Hello. It’s my first time making a question here and I’m so anxious and nervous. I was dismissed from my four year university during my first year (after the second semester) due to not meeting the GPA requirements. I struggle with depression, anxiety and a small family that somehow depends on my availability to drive some of them and also on the previous part time I had. We are a small and poor family and we rely a lot on each other. A hurricane struck during my first year of college and the extraordinary circumstances along with me being naive, ignorant and other personal/family issues caused my grades to slip and my dismissal. I just want a second chance to get back on track and graduate. I am very interested in joining Valencia College in Orlando and I was wondering, since I was suspended during my first year of college, should I apply for admission as a freshman or as a transfer? I don’t have any credits to transfer and I don’t seek transfer credits. I just want to enter again, in a new program and get a degree. What are my best options if I have any at all? Should I apply as transfer when I don’t really want to transfer anything and risk them thinking I’m a lost cause? Or should I apply as freshman with my high school grades (I was an honor student in HS) and start fresh? Please help. Thanks.
You are a transfer student. You don’t get to pretend you are a new freshman. The good news is that you do get to start over fresh with a new GPA…
You must disclose your transcript from your first college. There is a national clearinghouse that keeps students honest in that. So while you have freshman standing, you cannot apply as a new freshman.
So you know what went wrong. What you are missing is successful steps towards remediation of the problem and a continuing plan to go forward. Accountability. You also need to look into whether further scholarships are even possible at this point, or if it’s on your dime from now on.
I think your best bet may be community college or an appeal to your former college. Having some credits and demonstration of success under your belt will make you a better candidate for transfer.
Valencia is a community college.
I don’t want to pretend I’m a freshman. I just wanted to know my options. I barely have transferable credits and I don’t want to transfer any of them. I want to get back in track and join a CC to help me get my GPA and college standing up. My doubt is what am I going to transfer? I barely have college credits and the GPA from that isn’t something to be proud of. They’ll just look at that, laugh and not even take my application seriously. All I want is a second chance but I don’t know the procedure. I’ve researched for months and even made phone calls and nothing. Young student who was dismissed on her first year. It almost seems like I have no chance.
I know that but I apply as transfer, they look at my pathetic first and only year GPA with college credits and I’m done. And I barely have college credits and I doubt any of them are transferable. It feels like I’m stuck. I’m trying to get back to studying and I’ve matured, I’ve learned my lesson, I’ve saved money to pay my own tuition from a part time I had. But are they even going to take my application seriously?
My son is at a community college/tech school. They have students who are in jail. They have students who are getting their GED. They accept 100% of students who want to take classes to better themselves. If you can pay, you are in.
Those types of colleges are very accepting of “bad situations” and want to help students who need a second chance. Not everyone is 4 year university material and that is okay.
I am interested in joining a CC, getting good grades, keeping a good GPA, and after an AA or more, then with all of that under my belt applying for a transfer to another university. I just want to know if any CC is even going to take me with such a low and laughable GPA. I only have one year of college, the GPA is extremely low and I’m just lost. I don’t even know if a CC would take me as a transfer student with a low GPA and barely any transferable credits. I thought with a freshman application, they could look at HS records which are a more accurate representation of what kind of student I am. I’ve worked hard, saved money to pay my own tuition, I learned my lesson, I’m more mature and I’m owning my mistakes. I just feel I’m not even getting a door open for a second chance. I’m just 21 years old, I want to study again and I want to do something with my life.
Is it possible to join a CC, be there some years and earn good grades, good credits and a good GPA and then transfer to a new four year university? Do university accept that or am I done for life?
Absolutely they will take you and if your GPA is good enough you can transfer.
My son barely passed high school. He has learning disabilities and was going through emotional trauma (was in therapy twice a month and receiving special ed academic help). Getting through the required courses in high school was rough for him the last 2 years in particular.
But now he has a 3.0 at his tech school. He loves his major and the courses he needs to take there. Hes made good friends. Loves his teachers. Hes getting his associates first. His tech school even has automatic acceptance to another college upon graduation with his associates (they actually have many transfer programs based on associates earned). Example, upon completion of his surgical tech degree, he is auto accepted into a bachelors in healthcare business at a different university in town which takes an additional 2 years to complete.
