Lifetime Credit Hour Limit - Financial Aid

Paying for College
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<p>I've done quite a bit of research within the past week - web searching, two academic advising sessions, one session with a financial aid officer - and I can't seem to get a straight answer. </p>

<p>Firstly, my background:
Current Institution: Seminole State College of Florida (formerly Seminole Community College)
Major: General A.A. (with nursing pre-reqs)
GPA: 4.0
Credit Hours: 79 (after this semester)
Degree: yes, A.A. (after this semester)
Other: PTK member, President's List 3 times consecutively (4 after this semester), Hispanic (maybe you guys could throw in some sholarship suggestions while you're at it? ;D )</p>

<p>Here's what I WANT to do:
I WANT to go to FSU and do a double major in Chinese/Japanese (like 41 credit hours) or Chinese/Russian if they'd let me AND "change my major" (not apply for graduation yet) and then get my BSN (60 credit hours =/) in nursing, all while completing the required prereqs to get into med school (I'd just have to take the calc series and physics and then take the MCAT). I mean, it's not like it's unheard of to have like 2-3 bachelor's degrees, right? I'm planning on taking part in loan forgiveness programs, so that's not an issue. </p>

<p>I know this may seem strange to you but I LOVE learning. I live to learn. I have a non-traditional educational background so I don't qualify for in-state programs like the Bright Futures Program (I only made it to the 6th grade - my parents were drugged up freaks - so everything I know is due to my own autodidactic efforts). To be honest, nursing isn't my passion, but it would be a means to an end in helping me save for medical school (which is going to be another long and arduous journey) plus I've already made the commitment (really, only like 4 pre-reqs though) and I can take part in the generous loan forgiveness programs available for nurses. If I could live in a university for the rest of my life I would, and these amputations are painful enough (don't get me started on the classics! A quadruple major! creative writing, engineering, literature, Arabic! YES! ). </p>

<p>My questions to you fine folk are:
1) I've seen some vague references to a limit on credit hours to 150% of the credit hours in your major, e.g., your major is 120 req credit hours, you can only take 180. After this you will get no more financial aid. Could this be on a state-by-state basis? A financial aid officer for UCF said it was 120% (!), but I'm pretty sure (hope) she was wrong.
2) What I THINK she was talking about was [url=<a href="http://registrar.fiu.edu/index.php?id=1953%5Dthis%5B/url"&gt;http://registrar.fiu.edu/index.php?id=1953]this[/url&lt;/a&gt;] which would still run up the bills nicely (thanks Florida!). I'm guessing a "change in majors" wouldn't be taken into consideration? I would ask, but at this point my premeditiation would be apparent and I don't think they'd appreciate it.</p>

<p>UCF would be ideal (it's right down the street) but they just don't offer the quality liberal arts education I desire. UF is amazing and not THAT far away (wouldn't have to stay on campus) but I'm pretty sure I would be looked down upon for several of the above mentioned reasons (plus I don't even like football). NEITHER school would allow me into their Honors programs as a transfer student but FSU would and I would love to do something challenging like write an undergrad/honors thesis under the mentorship of a prestigious expert in his/her field and would love the rigor and high standards associated with any such program. </p>

<p>Thank you SO much to whomever can help me out of this mess!</p>

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<p>It is not unheard of for nurses to be accepted into a medical school; however, please think very carefully of the this! Many medical schools do not like accepting nurses because the nurses think that their education will “help” them with medical school. It will help very little! Also, be prepared to answer this question during medical school admissions:
Why did you take the spot of a nurse from the nursing program (most only accept a certain number each year) if you knew you wanted to do medicine?</p>

<p>It is generally looked down upon with students who take the spot of someone who WANTS to be a nurse just to (what they think) further themselves for medical school.</p>

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<p>Credit limits for eligibility for financial aid are generally set by a school’s SAP (satisfactory academic progress) policy. This is set by each school. Some schools may (or may not) have an appeals process for changes in major. it is completely at their discretion whether they allow you to go over it or not. Do a search on the FSU website for SAP.</p>

<p>How are you planning to pay for all this? Direct (also called Stafford) loans have an aggregate limit you can borrow. For a dependent undergrad student the limit is $31,000.</p>

<p>From a quick look a the FSU website, for Florida Public Universities the credit limit for SAP is 150% BUT under Florida state law tuition increases by 50% once you exceed 120% of the hours required for a degree, even if you are taking a double major.
<a href=“FSU Registrar | Error 404 page not found”>http://registrar.fsu.edu/dir_class/spring/reg_guide.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>page 25.</p>

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<p>To James: Why would I think being a nurse would help me with medical school applications? It would help me pecuniarily and I would be forthright about that if asked. I also plan on doing charity work as a nurse. I think this more than justifies me ‘depriving’ a less qualified applicant from a given nursing program. </p>

<p>To swimcatsmom: Thanks for your help! That’s exactly the information I was looking for. Please be aware:

