Multidisciplinary. Transferring Multiple degrees. Top schools? Any chance?

Transfer Students
1

<p>First of all, I apologize for the essay.</p>

<p>I'm not an average college student. I went to a garbage high school and then went to the local community college (local, as in driving 1.5 hours each direction to get to some of the campuses (there were multiple capuses)). I ended up taking so many classes (they became free after so many hours per semester) I got somewhere between a semester and a year ahead of my fellow classmates in terms of hours. Of course, many of the classes I took did not transfer well, and a lot of them I did not need.</p>

<p>At 65 hours and a GPA of 3.91 I transferred to the local relatively-middle-of-nowhere university. Even though it is much closer, I had not entered there as a freshman because it is across the state line and my state has a lottery scholarship which everyone gets.</p>

<p>This is where things get confusing:</p>

<p>I became a double major. I'm a computer science and biology major. . .sort of. I wanted to double major in CS and Biotech, but there is no biotech degree at my college (University of North Alabama). However, the biology degree is going to have a "biotechnology" option or two. A professor says one student has already graduated on that path and got a job, despite the option not being officially recognized as of yet. </p>

<p>As I understand it, most of the top schools have "bioengineering" which is an engineering degree rather than a biology degree. These degrees tend to be more focused as well, it seems. UC-B's is a good example. So, in a way, it seems like a waste of time to get the biotech option biology degree. Or not - Because I would be just a few classes shy of pre-med and also being a chemistry major. And since I'm in computer science I will be just 1.5ish semesters shy of being a math major. See the overlapping here? As soon as I get a good source of income or scholarship, I won't be in any kind of hurry. . .so I would probably get 3-4 degrees. Also, the college allows clepping out of 3 foreign languages, and if I managed to study 2 of them well and pass the clep, I would be just a few classes shy of a foreign language degree as well.</p>

<p>The problem:</p>

<p>I don't want to graduate from UNA and have it be my last school. I want to go somewhere like MIT and UC-B like everyone else. Of course, there are no master's programs in my degrees there, so I have no choice as far as that goes. But let's say I want to transfer somewhere and not get my master's just yet. Maybe I want to just transfer all my credits and start working on bioengineering or electrical engineering or both. It seems like a lot of colleges have a rule where once you have so many credits you will be denied transfer. Is there a way around this?</p>

<p>Would going ahead and turning my paths into BS degrees before transferring make a big difference? That's kind of the plan right now. What about going for a master's to get my foot in the door? Would my other classes even transfer?</p>

<p>Maybe I've completely screwed myself? I know I have financial aid wise.</p>

<p>Thank You.</p>

2

<p>What are the schools you want to apply to. Some schools make it so that you can transfer up to 60 credits (they’re choice of which gets transferred) and have you start off at their school as junior transfer. For example, I believe Notre Dame does this.</p>

3

<p>I believe I will have more like at least 170 credits by the time I have enough money to transfer to a big school. This approach is simply not practical. It would take me nearly a decade to save up enough money for one year at a typical top 25 school, so I might as well get a degree or two first so I can make the money (meanwhile applying for scholarships). I suppose I could just go for one degree, taking as few classes as possible, so that when I transfer I only have to retake 70 hours worth. Still, I’d rather not.</p>

<p>The universities that I plan on applying two are pretty much the top tech schools. UC-B, MIT, Yale, UM, UCLA, UPenn, etc. I haven’t really looked into the particulars yet other than that UC-B ranks really high in a lot of things but says more than 70 hours will be denied admission.</p>

4

<p>I’m a little confused about this:</p>

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<p>You would just finish your degree(s) and apply for Master’s programs, applying for an advanced degree is not considered transferring.</p>

5

<p>I was referring to how with only 60 hours transferred, I’d have to retake the rest of that bachelor’s degree, usually around 128 hours.</p>

<p>Is it possible for someone to enroll in more than one master’s program simultaneously?</p>

<p>Or, even better, enroll in a master’s program and take undergrad classes?</p>

<p>What I’m worried about is having to take my first two years of basics again. I’m concerned that going for a master’s and taking undergrad courses (if even allowed), since applying for an advanced degree is not technically transferring, would mean having to take things like Engish Comp and whatnot again. I never found anywhere that told how this part of getting a master’s degree works.</p>

<p>Better yet, are there even any chances of getting into the master’s program of a good school after getting a bachelor’s from a low-tier school?</p>

6

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<p>You say that you will soon have 170 units, I’m assuming that is on the qt system and so would be close to 4 years of study. I think your larger problem is going to be that like UCB, most schools will not accept you with so many units. You can find this out for sure on the websites of the colleges you’re interested in, for instance Y says:</p>

<p>[Who</a> is Eligible to Transfer? | Transfer Students | Office of Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“Home | Yale College Undergraduate Admissions”>Home | Yale College Undergraduate Admissions)</p>

<p>“To be eligible to transfer, students must by June of the current academic year, have a high school diploma or GED, and at least one year and no more than two years of transferable post-secondary-school college credit.”</p>

