<p>I have been reading the forums for a while, learning much about different schools and the people that are applying. I wanted to finally put up a post and see what others think of my situation. I am currently active duty military, but will retire in June of next year. It is my plan to go to school 'full time' in pursuit of an Undergrad Engineering Degree. I recently earned a BS in Org Management with honors from a good private school; I have attended school whenever and whereever I could throughout my 23 years of service, but have never been in a position to take any of the upper level undergraduate courses required to finish a very technical degree. I have been a math/cs major years ago at a 4 year, and completed many programming and math/physics classes. All total I have near 180 hours with a GPA of 3.85. I am currently taking general chemistry I at a CC, so that I may have what I need to transfer to a 4 year for the fall 2011 when I retire.</p>
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<li><p>Am I completely off base in trying to transfer to a big school like UT Austin / TAMU? Both schools offer second degree addmissions, but on a case by case basis. I believe I have a good life story and will offer diversity to the schools, but I am trying to see myself from the schools point of view.</p></li>
<li><p>It seems that some of the private schools I am looking at are primarily geard toward the younger student, would my age be a detractor? I know that admissions cannot discriminate based on age, but some of the applications seem that they do just that -look for younger students. This could be because there are not that many students that are my age and attempting yet another careeer change, but am I crazy for even thinking that I may be a viable candidate for a seat?</p></li>
<li><p>Since I do have the post 9-11 GI bill, will this be in my favor since I really am not asking for any financial aid? I see that most schools claim to admit on a "need-blind" basis, but really.... money makes the world go round right? Realistically I would not be pulling from the financial aid pool of funds that other students may use. Wouldn't this help my chances of acceptance as well?</p></li>
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<p>Thank you for any advice you may give. I am really looking to move back to Texas upon retiring so am interested in Texas schools.</p>
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<li><p>I see no problem with this. It certainly seems like you have the academic credentials to warrant admission, and I think either school would you as part of the student body. I think the “case by case” issue is meaningless, since all admissions are “case by case”.</p></li>
<li><p>The appearance of targeting youth is simply because that is their largest demographic. You may find that the schools have a number of programs oriented towards adults students, they just don’t advertise them as heavily and they don’t show up on their general literature and websites.</p></li>
<li><p>At most schools admissions is pretty blind to money, because undergrad tuition is not generally paid by the school itself - only a handful get school-based scholarships, the rest is paid by loans or third-parties grants. The GI Bill will probably not influence anything simply because they don’t care who pays the tuition, whether it is the GI Bill, loans, tips from your job at Starbucks, or money left to you by your rich uncle Albert.</p></li>
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<p>Anyway, I am not familiar with TAMU, but I visited UT Austin’s EE department and they’re great! Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks Cosmicfish. I was and still am worried about the second degree thing though. As I said “case-by-case” but I am thinking it is more of a “space-available” basis. As most programs have no extra space -it seems to me that my chances are slim. I plan on putting forth my very best effort though in explaining the situation in my essays -required and supplemental. It would truly be a dream come true to attend the UT Austin EE program -I have heard from many that it is stellar. Thanks for the vote of confidence!</p>
<p>Im short on time, so not responding to all of this.</p>
<p>TAMU will hold it against you, if you have a previous degree. UT, tech, UH, UTDallas will not discriminate, and they treat you just like any transfer student. This is unfortunate because I am in a similar boat and want to go to tamu more than the rest.</p>
<p>I was in a situation similar to yours as I was about to retire after 23 years from the Foreign Service while I was still in my forties. I wanted to become a doctor and applied to about 20 medical schools and was accepted at only one, Drexel in Philadelphia, but it only takes one acceptance to become a doctor. I already had a BS in Astronomy, which also made me kind of an unusual FSO, and while I was overseas, including Iraq, took enough distance learning courses to complete the organic chemistry requirement needed for admission to medical school.</p>
<p>It was not easy to change careers like that but it can be done with enough perserverence and motivation. It was tough but I got my MD and finished residency training and am now in private practice. </p>
<p>While it is against the law, you will unfortunately face some age discrimination and there is not really a lot you can do about it. Fortunately, there are schools that are more willing than others to accept “non-traditional” students and you should try to identify them.</p>
<p>While a career change is a huge challenge it can also be very rewarding and I wish you the best.</p>
<p>@entropy
Thank you for the post. I have read the blurb on the TAMU site somewhat discouraging post-bach applicants. I may just apply there anyway. The worst that can happen of course is they just say no and I loose an application fee. I truly have a passion for learning and I am trying to convey this as humbly as possible without being “sweaty”. TAMU is great, but I don’t know if it will be the best fit due to its location for my spouse to work.<br>
@ Lemaitre
Thanks for sharing your inspiring story. I can not help but read these forums daily gleaning every tidbit of information I can that might reveal more about my future education opportunities. The short story -never ever accept complete defeat. If learning is truly ones passion, then a way will be opened if one continues to persevere! Thanks again.</p>