<p>Does anyone know if colleges will let you go back and get a second or replacement B.A.?</p>
<p>To sum it up… I had an awful time in college. The first main problem was I picked the wrong one to begin with and the second one was that when I realized that things were probably not going to get any better, I waited it out in the hopes that they would, instead of transferring. While I did decently (not great) grade-wise, my experience totally ruined the social and psychological development that’s supposed to take place during those years. It left me filled with nothing but regret. What I needed wasn’t available at that college.</p>
<p>If that wasn’t bad enough, two years out I’ve been turned down by every white-collar job I’ve applied to and every grad school I’ve applied to. The one I went to was supposed to be a “prestigious” east coast college (I don’t want to say which one it is because that’s not important), and I live on the west coast, where I should have gone to begin with, and no one out here knows that colleges on the east coast exist except for Harvard and maybe Princeton, Yale, and MIT. That wouldn’t bother me so much except that it’s kept me unemployed.</p>
<p>I’ve been toying with the idea of going back to college…not to grad school, but going and getting another B.A. and just doing the whole thing over again, this time at a school that would better suit me. I went to a small, cold, rural college in the northeast (don’t guess…there are quite a few that fit that type), and what I really needed was a huge university in a major city. By this point, I really don’t care if I have to relinquish my first B.A. As far as I’m concerned the money’s already been wasted. (And once I realized that fact, it was still so hard to swallow.) If they’ll let me, then I’ll do it. Will they?</p>
<p>I’m sorry you had a bad college experience, but I’m not sure going back for another four years will help remedy all that you may have missed out on. I’d suggest instead of trying to salvage what “should have been,” you move on with your life and work on what could be. You’re still young, there’s so much ahead of you. Move to a big city. Do what you want to do. That’s my piece.</p>
<p>You should sort out two things: are you going back to try to undo the bad social and psychological development you experienced before? If so, I’d be inclined to go with what rence said. Older, returning students rarely have a mainstream experience and I am not sure you’d undo what it is you think you missed. Or are you going back to major in something that would put you on a particular path that you can’t get onto otherwise? I knew somebody that did this. He had gone to one of the premier public universities and studied in the humanities, but realized a bit late he wanted to study physics. So he went back to Boulder. It worked for him, but his time at Boulder was full of single-minded devotion to study and nothing more.</p>
<p>You aren’t alone in having a lousy college experience. If that’s all this is about, you have the rest of your life to put yourself on a different path. If your goal in this is genuinely concerned with a real interest in a new course of study, maybe it would be a good thing.</p>
<p>kk19131 - yep, west coast for sure. And in a big city. Preferrably SF or maybe LA. Any of the other major cities over here would suffice I’m sure.</p>
<p>Rence and BedHead - Thanks for your advice – it’s much appreciated. And I have a feeling you’re right. I guess I’ve been severely disappointed in both the social and academic/placement aspects of my college experience, moreso the former, but still both.</p>
<p>You’re probably right about me just needing to live my life instead of trying to go back and re-do it. I’m not in the stage of my life that I was at the end of high school, and even if I did get to do/see a bunch of things that I hoped I’d do but never got the chance to due to where I went, I could see them end up annoying me by now. I can’t just pretend that four years of my life didn’t exist. It’s just that I cringe when I type the name of that college on my resume because of all that it stands for to me (I know, that sounds like something I need counseling for :-\ )</p>
<p>The other part – yeah, my particular major area isn’t too marketable, but I was under the impression that it doesn’t matter what you major in as long as you can do the job. Obviously this isn’t the case now. All of these jobs that I’ve been turned down for I know I can do (otherwise I wouldn’t have applied!) but for whatever the reason, I didn’t get them. If I went back, I’d probably do econ, which is something I have an interest in but never got around to taking classes for. Also, the thing that really gets me is that here in CA people who went to UCLA, Berkeley, or Stanford are looked upon here as godlike geniuses, esp. in the white-collar world. Considering that CA is where I always knew I’d end up, it can’t hurt to have one of those on my resume. People even seem to look more favorably at the rest of the UC’s, or USC too, better than any east coast schools except for the ones I mentioned in my first post. I had no idea this would be the case. And that makes me want to kick myself because in addition to being much better fits, it probably would have been a heck of a lot easier to get into UCLA or Berkeley (not guaranteed I know, but statistically speaking) than where I did go.</p>
<p>I think that going back to school is a good idea. Most large universities do have returning students. I know people who converted other degrees into degrees in computer science, for example. Going to a large university in a city does sound right. But, treat it as a new experience, a new step, not a do-over. Many graduate programs take people with degrees in other fields, so there may be a master’s program out there for you. The people that I knew did not have to redo their entire bachelor’s- many credits did carry over. Best wishes, I think that you are on the right track. And by the way- even people with good or excellent grades in liberal arts fields (or even sciences) have found themselves in the same position as you jobwise. I’ve known plenty of them.</p>
<p>Some schools will allow a second degree without another 120 or so credits.</p>
<p>For example only at Wisconsin:</p>
<p>Second Bachelor of Science Degree Requirements
Those with a bachelor of science (B.S.) or bachelor of arts (B.A.) degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison or other accredited institutions may, if eligible, pursue a second bachelor’s degree from the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. </p>
<p>Those who have been out of school for one semester or more must apply for admission (or readmission) with the regular undergraduate application. Continuing UW-Madison students do not need to submit this form. All candidates need a dean’s permission from the Office of Undergraduate Programs and Services to work toward a second bachelor’s degree. A minimum of a 2.0 GPA is required (C=2.0). Several college majors require a higher GPA. </p>
<p>The following requirements for the second bachelor’s degree must be met: </p>
<p>Students must complete a minimum of 30 credits in residence, of which 15 or more must be in the major field as specified by the major department. These credits are in addition to credits earned for the first degree. </p>
<p>Candidates must complete all university, college, major, and curricular degree program requirements. Credits earned for the first degree will apply toward appropriate requirements for the second. However, students must take at least 30 additional credits, as noted above. Students with their first B.S. degree from the college must select a new major or degree program.</p>
<p>Well I would say pick a school that is in ur homestate or wherever you have residency.
Going back is going to cost you a lot of money. I also would predict that the traditional college experience is prolly not gonna be the same.
If your going to salvage that experience I suggest u save urself the load of money ur gonna pay (unless u go INSTATE) and instead, go onto GRAD School and develop ur current degree. </p>
<p>If you hate ur current degree, then yes I do reccommend going back as that degree will determine your job that will last a lifetime.
I feel u must like ur degree (after all u chose it and its hard to realize u hate it now) but ur having troubly finding a job. Well mayby u shoulod consider grad school.
The “College Experience” only lasta 3, mayby 4 years. 10 years from now u probably wont even care if u had a great time in college or not. u will hav e had other great experiences to replace them (your still very young and have more than half of your life ahead of u). Once ur done with college that experience is over… going back wont really salvage it as it just wont be the same.</p>
<p>You probably want to have a conversation with a counselor/admissions officer at the school you are considering, such as UCLA. </p>
<p>I’d think you would not have to do all four years again - your general education should count as being done - -but I have no idea if I am right, just intuition.</p>
<p>My uncle went to a community college to pick up business classes after he completed a BA in history, and then he went to USC for his master’s. That proved to be very marketable. </p>
<p>Is there anything else about you that might be complicating job hunting? You might want to go for image consulting, if there is such a thing. Maybe your dress, mannerisms, or appearance could be improved.</p>
<p>Can you do this without aid? I don’t believe anyone will give you aid towards a second undergrad degree. Move forward, take what classes you need to get into a good grd school at a UC.</p>