<p>Is it possible to take more than 120 hours before graduation? I really want to bring up my GPA without doing a post-bac.</p>
<p>What are some options?</p>
<p>Sure, you can take more than 120 hours. My D is getting a major, a minor, and a certificate. Minors at FSU are mostly just 12 hours, certificates are 18 hours. Because she changed her primary major along the way, she will have more than 120. She will reach 120 by end of summer of her Junior year if she continues at the rate she is going, but will not have completed requirements for a degree. So she is going to only take 12 hours a semester for Junior and Senior year so she can continue her heavy involvement on campus, and stay 4 years. I think she will finish with 135 hours.</p>
<p>Her prepaid only covers the first 120 hours. BF covers until you fulfill requirements for graduation, but the new working is murky and after 120 hours I am not sure how that works. Some of her hours were summer and not covered by BF, some were DE or AP, so she will not have used up 120 BF hours early. </p>
<p>If you will meet graduation requirements early, just add a minor or something and you can stay and bring up your GPA. Or schedule so you will not have all your requirements for graduation. If you have 120 hours but are missing 2 required courses for your major, don’t get them done in time, stay and take those 2 and 3 more to bring up the GPA.</p>
<p>Thanks for that info, you always help!</p>
<p>The plan is to graduate next summer because after this summer I will be at 94 hours (yikes) and I still have to take Orgo I AND II and I can only start taking Orgo I during Spring '11. So Orgo two comes Summer II and that will be it for my required courses because I am planning to switch majors after fall to Psychology (no more Bio). I will finish the Psych requirements over spring and summer and that will set me up for graduation.</p>
<p>Have you any knowledge regarding Post-Baccalaureates? I am planning on pursuing one at UF after graduation to bring up the GPA even more.</p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>
<p>Certainly it is possible - and common - for FSU students to have more than 120 credit hours before graduation. Since most students come in with significant AP, CLEP and Dual Enrollment credits and then determine they need additional/different hours, up goes the number.</p>
<p>The deal is that you might have only 120 hours funded by Bright Futures or scholarships as Sunny said.</p>
<p>I’m a student at USF in Tampa, but we use Bright Futures too! I started college at USF 2years ago as a freshman with a bunch of dual enrollment credits. I’ve got 131 credit hours completed now including the DE credits and 18 hrs earned at 2 summer terms that Bright Futures didn’t cover; I’ve got 67 credit hours of eligibility remaining yet the Bright Futures program will pay for. The option I have been working toward since I started college is earning 2 different bachelor’s degrees in 2 different colleges at USF; to do this I will be at USF 2 more years and will end up with around 190 total undergraduate credits–I want a 4 year college experience and with the Bright Futures and other scholarships paying for it, all the better, I couldn’t afford it otherwise. What I’m saying is it is indeed possible to go way over 120 credit hours before graduating. Too it works out financially for me, I don’t have to pay for a post-bac…I will just get a 2nd undergraduate degree paid for with undergraduate scholarships and grants like Bright Futures.</p>
<p>The Bright Futures rules have changed for newer students and I’m not sure if new freshmen can do what I’m doing now. Too, I think the state universities have some kind of new rule for newer students now where tuition for Florida resident students will increase to out of state tuition rates if the student hangs around too long with too many credit hours and not graduating at a reasonable pace. If you are planning on attending college beyond typical 120 credit hour requirement for graduation, make sure you stay tight with your academic and financial aid advisors at school to make sure you don’t shoot yourself in the foot with your college planning.</p>