So, I’m earning my degree in social work. I’ll graduate the summer of 2017 with my BSW, if all goes well. However, I want to pursue another major in Spanish. I would begin basic courses next semester, and I would pay for them myself, letting my private scholarship pay for my social work degree. Then, after the summer of 2017 when I’ve earned my social work degree, I plan to come back for two more semesters and do the rest of the classes for my Spanish degree.
What I’m wondering is, how will my financial aid be effected when I do my second degree? Since I will have already earned everything I need for my social work degree, will I still be eligible for financial aid and loans? Is there a certain amount of credits a student can earn where certain types of financial aid just stop? How might I pay for my classes if I don’t have the money up front (ie. what kinds of loans would I still be able to get?)
Note - my scholarship requires me to accept all financial aid offered to me (but not loans), and it pays the difference.
Your scholarship will be over once you get a degree. You can apply for Stafford loans, but they will be unsubsidized (I think) because you’ll have one undergrad degree.
Why would you have to pay for separate courses now while you are in a degree program? Usually there is a flat fee per semester. Are these excess units over per semester allowance?
What kind of aid do you have now and what are the conditions? Does it continue more than 4 years if you haven’t yet earned a degree? I know that some people are able to play games and not take that last course that will award then a degree until they get everything else out of the way. In that case, once you are over 4 years you can continue to get:
Pell Grant for up to 4 more semesters
Student loan of 7.500 per year until you reach the cap of 32,000 for undergrads
That is all you would likely get per year for anything starting year 5. But once you get a BA then you can’t get Pell. You can only get student loans if you are enrolled at least half time in a degree program too. I would think hard whether you actually need a second undergrad degree rather than just spanish language classes.
What’s the reasoning behind the spanish major? I assume you’re going into a career in social work, if so, another degree is unnecessary and costly. If you want to learn spanish to increase your employability, I would recommend doing so on your own. There are many programs and book out there to do so.
Are you taking spanish major at the same school? If so, just do not apply for graduation with the first degree while working on the second major. Most students do double major this way. Nevertheless, what is the rational for the second major? Have you thought about a minor or change major instead to graduate faster?
Silly to get a Spanish degree after your BSW. Just take some Spanish classes this year and if you need more, then take them at a local CC later.
I don’t understand why your current scholarship won’t pay for the Spanish classes for THIS year.
Anyway…you won’t get FA for the Spanish classes after you graduate. And don’t delay graduation because aid is often only for 4 years anyway.
The only FA you can get after you graduate is a 5500 student loan. Not enough to pay for your current university.
I’m not sure you realize what all is entailed in a Spanish major. Most of the upper division courses have little to do with improving “fluency,” but often deal with Spanish history, Spanish literature, etc. The lower division courses are usually the ones that are for fluency. You can take those at a local CC for cheap once you graduate.
Another option Are you applying for your MSW? Why not? That is needed for many jobs. If you are going to do a MSW, then often a grad program will allow you to also take an undergrad class as well for fun or interest…for you, that could be a Spanish class each semester.
Thank you, all!
Sorry, I have a bit of a hard time explaining this since it’s complicated. By bachelor degree is being paid for by a private scholarship foundation, but they will only pay for up to four years of classes for me. At the moment, Spanish classes would not fulfill any of the requirements of my major because I am so far along (I have had to plan this thing carefully since day 1.)
Right, the upper-division courses in the Spanish major are just conversation classes to build proficiency. I had forgotten about that. I figured that I would just do as much as possible, to look better to employers. I live in the American south west, where much of the underprivileged are Spanish speakers.
That all being said, as my scholarship pays for my bachelor of social work, I can’t justify taking out unsubsidized loans just for another major.
There is one more reason behind this. Due to my MSW beginning a year after my potential graduation, I thought it would be better to do a Spanish degree to take up the time, and not find a job with my BSW (difficult to do!) that I’ll just have to quit in a year.
I’ll speak with financial aid this week and see how things would play out, but the community college idea is a great one - thank you!
How many more classes do you need right now to complete the Spanish degree?
Do you receive the Pell grant?
I am asking because I know of a summer program near Madrid where you can take 12 credits of Spanish in 6 weeks for about $10k plus flight. If you receive Pell, you can apply for a Benjamin Gilman Scholarship to help defray the cost.
Would your private scholarship cover any summer school costs? If not, could you write a letter explaining why you want to do this and how it will help in your future career and then ask for additional funding?
Really, just take some Spanish classes at the local CC. If you’re already somewhat proficient, take the CLEP exam and see what credits you’re awarded.