Excelsior & transcript from other college

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by excel, Oct 6, 2004.

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  1. excel

    excel Member

    My old school transcript is mixed, some poor grades with a couple good. At Excelsior I know they would suppress the bad grades. I'm wondering if grad schools will like the fact that the old non-DL school (a known state school) is shown for a couple credits? Is it possible they would wonder and ask me to give them a full transcript from that school (which would look bad)? In that case I could skip keeping the 2 old good credits, and just repeat them with CLEP's. Or are there other reasons why it's good or bad? At Excelsior I planned to do almost all credits by exam.

    A- from another school would get transcribed as just "A" at Excelsior, right?

    Thanks.
     
  2. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    When you apply to any accredited college or graduate school, you MUST disclose ALL previous college work, whether successful or not. Wilfull failure to do so is grounds for academic discipline, including suspension.

    Don't play games with this.
     
  3. excel

    excel Member

    I wasn't aware of this. So the Excelsior option to suppress certain grades can help you when applying for a job, but not when applying to a school? A student who gets poor grades once or twice will ALWAYS have that on their record and have lower chances of getting into schools forever?
     
  4. -kevin-

    -kevin- Resident Redneck

    Lowering your chances of getting into grad school is relative. Strong admission scores (if required) relevant work history and many other criteria can come into play. Additionally, most schools have a conditional admission that provides another means to enter on a trial basis. I have also seen where the admission standards for a graduate certificate, or class, are lower or not required. Sometimes the school will allow a student that has completed a grad certificate successfully to move on to a degree without further admission issues.

    Don't let some bad grades deter you. Even an "F", or a low GPA can be overcome with positive work. In fact addressing the issue is better than trying to hide the issue, even if, like some of us, your youth was misspent and your grades reflect the same. If you do a search on the forum you will see where many folks have discussed poor/failing grades and been provided some insight.

    Lastly, develop a relationship with the admissions folks and the department chair before applying. You will know quickly if you need to move on to another school.

    Best wishes,
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 6, 2004
  5. excel

    excel Member

    Thanks, can others verify that it's necessary to disclose all info? A friend said his advisor told him it was completely optional. Transfer in the old credits (good and bad) or don't transfer them in at all if his old ones were more negative than positive.
     
  6. True - most admission forms will state this.

    However, excel, don't lose hope. Many (if not most) will generally look only at the last 60 credit hours and base their criteria on that. Therefore, if you had problems early in your college days as long as it wasn't a trend you shouldn't have an issue.

    Also, as Fed says, as an older more established student it's also about your work history and other criteria. This is an advantage that you can bring to a grad program that a 22 year-old can't.

    Cheers,
    Mark
     
  7. Jeff Walker

    Jeff Walker New Member

    As others have said, most schools require transcripts from the institutions where you took the coursework. So the school with see the bad grades.

    Excelsior will not transfer in the bad grades.

    The grad school may count the bad grades when figuring your undergraduate gpa, but if you are otherwise qualified for entry, the worst that is likely to happen is that you may enter grad school on some sort of academic probation, forcing you to do well in your first year.

    My advice is don't try to hide the bad grades, demonstrate that your recent academic performance has been solid, and nobody will care about ancient history.
     

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