BS/MS Help

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Re: BS/MS Help

by Recipient 2018 » Thu Oct 25, 2018 6:26 pm

Hi guys,

Thank you for all the valuable input. I really like the idea of doing a masters in 1.5 years at my school, with extra time for research or whatnot. I will also look into the idea of doing a masters at night and online while I work with my base. Seems like LMI changed the requirements to make all awards 1.5 years or longer, and forgot to consider what happens if someone wants a BS/MS.

Thanks again!

Re: BS/MS Help

by master » Thu Oct 04, 2018 3:32 pm

I dont know if this will help but I ran into a similar situation and decided to apply through funding via my organization instead of SMART. Your organization most likely has a program to fund courses and it is guaranteed to be less aggressive than whatever SMART wants you to sign. I started a part time masters (night school and online) and am fully funded through work with addition to my salary.

Re: BS/MS Help

by Helper » Thu Oct 04, 2018 11:19 am

Recipient 2018 wrote:Hello,

I applied during 2018 and was awarded the scholarship to fund my BS degree. I am currently a junior, and am looking into extending my degree into a BS/MS. However, as a phase 1 scholar, I was told that I could no longer "adjust award" as I could this summer, and thus would have to reapply for the masters. However, I was also told that the degree must be at least 1.5 years to be funded, and a BS/MS is only an extra year, and thus will not get funded. I was wondering if anyone had experience extending their degree into a BS/MS during phase 1 that could give some advice.

Thanks!
Yes, you cannot adjust the award to add a degree like this. You need to apply for a follow-on award via the application.

Were you explicitly told the degree had to be 1.5 years in regards to adding a follow-on award? I know the general rule is now a minimum length of 1.5 years, but I would have thought it would work differently for follow-on awards. The whole point of changing the minimum to 1.5 was to ensure everyone did at least one internship, but for follow-on awards you are supposed to do an internship in the summer between when the original award would have ended and when the new award begins in the spring. Have you tried starting an application for the follow-on award to see if it restricts you from putting a year?

If the 1.5 year rule does apply to follow-on awards, at least at my school there is nothing to stop you from taking more than a year to get your Master's through the "fifth year" BS/MS program. Here, it is more of a method of application vs a strict 1 year program. You might be able to spread the 1 year Master's over 1.5 years to fit the SMART funding requirement and give you more time to work on your thesis or paid research. Plus that saves you 6 months of commitment time.

Like you, I was originally awarded for a BS degree and then applied for and received a follow-on to cover a MS through my school's BS/MS program. I did this back when the minimum award length was 1 year, so I did not run into this question. One thing I did run into that I want to tell you is there is a difference if you put BS/MS vs MS on the follow-on application. If you put BS/MS SMART will assume you are being award both degrees at the end, but if you put MS they will assume you graduate with your BS when you originally said and then graduate with the MS at the end of the entire award. The distinction here is that if you put BS/MS on your application you will not get the increase to the graduate student stipend amount when you begin working on your MS. This can be fixed with an award adjustment (its what I did), but if you list MS on your application you can save yourself the aggravation.

Re: BS/MS Help

by AnotherGuest2 » Tue Oct 02, 2018 5:45 am

Recipient 2018 wrote:Hello,

I applied during 2018 and was awarded the scholarship to fund my BS degree. I am currently a junior, and am looking into extending my degree into a BS/MS. However, as a phase 1 scholar, I was told that I could no longer "adjust award" as I could this summer, and thus would have to reapply for the masters. However, I was also told that the degree must be at least 1.5 years to be funded, and a BS/MS is only an extra year, and thus will not get funded. I was wondering if anyone had experience extending their degree into a BS/MS during phase 1 that could give some advice.

Thanks!
Yeah... There are weird rules like this... You have a couple of options, but both require you to do a 2 year MS if you don't plan on a PhD. If you like your SF, apply for it while doing your commitment as a retention scholar, otherwise, apply now and you get re-matched with an SF. You'll owe an extra year because of it. I took extra classes and am getting a PhD after my commitment now.

BS/MS Help

by Recipient 2018 » Mon Oct 01, 2018 8:31 pm

Hello,

I applied during 2018 and was awarded the scholarship to fund my BS degree. I am currently a junior, and am looking into extending my degree into a BS/MS. However, as a phase 1 scholar, I was told that I could no longer "adjust award" as I could this summer, and thus would have to reapply for the masters. However, I was also told that the degree must be at least 1.5 years to be funded, and a BS/MS is only an extra year, and thus will not get funded. I was wondering if anyone had experience extending their degree into a BS/MS during phase 1 that could give some advice.

Thanks!

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