With a low undergrad GPA, is it worth it to do a second BS?

Your verbal is a bit low, especially considering your writing score. It’s so hard to get a decent writing score on the GRE. If you are an international student or going into a quantitative field it wouldn’t matter anyway, though.

It depends on what the terminal degree for your new field is. If you want to be an engineer, get the 2nd BS. If you want to be a biologist or go to med school, just do the required courses (get all As) and apply as is.

Either way, the most important thing is to get experience while in school. You MUST get an internship to get practical experience (unless your pursuits are academic in nature).

I have always sucked at verbal and been a strong writer. The verbal section of the GRE just seemed to require a much larger vocabulary than I will ever have! I just took the test cold though so maybe if I practiced/studied for it I could raise the verbal. Probably not worth the time.

I’m thinking I want to be a researcher / scientist (not sure precisely what field yet, although I have some ideas, which is another reason why I thought spending the time in an undergrad program would be an affordable – in the long run – way to buy time to figure this out). This will probably require a PhD…there seems to be a lot of funding opportunities floating around for MS candidates though, and it would be a shame to miss out on them because of a low GPA.

You can always take the GREs again and do better. What fields are you switching from and to? Some places have master’s degree programs that are designed for people who don’t have undergraduate degrees in a particular field it just depends on the fields. E.g. A good friend of mine had her B.A. in psychology and wanted to study architecture so she entered a masters program at U.W. in Seattle that admitted people without undergraduate degrees in architecture or related fields.

You graduated, and a 2.9 isn’t bad, it seems to me, though if you think you could get a 4.0, then maybe the school you went to wasn’t very challenging. I do not think it would make sense to spend two years to get a better average GPA. I would suggest applying to the Masters program you want, and explaining your new perspective honestly, and talking about that in person with admissions staff as you visit their campus. I wouldn’t expect anyone to advise you to get another Bachelor’s degree just to improve a GPA.

I also wouldn’t worry about the verbal test score, especially if you are going into a science program. Your ability to write is obviously quite competent.

I also would suggest a Master’s program. Maybe in a somewhat general field, just to get research experience, and it will make your PhD app much stronger.

You can get funding with that GPA in a Master’s, it just won’t be as much as if you went directly into a PhD. But you may get scholarships for a number of things such as being a woman, studying math/science, getting a teaching credential, applying for assistantships, being just about any minority, etc…

This is coming from a guy who did two BS’s, and I’m sure I could have finished the master’s in less time with less money in the same field, and ultimately been more qualified. In the end, it was my experience vaguely coupled with my education that got my dream job. And a lot of luck.

@blaze626 Most schools have a minimum of 2.5 – 3.0 for getting into a masters program, but because so many apply, you often need a much higher GPA to be a competitive applicant.

If you can go straight for the masters, do it. I am an HR person, I haven’t worked for any company that has ever checked your GPA, they just want to see that “Graduated with a degree in” response on the background check. So if you can get into an accredited institution, why spend the extra 20k+ worrying about another bachelor’s?

Good luck!

That’s true Aethelflaed, especially in these times when everyone is going back to school. But I still think you can get looked at, especially if you ace a few pre-req courses before applying. This also depends heavily on which school, of course.

And it’s been explained to me on multiple occasions that, for many programs, GRE scores and admissions essays are most important. So, the OP shouldn’t be too discouraged.

Yes, but this time, hire a tutor at the first sign of trouble.