I'm in the process of applying for colleges and I have a question. At 18 I attended a couple of semesters at a community college that I would like to forget. Due to family issues my GPA suffered. Now at 24, I want to start again but I want to start with a clean slate. I'm wondering if when applying to colleges, I can leave out the fact that I even attended college in the past. I would essentially be applying as a freshman as opposed to a tranfer student. I'm wondering if there are any problems with doing this. Thanks in advance. Martin

Hi:

This question has been addressed in the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions.)

Sometimes honesty really is the best policy. Good luck to you! :)

I'm in the same boat.
From the information I have found it sounds like colleges usually take in to consideration that your are a little older and wiser now. I am planning on going back to a community college first and working on getting my GPA back up to par, and then applying for the real college of my choice. Don't forget that you can also write in your college essay your reasons for returning to college and how much more motivated you are now.
Good luck!!!

I would definitely let them know about your previous college experience. Most colleges have a place on the application where you can give information about extenuating circumstances and things they should know about you. Worse comes to worse you may need to take one semester to prove yourself or they may accept you into an associates program which you can trasnfer out of after a semester or two. Just keep the big picture in mind. There is something which you should ask about though. If the college accepts the credits from your previous college you should ask if you can get your GPA adjusted so the unsatisfactory grades wont hurt your current GPA. UNH will do this if you have been out of school for at least 5 years. As long as your grades are passing you get the credit but the grades aren't counted against your GPA. Usually you have to request this BEFORE you start classes but you may be able to ask for a policy variance if you have already started. Hope this helps.