Associates after Bachelors? 2nd Bachelors

[evergreen]

If you are trying to enroll at Penn for legacy status alone to improve your child's admissions chances, I believe this is a futile effort.

Ivy admissions especially since test optional took hold are basically a lottery for even the best students. Legacy status has only really been pivotal for alumni who are very active (top leaders) in alumni associations or who fundraise or donate significant sums. In addition, Penn like other universities is starting to deemphasize legacy admissions (see https://www.thedp.com/article/2023/03/pe...university).  

I am a Penn alumnus and in my circle of fellow alumni, admission results have been disappointing at Penn for their children and seem to show no benefit for "regular" alumni. This is only anecdotal and Penn has said in the past legacy status is considered in the ED round of admissions but I think this is waning.

Current admissions to elite universities is very chaotic and difficult to predict. I suggest following the Applying to college subreddit where top students report on their results for the current admissions season. It is very important to apply widely and to ensure that your child has many safeties they can be sure of as well as reach and target colleges. An excellent essay and strong extracurriculars will carry far more weight than generic legacy status in admissions even for high stats students.

[davewill]

This is the first I've heard about the NSCH, not sure if any of the institutions I attended use it. 

Virtually every RA school reports attendance information to NSCH and that's all that's needed to let a school like Penn know that they need to see a transcript from that school covering the dates you attended. It's also not uncommon for schools to be a little lax about transcripts when you enroll, then insist on seeing all of them before you graduate.

The worst outcome would be getting them to accept credits and completing the courses with them, then having them insist at graduation audit time that they need to see the rest of your transcripts and derailing your effort.

[aslhou]

If you are trying to enroll at Penn for legacy status alone to improve your child's admissions chances, I believe this is a futile effort.

Ivy admissions especially since test optional took hold are basically a lottery for even the best students. Legacy status has only really been pivotal for alumni who are very active (top leaders) in alumni associations or who fundraise or donate significant sums. In addition, Penn like other universities is starting to deemphasize legacy admissions (see https://www.thedp.com/article/2023/03/pe...university).  

I am a Penn alumnus and in my circle of fellow alumni, admission results have been disappointing at Penn for their children and seem to show no benefit for "regular" alumni. This is only anecdotal and Penn has said in the past legacy status is considered in the ED round of admissions but I think this is waning.

Current admissions to elite universities is very chaotic and difficult to predict. I suggest following the Applying to college subreddit where top students report on their results for the current admissions season. It is very important to apply widely and to ensure that your child has many safeties they can be sure of as well as reach and target colleges. An excellent essay and strong extracurriculars will carry far more weight than generic legacy status in admissions even for high stats students.

Thank you, I had actually read this article previously.  Legacy in general may be on the way out, not just at Penn. 

Honestly, I am already in the alumni directory and only need 2 more courses to be technically an alumnus (1 year in a degree program), so I may just do that and be done with it.  I'm sure earning a degree would be much better than just having the status, but as you mentioned, the odds are still only 30-35% for a legacy candidate meeting all other admissions standards, at least in ED.

[aslhou]

This is the first I've heard about the NSCH, not sure if any of the institutions I attended use it. 

Virtually every RA school reports attendance information to NSCH and that's all that's needed to let a school like Penn know that they need to see a transcript from that school covering the dates you attended. It's also not uncommon for schools to be a little lax about transcripts when you enroll, then insist on seeing all of them before you graduate.

The worst outcome would be getting them to accept credits and completing the courses with them, then having them insist at graduation audit time that they need to see the rest of your transcripts and derailing your effort.

Just FYI, the school already has all of my existing transcripts.  This is simply using an associates to transfer in credits instead of the bachelors, due to the policy they have in place.  Will let you know once I have received a response from them.

[evergreen]

Unless you really want the degree, it's possible your money and time could be better spent on a college consultant for essay help and application packaging. I have not used this consultant but he is often recommended on a social chat board I participate in. Unlike most consultants who require you to buy an expensive package deal, he consults on an hourly basis and is familiar with the Ivies and other top colleges. https://www.richardmontauk.com/college

[aslhou]

So Penn said they will accept credits earned after the bachelors, or any credits that were earned but weren't used for your first bachelors. It seems the extra associates is unnecessary. That being said, something like UMPI YourPace would probably work well for this. I have 6 courses from my undergrad that weren't needed for the degree, and the other courses I had mentioned previously. This could be as few as 6 courses for me, which should be obtainable in one 8 week YourPace session. I will post back once I decide if I am going to do this or not. Thanks everyone for the info!

[bjcheung77]

Ding ding, it's like most institutions, you can't reuse your credits for a different degree, they need you to take the 'major' or the 'new' classes required for the second degree. You should verify you can't re-use X amount of credits, as some institutions would allow overlapping of some, depending on what that number is on 'some overlap'. Yes, UMPI is the cheapest, easiest, fastest for your credits, up to 30, they're also graded.