<p>I have a bit of a weird question but it's really, really important to me so I'd be grateful if you could drop an answer of any kind. I'm considering enrolling in two different colleges next year for the next couple years. Even though I really enjoy my current school, I'm,starting to rethink whether or not it is the best academic fit for me. I would like to concurrently enroll at another university where I could study a different subject, not offered at my school. The two schools are very close to each other in terms of distance so the only issue would be finding enough study time. As a "test", I registered for 28 credits this semester and it seems to be going rather well so I think that I could probably pull it off if I use my time wisely.</p>
<p>My last concerns were whether or not this would be a violation of any of the 2 school's policy to be enrolled simultaneously in another degree-granting program, and if it would be a problem for the financial aid offices too. Right now, I have full-tuition scholarship and like my current school, the other school I'm considering enrolling has a "full-need met" policy which means that basically if I get in, my parents keep paying housing and meal plan fees as they have been doing, but not additional tuition. I was also wondering if it could be a problem for my student visa (I'm international). I really care about getting these two degrees so thank you!</p>
<p>In short: Can I apply as a transfer to a school close enough to mine, enroll there but stay at my school too, graduate from both schools?
The two schools are top schools which kind of represent the best of one side the humanities and on the other side research/basic science. I got into both as a freshie. I would be happy at any but attending both=terrific bliss.</p>
<p>So let me get this straight: you are an international student (and therefore pay no taxes) yet you’re getting not only one free tuition, but want to get another free tuition, from a different college? Don’t you realize it costs some institution for you to do this, especially at 28 credits a semester? Even if you can get away with this, it sure seems like you’re abusing the system. Doesn’t your financial aide also require some work study and if so, how can you fit that into your schedule?</p>
<p>Oh, I didn’t mean to be rude or ungrateful. I do 10-12 hours of work study which help me with stuff like subway, going out to eat, going to the movies. Luckily these are really chill jobs which openly allow students to bring homework/reading for “down time”. I probably could do without this if I saved my summer job money instead of spending it on the spot and working again during the year. Maybe the whole thing was a stupid idea but I’m just torn between:</p>
<p>Getting the best education for major A
Getting the best education for major B</p>
<p>and attending the 2 schools just seemed perfect.</p>
<p>Cool. So that means I should just decide if I want to transfer or not. To me it looks like I can get into a great grad school for major A if I stay at my school which I choose because it was so good at my major. But then I probably wouldn’t get into any good school for major B, that is if I even qualify for admission since I wouldn’t have majored in B but only taken a classes related to it here and there.
On the other hand, if I go to the other school or one with a similar academic profile, I could get into a fantastic school for major B but wouldn’t be likely to do so good in admissions for a grad degree in major A. I have no idea whether I want to pursue major A or B after I graduate so I feel like any of these options=tossing a coin in the air and going with whatever comes up.</p>
<p>What should I do? I’m really confused. Maybe my question is more about grad school application and whether a 4.0 student with good recommendations and test scores could get into a PhD program for a field they didn’t major in but only took like 6 relevant classes because their school didn’t offer that major and they hence majored in a completely different subject that they also liked?</p>
<p>Major in the first subject at college #1. Get your bachelor’s degree. There might be a benefit to finishing early - you might consider that. Then, go to different college and get a second bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree in subject #2.</p>
<p>An internship - or shadowing someone - might be helpful to you in choosing one subject or the other.</p>
<p>I actually can’t afford that. I can’t pay tuition and 2nd bachelor’s don’t give out FA. I also can’t pay for master’s degree so I need a PhD that includes tuition waiver+stipend (as most of them do). I also can’t pay for summer classes or 5th year undergrad or I would just do that if I found out I don’t want to stick with major A for grad school.
I think the solution might be being a visiting student at the other school for a year and completing most of the major requirements, or enough so that my grad school app wouldn’t sound like a joke and then going back to my school to graduate. Does that make sense at all? I’m trying to figure out the best solution as I write.
Thanks a lot for your answers so far!</p>
<p>I think even you can handle the 28 credits now, you will have problems down the road in the upper class. In the science classes, after the intro class, it will be very demanding, you will have difficulties to complete both degree with high grades, even if you can. In addition, since you are international students, how are you getting need based fa? I thought need based aid is only for us students.</p>
<p>This is true, I hadn’t thought about how 28 credits of 200-level courses might be completely different from 28 credits 400-level classes. Need-Based institutional FA exists. I think it’s only stuff like Pell Grant, and state funds that are for US only. There is a lot of intl at my schools, especially for Asia, and a lot of them also have scholarships. Do you guys have any more suggestions that wouldn’t be expensive but still allow me to pursue both fields?</p>
<p>There is no rule that grad school has to be in the same field as undergrad. As MWM2K said, you can major in pretty much anything for undergrad & still go into whatever you want for the master’s. My BF back got a master’s in ecology & then went to another school for a master’s in computer science. He had no problem getting admitted for both.</p>
<p>Try talking to your advisor or an advisor in the program at your college that is closest to the program you are interested in at college #2. You may have some options that are specific to your school. Does your college participate in National Student Exchange or a similar program? This is from a 2005 New York Times article about a Scripps student studying at Spelman for semester: “Spelman, which exchanges students with 28 other institutions in the United States, is among a growing number of colleges that offer domestic study opportunities. For instance, if you design a specific course of study and go through Harvard’s stringent admissions process, you might be among 30 to 40 non-Harvard students picked to spend up to a year there. Dartmouth’s students have access to a large state university like the University of California, San Diego, and through a second program that Dartmouth participates in, 11 other liberal arts colleges in the Northeast. Or if your college is a member of the National Student Exchange, a consortium of 177 colleges and universities, you can leave the chilly University of Maine behind, head for the University of Hawaii, Manoa, and pay less tuition than you would in Maine.”</p>
<p>If you are enrolled in one school, you could get permission to take classes at another school for credit at the original school. Check with an adviser or registrar.</p>
<p>If you want equal access to classes at both schools, you could withdraw from enrollment at the first school and do classes at both through continuing education or as a non-matriculated student. This would be unusual, but it could be done.</p>
<p>Generally you would have to do the last year and a half of an undergrad degree (45 credits at least) at one school, however. So you would have to decide and apply/matriculate at just one of the two.</p>
<p>I would think you could get permission to take a class at the second school while remaining at the first.</p>
<p>Gee, 28 credits…be careful of your health! Is that 7 classes for 4 credits each, or 9+ classes for 3 credits each?</p>