<p>My son went to an out-of-state college for 1 semester upon graduating highschool and flopped..long story of depression and being way to far from home. Anyhow, he is now ready to get serious and start over at a local college....his gpa is now sooooooooo low from that semester...must he report it, or can he just have his highschool transcript sent as if he's not attended a college? I don't believe he can be accepted with his gpa as it is. Any advice appreciated.</p>
<p>Yes, you must send it. The applications ask for transcripts from all colleges attended. It’s that simple.</p>
<p>When he signs his application he is affirming that he has been truthful. The application asks for all schools, so he must list them all. Students who have been caught lying have been kicked out, and if caught after receiving a degree the degree has been rescinded. It is considered academic dishonesty to lie on an application, and schools take that extremely seriously. He is not the only kid in his predicament, and many schools admit students with his record because they understand that kids grow up. Worst case he’ll have to attend a community college for a couple of year and transfer, and that isn’t a bad thing because the life stories he’ll hear from his peers in community college will motivate him to succeed if he’s a serious student.</p>
<p>Need to send the college transcripts too. But don’t worry. Sometimes the recs from proffs might help.</p>
<p>Consider 2 years at community college. Earn a high gpa and then transfer to a solid 4 year program.</p>
<p>Agree with everyone that he needs to fully disclose all of his transcripts. </p>
<p>RE getting into a U he wants to attend:
Actually, Us may be willing to take him*** if he applies after one solid semester of CC ***to be admitted the next year, even with a term of poor grades at prior U. He needs to show that he can handle the work & has worked thru whatever caused him to do poorly at prior U. My D did this–she did very poorly in HS because of chronic health issues. Graduated HS after junior year & started CC. She was discouraged from HS in applying to transfer, even tho she had a 3.8 after her 1st semester of CC. She applied anyway & got in to the only U she tried as a 2nd semester sophomore. Most of her coursework transferred & it saved us a lot of $ & she was able to have very small CC classes to get rid of her general ed requirements at transferring U.</p>
<p>Also consider that if he was diagnosed with depression (drug/alcohol abuse, or other serious condition) close in time to the semester in which his grades went belly-up, he might be able to get a retroactive medical withdrawal. In some universities, that would replace the grades with a w.</p>
<p>Wow, I’ve never heard of that, Jasmom, but that definitely sounds like something worth exploring with the U he attended. It’s true that nothing ventured, nothing gained and you have nothing to lose by exploring this option with the U he attended.</p>
<p>It was never offered for our D when she had poor grades due to chronic health issues in her HS but her CC was much more accommodating. HURRAH!</p>
<p>From UGA admissions website:</p>
<p>"Be honest. No, I am not talking about having someone else write your application essays or leaving out an arrest (these are serious no-brainers). What we mean is if you had a low grade in the sophomore year Biology or had in school suspension for excessive tardiness, don’t avoid the issue and hope we overlook it. If we have to guess about what happened, we will probably think the worst. The best course is to explain what happened without excuses, and the steps you are taking to overcome the issue. "
[University</a> of Georgia :: Undergraduate Admissions :: Top Ten Hints For Applying To College](<a href=“http://www.admissions.uga.edu/article/top_ten_hints_for_applying_to_college.html]University”>http://www.admissions.uga.edu/article/top_ten_hints_for_applying_to_college.html)</p>
<p>Most admissions offices will have a similar point of view. </p>
<p>Glad your son seems to be moving forward in a positive way. Good luck!</p>
<p>This happens. More than you think.</p>
<p>The thing to do is to offer an explanation. Why the grades were low. What has happened in the interim (gotten appropriate meds, therapy, whatever). Why he thinks he’ll do better at the school to which he’s now applying.</p>
<p>I had a similar thing . . . did badly as a freshman (not depression but immaturity/lack of direction). Stayed out of school a couple of years. Grew up. Went back and did well. Throughout my education, which includes law school and grad school, I’ve had to submit embarrasing transcript from my freshman year and have had to explain “I was 17 and stupid!” - it hasn’t been a problem. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>
After all the odds are pretty good that the person reading the application did something similar when they were young (or are close to someone who did). </p>
<p>(Written by 3togo who did alright after getting every grade my undergrad college had except an F … D-, D, D+, C-, C. etc … and ended up at two elite grad schoold to boot. Grad schools and employeers clearly overlooked my immaturlty at 18/19 and focussed on my peformance at 21/22 and older)</p>
<p>DH got into an Ivy law school with two Fs freshman year (ignored incompletes) and a D in his final semester. Amazing how five years in the corporate world, an out-of-the-ballpark LSAT and an honest essay compensated.</p>
<p>He make up for his slackerdom by doing extremely well in law school.</p>
<p>All good advice. There are really three choices: Go to a CC get the grades and transfer, apply with the dismal GPA from the current school and hope for forgiveness, wait a couple years and go back to school somewhere. Unfortunately as much as parents and students wish they could wipe the slate clean and pretend the bad semester or year never happened is not a choice. The path choice clearly rests with the student and where that student is mentally and emotionally this summer as well as how much fortitude and risk the parents are willing to take. I was 17 and stupid and gosh I thought college was grade 13 happens alot, several of our friends have already gone through this. All the best for whichever path is chosen.</p>