Graduating VS Not Graduating. Please answer!!

[SyrianHero]

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So I'm graduating next Spring, and then I'm going to take pre med classes while working, but I heard some ppl tell me to delay graduation until I finish the pre med classes. Is there any advantage to that? What are the drawbacks of finishing my pre med classes after graduating?

 

[AdrianVeidt]

If you graduate and then go back to the same school to take classes, you'll have to pay higher tuition for those classes. That's one huge concern.

 

[SyrianHero]

Are you sure about this? Do all universities do that?

 

[kami333]

If you graduate and then go back to the same school to take classes, you'll have to pay higher tuition for those classes. That's one huge concern.

Not at the school I did my postbacc, cost was the same regardless of enrollment status (first bachelors vs 2nd bachelors vs non-matriculated)

Pros:
you'll have a degree (better job prospects, etc)
postbacc GPA will be a separate line from senior year/5th year GPA (they all still count towards your cGPA)

Cons:
loss of grants (many are restricted to those without degree)
loss of financial aid (unless enrolled as 2nd bachelors/matriculated student)
loss of registration priority (unless enrolled as 2nd bachelors/matriculated)

 

[SyrianHero]

Wait, if I graduate and then continue taking classes, I can't list those classes as 5th year undergrad classes? I'll have to list them as post bac? In that case isn't it more important to raise my undergrad GPA then to get great post bac grades? (current GPA is 3.05)

 

[Black Mamba24]

Not at the school I did my postbacc, cost was the same regardless of enrollment status (first bachelors vs 2nd bachelors vs non-matriculated)

Pros:
you'll have a degree (better job prospects, etc)
postbacc GPA will be a separate line from senior year/5th year GPA (they all still count towards your cGPA)

Cons:
loss of grants (many are restricted to those without degree)
loss of financial aid (unless enrolled as 2nd bachelors/matriculated student)
loss of registration priority (unless enrolled as 2nd bachelors/matriculated)

This

 

[SyrianHero]

Anyone know the answer to my question that I just asked?

 

[TriagePreMed]

Anyone know the answer to my question that I just asked?

What? Does EVERY school do that? How can you expect a reasonable answer for such a broad question? Stop being lazy and find out on your own at your school. It's probably a simple phone call away.

 

[Praefectus]

What? Does EVERY school do that? How can you expect a reasonable answer for such a broad question? Stop being lazy and find out on your own at your school. It's probably a simple phone call away.

I would tell you to talk to your adviser, but you would probably get the same result by talking to a plant.

 

[AdrianVeidt]

Not at the school I did my postbacc, cost was the same regardless of enrollment status (first bachelors vs 2nd bachelors vs non-matriculated)

Your school is pretty awesome.

Wait, if I graduate and then continue taking classes, I can't list those classes as 5th year undergrad classes? I'll have to list them as post bac? In that case isn't it more important to raise my undergrad GPA then to get great post bac grades? (current GPA is 3.05)

edit: nvm listen to the two guys underneath me

 

[kami333]

Wait, if I graduate and then continue taking classes, I can't list those classes as 5th year undergrad classes?

Yes

I'll have to list them as post bac?

Yes

In that case isn't it more important to raise my undergrad GPA then to get great post bac grades? (current GPA is 3.05)

Postbacc are part of your undergrad cGPA

 

[sector9]

Wait, if I graduate and then continue taking classes, I can't list those classes as 5th year undergrad classes? I'll have to list them as post bac? In that case isn't it more important to raise my undergrad GPA then to get great post bac grades? (current GPA is 3.05)

If you have graduated, then further coursework is listed as postbacc. You will have a postbacc GPA then all of your postbacc courses will be used as part of your cumulative undergrad cGPA, BCPM, and non-BCPM GPAs

Graduating then taking postbacc courses can be used as part of a strategy to show a stronger upward trend in fact

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

If you graduate and then go back to the same school to take classes, you'll have to pay higher tuition for those classes. That's one huge concern.

I have never heard of that being the case and the three major colleges in my home state do not make you pay more. Where did you get this information from and what state?

 

[boshtrich]

I have never heard of that being the case and the three major colleges in my home state do not make you pay more. Where did you get this information from and what state?

At the school I went to, if you were an undergrad, there were certain credit hour levels that constituted different tuition amounts. Fore example, 12 credit hours would cost $4,000, 15 would cost $5,000, and 19+ would cost $6,000 (these numbers are mostly made up but serve to demonstrate how it would work). Once you graduate and obtain a degree from that school, they then charge per credit hour, i.e. tuition is $500 per credit hour. If you took one class, this wasn't a big deal, but if you took a full 18 cr hour semester, the cost in this case would be $9,000, significantly more than the cost prior to graduating. Basically, many schools charge you graduate student rates once you graduate, regardless of if you actually are a grad student or not. This is why most SMPs and post-baccs cost so much money.

 

[kami333]

At the school I went to, if you were an undergrad, there were certain credit hour levels that constituted different tuition amounts. Fore example, 12 credit hours would cost $4,000, 15 would cost $5,000, and 19+ would cost $6,000 (these numbers are mostly made up but serve to demonstrate how it would work). Once you graduate and obtain a degree from that school, they then charge per credit hour, i.e. tuition is $500 per credit hour. If you took one class, this wasn't a big deal, but if you took a full 18 cr hour semester, the cost in this case would be $9,000, significantly more than the cost prior to graduating. Basically, many schools charge you graduate student rates once you graduate, regardless of if you actually are a grad student or not. This is why most SMPs and post-baccs cost so much money.

Was your undergrad a SLAC (small liberal arts college)? I've seen that setup more often at SLACs whereas larger universities seem to go on a per credit hour basis. Did they not allow you to reenroll as a 2nd bachelors?

My undergrad was a SLAC and charged a flat rate per semester regardless of the number of credit hours enrolled but once you graduated you could petition to take a certain number classes for free, it was mostly to cater to those needing grad/professional school requirements or career changers.

 

[boshtrich]

Was your undergrad a SLAC (small liberal arts college)? I've seen that setup more often at SLACs whereas larger universities seem to go on a per credit hour basis. Did they not allow you to reenroll as a 2nd bachelors?

My undergrad was a SLAC and charged a flat rate per semester regardless of the number of credit hours enrolled but once you graduated you could petition to take a certain number classes for free, it was mostly to cater to those needing grad/professional school requirements or career changers.

I went to a large public state school. From what I could tell, it was more of a tiered system instead of a flat rate or per credit hour. For semesters where I took 15-18 credits, tuition was generally about the same. There was then a jump in tuition at 19 credits. However, for graduate classes and summer classes, it was per hour. That was why summer classes were about twice as much as regular classes. I went straight through in four years so I don't really know if they let people re-enroll. They then have post-bacc programs for career changers, but those are also rather pricey. Overall, if the OP is going to need another year anyways, they may as well just stay enrolled as an undergrad and finish all their pre-req courses before they graduate. The main reason not to do this would be if you wanted to change schools, in which case it would be better to graduate instead of trying to transfer credits, or if they wanted to get a job that required a degree to do while they took the rest of the classes.