3 bachelor degrees

[mouthwash4hobo]

Anyone ever get 3 undergrad degrees to raise gpa?

First degree will be finished this month, second in May 2014, and with 2-4 additional classes, I could get another in biotechnology.

Does this seem ridiculous? My back up is if I don't get into med school, then I'd pursue a biomedical research training program that offers MS/PhD and I think they would favor classes in biotechnology versus biology.

Thanks for the input,

Mouthwash4hobo

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[Jas1360]

Yes, it seems ridiculous. Medical school would rather see you go for a masters degree after you finish a bachelors. Once you graduate there is no point marching in place.

 

[plumhill]

I've heard of people getting two bachelor's degrees, but three? If after two you aren't ready to go onto grad school, you're doing it wrong.

As you begin to accumulate credits, it will become more difficult to significantly raise your undergrad GPA. You'd be using your time more effectively if you just went to grad school after May 2014 (and perhaps even to an SMP program as opposed to an MS/PhD if your end goal is a career in medicine). There are some SMP programs that guarantee interviews or offer conditional acceptances based on your SMP GPA.

 

[Geebeejay]

Well, once you break the threshold of 3 or 4 Bachelor's degrees, maybe a couple Masters, and finally your MD (or why not go to medical school twice and get 2 MDs?)....you'll be able to make some pretty cool designs on the wall behind your desk in your office.

 

[mouthwash4hobo]

Alright thanks. I'm planning to apply in 2014, I figured during the application cycle, I would take additional classes, but I suppose that would be unnecessary then.

I think my gpa is going to be in the 3.3 area given my current upward trend.

 

[Jas1360]

Alright thanks. I'm planning to apply in 2014, I figured during the application cycle, I would take additional classes, but I suppose that would be unnecessary then.

I think my gpa is going to be in the 3.3 area given my current upward trend.

If you want to take additional classes you should take graduate level courses. Otherwise, get a useful job that either let's you save up money or work in a clinical setting.

 

[kasmir8199]

Anyone ever get 3 undergrad degrees to raise gpa?

First degree will be finished this month, second in May 2014, and with 2-4 additional classes, I could get another in biotechnology.

Does this seem ridiculous? My back up is if I don't get into med school, then I'd pursue a biomedical research training program that offers MS/PhD and I think they would favor classes in biotechnology versus biology.

Thanks for the input,

Mouthwash4hobo

Just out of curiosity, what would your first 2 bachelors be in? It's not uncommon for undergrads to have a triple major the first time they go through college.

If this isn't your first time, I can understand getting a 2nd if it would help you, but a 3rd might be a bit too much if you're only doing it to improve upon your GPA.

I'm personally pursuing a 2nd bachelors (cellular biology) for my own reasons (not GPA) after having earned a BS in Psychology and a MS in Rehab Psych over 10 years ago.

SMPs are good options if you're able to pursue one. I'm afraid an SMP is a bit out of reach for me at the moment (location). 🙁

 

[theseeker4]

Yes, it seems ridiculous. Medical school would rather see you go for a masters degree after you finish a bachelors. Once you graduate there is no point marching in place.

If you want to take additional classes you should take graduate level courses. Otherwise, get a useful job that either let's you save up money or work in a clinical setting.

This is not true. For most MD schools, grad courses do not help as much as more A's at the undergraduate level. Getting high grades in upper-level undergraduate science courses will help more than pursuing a masters degree (with the exception of a Special Masters Program). Getting additional BA/BS degrees is entirely up to you, and will not likely change your admission chances either way.

 

[Jas1360]

This is not true. For most MD schools, grad courses do not help as much as more A's at the undergraduate level. Getting high grades in upper-level undergraduate science courses will help more than pursuing a masters degree (with the exception of a Special Masters Program). Getting additional BA/BS degrees is entirely up to you, and will not likely change your admission chances either way.

If we were talking about the difference between 1 and 2 bachelors degrees I would agree with you because those extra classes would raise the GPA. But going from 2-3 bachelors degrees is not going to raise the GPA significantly because of the number of credit hours already obtained. If the student already has As in upper level undergraduate classes getting more undergrad As will not raise the GPA and will be not be as useful as the graduate coursework.

 

[Belle Melodie]

Why cant you just do a post bacc program?

 

[Jas1360]

Why cant you just do a post bacc program?

In his situation he doesn't need to do a post bacc. He just needs to apply and see how it goes and then consider his options.

By the way, did you take the MCAT yet?

 

[theseeker4]

If we were talking about the difference between 1 and 2 bachelors degrees I would agree with you because those extra classes would raise the GPA. But going from 2-3 bachelors degrees is not going to raise the GPA significantly because of the number of credit hours already obtained. If the student already has As in upper level undergraduate classes getting more undergrad As will not raise the GPA and will be not be as useful as the graduate coursework.

