<p>I graduated with a random degree in journalism from a state school about a decade ago with a beyond dismal GPA of a 2.03 -- no judgements, arrogant youthful ***** happens -- with no plans ever for an advanced degree since I was so brilliant I wouldn't ever need one.</p>
<p>Of course, a few years later I grew up and saw the light. Now I want to pursue a Masters degree in another field but as we all know, unless the school has the name of Phoenix in the name, there's no chance in hell I'll get into a good school with a 2.03 GPA, especially the schools I am interested in (BU, USC, ND, NYU). </p>
<p>So this is my question, if I get an online second bachelors degree at a state school (the school I went to doesn't do second B.A.'s) will a stellar GPA from a second bachelor's get me into grad school by itself? Or will both degree's be averaged into one undergrad GPA? When filling out GPA in an application do I put the second one automatically or average them out?</p>
<p>Will I even be able to get INTO a second bachelor's program at a state school with a 2.03 GPA? I know I won't get Fin Aid other than loans and will need to self-pay.</p>
<p>I think your past will haunt you because the schools you will be applying to will see your old transcript. But since that was 10 years ago, and if your grades significantly improve, I’m sure any admissions committee will see that you’ve matured into a more responsible and focused person, and that will play to your advantage.</p>
<p>You will have to average them. You can’t just ignore your previous degree and pretend it doesn’t exist.</p>
<p>What field are you interested in, and do you have work experience in that field which can help overcome your poor previous academic performance?</p>
<p>I eventually want an MBA so I was planning on getting the second bachelors in business or international/global relations.</p>
<p>I’ve been working as a behavioral therapy assistant for a non-profit. I did eventually go to a CC to take three or four child dev. classes to get the job. I did well in those classes, but I’m pretty much done with that.</p>
<p>An MBA will look a lot at what you’ve done since graduating, and less at your grades. Rather than doing a whole degree program again, why not just take a few courses in classes that interest you just to show you can do the work, and go from there? I have a BA in psychology, never took a business course in my life, and I’m looking at business schools for graduate school. Also, if you do <em>really</em> well on the GMAT, that will certainly help to balance out those grades.</p>
<p>Old post, but my 2 cents…</p>
<p>Was in a similar situation several years ago. 2.03 GPA and a BA in Psychology. Graduated from a good university, though and I was accepted at a state school. Now I have a second degree in a different field. As for the GPA, the school I went to considered me a graduate student and kept the 2 GPAs separate.</p>
<p>However, your situation is different. As Nova pointed out, you don’t need a second degree for an MBA. For an MBA, schools look at your grades, but more importantly your professional experience and GMAT score. A year after graduating, I was also considering an MBA, took the GMAT, did well and was accepted at multiple, legitimate schools. According to the statistics at the time, the average age for an MBA student was 28 with 3-5 years of experience.</p>
<p>Personally, though, you don’t need an MBA to succeed in business and an MBA from a lower tier school may not even be worth your time - better off getting paid and learning finance at a corporation. When I temped to get my first job, one of the temps had an MBA!</p>