Schools that do _NOT require good standing from previous university?

Transfer Students
1

<p>So, I made some mistakes at my previous university (none academic, however, I had a 3.2 GPA overall and a 3.8 in my major). My transcript says that I withdrew during the last semester; however, as part of the dismissal I am not allowed to return to my prior university. My old uni was a well-regarded (I think in the top 50 on US News/World), and my GPA wasn't too shabby so I feel like it shouldn't be too hard to get in to another school.</p>

<p>BUT, many schools have informed me that because I cannot return to my old university, they will not accept me. While I may not agree with this policy, it is what it is. So, I ask of you kind folks, do you know of any schools that do not require the "Dean's Rec" to get in?</p>

<p>To add to this, I have enough credits to be considered a senior in academic standing. I realize that my options are limited at this time, but I would prefer to go to a school where I can graduate in 2 semesters, as opposed to many that require a 4 semester minimum. If y'all know of any schools like this, that would help me out a great deal.</p>

<p>Finally, I would like to open this up to a larger debate. Do you think that being dismissed from a school should bar you from entry to a new university? I have faced many ramifications for being dismissed from school, including an incredible amount of financial, emotional and mental stress -- must a permanently damaged academic and career trajectory be added to all this?</p>

<p>Obviously I must face up to the consequences of my actions, but I must say that I have been offended when talking to admissions representatives at colleges on the phone in regards to this matter. Earlier today, I phoned the University of Maryland Admissions Office to discuss whether or not they would admit me given my status. The woman on the phone informed me that they would not, "because if your old school had a good enough reason to not let you back in, that's good enough for us to not let you in."</p>

<p>When I pressed her as to why, she threw the question back in my face, asking me why they would bother letting me in, I said that I believe that people deserve second chances in life. Her response? "Not at the University of Maryland."</p>

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<p>You should not be offended. Generally, universities are not interested in expelling their students, and make every effort to keep you in school and help you succeed. If they do expel you, it usually means that you did something truly bad. It’s unreasonable under the circumstances to expect other schools to give you yet another chance. You have only yourself to blame.</p>

<p>Most non-profit four-year institutions require you to be in good standing in your previous schools. Most of those will not take you because you’re in senior standing. You should check for-profit universities - they are usually more lax and may not care about your “history”. You can also get Associate’s Degree with a community college.</p>

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<p>What is that big elephant doing in this room?</p>

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<p>Thanks for your response, drek’thar. I may have not been entirely explicit in the OP, but wanted to point out that there is a fine line between expulsion and dismissal. I was not expelled, but rather was dismissed and forbade re-entry. However, my transcript only carries a W and not an E. So, not too big of a difference there, but while there are plenty of benign reasons to withdraw from a school, a big E on my transcript truly would be an ominous mark to carry.</p>

<p>As for schools that don’t care about my “history” in this regard, I have found a couple that offer B.A. programs and have a solid reputation. The first one that comes to mind is McGill University. Obviously this is a great school that I’d have trouble getting accepted to in any event, but they do not require the so-called “Dean’s Rec.” Just wondering if anyone else was aware of others.</p>

<p>And in response to coco40, this “big elephant” is something I’d prefer not to talk too explicitly about. As for why it is in the room, well I suppose drek’thar has it right that I only have myself to blame for this. I would argue that I did not do “something truly bad”; let’s just say that I wound up at the wrong place at the wrong time. But drek’s perception matches up to how the vast majority of college admission offices and potential employers will look at me. Clearly I have grappled with this issue to great lengths, and I believe the only way forward is to be straight with schools about what I did, how I’ve changed, and why I think I deserve a second chance. It may very well be that I have no academic future because of this. I hope not.</p>

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<p>If you can get into McGill, you should definitely go there; McGill is as good as any US school. Another option would be to check schools overseas (especially those in Europe), as they are not so gung-ho about “good standing”, and many wouldn’t care how many units you’ve accumulated. Once you graduate, you can come back, evaluate your foreign credentials, and go to a graduate school.</p>

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<p>Dude, don’t listen to these rookies. Most people on these boards have no idea what it feels like to be dismissed or expelled from a university since they have never experienced something similar. (A good portion of people that comment here are the nerds that stay all day in their dorms.)</p>