  1. I am an independent student (my parents are $#!%, remember?). This places the lifetime cap on loans much higher.
  2. in-state tuition is only 5-6k.
  3. I have an EFC of 000, so I qualify for full Stafford, full Pell, full Perkins, and a number of Florida student aid programs; Full FRAG, full FSAG Public, full FGMG, etc. I also qualify and currently recieve a couple of small scholarships and would continue to apply for scholarships in the future. I’m not really worried about it. If push came to shove, and I for some reason ran out of money, then the army has some pretty generous programs as well. </p>

<p>Please remember that I said this was what I “WANT” to do; an absolute best case scenario. I also WANT to win the lotto, but the odds are slim. I am welcoming suggestions, not asking for your approval. Please help me form a realistic plan of action that still takes into account all that I would LIKE to do. </p>

<p>Also, I’m still seriously considering UF since I’m pretty much guaranteed admission since I have a Florida A.A. and meet all other eligibility requirements. It’s within driving distance, and, yes, it’s a pretty amazing school. 5-6k a year, then if I went over my credit hours still not that much more (50% more of tuition rate only, not fees).</p>

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<p>You can do charity work with just about ANY major. You could do an EMT course and do volunteer EMT work. Lots of ways to do this OTHER than to take a nursing spot in a nursing program with no intention of becoming a nurse.</p>

<p>If your passion is medical school…then just take the required courses for med school along with your major in whatever languages you choose. You don’t need to get that degree in nursing at all to apply to med school. All you need is the required prerequisite courses and a terrific score on the MCATS…your major is secondary.</p>

<p>I realize you love learning…but the federal Stafford loan program (which is what you are likely talking about) has a limit for undergrad PLUS grad…and if you need loans for med school, you want to keep your undergrad loans down to a BARE MINIMUM. In addition, that limit is there for a reason…the loans are to help folks get college degrees, not be “professional students” with huge loans.</p>

<p>U.F. sounds like an affordable option for you.</p>

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<p>Also keep in mind that qualifying for full Perkins does not mean you will get full Perkins. First, every school sets their own maximum perkins and the criteria for awarding it. Second, schools usually have more Perkins eligible students than they have Perkins funds. My daughter has a 0 EFC and is eligibile for Perkins, SEOG, and Work Study which are all limited funding campus based federal aid programs. She received none of them this year. When she asked why, she was told they ran out of funds for those programs by the time they got to her FAFSA. And she filed FAFSA in january.</p>

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<p>seawrack–one thing to be aware of is that at many schools the science (bio, chem) classes that nurses take do NOT fulfill the requirements for med school admissions. For med school admission, you must take the science classes that science & engineering majors take and not the versions for ‘vocational’ or ‘health science’ majors (nursing, OT, PT, dental assisting, etc).</p>

<p>If UF or FSU offers separate versions of your science classes, check with the nursing school if the liberal arts version will be an acceptable substitute for your nursing degree. Some schools will allow the substitution; some won’t.</p>

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<p>seawrack–I see you’ve already taken some of your pre-reqs at a CC. In that case, you should be aware that if you’ve taken your bio and chem pre-reqs at a CC, med schools will expect you to take at a full year of upper level courses in both chem and bio (for majors) at a 4 year college. The reasoning is that they want to be able to compare your performance against the stronger academic competition that you’ll encounter at a 4 year college.</p>

<p>Additionally, if you plan to take your MCAT in 2015 or later, there will be new MCAT exam which incorporates new material–biochem, genetics, cellular & molecular bio, calc 1, statistics, research methodology, as well as the current course material. There will also be a whole new section on human behavior (psych, sociology, philosophy/medical ethics, and perhaps even some anthropology.)</p>

<p>You need to keep this in mind for your course and schedule planning as it may greatly increase the number of classes you’ll need to take at your 4 year college.</p>

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<p>Thanks everyone!</p>

<p>I have every intention of being a nurse and saving money for grad school and paying cash! That’s one reason I’d like to take full advantage of all the resources available to me at this juncture. While I’m saving, I’m also going to take part in loan forgiveness programs which by working in a rural area (which I prefer anyway) or volunteering in a foreign country (I’m already at a good base level for several languages and this would also allow me to “activate” them). Also, if I cut the nursing excursion short, the army has a really good program for prospective med students (just need to get into med school and you get $2k a month stipend and after you graduate up to $120k in loan forgiveness).</p>

<p>UCF med school only requires that I take organic chem I&II at a university level (not trying to get into HMS here; have to wait till next lifetime). They told me that the particular CC I went to has more rigorous chem I&II classes than even they have - 2000 level courses as opposed to 1000 level courses and a lot more lab work. They also suggested I complete my biology sequence at CC since that’s where I started, so I’m assuming that’s fine as well. I know I’d have to take a higher level of microbiology, but to my knowledge, that’s it. Anything concerning liberal arts or social sciences - psychology, philosophy, etc. - I have a firm grounding in, so I’m not worried about it. I do that @#&^ for fun. </p>

<p>I’ve been thinking a lot about this, and I’m sure I’ll be able to winnow my intentions down to something more practical. My question has been answered though, thank you. Any further questions would probably better suited to a separate thread.</p>