Bad grades at previous colleges

<p>Hi. I was wondering if anyone had an idea on how previous bad grades at previous colleges look as a transfer. I got really bad grades at my first college. I went to a CC after, where I never went and got a few W's. Now I am going to a different CC and I am getting a 3.8 gpa. How is that going to affect my chances of transferring? I would love any opinions!</p>

<p>You must give transcripts from all previous colleges attended. So obviously that bad GPA and W's will make an impact on their decision. Good luck</p>

<p>that's close to my situation..
i think that a big factor is academic renewal, which would allow your 'bad grades' (F's and D's) not to be factored into your GPA upon transfer. in order to appeal for academic renewal, two years must have lapsed since the semester in which you received the F or D.
if you've got C's, you're stuck with them and their drawing impact on your GPA. </p>

<p>having spoken to far too many counselors, both helpful and useless, they were all impressed by the upward trend. what constitutes an upward grade trend for most people applying to top UCs (according to aforementioned counselors) is something like one semester of B's and C's followed by 3.7 - 4.0s for the duration of CC. if, however, you've come out of a 1.5 and landed 3.7-4.0s for your last 3 or 4 following semesters, it quite literally raises some eyebrows, which has got to be a good sign. not sure just how bad 'bad' is.. but if you're determined, a lot is possible. </p>

<p>to answer your question, obviously, yes, it will affect your chances of transfer, especially to private institutions, where academic renewal is not honored. i'd think they'd be expecting you to explain yourself in essays, so start getting your 'story' in order. ultimately, it's possible that this could serve to your advantage.
will you be able to transfer somewhere if you perform well from here on out? to be able to really show that improvement, and to allow your GPA to be brought up sufficiently, it'll probably take more time than convention suggests it should, but surely, yes, you'll be able to transfer to at least one of the UCs. also, your options either open up or close entirely dependent upon your major.
good luck.</p>

<p>"They don't have to know" is what MANY UC counselors go by. I talked to different counselors from SD, LA, and Irvine, and they all pretty much agree.</p>

<p>So, technically, although counselors say that you "must" turn in all grades, if they don't know, it won't hurt you. It's not like they're going to waste their own time looking up information about specific individuals.</p>

<p>Good luck anyway (:</p>

<p>^ worst advice ever given on CC.</p>

<p>i don't think it's the worst advice on this forum. there has been plenty of pretty bad advice here. but yeah, it's not advisable. you're taking a very large risk at ruining all chances of admission.</p>

<p>you might be right, but any advice that suggests that you compromise ALL chances of admission, even slightly, is pretty far down the ladder.</p>

<p>ya i don't think i want to jeopardize anything, whether is be transferring or even in grad school.</p>

<p>This is the same situation I'm in. When I was in high school, I took a lot of classes at different community colleges to boost my GPA. I got B's and C's, and now that I'm a college student, I'm getting a 4.0. I don't know what to do. This could hurt my chances at USC.</p>

<p>Really, I would like to know how the colleges would find out. is there a national database for what colleges every individual has attended.
I could understand if you have received financial aid or scholarship money or claimed the schools expenses on you tax return but other than that I thought that information would remain confidential.
Parents cannot even find out about students grades, how can a third-party?</p>

<p>Yes, there actually is a database, it's called the National Student Clearinghouse.</p>

<p>Very interesting. I just visited the site and attained my reports. It states what college I went to, the terms of enrollment, the state of enrollment (half/full-time), and my address.</p>

<p>I would like to add however, that I have contacted my former schools and been informed that under FERPA they are only allowed to provide directory information without my consent.
I can have my information kept totally confidential by requesting so, thus not being included in the National Student Clearinghouse. Yipee!</p>

<p>I think you are making a huge mistake in trying to conceal your poor grades. While it's true that you may be able to lie and cheat your way into a college - although even here it's possible that you'll be caught - you run a very big risk of being found out sometime down the road. You are young and have no idea really what a small world it is. Things come out, trust me. Especially in this digital age, but even before. You are broadcasting this plan to the entire world here online, so I am willing to bet you have told a handful of people already. Do you honestly think that this will remain secret? That you will never have a single enemy in your life who will want to undermine you? No ex girlfriend or boyfriend, no jealous co-worker? And even if you never have an enemy, ever, what if you want to do some sort of public service job? Work on a newspaper? Work on an ethics board? In the normal course of job searching, these things come out. It is just plain stupid to lie. And obviously you're not an ethical person - which is why I didnt' bother to talk about it ethically - but really, ethically, this idea stinks. And I refuse to believe any reputable counselor would say, Well what they don't know can't hurt them.... Either they are a terrible counselor, or you are hearing what you want to hear.</p>

<p>Wow, never knew about the Clearinghouse. Interesting.</p>

<p>"Schools may disclose, without consent, "directory" information such as a student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance"</p>

<p>All they need to know is that you attended the institution and didn't report it, they don't need your records, just the fact that you didn't report a school you attended. They're gonna wonder why you have a gap in your education.</p>

<p>JetForcegeminix,</p>

<p>You are right FERPA does state that, but FERPA also allows a "FERPA block" this block conceals directory information and prevents anyone from outside that particular school from accessing all educational records as well as directory information.</p>

<p>Caveat, directory information only, may be attained by law enforcement agencies and the US government for loan purposes only.</p>

<p>hoveringmom, some, like myself just don't like teh idea of certain information being able to be disseminated without my consent. I am young but do not have facebook, or myspace account. I do not text message for fear of it being forwarded without my consent. I value privacy, not deceit.</p>

<p>By that logic, credit reports should be public record as well, but there are federal laws protecting that. Even private schools agree with me, most are opposed to The Clearinghouse.</p>

<p>... until it is relevant, as you said, like when you are getting loans, being considered for employment etc. The same applies for universities when considering you as an applicant and your educational history.</p>

<p>Hello everyone,</p>

<p>I have never posted on this site before. I hear great things though.</p>

<p>I was wondering. I am currently taking some time off from undergrad. I have a long history with undergrad studies. Out of HS I went to a private school. My grades were not terrible but were below par for what I know I was capable of. I personally think now that at the time I wasnt ready to go away from home for school. I transfered to my local CC for my sophmore year where I re evaluated my priorities and recieved great grades, a 3.75 with 12 credits and the following semester i recieved a 3.3 with 12 credits as well. I then decided to transfer out to a state school where I would once again leave home. My first semester I got a 2.76 with 12 credits however the following semester and the remaining time I was in school I recieved nothing buy poor grades and one semester I even withdrew from the semester entirely and recieved all Ws. In total at my time at my last school I have very poor grades with Ws and and Fs except for one exceptional semester where I did decently. I took some time off from school and re priotized myself again. I decided that I wanted to go back to school and finish my undergrad at a local university. Im just scared that I would be wasting my time applying to some of them fearing being denied admission. I was hoping that any of you would have some advice as to how I would want to go about finishing my education. I definitly dont want to do an online college and I wouldnt mind going to school at night/weekends.</p>