Improving my low college GPA from when I was much younger?

Transfer Students
1

<p>First off I am almost 27 years old and have returned to community college this past semester for the first time in almost 10 years. I currently work as a prison guard in CA which as you can imagine takes up about 80% of my life and makes trying to return to school quite difficult. When I was 18 and got out of high school I took a year and a half worth of classes full time at a community college. I screwed around for most of it and ended up doing horribly in most of the classes due to simply not attending and failing to drop classes I was doing horribly in (immaturity 101). I recently looked up my old transcript and my GPA was about 2.4.</p>

<p>When I hear most people talk about their college GPA's they always seem to talk about having straight A's. I am curious how I could ever be accepted into a university with my low GPA. This past semester that I've returned to school went quite well as I got 3 A's and a B but feel I will always have my transcripts haunted by what I did when I lived back home. Is there anyway to one day have a decent GPA, or will it always be low because of when I was 18/19??? Oh and it should be noted that I no longer live where my original college is located, so attempting to retake the old classes there is out of the question???</p>

2

<p>Go make an appointment with the Transfer Advisor at your CC. That personhas worked with lots of students like you, and will have good ideas.</p>

3

<p>Colleges understand that people grow and change between 17 and 27, and your earlier experiences will not weigh that heavily against you. Some people simply aren’t ready for college right out of high school (I know, I was one of them) and with some maturity will make excellent students; colleges know this; and anyway, a 2.4 isn’t really a disaster.</p>

4

<p>An upward trend is important. Your low grades were from several years ago. Your recent grades (a reflection of who you are now, and what you can do now) will be more important. And if they are consistently higher, this will be considered.</p>

5

<p>I was in similar situation as you did, several Fs and many Ws, even got kicked out of my previous community college. I went back school after 10 years, worked hard, and got accepted by UCB and UCLA this year. Yes, it is definitely possible, and schools love to see your improvements. Look into Academic Renewal policy of your previous college, it will help you to omit the Ds and Fs from you GPA. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.</p>