<p>Hi,
I can understand your wanting to start over again. The official word from any US college is going to be like the following that I copied from one of them:</p>
<p>"A college record is considered to be a continuing one. As a transfer student, you do not have the option of disregarding a poor record and starting over. Acknowledgement of attendance at previous colleges or universities is mandatory. Failure to list on the application each college attended will be considered reason for cancellation of admission or dismissal from the University."</p>
<p>Since you are an international student and have only attended a foreign college, you might be able to get away with it. After all, if you don't tell them, how are they going to know; and colleges aren't in the business of trying to track down that sort of behavior. I expect that a large number of people are going to now post commenting on the fact that lying is bad. If the "college" in your country is not accredited, you might have a explanation as to why you didn't report the time you spent there.</p>
<p>I agree with sybbie about financial aid. The vast majority of US colleges do not offer much in the way of financial aid to international students. Only a few, not all, of the most elite US colleges are need-blind for international students. There can be other sources of finan aid other than the college itself, though.</p>