<p>Anyways, I myself was expelled a year ago from my university because I got arrested on school grounds with drugs. When that happened, I thought my academic career was over and that I had screwed my life.
After the arrest I attended a rehab program, got my charges dropped, and wrote a letter to the dean of the university telling her how much I had matured. Since I had a 3.96 when I got kicked out, they figured I have some potential and they let me back in.
Now, I am transferring to a top 10 Aerospace Engineering school, and my old record does not come back to haunt me anymore.</p>

<p>Moral: You always have another opportunity.
Even though I don’t think you would be able to matriculate and finish in 2 semesters, I am positive that you will find a university that will take you as a junior transfer.</p>

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<p>Thanks a lot for the candid and encouraging response, eddy. I have looked around more since posting this thread and found a good amount (10+) of well-regarded universities that won’t reject me outright because of my dismissal. Almost all of these would want me to stay for 2 years, and while financially that is a *****, I don’t have much of a choice at this point. What’s important now is finishing off my education and moving on with my life after being taken off track by a few poor decisions.</p>

<p>Your strategy seemed interesting too, going through a number of steps to “prove” that you are a changed man, and then writing back to the dean to regain admission. I am uncertain if I could take a similar path of reconciliation with my old university (as it seems at present that they wouldn’t have that), but I think I may try that at some point down the road.</p>

<p>Even if I don’t end up getting into any of the schools I apply to next year, I suppose that taking more time off won’t be the worst thing in the world. I will already have plenty of time on my hands to spend with family, volunteer and help out my community and try to take steps to show that I’m not a menace to society, as my prior university concluded not too long ago. Did you do any sort of community service in your time away from university?</p>

<p>Clearly I’ve had some time to think about this all and mull over these issues recently (I’m on College Confidential for god’s sake). I’ve come to realize that college should not be a rushed event at any rate, and though I was taken off course by unexpected means, in the end I will still wind up with a degree and perhaps more valuable life lessons than I previously expected. Who knows, maybe I will take this time to learn a language and bail from the US…</p>

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<p>The following comment from this thread describes an ideal that isn’t always the case, by a long shot: “Generally, universities are not interested in expelling their students, and make every effort to keep you in school and help you succeed.”</p>

<p>We are struggling to help our son back on track a year after he made a stupid mistake & got permanently dismissed from college. He was found with a very small amount of cannabis in his dorm room and - as distressed as we have been by our son’s idiotic behavior, we believe his non-prestigious college has let him down more profoundly than he did himself.</p>

<p>We feel the college has made every effort to vindicate its decision to call in the local police the night of this single incident (a criminal charge of possession was later dismissed by the court). The internal discipline hearing was a strange & ugly mess; we were all told at one point by a senior college administrator that we had no “right” to see his conduct file (which is not so) which will dog his future from now on.</p>

<p>Our son has since flourished at community college & his trying to transfer. But his future is blighted because he is not in “good standing” with his original college. This is a terrible problem: you can’t even submit an application to many decent colleges to at least get a chance to explain how well you’ve done since you were dismissed. This rule is so hard to understand when it hits home.</p>

<p>He took to heart every bit of general advice you hear in these circumstances: basically, that you have to prove you have learned a lesson, get started immediately at a community college and gain excellent grades, add activities to show you are serious about your own future etc. He has done exactly this for the last year.</p>

<p>But based on all the disappointing dealings we’ve had with his old college, we don’t feel at all confident that his model performance elsewhere since being dismissed will have any effect on getting them to change the terms of his dismissal.</p>

<p>However - and we have not yet tried this - we have heard it MAY be possible for our son to get a “good standing” statement from the old college for the purposes of applying to a different college - if he promises NOT to reapply to the original college.</p>

<p>To be honest, this seems slightly nuts - and deceitful. (Though his old college can be sure he sincerely has no intention of ever returning!). But we are going to try to see if it’s possible.</p>

<p>For everyone who thinks “well, your son got what he deserved…”, I’d just say we agree he deserved to be punished for being young and very stupid one night in his first year of college. He could barely face us after it had happened.</p>

<p>But the punishment should not permanently affect your entire future.</p>

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<p>According to the college board, USC doesn’t require a statement of good standing from a prior institution. ([College</a> Search - University of Southern California - USC - Admission](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board)).</p>

