Not Finishing A 2nd Bachelors = A No-No??

[SportsJunkie25]

Hello fellow non-trads!

What are your thoughts on getting a 2nd bachelors but not finishing? Will I still be able to start medical school if I don't finish this program? I've heard, on the board, that med schools will not allow you to start their program if you started a master's program and didn't finish. Same for a 2nd bachelors?

I'm asking this because as an undergrad graduate, I can't get financial aid unless I enroll in a specific program (i.e. no financial aid if I just want to re-take classes or finish my pre-reqs). So, my solution: enroll in a program and get a 2nd bachelors (I got financial aid! ) b/c I have to re-take and take undergrad classes anyway (i.e. O-Chem, A&P, Biochem, etc). No need in getting a masters b/c those graduate classes won't cover the pre-reqs I'd need to take.

Thoughts?

Fyi - I need financial aid because I don't have a job that will allow me to afford to pay my bills and tuition for all of the classes I need to take.

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[Captain Fantastic]

I started a second BS in Biology for my post-bacc (1st BS was in an Engineering discipline). I left the second degree unfinished when I was accepted to medical school. No issues at all for me. YMMV.

 

[SportsJunkie25]

I started a second BS in Biology for my post-bacc (1st BS was in an Engineering discipline). I left the second degree unfinished when I was accepted to medical school. No issues at all for me. YMMV.

Oh, ok. Good stuff! Thanks...

 

[SolidWater]

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[ArkansasRanger]

I'm in the same boat sort of.

Three years after I graduated college I started a second BBA in accounting. I took a couple classes one summer semester and four the fall semester. I elected not to finish it. Terminating that will have been three years ago come Christmas.

1. I wasn't going to be an accountant.
2. I wasn't (am not) interested in accounting.
3. I didn't have time to go to accounting classes.
4. I took a new job which made it impossible to resume them regardless of #'s 1-3.

This may be viewed negatively with any professional program, but I don't care. I called UAMS and spoke to a lady there about it, and she said "we would like to see you complete perhaps a master's degree in finance or some such field..." They can kiss my a. That's not happening. I'll still apply there and elsewhere, but I'm not pursuing any further studies in that field. I'd just assume keep the job I've got.

 

[Engineer2MD]

If you refer to it as "Post-bacc coursework" I don't think they will care. If they do, then you and I are in the same boat.

And yes, I know all about financial aid. I had to declare a major to get it, then on the FAFSA I declared it as "graduate coursework" since I already had a degree. So the government thinks I did a master's degree, the school thinks I am working on a bachelor's, and the med schools I applied to think I did a post-bacc.

It all works out I think.

 

[Captain Fantastic]

I'm in the same boat sort of.

Three years after I graduated college I started a second BBA in accounting. I took a couple classes one summer semester and four the fall semester. I elected not to finish it. Terminating that will have been three years ago come Christmas.

1. I wasn't going to be an accountant.
2. I wasn't (am not) interested in accounting.
3. I didn't have time to go to accounting classes.
4. I took a new job which made it impossible to resume them regardless of #'s 1-3.

This may be viewed negatively with any professional program, but I don't care. I called UAMS and spoke to a lady there about it, and she said "we would like to see you complete perhaps a master's degree in finance or some such field..." They can kiss my a. That's not happening. I'll still apply there and elsewhere, but I'm not pursuing any further studies in that field. I'd just assume keep the job I've got.

I started an MS in Engineering -- left the degree unfinished in the middle of my thesis research. I started an MBA -- withdrew during the first semester. This was in the early part of this decade (c.2001). I started my 2nd BS/post-bacc about 5 years later, so some time had passed between them. As I said above, I was accepted and started medical school leaving the 2nd BS unfinished. My track record for completing degrees isn't hot, is it? LOL.

I think I explained the graduate programs very well in my application and secondary essays. I also had a pretty solid app, if I say so myself. I know, I know...n=1 is not good for generalizations, other than to show it's not necessarily an app killer. Good luck!

 

[ArkansasRanger]

I started an MS in Engineering -- left the degree unfinished in the middle of my thesis research. I started an MBA -- withdrew during the first semester. This was in the early part of this decade (c.2001). I started my 2nd BS/post-bacc about 5 years later, so some time had passed between them. As I said above, I was accepted and started medical school leaving the 2nd BS unfinished. My track record for completing degrees isn't hot, is it? LOL.

I think I explained the graduate programs very well in my application and secondary essays. I also had a pretty solid app, if I say so myself. I know, I know...n=1 is not good for generalizations, other than to show it's not necessarily an app killer. Good luck!

Thanks for the good words.

 

[SolidWater]

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[Deepa100]

I did this and no one really cared that I did not finish the second B.S. I told the admissions office of the school I decided to go to ahead of time though just to make sure.

 

[nabeel76]

Well from the posts here it doesn't seem to be a problem. Also when you start to fill out your amcas it will ask you if you expect a degree and the date you expect it from all of the institutions that you've listed down as taking course work from. You can check the none expected from all schools including this one that you've taken courses but aren't expecting a degree. Med schools probably won't even ask you about it in this case and just classify it as post bacc classes. In the rare case that they do ask you can always explain as it was, you wanted to take the prereqs postbacc but the only way you could qualify for aid was to enroll in a degree program.

I think the only time there might be a slight problem is for students that indicate on their amcas form that they are expecting a degree and give an expected date, then the med schools usually ask you to update them when this is completed with new transcripts. In that case although they might not care either way, you'd still have to explain why this didn't happen.

 

[SportsJunkie25]

Thanks! Glad to see I'm not the only one...

I will definitely refer to it as Post-bac work. Good stuff.

If you refer to it as "Post-bacc coursework" I don't think they will care. If they do, then you and I are in the same boat.

And yes, I know all about financial aid. I had to declare a major to get it, then on the FAFSA I declared it as "graduate coursework" since I already had a degree. So the government thinks I did a master's degree, the school thinks I am working on a bachelor's, and the med schools I applied to think I did a post-bacc.

It all works out I think.

Very clever!

 

[DocHomer]

[Comments deleted.] Old post...whoops.

 

[glamqueen]

It took the same amount of time as finishing the pre-reqs did due to the order I had to take them in. It only helped me. I was told that by many people - they appreciated the dedication from what they said (summarizing the remarks made by several).