(Undergrad) Too many schools?

[Marissa1]

Hi everyone!

I'm an older (soon-to-be) undergrad student and mom.  I completed a couple of classes while in high school (from two different community colleges). I then attended a 4-year state college for a few semesters right after high school (majored in psychology) and dropped out after having a baby.  A few years later, I started taking online classes, but shortly after starting, my mom passed away unexpectedly.  Again, I dropped out.

I have a pretty good job (going on 10 years with the company); l I make OK money, and enjoy what I do. However, I have a dream of finishing college and becoming an SLP. I applied to Kean (I'm in Northern NJ) as a transfer student into their communication disorders undergrad program and was accepted.  Here is my dilemma (sorry it took so long to get to it!)

I will be paying out of pocket for all of my schooling (I do not qualify for grants).  Kean accepted 36 (I think) of my 60-something credits towards a BA in communication disorders. In order to save money, a friend suggested taking as many classes at the local community college and then transferring to Kean afterwards to finish up the Bachelor's degree; it looks like I could take 9-10 classes (27-30 credits).  Would this cause an issue? I already have transcripts from 2 community colleges and 2-4 year colleges (Kean would make a 3rd.) 

Thoughts? Am I over-thinking this, or does this show a lack of commitment maybe????

Last (quick) question.  I can look this up I'm sure but in case anyone knows...I took CLEP testing for Anatomy & Physiology.  Is this likely to be accepted, or should I plan to (re)take this?

 

[Vene]

I'm not in SLP, but I was accepted into graduate school with credits from multiple colleges (one community college and two universities). It was never brought up by anybody during interviews and didn't seem to hinder me. Besides, if you don't complete a BA you have no chance at all, so I don't think you should let it stop you. Good luck.

[jpiccolo]

Explain it in your statement of purpose. I think it'll make you a stronger applicant if you can demonstrate your desire to be an SLP and what you've learned since starting school.

[mr479]

I attended 7 different schools, but I applied to a lot of places where I only sent the transcripts that I gauged to be the most necessary. Yes, it says you must send all transcripts, but my little experiment proved otherwise. I don't think it's anybody's business but your own when and where you "screwed up" if that's at all the case. Then again, I made this decision because it was the only way I could afford applying to multiple programs. So, I wouldn't necessarily recommend my approach unless you are desperate.

[mr479]

In addition, one advisor told me "I know the school website says differently, but if it's not in your last 60, I wouldn't even put it on your application." That was at Utah State.

[SLPosteriorCricoarytenoid]

I really don't think that the amounts of schools matter. I have a total of five different transcripts and was accepted to 4/6. This is mainly because I did some college in high school at two different universities, took a math class over the summer at a community college, had a majority of credits where I got my BS, and also earned credits where I went for my post-bacc. As long as you have the four year degree, they are more interested in the last 60 credits and your CSD GPA. 

 

I have a feeling you will need to retake the A&P. Unless the A&P you have is specifically for SLP, as in A&P for Speech Mechanisms, you will need to retake it. I wasn't able to get off the hook when I had taken Anatomy and Physiology since they weren't specific to SLP. I am also glad they did not let me get off the hook. The A&P you take for SLP is a necessity. You learn about all of the muscles, bones, and structures that support breathing, phonation, and all of that good stuff that the general A&Ps gloss over. 

 

I also tried the trick of pretending to "forgot" to send one of the transcripts that had one class on (it was the one math class that I took for my own benefit over a summer to prep me for higher level math). Somehow, one of the places I applied to found out I didn't send them it and asked me to send it. I have no idea how they found it, but I sent it just in case. So much for trying to save money that way!

Edited July 2, 2015 by SLPosteriorCricoarytenoid

[mr479]

Interesting, you got caught! Was the class listed as transfer credit on another transcript?

[Vene]

Definitely send the transcript if you transferred the credits to count for your degree. If you attended a college 15 years ago and started fresh, I could see not bothering with that transcript (more likely than not nobody care about it anyway).

[SLPosteriorCricoarytenoid]

Interesting, you got caught! Was the class listed as transfer credit on another transcript?

 

On some of my transcripts it just showed up as whatever course it was equivalent to. Although, I know it showed up as a transfer credit on at least one of my transcripts. It was one class but I still had to send it. Blah. I had the transcript sent everywhere else after the one institution caught it. I figured others may catch it as well. Heaven forbid I try to save money while applying to graduate school!

[mr479]

Just another question. Did you list attending that school in your application or not?

[SLPosteriorCricoarytenoid]

Just another question. Did you list attending that school in your application or not?

Nope, I did not! That was another reason I was really surprised they found it!

[avflinsch]

Nope, I did not! That was another reason I was really surprised they found it!

It was probably listed as a transfer course on one of the transcripts that you did send.

[HappyThoughts]

Hello! I am a slightly older student as well and have changed my career path. I had 5 different transcripts. Some of my course work was completely unrelated but I still got into 4 out of 5 schools I applied to. I also had three transcripts that did not result in a degree. It did not seem to be a problem. Hope this helps :-)