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<p>Maybe there are exceptions, but in general people do not do double Masters like they do double majors for undergrad.</p>

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<p>Once you get your Bachelor’s degree, you are finished with your first two years of basic requirements, you’ll never need to do them again. Sometimes people take undergrad coursework while doing a Master’s, however, this usually occurs because they have changed fields somewhat from their Bachelor’s and have some deficiencies in their new field, not because they are taking basic distributional requirements again. For instance, I got a BA in Anthropology, when I went for a Master’s in Forestry (after working extensively in that field), I took some undergrad science and statistics courses to get “up to speed” on things pertaining to my new field which I hadn’t done as an undergrad.</p>

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<p>Yes, it is possible to go to a more selective university for grad school. Now, whether or not you are able to jump from UNA to MIT is another question, as you’re talking about schools that are difficult for anyone to get into, no matter where they went for undergrad. It is possible, but it depends on your grades, LORs, activities, work experience, etc.</p>

7

<p>I agree with entomom. You can look for the few schools that allow transfer with a huge number of credits - even transfer as a senior. But they are very few. I have seen a thread here on cc where someone researched this issue, but I have not been able to find it again. </p>

<p>However, it doesn’t seem like transfer makes any sense. Nor does getting more than one undergraduate degree. (Most schools won’t allow this either).</p>

<p>What makes sense for you, imo, is to complete your undergrad. Then apply for grad school, or work and apply for grad school later - whichever you prefer.</p>

<p>You will not have to worry about taking English, gened requirements, distribution requirements ever again. That is over.</p>

<p>If you are applying for a graduate degree for which you lack some of the typical/required preparation, there are a couple of ways that can be handled:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Take undergrad classes at the graduate school, along with or prior to beginning your graduate classes.</p></li>
<li><p>In the time following your undergrad degree, while you are in the workplace, you can take individual courses (at a nearby university or college) that you would need to prepare for the graduate degree.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Which of these options would be best? Probably you should discuss with an admissions officer at a graduate school of interest. I know that my H, who had an undergraduate degree in Classics and only a few science courses, enrolled for a semester or two (part-time as I recall) at a major University to take needed Chem and Bio courses for pre-med. He then applied to medical school and was accepted to one of the top 10. So that is definitely one way it can work.</p>

<p>Can someone from a “lower tier” school gain graduate admission to a top University? Well, yes… they can. It depends on so many things. Professor recommendations are key. Doing outstanding work at your undergraduate institution is important. Possibly what you do in the workplace may come into play. You can only try. You can also have an outstanding career if you do your graduate work at someplace other than the caliber of MIT or UCB. I would suggest applying widely for graduate school. A good way to find schools to consider would be to check the websites of major employers where you would love to start your career. See what Universities they recruit from - there will likely be some in their local/regional areas… that may not be top 5 or 10 schools, but which do produce successful grads in your field.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

8

<p>So I think I understand how this is going to work. First I need to go ahead and finish my double major.</p>

<p>Then, UNA MIGHT let me get more majors after that.</p>

<p>Eventually, I get into grad school. . .hopefully a good one because of volunteer involvement, good grades, and some entrepreneurship. Maybe an internship or so.</p>

<p>While I’m working on my master’s. . .or before. . .I work on whatever other undergrad degree I need. </p>

<p>I still wonder about a couple of things, though. When someone is admitted as a grad student, does that mean credits transfer at all? For example, let’s say I take a transferable chemistry course that is not part of either of my majors at UNA. Now, at Stanford or whatever, my undergrad program prescribes such a chemistry course that under transferable circumstances would get transferred. Will I have to retake it?</p>

<p>EDIT: Is it really possible to go to grad school and only take undergrad classes at first?</p>

9

<p>I think there’s still some confusion. </p>

<p>Once you have an undergrad degree, you don’t “need” any more. And most schools won’t let you get any more. One to a customer ;).</p>

<p>I also don’t know why you’d want any more majors. That doesn’t really accomplish anything.</p>

<p>Now… on to graduate school. If you want to go to graduate school in a field that requires certain undergrad preparation… your first option is to get that preparation before you graduate. This does not necessarily mean another major, just proper pre-requisite coursework for the graduate degree.</p>

<p>If you leave undergraduate with your degree, then choose a graduate field for which you do not have all the prepartion you need… Go To Options 1 and 2 in my post above. Can you take undergrad courses at your grad school before starting the grad courses? Maybe, maybe not. You will need to determine this in consultation with admissions people at whatever graduate program you apply to.</p>

10

<p>I guess I’ll start on my other degrees at another school then.</p>

<p>You’re right. Being more than 1 dimensional doesn’t accomplish anything.
Why learn anything when you can sit around all day to watch Oprah and eat tacos? There’s obviously no point in doing anything since you will just make an irreparable
mistake and forge your destiny as a nobody in the strict collegiate caste system of America. Heck, just keep it simple and do whatever your father does.</p>

<p>I now understand that in order to do what I want to, I will require lots of money with which to bribe high-ranking individuals.</p>

<p>Thanks for the replies, everyone!</p>