I was of another country’s citizenship and completed a bachelor degree from a four year college. I immigrated to U.S over 10 years ago and have received my U.S citizenship and gave up on my prior citizenship. Now I am going back to school and want to start from getting a fresh bachelor degree. It says that I will need to report all college work and degrees earned in the application form, but it fails to mention whether that includes overseas college work or degree? Could I take advantage of that vague language by not reporting what I did in another country before becoming a U.S citizen?
Please do not give me a moral talk, or say something like “somehow they will find out”, has anyone really seen its been found out? Does the admission run an international check on all colleges in the world on every applicant? If you don’t know, could you point me to the right direction to get an affirmative answer? Your help is greatly appreciated.
No. You need to tell them. If they find out, they will rescind any U.S. credits and your degree, and you will have wasted your time and money. If an employer finds out, you could very well be fired.
Why don’t you acknowledge it? If is even possible you could transfer some credits from your last degree. You wouldn’t be the only person who wanted 2 bachelor degrees.
It doesn’t have to specifically state “no matter where in the world you took those classes” because that is what is meant by the words “all college work and degrees earned”! All means all.
Whenever you apply to a degree program at an accredited college or university in the US, you are obligated to provide official transcripts from college and university that you have studied at over the course of your lifetime. Period. The same goes for applying for any job that requires all of your academic records.
Contact the colleges and universities that you are interested in. Ask them what you need to do in order to have your old records properly evaluated so that you can apply for admission. Most will recognize evaluations performed by http://www.wes.org/ So will the federal government if you ever apply for a federal job. Ask the colleges and universities whether you should be applying as a transfer (so that you can pursue a second bachelors degree) or whether you are qualified to apply to a postgraduate program.
Many US students return to college for a second bachelors degree, or just to take enough classes in a new field of study so that they can be admitted to a grad program that they want. I know people who have done each of those things. It is not unusual at all. The only difference in your case is that your first degree is from an institution outside the US.
I appreciate your responses; Have you read the admission requirements for most colleges in U.S? They state that they will not admit someone seeking a second Bachelor’s degree.
When you fill out the common app, you have to “sign” stating that the information you have provided is truthful and that you agree, that if there is misinformation, you run the risk of losing your diploma.
Also, if you think you need federal funds to continue your education, and you directly omit information, you can be criminally charged for falsifying information. It is a BIG deal. Your immigration information gets linked up to anything involving former and future education.
To “aunt bea”, I know what I’m signing that’s why I haven’t signed, have I? You misunderstood my intentions: It has absolutely nothing to do with trying to get federal aid. Tuition is the last thing on my mind, as I can afford it without getting any aid. Please tell me which top 20 college will accept students wishing to pursue a second bachelor’s degree, as I went through them all, with the exception of a couple majors in a couple schools in the top 20, they all say they will not accept students wishing to pursue a second bachelor’s degree.
I don’t think anyone on this site knows the specific regulations and minute details of each of the colleges requirements for 2nd bachelors’ degrees. If that’s what the websites say, then that’s what the particular school is posting. A lot of that has to do with their federal dollars (which has nothing to do with you specifically, but ties into their monies for research grants).
You’re going to have to dig to find other schools that will do offer space for 2nd bachelor’s degrees.
The fact is that top 20 colleges have no desire to issue people pursuing a 2nd bachelors. One bite of the apple. You should pursue a graduate degree instead if all you want is a diploma from one of these top 20 schools.
To “T26E4”, your first sentence is what I already said and exactly where my dilemma came from. A diploma from top 20 is NOT “all I want”, otherwise I would have gone to a top 20 graduate school in a heartbeat. Believe it or not, truly all I want is to study a completely different undergrad major that I love + in the top 20, then go to graduate school in the top 20.
To go to grad school to a top 20 program in your field, the best route isn’t necessarily that same program as an undergrad. In fact, in the US, it’s customary NOT to admit into a PHD students who did their undergrad there, so that they’re exposed to different approaches and build a stronger professional network.
What subject do you want to study? We could point you toward excellent colleges for PHD preparation in that field.
(If your goal is a Law degree or MBA, the situation’s different, so please specify).
seventeenyears, what part of “fraud” don’t you understand? You must sign a document that everything you are reporting is true. If you do not include the first degree, and are found to have lied, the school can kick you out. If you are found out years from now, they can rescind your degree. Then if you report that degree on a job application, you are creating further fraud.
There is no way to get around the rules. Them’s the breaks. Try lowering your standards and look at requirements of other schools.
Where do you get the notion that only graduates of Top 20 undergraduate programs get into Top 20 graduate school programs? That is simply not true.
Your overall GPA, your GPA in courses related to the proposed field of graduate studies, your GRE scores, your letters of recommendation, your work/internships/research/publications related to the proposed field of studies, and your personal statement are what matter for grad school admissions. In most academic fields, jobs are so hard to get that graduates of tippy-top PhD programs end up taking whatever job they can find. Chances are that even at No-Name U the professors who teach the classes in your dream field of studies will all be graduates of Top-20 Us. Provided you are indeed one of the best students they have met in years, they will be more than happy to write you terrific letters of recommendation and help you get into the grad programs where they studied.
To “KKmama”, which part of “fraud” have I committed? I asked a question, I stated my situation, I described the 20 colleges’ situation, I expressed my desire to go to one of them and I seeked answers regarding whether any top 20 colleges would accept 2nd Bachelor’s applicant. Certainly I will have to 'lower my standards", but Lower your condescending attitude also please
To “myos1634”, thank you for your willingness to help. I only want to get a Bachelor’s degree in a top 20 college and a Master’s degree in a top 20 college after that, no PHD intended.
To “happymomof1”, thank you for your explanations. I have not said only top 20 college graduates go to top 20 graduate schools; yes I know fully well many other factors come into play and many non-top 20 college graduates do go to top 20 graduate schools. Its just my desire to go to a top 20 for my undergrad and a top 20 ( could be the same, could be different) for my grad. That’s all.
I did find a few schools – not top 20, but have great name recognition nonetheless – that accept applicants like me, I talked to two of them yesterday. Columbia does accept 2nd Bachelor’s, in their School of General Studies only.
So you have your answer: apply to those “few great name recognition” schools and hope to get into a Top 20 grad school. It’s possible - without committing fraud.