I want to hear the thoughts of others on this

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I graduated from Penn State with a bachelors degree in agricultural science and a minor in wildlife and fisheries science. I graduated in May 2012. I've been applying to grad schools and even went to one where I became depressed to the point I actually dropped out. I know after undergrad it is smarter to go for a master's degree, but I'm considering the possibility of getting another bachelors degree more specific to academic interests I developed during the last year of undergrad. The major is related to my other undergrad major, but like I said more specific. It is the major marine and environmental biology and policy. Like I said I know it is probably smarter to apply for this major or something like it in a master's program and I already have an application out to a school for a master's program in that realm. I'm considering going for another bachelors because during my 4 years at Penn State i was always happy even when things weren't perfect and I spent a lot of time hanging out with friends and leaving work go to the last minute and still got As ans Bs. I actually attribute doing well with how much time I spent outside my dorm room and not doing work. Now I wasn't partying, when I say hanging out with friends I mean late night meals at fast food restaurants, student organizations, and Late Night at the HUB. Now I was doing well academically at the grad school I dropped out of. I just became unhappy with the major and because of my assistantship I could not be as involved as I was in undergrad. I know grad school isn't supposed to be a social occasion and more academically inclined. It's just a theory, but I think I almost need the more social environment of undergrad. I did drop out too because the whole atmosphere of the school I was at kept on making me more and more depressed for some reason. I do think the less chance to be involved while pursuing academics and not having that outlet had something to do with me getting depressed. So I want your guy's opinions, do you think my theory is just not right or do you think I'm on to something? Do you think I should even be considering getting another bachelors degree at all? Post your comments, but please don't be harsh or critical.

I have three Bachelor's level degrees...one in International Communications, one in French and one in teaching. I wish I had done the education certification at the Master's level though. Be careful not to rack up too many student loans, especially if you can get a career in your interest area without the more specific additional Bachelor's. Is working or interning in your new field of interest with the BA you already have an option, since they are related? Then maybe you can join a Masters program in that area with 2 BAs. Being in school because it was what I was supposed to do and then because it was what I was comfortable with was a huge mistake for me, as I now have a six figure debt. I would caution anybody from being in college unless it is related to a specific career plan with reasonable expectation of paying loans back without a huge burden, or unless you are able to pay as you go.

As someone who is 3 months away from getting a second bachelor's degree, I have a good perspective on this. Now from your post, it sounds like the main, and possibly only, motivation you have for going back for another BS degree is the social aspect. In my opinion that's a terrible reason to go back to school. For one, that's a lot of money to be paying for that social setting, and for two you can get a similar social environment in grad school...you just have to attend the undergraduate events and organizations.

The only time I would suggest going for a second undergraduate degree is if there are too few jobs that require your current degree, and the field you want to go in to has much better job prospects. Also I would only go if some of your courses transfer over...for example this second one only took me 2 years as opposed to 4. The reason I went back is because there were just no jobs in my original field, it was a very new field and no one knew what the heck it was. But lo and behold, ever since I enrolled back in school in my new major, I've practically had to fight employers off. Funny how adding those extra few letters to my name makes such a difference, considering I really haven't learned anything new in my time here.

Long story short, look at the bigger picture and your long-term goals. Think of how your actions now will affect your career 5-10 years down the line. And most importantly, look at where the jobs are, and make sure that there are actually jobs available in whatever area you want to go in to. I would recommend doing a lot of research on this part, because it can be easy to be misled into believing there are jobs when in actuality there aren't (just look at how many English, art, or general business majors end up working for little more than minimum wage).

Both your major and minor are very concrete, hands-on fields of endeavor. Perhaps your depression is due to an internal desire to actually work in your field. Rather than continuing in school, which you have been doing for the last 18 years, go into the world and learn through working your craft.

Thanks for the good advice. I even think this is crazy and don't fully understand why I want to do it. I don't want to be in debt for the rest of my life and that's why I just needed to bounce this off of other people and get good feedback to set me straight. I thought who better to ask than other members of the spectrum. I do want to stress though that the whole social thing is not the full reason I would be interested in doing this. You see getting another bachelors has actually been a reoccurring theme popping into my mind since I dropped out of East Stroudsburg. I'm not sure why, but I feel the thought is reoccurring for a reason. Back then I didn't really have a full concrete desire though just a reoccurring thought. Now there is a specific school I have in mind. This school seems right. I've never been there, but for some reason I feel like I belong there. That's crazy right? The second bachelors degree I'm talking about is because with the location of this school it would allow me to fully delve into the major. Now there is still a slight chance I may be able to go there for grad school which ends this whole controversy in my mind. However the grad major I would need to go into is temporarily shutdown for redesign and I don't think will be up and running for fall 2013 which is when I need to be going back to a university. This whole feeling is even so weird for me. Why do I feel like I belong at this school? Just one more quick question. For those of you with more than one bachelors and pursuing a second bachelors did you have to retake the SATs?

No...they just look at your transcripts. They typically don't even consider your SAT scores if you have more than 60 hours of college credit.

Maybe you were just at the wrong grad school the first time around. My ex (probably an Aspie, like many in academia) dropped out of the MA program at McGill after one year, after experiencing the depression you described, then went on to get an MA and Ph.D. elsewhere. He is now a professor, and quite happy. If college is where you are most comfortable, perhaps you should consider an academic career?