<p>I tried to ask this question before but I was not clear... I did terrible in high school and I dropped out and got my GED...</p>
<p>I am at county college in NJ and I was admitted through their "open-enrollment" meaning all I had to submit was my GED. I was very relieved to never have to send in my high school transcript, since any school I would apply to would only see the good not the bad...</p>
<p>I worked very hard and I have a cul GPA of 3.95 in County College...</p>
<p>I want to take some advanced courses that require minimum high school completion...since I already took these courses in HS (and got Cs) My college counselor tried to convince me that although it is true right now it looks like I am a phenomenal student, sending my high school transcripts would show my determination, a sort of "rags to riches" story. He said its not how far you get, its where your coming from and my terrible high school grades would only serve to strengthen my 'credentials'. </p>
<p>I disagreed, I said that it would hurt me because I would love to goto an Ivy League school, and unfortunately bad high school performance could preclude you from eligibility from a top tier school. furthermore, I fear that my academic progress could be attributed to a lack of academic standard at this county college rather than my own success...</p>
<p>I have no idea what to do...I would appreciate anyones insight, thoughts or comments on this...</p>
<p>Is it smarter for me to take the remedial pre-reqs rather than send in my high school transcripts? </p>
<p>Is it better to have a clean slate than a rough past? </p>
<p>I was in a very similar spot as you are now. Since I had to send in my (half-F, half-A) high school transcript whichever school I applied for transfer to anyway, I decided to look at it less than a blemish and more as a testiment to how much I’d grown.</p>
<p>We both had to learn to thrive in school, rather than naturally be studious. There’s a very real strength in that - it shows that you are able to learn from past mistakes and adapt. Send the transcripts in! As for your new grades showing a lack of standards - do you think that is true? I’m at an Ivy now, but let me tell you, some professors I had at the community college make these classes look like a breeze. Schools you apply to down the road know the difference between CC and CC.</p>
<p>I vote for the clean slate. Even though your academic improvement would make an interesting story, a GPA of 1.9 is bound to raise questions that don’t need to be asked. Retake courses if necessary.</p>
<p>I am in a similar situation as well… I am making those type of decisions now because of so many bad decisions I have made in the past… You have to discern those type of things for yourself I think! You have to decide how you plan on “presenting” yourself to those that will be apart of your future endeavors. I have decided to disclose as much information as possible, bad and good but more good than bad…</p>
<p>Show a lot of good and when they look at the bad it won’t be so bad, but just a few mistakes and mishaps! (my suggestion)</p>
<p>I think it depends upon how many courses you’ve taken so far, and how many you’ve been taking each semester/quarter.</p>
<p>If you have been taking courses at the rate of one per semester and only have about 8 or 10 courses completed, then sending the HS transcript will hurt you. If you’ve been taking 5 to 6 classes each semester and have about two years worth (60+ semester units) completed, then I’d definitely include the high school transcript to show the phenomenal turnaround.</p>
<p>P.S. Also depends upon your work schedule–and whether you are paying your own way. Obviously if you are working full-time, no one expects you to be taking 5 courses a semester–but you still should be taking two or three–not just one each semester.</p>
<p>If you can give a very good reason for why you did poorly, and take very hard classes in college and do well, then I say it would benefit you if you use that rough past.</p>
<p>I tend to think the rags to riches is a good story. Someone who has performed poorly and turned himself around has “gotten it.” He is not likely to go to college and, with his first taste of freedom from structure, be distracted by the party culture, the ability to attend or not attend classes on a whim and so on.</p>
<p>That is my take. But I am not an Admissions Officer. I think it would be valuable for you to post this question on some of the boards here where offical Admissions Reps participate. I’m not aware of any from any Ivy. But I am aware of these from highly selective schools: Johns Hopkins (AdmissionsDaniel), UVA (Dean Jean), MIT (don’t recall the user name), possibly CalTech (again don’t recall the user name), UC Davis (UCDAdmissions - or some similar name).</p>
<p>Actually, you don’t need to know the user name, because they generally prefer you use a thread title which clues the substance of your question.</p>
<p>I think if you used exactly the title you do here, and your OP as here, also asking for input from the Admissions Rep… it could be very valuable. If you do that and get a response from one of the reps, let me know and I will copy the thread here. Many, many transfer applicants would benefit from the info.</p>
<p>Good luck and thanks for asking the question in just the way that you did.</p>
<p>Rightguard, another empathizer here. What schools/majors did you have in mind? </p>
<p>A third option would be to try both types of applications at different schools. Obviously, if you’re set on a certain school this option becomes less relevant. Also, one idea is to call the admissions departments and ask around. Find out who they would see as the more impressive candidate.</p>