Seeing how I’m the first one to attend college in my family. I had no idea how it works. I just thought wow 2 degrees in 5-6 years that’s awesome. I didn’t know the technicalities of this program but thanks
Thanks for your help everyone. I’ll try to go to my financial aid office to see if I can get more help. In the meantime I will be applying for more scholarships and looking for a better paying job.
So what is this program? LSU and which private?
Whether you get state aid or institutional aid, unless you are in an approved 5-year program you usually get 4 years of aid and you are done. If you want a second degree, you have to pay for it…
If you have completed your first degree it is time to get it and move forward. You are going to be hard pressed to find any free money (barring working for a company with tuition benefits) that is going to pay for a second degree
How many courses do you need to graduate? If you’re commuting you may need to work full-time and take classes part-time as you can afford them.
Are you actually an instate resident? You live with your parents?
Yes and yes
I feel like most of the people commenting don’t understand what a Dual degree program is. so please look at my explanation or look it up. I’m in a complex situation this is not the same as double majoring…it’s completely different.
I fully understand what a dual degree program is. I also fully understand that folks enrolling in these programs know that they will take 5-6 years to complete and will financially plan accordingly.
I’m pretty unclear on how many semesters you have to complete. I know you said you don’t want any more loans, but if the only way to pay your college bills is to take the Pell and the Direct Loan (assuming you haven’t used the full undergrad aggregate limit already) is the way to go.
If you add $10,000 to your loan balance, you will have about $120 a month or so additional loan payment. So if you then have $62,000 in loans, your payments would be in the $700 a month range. If you get a chemical engineering job, that should be able to be paid.
$52,000 in undergrad loans implies that some of these are private or parent Plus loans…is that accurate?
We are very aware of what a dual degree program is. But when it comes to state aid, institutional aid and merit money, you get 4 years to get a degree and get out. If your dual degree takes more than 4 years to complete, 5th/6th year is on you.
You need to speak with your academic advisor (probably at your home school) to see which one you can finish, because unless you are going to take on more debt, you still will not have anything.
How many of your core eng classes have you yet to complete?
The states are stretched for funds for higher education. There is no endless supply of money, especially with states that don’t have large tax revenues.
If every student, who qualifies for state funding, completes a dual 5-6 year degree, the states would rapidly decimate their higher education funding. They would no longer be able to offer their students enough money to complete 4 year degrees.
To be fair to the rest of the instate students, the states try to cover a 4 year degree, for students who qualify.
Some degrees, (like engineering majors) can take 5 years, such that, relative funding may be covered by their state. Six years of funding is not going to happen. I’m assuming the tuition would have to increase significantly to cover 6 years of schooling.
You’re in a specialized dual degree program. Typically, the school’s online catalog and your advisors, tell you upfront, the length of the program. It’s not free. They assume that you are aware that two additional years of schooling will add 2 years to your bill. Funding questions, for those programs, are usually directed to the FA office.
Yes, we know it’s not a dual major. FWIW, ironically, a dual major would be covered if it were to be completed in 4 years.
We are in Alabama and my oldest is a freshman at a state school. They don’t offer any need based aid that I am aware of, unless it is an endowed scholarship. He has the full pell grant, academic scholarship, leadership scholarship, leadership housing scholarship, small honors college scholarship, and local outside scholarship. It is enough to cover everything but everything except the academic scholarship had to be applied for and most things were only for first time freshman(renewable though). Our state just doesn’t provide much in the way of financial aid. Everything is either federal or institutional based on certain requirements/accomplishments. Perhaps Louisiana is the same way.
Maybe talk to the financial aid office and see if there are any endowed scholarships that you can apply for to help you get finished. If you happen to be female, maybe there are funds out there to help women going into chemical engineering.
most of the people commenting don’t understand<<<<<<<<
I think you are not answering the right questions, why not go through the thread and answer the specific questions about your courses completed, timeline, loans, pell etc thus far?
This is one of the challenges of 3+2 programs and the reason one of my kiddos chose not to pursue one. Students are eligible for 12 semesters of Pell, but if you completed the graduation requirements for biology at your first college you may no longer be eligible for the Pell Grant. You may not count the engineering degree as a second degree, but the federal government might. They don’t pay for 2nd degrees.
How many courses do you need to graduate? If your parents can’t pay then one option is to attend part-time as you can afford it, take an additional federal student loan (if you’re still eligible for any), and work for the rest. Another would be to take a gap year to work for the money.
You may also want to check the rules for graduation. I used to work at a college that participated in a dual degree program. If a student completed the requirements for one degree but not the 2nd they were awarded the degree for the major they completed. But I don’t think a biology degree will help you get a job that will pay off a $52k loan. Your best option may be to finish the engineering degree.
Unfortunately, I don’t think there are grants available to pay for a second degree which is what a 3+2 program ultimately is. You can check with the financial aid office to see if they have any suggestions, but try to figure out a workable backup plan just in case.
The good news is that you have a university within commuting distance of your home. Many of us have had to work our way through school. It’s disappointing and can be hard work, but it’s a viable path to a degree.
Maybe change jobs to one that helps with college costs? Target, Walmart, Home Depot, and more help pay for college.
What state are you in?
LA has state aid, right? It’s called TOPS. Did you not qualify?
You need to finish a degree. Are you a junior?
Does your current college have engineering or will you have to transfer again?
We all understand the type of dual degree program you’re in.
What school are you now attending? Have you completed any eng’g classes yet?
Not all schools issue the degree immediately. My nephew finished his BS in engineering at Colorado but didn’t apply for graduation. Instead, he started the master’s degree program and remained an undergrad so eligible for undergrad tuition, loans, state grant ($75 per credit), etc. (he wasn’t Pell eligible because of EFC). The state benefits stopped at 145 credits, but that was enough for him to get the masters.
At any time he could have applied for his BS and dropped the master’s program. This plan is approved (and encouraged) by the school. It is not secret or against the rules.
So check out your state benefits and school policies.