Thank you for the responses. They’re helpful. I don’t want a pass for my mistake or to make excuses. My country was hit by a category 5 hurricane and all of my decisions afterwards were bad ones, I made a huge mistake. But I don’t want my life ruined because of it. Ever since I got a part time job, I’ve done research, I’ve learned a new language, I’ve become more involved in helping the community, I’ve saved money to pay for my own tuition myself. I made a mistake because I was naive and I was very stupid. And my big inner doubt was whether CC’s would accept me with a very low GPA from just one year in a four year public university. Since apparently I have to apply as a transfer student. But my credits are non transferable since I want to join a new field and my GPA was very low. I thought maybe if the CC looked and weighed more my HS records, which are more representative of my stature as a student, I could have a better chance. I’m just 21 and sometimes I feel like my whole life is ruined because I screwed up once.
Apply to your local community college as a transfer student. You’ll have to submit your high school and college transcripts. You won’t be the first student they’ve seen who stumbled when they started college.
Are you getting treatment for your depression? It’s important to get the help you need. You also have to prioritize your studies. I understand the challenges of being a low income family, but if driving everyone around causes you to fail out of school maybe they need to make other plans. What did they do before you had a license?
I’m getting treatment and I’m doing better. I also been spending time at community activities helping people, getting food for homeless people (I’m poor but at least got a house and food), I’ve gotten part time jobs which have helped me save money for a college comeback and now I’m looking at what options I have. If any door is open for me. My family is small and we had a 3 years old baby boy with multiple health conditions (brain issues, learning disabilities, intestinal issues, among others) due to him being born very premature. And when that hurricane category 5 hit our country we were left without electricity, without communications, barely drinkable water after two weeks. And we had to protect the baby no matter what. We have 3 elders (all above 60 and with conditions too) so basically it’s only my aunt, mother and me who are capable of taking care of all of them. So we had to leave the country in the middle of the semester to find a place elsewhere with a good hospital to take care of the baby and my grandparents while our country got up. We went to Florida (where my godfather lives.) From there everything went downhill. The baby died, my oldest great grandmother also died. 2 months apart. It’s been brutal. But with all of that I’ve matured and learned. I’ve taken care of myself, I’ve saved money to pay rent and tuition. I just need a second chance. So, I read about Valencia College in Orlando thanks to my godfather and all I just wonder if they’ll accept me with transfer credits that mean basically nothing since it’s only 28 credits, only 12 could be transferable and the GPA is on the floor. I’m 21 now and I feel my high school records and GPA are more accurate representations of me as a student. Not my one year in college which happened to be my first and last.
And my mother moved to Florida. Which in turn made the family much smaller. I have my grandparents and my aunt only. My aunt is the one who lost the baby. So she’s a mess due to that. I’ve been having to take care of my grandparents. We are only 4. That’s why I’ve been having to drive people around ever since. But I’ve made it clear I want to do something with my life and go back to college. Which is I’m seeking all the help and input I can get, to have the best shot at being accepted again.
Colleges do take difficult circumstances into account, especially if you had to move due to a hurricane. It sounds more like you had bad luck than that you made bad decisions. I’m sorry you had such a difficult time.
Apply to Valencia as a transfer. If you have questions about the application process, their transfer office should be able to answer them. Community colleges are used to students who are starting over.
Please understand what everyone is trying to tell you: You CAN apply to a community college and attend. They wont care about your HS record other than the HS diploma. Since you already attended a college, you need to let the Community College know that. It wont hurt you. They are NOT going to penalize you because you didn’t earn units.
Community colleges are there for people from all walks of life. If you failed at your university, you can attend a CC without an issue, but you HAVE to tell them the previous attended university.
Again, YOU HAVE TO TELL THEM YOUR PREVIOUS UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE. You will not be denied, and you can take any classes to prepare yourself for transfer to another university in two years. It’s not a big deal. The CC will accept you, just be honest.
If you try to act like a new freshman and pretend that you didn’t go to a US university, it will not go well for you. The colleges and universities want honesty.
They have a clearinghouse that is used to check your background. If you present yourself as never having attended a university, they will find out, and you WILL be penalized because they will flag your record as being “dishonest”.
Universities in the US expect a student to be honest about his/her record. It shows maturity. The universities share information and tend not to admit a student who is not upfront about their school record and has lied. No university wants a student who starts their careers with dishonesty.
Be honest. Present your record. No one is going to care, at the CC, that the previous university did not work. They want you to restart and take classes and be successful. You must report your first university to start clean at the CC.
Valencia appears to have an open admission policy and there is no minimum GPA requirement for transfer students.