That depends on the total number of credits more than number of degrees, since as few as a dozen or so credit hours might be the difference between 1 and 2, or 2 and 3 degrees. If the OP has well over 200 credit hours at this point, and still a low-3s GPA, I would definitely agree that more undergrad classes are unlikely to help much (assuming they have a recent upward grade trend over several semesters already). I would still argue that a traditional MS or MA program is unlikely to help much at all, and if the OP is in that situation, they should either focus on SMPs, or DO schools which are more forgiving of poor undergraduate performance and will consider graduate courses more strongly than MD schools do.

 

[BABSstudent]

I will have finished two degree by the time I graduate, and I have about 150 credits. I would hate to get three degrees because I would probably be pushing 180. Any changes to the cumulative GPA will be pretty nonexistent because of that large credit limit.

 

[Jas1360]

That depends on the total number of credits more than number of degrees, since as few as a dozen or so credit hours might be the difference between 1 and 2, or 2 and 3 degrees. If the OP has well over 200 credit hours at this point, and still a low-3s GPA, I would definitely agree that more undergrad classes are unlikely to help much (assuming they have a recent upward grade trend over several semesters already). I would still argue that a traditional MS or MA program is unlikely to help much at all, and if the OP is in that situation, they should either focus on SMPs, or DO schools which are more forgiving of poor undergraduate performance and will consider graduate courses more strongly than MD schools do.

I agree.

 

[Jas1360]

You should also be asking the adcoms at the schools you are interested in attending. That is what I did and in my situation getting multiple bachelors degrees would not help because I have a lot of credit hours. They would rather see how I do in graduate coursework.

 

[Josh7]

Yes, it seems ridiculous. Medical school would rather see you go for a masters degree after you finish a bachelors. Once you graduate there is no point marching in place.

I don't know about that. It seems like graduate GPA doesn't matter much. If you can get some good research in while in grad school then it would certainly help.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

I will have finished two degree by the time I graduate, and I have about 150 credits. I would hate to get three degrees because I would probably be pushing 180. Any changes to the cumulative GPA will be pretty nonexistent because of that large credit limit.

Ill be about 3 classes a way from a second degree and I second this. After this point you really can't raise your GPA substantially.

 

[twizzlers713]

It's not uncommon for undergrads to have a triple major the first time they go through college.

Lolwut

 

[Anathema]

Yes, the majority of people in college major in comm arts, music and creative writing.

 

[twizzlers713]

Yes, the majority of people in college major in comm arts, music and creative writing.

just checking: you are saying the majority of college students are triple majors, in response to my post?

 

[mouthwash4hobo]

I'm probably nontraditional. I started undergrad in 2004, switched majors, switched schools, then went to a community college and became a surgical technologist, worked in the field and started back in 2010 to finish a bachelors degree at my first university. I'll be done with that this month, and will either:

go for a second degree in biology or just take the prerequisites and apply 2014.

If I go for the biology degree, an additional 3-4 classes would grant me a degree in biotechnology.

My credits are high due to switching majors and community college classes for the surg tech program. I think I'm somewhere around 130-140.

So, I guess getting that second bachelor's probably isn't worth it then either since I have so many credits. Well, as I said, I'll either do just prereqs or finish up a few extra bio classes and get the biology degree. I won't be getting the 3rd degree b/c I guess it does seem like a waste of time.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Praefectus]

My dad once told me that you should never move horizontally in your career except if you're about to plateau and have an alternative upward path. Unless you're going to do something with your 2nd/3rd degrees, it might be a better option to get a Master's.

 

[wholeheartedly]

With the exception of Special Master's Programs, a lot of medical schools seem to view graduate GPA's as highly variable/ difficult to compare across programs and largely inflated for a lot of them. As a result undergrad GPA is weighted most heavily and graduate school seems more like an EC.

So for GPA repair I'd say take whatever undergrad courses you need to repair your GPA or do a special master's program designed for that purpose. If these extra courses earn you another degree, then I guess go for it. Do some math to figure out how many courses you need to take to get your GPA up to where you'll feel comfortable applying and how much that's going to cost you for tuition. Figure out if you want to try for MD or MD and DO and if DO can you retake a few classes for a bigger GPA bump since they allow grade replacement? Just be careful that you don't give the impression of being flighty, undecided, or just out to collect degrees.

I have three bachelor's degrees, not planned and not for GPA repair, just life happening and being a non-trad and I fully expect to have to explain this and do some convincing that I'm not out to just try everything and stay in school forever.😛

 

[pre med 2014]

He has to mean 3 majors. No offense to anyone but Nobody smart enough to complete 3 bachelors degrees is going to be stupid enough to actually do it.