student in Boston and getting ready to graduate. The thing is, schools like Tufts and Boston require biochemistry and calculus. Should I have taken those courses sooner? Sure but I thought the AP series was more important for me. I guess I can come back and just take the course in the spring. I'm just wondering if anyone had problems doing that?

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What is the AP series?

If you have a good GPA, don't delay graduation--are you crazy/do you know how much that'd cost? Just take the courses in your application year. It'll be way cheaper.
 
What is the AP series?

If you have a good GPA, don't delay graduation--are you crazy/do you know how much that'd cost? Just take the courses in your application year. It'll be way cheaper.

AP series = Semester 1 and 2 of anatomy and physiology


My GPA is fine. How would it be cheaper as a non-degree student? Thats what you're suggesting. If I delay graduation, I would still be undergrad and still get undergrad tuition.
 
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My GPA is fine. How would it be cheaper as a non-degree student? Thats what you're suggesting. If I delay graduation, I would still be undergrad and still get undergrad tuition.

Well if you're a non-degree student, you don't have to take a full-time schedule. You can take classes part-time while having a job. This way you'll only need to pay for the class(es) that you're taking and you'll be saving money because you'll have time to work at least part-time while studying. You can get a job in the dental field, and that will help add to your experience as well as give you something unique to talk about during interviews.

If you take classes at Harvard extension school (these are offered in the evening, so you'll definitely be able to have a job), you'll be paying ~1k per class, which amounts to ~250$ per credit hour (since these classes are 4 credit hours each).

So in taking biochemistry and one semester of calculus through the extension school, you'll spend approximately $2,000. You will only be paying for the classes you are taking and not have to pay extra for any student fees that an extra year of undergraduate education will charge you. You also won't necessarily need to live in student housing or get a meal plan, so you might even save money that way. Plus, you'll have a job, so you'll be making money. Obviously, this is a lot cheaper than an extra year in undergrad.

Links to the HES classes I mentioned (I don't think they have updated the website to the 2013-2014 school year, so these descriptions are for 2012-2013): Biochemistry (Fall), Calc I (Fall + Spring), Calc II (Fall + Spring).
 
It is to my understanding that non-degree seeking students pay on average, higher for each credit. Unless I'm having a slow moment, I can just delay graduation and just be a part time student for those 2 classes. Just because you're undergrad doesn't mean you have to take a full credit semester.
 
It is to my understanding that non-degree seeking students pay on average, higher for each credit.

This really depends on what school you are at and how much they're charging for tuition + other stuff. You can look up specifics in your situation. Additionally, you can always take classes at your state school, in which case you'll be paying in-state tuition. If you're interested in that, you can look up stuff at UMass-Boston. I only mentioned HES, because they 100% have evening classes, meaning you'd be able to have a job in the daytime.

I'm currently a non-degree seeking student, and I have not paid for anything other than tuition for classes at my state school. My tuition is the exact same price that the degree-seeking students are paying (nothing more), and I don't have to pay for any student activities fees. Overall, the tuition per credit is about 2/3 the price it would have been had I taken them at my private alma mater. So no, in my experience it does not cost more per credit to be a non-degree seeking student.

You really should look up the specifics and compare cost.
 
It is to my understanding that non-degree seeking students pay on average, higher for each credit. Unless I'm having a slow moment, I can just delay graduation and just be a part time student for those 2 classes. Just because you're undergrad doesn't mean you have to take a full credit semester.

The biggest financial benefit to delaying your graduation is the fact that you remain fully eligible for financial aid. However, you need to be a full-time student. If you have no intentions of picking up a full-time courseload, I would probabaly do as Baba Yaga suggests and just graduate.

If I was in your position, I would delay your graduation and try to pick up a minor or something of the sort. At most schools, if you've already taken the dental pre-req's of gen.chem I/II, o.chem I/II, and biochem then you may be eligible for a chem minor. I'd take biochem and calc and pick up 2 more 300/400+ level courses, maybe something like immuno or histology if your school offers it. If you've got to take an extra semester to fulfill some pre-req's, it's my understanding that ADCOM's look highly favorably on full and demanding courseloads, even if you don't have to do it. Of course, that's all provided that you do well in them....
 
This really depends on what school you are at and how much they're charging for tuition + other stuff. You can look up specifics in your situation. Additionally, you can always take classes at your state school, in which case you'll be paying in-state tuition. If you're interested in that, you can look up stuff at UMass-Boston. I only mentioned HES, because they 100% have evening classes, meaning you'd be able to have a job in the daytime.

I'm currently a non-degree seeking student, and I have not paid for anything other than tuition for classes at my state school. My tuition is the exact same price that the degree-seeking students are paying (nothing more), and I don't have to pay for any student activities fees. Overall, the tuition per credit is about 2/3 the price it would have been had I taken them at my private alma mater. So no, in my experience it does not cost more per credit to be a non-degree seeking student.

You really should look up the specifics and compare cost.

OK if you can get away with that then you should definitely graduate and take those courses as a non-degree seeker.

OP, what ARE your stats? You say your GPA is "fine," but could it be better? Would you benefit from another full-time semester at 3.8?
 
I also don't live in MA and don't know what the policies are at the schools over there, but when I did the math for myself, it made a lot more sense to do a part-time post bacc financially speaking bc I only had 3 classes I wanted to take.

Turns out, I'll probably take some more classes next year just bc I want to keep taking classes, but it'll still come out cheaper for me overall this way.
 
OK if you can get away with that then you should definitely graduate and take those courses as a non-degree seeker.

OP, what ARE your stats? You say your GPA is "fine," but could it be better? Would you benefit from another full-time semester at 3.8?

After this semester I will have a 3.55 overall and a 3.45 science. Could I get it higher?Of course but I honestly feel like I've done my time, especially after getting GPA that high with an F calculated in(algebra out of all courses).


In regards to cost, there seems to be a $1000 difference between non-degree student seeking 8 credits and a matriculated student. I'm going to go talk to an advisor just to make sure of that. I've also read that non-degree students have to wait a lot longer to sign up for classes. Thats going to be a problem with something like calculus and biochemistry at my school.
 
In regards to cost, there seems to be a $1000 difference between non-degree student seeking 8 credits and a matriculated student. I'm going to go talk to an advisor just to make sure of that. I've also read that non-degree students have to wait a lot longer to sign up for classes. Thats going to be a problem with something like calculus and biochemistry at my school.

Just one last thing, you don't have to take these courses at your school. I have a good friend who graduated from a college in Boston taking classes at Harvard Extension (he's doing their formal pre-medical program because he was a humanities major) and they seem very legit from what he has told me.

If you have a good track record, and it seems like you do...especially with an F calculated in, then it doesn't really matter where you take the extra coursework. My pre-health advisor even went as far to tell me that it doesn't actually matter at all where you take extra coursework (no matter your track record) as long as you do well in it.

I'm personally doing my post-bacc at my state school, which was the cheapest option for me. I was lucky not to have any undergrad debt, and I have been able to pay for my classes this year by moving in with my parents and saving money from my job (then again, the total cost for my post-bacc so far has been ~3.6k for 11 credits...I'm lucky I get to save additional $ by living at home).
 
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