# Any College Admissions Advisors in the House? (VERY LONG) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 6, 2003, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-college-admissions-advisors-in-the-house-very-long/199842 "2003-09-06T00:09:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-college-admissions-advisors-in-the-house-very-long/199842/1 "2003-09-06T00:09:56Z")
Two things: 1. I’m 33 years old and I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. 2. My half sister, age 17, is thinking of enrolling at [Western Illinois University](http://www.wiu.edu), where I attended for a few years (see below), and has asked me to take her to Macomb to visit the campus this weekend. Yay! With that out of the way, HeySissy’s pending enrollment in college has caused me to seriously examine some issues in my own life. Namely, that although I have a good job that pays good money, I have a degree in a very narrow field and my opportunities for advancement are slim to nil. That, and the fact that although I enjoy social work, I’ve realized (15 years too late) that my real passions are journalism and writing. Back in 1988, fresh out of high school, I enrolled at [WIU](http://www.wiu.edu), took classes, yada yada yada. By my third year, I had completely lost my motivation, my focus, etc. I began skipping class left and right, never studied, and consequently flunked a bunch of classes. I then decided that what I really wanted to do was go into the ministry. :smack: I left WIU in 1991 with 69 credit hours. I enrolled at [Ozark Christian College](http://www.occ.edu) as a transfer student. 21 of my 69 credits transfered. I graduated from OCC three years later. After six months in the ministry, I realized I’d made a terrible mistake and began looking for jobs in the civillian sector. I’ve flopped from job to job ever since then and finally found my current job (a "Bachelor’s-Degree-in-any-field job in social work) in December 2001. I like my job, but I want to go into journalism. So, by my calculations, I’m 51 credit hours away from a Bachelor’s degree at WIU (120 - 69 = 51). BUT, 21 of them went to OCC, so maybe I’m 72 credit hours away from a Bachelor’s degree at WIU (120 - 48 = 72). BUT, it’s been 12 years since I set foot in a WIU classroom. So, before I make a long-distance call to Macomb, can anyone give me some idea of where I would stand if I were thinking of re-enrolling at _your_ university under these circumstances? Are my 21 credits that transferred to OCC gone forever? Are my 69 (or 48) credit hours useless since it’s been over a decade since they were earned? Any help would be greatly appreciated. TIA ---
**Author:** ![xcheopis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bc8723/32.png) [@xcheopis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xcheopis)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-college-admissions-advisors-in-the-house-very-long/199842/2 "2003-09-06T00:47:22Z")
Whether or not your credit hours will still count depends largely on what courses you took. Some classes, especially science classes, stale date after a certain number of years. That’s is something you’ll need to discuss with both the admissions people and with department in which you plan to major. For example, I took my lower division science at a city college and those units transferred over to my 4-year university. However, the 4-year lists Organic Chemistry as an upper division chemistry course and so I don’t get to count the units toward my major. You might want to check their website for department requirements and any admissions information they’ve elected to post. ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-college-admissions-advisors-in-the-house-very-long/199842/3 "2003-09-06T02:09:14Z")
If you’ve got _a_ Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited university, then in most circumstances(\*): 1. You can earn a second Bachelor’s by earning an additional 30 credit hours (done by completing the major requirements, usually); or 2. You can try to go straight for a Master’s. Check the program you are interested in for details. YMMY, etc. Pantellerite, Ph.D. Asst. Professor Sometimes College Advisor (\*)Note that the bulk of my experience is in public universities in the states of TX, NC, and KY. ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-college-admissions-advisors-in-the-house-very-long/199842/4 "2003-09-06T02:12:52Z")
from [http://www.wiu.edu/grad/prospective/admreq.shtml](http://www.wiu.edu/grad/prospective/admreq.shtml) > [@](#): > > Second Baccalaureate Degree > > To be eligible for a second baccalaureate degree, after having been granted a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution, a candidate must comply with the following: > > The candidate must apply to and be accepted by the School of Graduate Studies for admission to the University. > The candidate must submit a program from the major department to be approved by the Council on Admission, Graduation, and Academic Standards. > The candidate must secure approval from the Council of Admission, Graduation, and Academic Standards prior to enrolling. > The candidate becomes an undergraduate upon approval of the second degree plan. All undergraduate University policies are applicable. > The candidate must earn a minimum of 30 additional semester hours in residence. Courses in the degree plan may not be taken pass/fail. > The candidate must complete an undergraduate application for graduation at least one semester prior to graduation. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-college-admissions-advisors-in-the-house-very-long/199842/5 "2003-09-06T02:17:27Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. You can earn a second Bachelor’s by earning an additional 30 credit hours (done by completing the major requirements, usually) Really? Does this apply only for majors that are somewhat close in topic (IE: a BA in English can get a second BA in Journalism with 30 hours)? Or does this apply for a second BA in a vastly different field as well? Say, for example, a BA in English looking to get a BS in physics or computer science [sup]for my friend! Yeah, that’s it… my friend. I personally DO NOT see my BA in English as a complete waste of time. No. Not at all![/sup]… ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-college-admissions-advisors-in-the-house-very-long/199842/6 "2003-09-06T02:26:25Z")
Check with whatever University you’re thinking of getting the second Bachelor’s in. I should’ve said that it’s a _minimum_ of 30 hours, meaning that you have to get in the major requirements plus any deficiencies in the core requirement for a B.S. versus a B.A. (e.g., extra Chemistry, Math, and Physics). ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-college-admissions-advisors-in-the-house-very-long/199842/7 "2003-09-06T14:04:07Z")
Thanks, **Pantellerite**. I’m slightly less discouraged and overwhelmed than I was when I wrote this thread. OCC’s accreditation may be an issue, since they’re accredited by a private body that accredits small, religious private colleges. Also, my grades there weren’t too impressive. Still, it looks like I can probably pull this off without going the start-all-over-again-from-scratch route.