<p>I'm a nontraditional student (age 25) who's currently attending a community college and preparing to transfer to a four-year college. </p>
<p>My story, in "brief": after I graduated from high school in 2003, I attended a small liberal arts college in the South, which was...ultimately a poor choice, but it was what I felt I "had" to do, especially since I was trying to get away from an inhospitable family situation (hardcore fundamentalist parents who didn't accept my sexuality/politics/anything else, and were psychologically abusive). I didn't fail any courses, but I did have grades that didn't reflect my actual abilitythis was primarily because of some antigay bullying that I experienced. The extent of the harassment was enough to make feel intensely uncomfortable when I was in class, and it poorly affected my grades (I ended up making Cs in courses in which I could have easily made As). The second semester I was there, I ended up withdrawing for "medical reasons." (More specifically, the "medical reasons" were because of severe depression that stemmed from the bullying, as well as some other factors related to my autistic-spectrum condition.) The lack of intellectual rigor was another issue I had, but it's not my primary complaint in this situation. </p>
<p>I spent some time outside college, working and volunteering, until 2009, when I started attending my local community college (which is, in many ways, actually more academically rigorous than that four-year college I originally attended). Since then, my grades have been primarily As, with a few Bs (my GPA is about 3.83), and I'm getting ready to transfer.</p>
<p>I notice that many of these colleges ask for all transcripts from all colleges attended (I'm working on the UC TAG agreement application right now) and I have the impression that some of these colleges will factor in my old courses as part of my GPA, regardless of the lapse of time between my attending that college and my attending my current college. Is it possible for me to, say, either include an addendum explaining my situation, talk with representatives from the target colleges to disregard some of these grades, or to ask the previous college to expunge the grades? My performance now is markedly better than before, and much of this is attributable to my own personal development, as well as an improved learning environment where I'm not being constantly harassed and bullied.</p>
<p>I think colleges understand that people can grow a lot between 18 and 25, and your performance at the CC shows your true ability. IOW, I wouldn’t worry much about it. Lots of students start out poorly, take time off, and mature, and colleges know this. I flunked out of college at 19 (they had these unreasonable requirements like going to class, turning in papers, taking tests, etc.); I picked up a few random credits here and there, then at 28 I went back full time and carried a 4.0 average for my last 66 hours (while simultaneously working full time).</p>
<p>If you want to attach an explanation to your application, I doubt that would hurt anything, but I’d keep it very, very general. I wouldn’t go into the details of the home life or the bullying - maybe something like “My performance now is markedly better than before, and much of this is attributable to my own personal development, as well as an improved learning environment” and let it go at that.</p>
<p>I would agree with the above post. I have helped college students with mental problems such as depression/bipolar etc who who doing poorly in school because of an exacerbation of his/her illness. One can petition schools to be allowed to withdraw (even after
the semester has ended). This keeps them from being saddled with D’s and F’s</p>
<p>However, too much time has elasped from when you left college to do this. The colleges you apply to will be more interested in your current grades. As above poster said, do not go into great detail about your earlier circumstances/psychiatric condition. But it would be fine to briefly mention that when you first went to college various life situations interfered in your ability to excel at that time.</p>
<p>I also agree with the posters above. I would consider either 1) writing your college essay about your experience, how you grew from it, and why you know that things will be different in college this time 2) using the section to put in any additional information to briefly describe your background or 3) write a separate letter to the school. It is part of your history, but I really don’t think it will hold you back. In fact it sounds you can make a compelling case for how you have grown, become more confident and independent and will be able to handle any type of situation now. Good luck.</p>
<p>It is a good idea to find out from colleges to which you intend to apply if they want those early grades. I know a woman who enrolled at cc for two semesters, had issues, and just walked away without withdrawing. She went back 10 years later to the same community college. After her first semester she got a congratulatory letter because she made Dean’s List, as well as a letter notifying her she was on academic probation due to poor gpa. Took a few weeks for them to figure out how to erase the courses from the previous decade.</p>
<p>I’m thinking of just not doing the TAG application (because there’s no personal statement, and not enough space to explain the big grade discrepancy between '03-'04 and '09—present) and just waiting until regular UC admissions begin, which is pretty soon. I’ll address it in my personal statement—the reason why I’m interested in the fields I’m in is partly related to wanting to rectify the systems that <em>cause</em> these issues in the first place, so it’s relevant and just just “ugh, this guy’s whining.”</p>
<p>I would try for the TAG application, because that will give you priority over regular UC applicants. The worst that can happen is that you get rejected and have to apply again in the regular period.</p>
<p>I ended up doing it anyway—I chose Davis as my TAG college. My GPA is above their requirements, even with the not-so-fantastic grades from 8 years ago. I also ended up calling a Berkeley admissions rep (since I also plan on applying to Berkeley during the regular period), and they may end up taking some of the later classes over the earlier ones because of the articulation agreements. Two of those Cs are probably going to fall off anyway, so I probably shouldn’t worry that much, especially since my transcripts show a clear trend of improvement between the time I first went to college and the second time. :)</p>
Took a few weeks for them to figure out how to erase the courses from the previous decade.</p>