Scared Artist!

[doc art]

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Ok I know this is kind of ridiculous....but should I just go for a second bachelor in Biochemistry?
I'm currently in California and, due to the budget cuts, even pre med courses are hard to get placement.

I was thinking of heading out to Portland State Uni and doing part time coursework while shadowing.
Think is I'm an artist.
No money. Parents can't support me.

So I'm super scared about dealing with financial aid and a second degree along with trying to gain experience in a town I haven't lived in before.


Gyaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Help?

 

[DrMidlife]

Portland's great, obviously, but there are more factors here for you to consider.

First, you'll pay out of state tuition at PSU until you've established a domicile in Oregon for about a year. You generally can't establish that domicile by moving to Oregon to go to school. Find the residency status page on the PSU website and tease out the details.

Second, while doing a 2nd bachelors helps with getting into classes, you can't get financial aid for the cost of attendance for a 2nd bachelors. The max loan is $12,500 per year (cost of attendance is at least double that). If you're not in a degree program, you usually get jack.

Third, the med school prereqs are probably harder than any classes you've ever seen. Go easy and make sure you're ready to work really hard and get straight A's. Grades from your first degree count as well.

Look at Berkeley Extension as an alternative for getting prereqs done.

Best of luck to you.

 

[RHeff]

If you don't qualify for a masters program, I'd just look for ways to knock off the pre-reqs without doing a second BA. While that might give you the ability to take the necessary pre-reqs, often you also have to complete the university's other requirements. The school that I'm at to do my pre-reqs has that requirement in place...if I wanted to turn these credits into a second BA I'd have to do about 10-14 additional classes to satisfy the core curriculum. No thanks.