Hello everyone! I’m new to this site, and thrilled to find such a well of information for non-traditional students.
About me: Fairly recent (2009) graduate from a private college in Chicago. English major, 3.65 cumulative GPA, member of a few honors societies, solid background in volunteering/community service. Oh, and quite broke.
While I’d love to attend a formal program, it seems to me that the general consensus is to take the DIY route if your ugrad grades are acceptable and your wallet is empty.
I am now a Wisconsin resident and plan on applying at UW Madison, taking courses full-time. My question is: should I apply as a second degree seeker, stay for 4 or 5 semesters to complete prerequisites, and then ‘drop out?’ Special students get placed last in classes; I’m worried about availability. On the other hand, I’m concerned about how presumably dropping out of a bachelors program will look.
What do you guys think?
Thanks for the support and advice!
- In reply to:
My question is: should I apply as a second degree seeker, stay for 4 or 5 semesters to complete prerequisites, and then 'drop out?' Special students get placed last in classes; I'm worried about availability. On the other hand, I'm concerned about how presumably dropping out of a bachelors program will look.
My answer is apply as whatever you need to in order to be able to register for classes. Lots of people enroll as second degree students for the very reason you mentioned. No one is going to have a problem with your not finishing the degree since you already have a degree.
Agree 100% with Emergency. No med school will ask about this.
For that matter, I’m not even sure they would know how you were registered, at least on the application side. There might be a notation on your transcript of how you were enrolled (med schools typically do require you send them original transcripts prior to matriculation), but at that point you’re already accepted. And again, they really don’t care. I think they realize that at some schools, you have to register as a degree-seeking student and/or declare a major in order to be able to take classes.
Excellent! I was hoping that would be an okay route; it makes the application process much easier.