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As other posters have said, a 4yr degree in Biology is stepping stone degree. If you are not prepared to attend more college following a BS, then you should look at technician type certifications instead of a Bio degree.
Regardless you will need jobs & plenty of savings & then meet your new college's "in state" tuition residency requirements. However, your post says you were on "academic probation and financial aid suspension". How can you be on financial aid suspension if you were not receving financial aid?
Your GPA will not improve much unless you re-take those bad grade classes. Either from the original college or classes your new college will accept as substitutes. Perhaps your old college offers those classes online. Because you could get years of straught As in new classes & your cumulative GPA would still suck.
I might have taken out some aid the first year, I don't remember. If I did, it was a small amount and it definitely wasn't loans. All I know is when I check my financial aid eligibility for my previous university, it says financial aid suspension. I'm hoping that I'll somehow be eligible now that it's been awhile since I dropped out and so much has changed. Maybe it will just let me start over without transferring any academic history? I'm still anxiously waiting to hear back from the FAFSA.
As far as improving my GPA goes, I plan on speaking with an academic adviser to see what I should do. I may end up not using my previous transcript at all, which means all of the classes I actually did do well in would be lost. That kind of sucks but I don't want to end up in a position where I'm making better grades but my overall GPA is still low because of my academic history. I do have that option, right? If I can, I might want to just start from scratch at community college.
Also, I am open to pursing more than just a bachelors degree. I'm not sure if it would be necessary though, like I said before, I see plenty of job posting online that only require a bachelors. I don't know why everyone is saying I won't be able to find a job unless I get a graduate degree. Please elaborate?
Quote:
Originally Posted by historyfan
Plenty of successful people have crashed & burned their first try at college. Good luck.
I might have taken out some aid the first year, I don't remember. If I did, it was a small amount and it definitely wasn't loans. All I know is when I check my financial aid eligibility for my previous university, it says financial aid suspension. I'm hoping that I'll somehow be eligible now that it's been awhile since I dropped out and so much has changed. Maybe it will just let me start over without transferring any academic history? I'm still anxiously waiting to hear back from the FAFSA.
As far as improving my GPA goes, I plan on speaking with an academic adviser to see what I should do. I may end up not using my previous transcript at all, which means all of the classes I actually did do well in would be lost. That kind of sucks but I don't want to end up in a position where I'm making better grades but my overall GPA is still low because of my academic history. I do have that option, right? If I can, I might want to just start from scratch at community college.
Also, I am open to pursing more than just a bachelors degree. I'm not sure if it would be necessary though, like I said before, I see plenty of job posting online that only require a bachelors. I don't know why everyone is saying I won't be able to find a job unless I get a graduate degree. Please elaborate?
Thank you.
Unfortunately, you do not get to opt out of transferring your previous transcript to any new school you start at. If you don't, and it is found out later you had attended school somewhere else, it is grounds for expulsion. That is the last thing you want.
On a positive note, when you transfer schools, your actual GPA doesn't follow you. They simply transfer in your credits as either satisfactory or unsatisfactory, and your GPA starts over at zero. All the credits you earn at your new university goes to calculate your overall there. That is NOT to say FAFSA will not take your previous courses taken into consideration.
Unfortunately, you do not get to opt out of transferring your previous transcript to any new school you start at. If you don't, and it is found out later you had attended school somewhere else, it is grounds for expulsion. That is the last thing you want.
On a positive note, when you transfer schools, your actual GPA doesn't follow you. They simply transfer in your credits as either satisfactory or unsatisfactory, and your GPA starts over at zero. All the credits you earn at your new university goes to calculate your overall there. That is NOT to say FAFSA will not take your previous courses taken into consideration.
Good news! My FAFSA finished processing so I contacted my community college and they said I was eligible to receive aid, despite my situation. They explained the transferring processes and told me that my GPA resets when I go to a new school, like you said. I will have to send in my transcript but I will only get credit for the classes I passed. So they will check my SAP at the end of fall and as long as I do well this time around I should be fine. I get to start over with a clean slate basically, well kind of. Now I just have to wait a few weeks to see how much aid I will receive. They told me I'm also eligible for state grants.
Super relieved to hear this. I'm really looking forward to being a student again. A big thanks to everyone here for helping me sort through the situation while I was waiting for the results and to everyone who offered career advice. I really appreciate it. This time around I'm going all in for my degree, and maybe grad school down the road.
I'd either go to a community college for a bit, and attempt to bring that GPA up a bit. Or...you could research 4 year institutions in your area that offer a degree in General Studies. Many of these programs accommodate students that may have "fallen on tough times". Regardless of the reason, many schools will help you out.
I'd either go to a community college for a bit, and attempt to bring that GPA up a bit. Or...you could research 4 year institutions in your area that offer a degree in General Studies. Many of these programs accommodate students that may have "fallen on tough times". Regardless of the reason, many schools will help you out.
I would personally be astonished if a degree in "general studies" is worth as much as the paper it's printed on, when it comes to getting a job.
There are so many people with bachelor's degrees in Biology that the competition will be fierce for the few jobs that require only that qualification.
Since you have to take a ton of chemistry and biology to get that degree, consider chemical engineering or possibly physical therapy as degrees that might/would have a better chance of remunerative employment.
Regardless of how you go to be in this situation, the larger issue is that society lends money to students right out of high school, often when they're too immature or unprepared to make positive life decisions. They haven't lived and learned, and often make "rookie errors" that a person a few years down the line won't make.
By the time they wise up, they've blown the aid. Instead of helping people get back on track and become productive citizens, we refuse to help them, which leads them to not being productive citizens.
Save enough money to take some classes part time in order to get your GPA up.
This would be a good way to beef up one's GPA, that's for sure. Take some cheap community college courses. My local community college charges about $300 for a one semester, three credit hour course.
I'll look into it. I guess I have some time to think it over before I transfer to a four year university.
Maybe yes, maybe no. Four-year universities can be very picky about which CC classes they accept in pursuit of their degrees. Wiser to check the curriculum requirements of the university before you throw away money and time on CC classes that won't serve your goal degree.
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Four-year universities can be very picky about which CC classes they accept in pursuit of their degrees. Wiser to check the curriculum requirements of the university before you throw away money and time on CC classes that won't serve your goal degree.
