Rejected for second degree

[cmt2013]

Has anyone had trouble getting a second bachelor's degree? I applied to University of Central Florida as a second degree student but was rejected because my GPA was less than a 3.0.

I'm getting the second bachelor's because my GPA needs serious repair that will take at least 2 years to do. I'm waiting to hear from University of South Florida but if that fails, I may have to do my pre-requisites at a community college.

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[kayak30]

I attempted to get a second BA in Biology and was admitted, however, I found out you can't get federal loans for a second BA...do a post-bac or a special masters. You can take some community college classes to bump the gpa if too low for special masters...or take at community college, take the mcat and see if you do well enough to apply at least DO.

 

[kami333]

I attempted to get a second BA in Biology and was admitted, however, I found out you can't get federal loans for a second BA.

Are you sure about that? Did you hit the undergrad loan limit?

 

[TriagePreMed]

Are you sure about that? Did you hit the undergrad loan limit?

I got loans at a community college after my degree. The only way you can't get them is if you hit the limit, as you suggested.

 

[kayak30]

Are you sure about that? Did you hit the undergrad loan limit?

Yeah, I hit the limit. It paid half of my post-bac (the loans), the other half I had to pay cash...it was hard to take 1-2 classes a semester and pay upwards of $3000 per class so I went to finish at a community college where it still cost about $1000 per class (I was out of district). There is no way it will cover a full second degree...please be sure to check on it. But really, just look into a post-bac or special masters and talk to the financial aid office 👍

 

[beBrave]

I attempted to get a second BA in Biology and was admitted, however, I found out you can't get federal loans for a second BA...do a post-bac or a special masters. You can take some community college classes to bump the gpa if too low for special masters...or take at community college, take the mcat and see if you do well enough to apply at least DO.

This is incorrect. You have a federal loans cap for both undergrad and grad degree's. You can actually check your current loan level online. Many schools will allow you to do a second bachelors and receive federal loans (just not Pell or federal grants) if you have not exceeded your cap. Some schools don't allow you to use federal loans for second bachelors however many will. You have to check with the school. I'm currently enrolled in a second bachelors degree in Biology completing my Pre-meds and I am receiving Federal loans.

 

[NuttyEngDude]

It may be school dependent. It was no big deal for me, in fact, I have an easier time than the first time bachelors students because sign up time is based on credits at my school.

 

[beBrave]

Do you run into issues not being able to get into the more impact classes as a second bachelor's student compared to say "first time" juniors or seniors at the same school?

No, I have not experienced this issue. I would presume that it is illegal for a school to discriminate on the availability of a class based on prior education. Think of it this way, a person could have Bachelors in English but then go for a Bachelors in Business (two very different degrees). You are paying for your education just like a student taking his/her first degree or a person simply taking classes as part of Non-Degree study and paying out of pocket. I am actually considered a transfer student for all respective purposes; the school did not transfer over all my credits, only the ones that were acceptable.

When attending a new institution, having previously earned a degree from another institution is usually only relevant for financial aid. The only time you may find an academic related issue when transferring is if you are attempting to take a degree that requires a specific number of the credits be completed at that specific University, but the number of credits you are transferring would violate this requirement. In my case I transferred a ton of credits over however I went from a Business to Bio major so many credits weren't relevant. Meaning they are there but no more useful than elective credits when applied to my major.