My UF sophomore daughter is thinking of pursuing a joint B.S./M.S degree. I called the Florida Dept. of Education to try to understand if all the courses or only the undergraduate courses would be covered under her Benacquisto scholarship. The DOE rep called it a 3/2 program & gave me some advice but said the actual decision is made by the UF Financial Office. He said to specifically talk to the Benacquisto contact there. Does anyone have experience with this? Also, any idea who the Benacquisto contact in UF financial aid is?
It’s based on the program. UF has “combined” degrees, which are “4+1” programs, where some of the senior year classes (year 4) are replaced with master level classes (these classes count toward both the BS and MS degree). Both degrees are NOT awarded until the end of the 5th year. Since that’s the case, students can still get finacial aid (like Bright Futures).
She should talk with the advisor in her program. Each year is a little different with how the rules are implemented.
My son, who is also a sophomore is also thinking about a combined degree. We know BF’s will pay, but we also know that those graduate level classes cost more than undergraduate level classes, so we need to prepare for that additional cost (undergraduate cost per credit hour is $212, while it’s $530 for graduate level classes).