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<p>Depending on your major, two accredited universities that will accept up to 90 semester hours of transfer credit are:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.ashford.edu%5B/url%5D”>www.ashford.edu</a>
[url=<a href=“http://www.umuc.edu%5DUMUC%5B/url”>http://www.umuc.edu]UMUC[/url</a>]</p>

<p>Both have extensive distance ed. programs. You could complete your degree from where ever in the world you are. I do not know if they require statements that you are in good standing at your previous U. A transcript and letters from individual instructors may be good enough.</p>

<p>Wishing you all the best.</p>

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<p>I think your best bet will be a third tier private college. These schools are having trouble in this economy and will bend a lot to bring in paying students. If you can afford this, I think you can probably end up only having to spend one year at some.</p>

<p>This is assuming that whatever you did to get dismissed does not paint you as a danger to a campus.</p>

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<p>“I think your best bet will be a third tier private college. These schools are having trouble in this economy and will bend a lot to bring in paying students.”</p>

<p>We have explored that option with him, hmom5.</p>

<p>In one sense, it is ironic that he has NOW matured to the point he doesn’t see a college degree as a piece of paper to which he is entitled no matter what. He feels that committing his college fund to a 3rd tier private college with lax admission standards due to a harsh economy will make him feel like a total loser.</p>

<p>(It’s a bit like the old Groucho Marx joke about not wanting to belong to the sort of club that would admit him as a member!)</p>

<p>He was told yesterday during a personal interview with the dean of the college that dismissed him a year ago that it is a policy carved in stone that they never, ever change the terms of dismissal penalties.</p>

<p>The dean kindly added that it was obvious our son had turned himself around, however, and on the basis of his CC grades and his latest outstanding letters of recommendation (from his CC profs), should appeal personally to admissions officers at other colleges to see if they can change THEIR admissions policies.</p>

<p>It’s going to be a long haul!</p>

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<p>Thank you very much for your good thoughts and advice, happymomof1.
They are greatly appreciated.</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>That’s pretty great. If you reach that agreement, I’d say definitely go for it. “Good standing” is a technical term. Every school defines it in its own way. If your old college consider your son in “good standing” as long as he does not reapply, I see no ethical issues there. You can go ahead and apply to school that generally ask whether the applicant left his previous school in “good standing.” Now, if the application asks specific questions (were there any disciplinary violations etc.), then you have a problem. But you can choose not to apply to schools that are too nosy.</p>

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<p>^^^^
This may not be feasible for schools that only accept the common app. The College Official’s report asks if the candidate is in good academic standing, and if the applicant is eligible to return to the school. The report then states, “If you answered no to either or both questions, please attach a separate sheet of paper or use your written recommendation to provide details.”</p>

<p>This is just a thought… what about schools abroad? My understanding is that students in the UK apply as freshmen if they want to change universities.</p>

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<p>“The report then states, “If you answered no to either or both questions, please attach a separate sheet of paper or use your written recommendation to provide details.””</p>

<p>College_ruled has it in a nutshell.</p>

<p>And once you look into these things, the possible penalties for even thinking of being evasive with the truth will shrivel your nerves! (Like being stripped of the degree you do earn for misrepresenting yourself when you applied.)</p>

<p>Fair enough, of course! (And I say that sincerely.)</p>

<p>“This is just a thought… what about schools abroad? My understanding is that students in the UK apply as freshmen if they want to change universities.”</p>

<p>That’s also a good thought.
However, unless you are an outstanding candidate with a superb transcript, you’ll find you’ve actually REALLY got the pick only of countless recently created universities (say in the UK), keener on attracting “wealthy Americans” (hoho!) for the foreign student fees than offering truly international excellence.</p>

<p>Occasionally, we’ve even mentioned sending our son to a sheep farm in Australia.
(But our son says he doesn’t think that’s very funny!)</p>

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<p>Speaking of Australia, from what I heard from my friends who studied there, the best unis in Australia are much less competitive than average U.S. colleges.</p>

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<p>I have found myself in pretty much the same position as you and I am so glad that you started a thread. You mentioned in a previous post that you found some decent schools that don’t require the deans report. Could you list them for me? Thanks</p>

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<p>^^^
I agree. A list of colleges that will admit students who were dismissed from their previous college would benefit both those that were dismissed and the parents of children who may want to avoid those schools.</p>

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<p>This whole thread is one giant case against morality legislation.</p>

<p>What a joke.</p>