Can you drop college credits from your record?

djheater

Lifer
Mar 19, 2001
14,637
2
0
I dropped out way back when and didn't withdraw from a class, I have one F that's dragging down my GPA, can you get grades like that expunged?
 

djheater

Lifer
Mar 19, 2001
14,637
2
0
Originally posted by: waffleironhead
Why are you so concerned about your gpa? Planning on masters or phd?

Life has finally gotten around to letting me complete my BA, and yes I plan to go on to a grad program in psychology. Both programs I'm considering are competitive, so every little bit counts.

I just emailed an advisor asking if the college has equivalencies I can retake to get rid of it.

I'm a straight A student who has a 3.42 because of an F a C and a handful of B's I think the F is in a scultupre class ffs. I was a messed up kid, but as an adult I'm a very good student.
 

Jumpem

Lifer
Sep 21, 2000
10,757
3
81
Originally posted by: waffleironhead
Why are you so concerned about your gpa? Planning on masters or phd?

Because employers take GPA into account when deciding who to interview.
 

waffleironhead

Diamond Member
Aug 10, 2005
7,078
578
136
Originally posted by: Jumpem
Originally posted by: waffleironhead
Why are you so concerned about your gpa? Planning on masters or phd?

Because employers take GPA into account when deciding who to interview.

True, but iirc its only about 3-5% of their decision weight. So I dont see it as that important.
 

pontifex

Lifer
Dec 5, 2000
43,804
46
91
Originally posted by: Lonyo
An F from 13 years ago is dropping your GPA? WTF.

yep. i recently checked in with the local community college about going back to school. i took a few classes about 10 years ago and got poor grades in a few of them and the counselor told me that would affect my GPA unless I took them over again and got a better score. Pretty shitty if you ask me, but what are you gonna do?
 

rocadelpunk

Diamond Member
Jul 23, 2001
5,589
1
81
I'm really confused...how long ago was it that you were in school as a 'kid'

at my university there's a 5 yr period that your grades/gpa counts towards a degree...maybe that's only for your major courses though.

Technically, you should be able to repeat any class and depending on some factors it could completely replace the grade or average it out. If you're that close to a degree though I think it's just wasting money to retake that class. Your GRE/letters of rec/letter of intent will overall have much more weight and your explanation of why you got that F and how you've matured etc will probably benefit you more than hurt. The admission staff will also see the upward incline of your grades and be more impressed with that (unless you got that F in your senior year heh). In all honesty it's probably something you could/should use to your advantage, rather than trying to cover it up (which they'll see anyway on your complete transcript and know you're just a grade grubber), instead of accepting your mistakes/learning and moving on.
 

911paramedic

Diamond Member
Jan 7, 2002
9,448
1
76
LOL, you think you have it bad. In addition to my IRS mix-up, there are three classes on my record that I never took.

An F, a W, and a CR. One is from 10 years ago, and the other two are from 16 years ago. I have to find a way to prove it wasn't me that took those classes. Luckily, I was working full time in SF during one of the classes.

The other two I was living in Foster City but who has records from almost 20 years ago? I have a picture, "See, that's me right there at my apt in Foster City." I don't think that will wash.
 

BHeemsoth

Platinum Member
Jul 30, 2002
2,738
0
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Originally posted by: waffleironhead
Originally posted by: Jumpem
Originally posted by: waffleironhead
Why are you so concerned about your gpa? Planning on masters or phd?

Because employers take GPA into account when deciding who to interview.

True, but iirc its only about 3-5% of their decision weight. So I dont see it as that important.


Lol....how can you quantify that? It just seems like a stat made up to help people with lousy GPAs feel better.

Let me tell you this. I'm a senior this year. I have a 3.82 GPA, and received offers from 9 firms. Friends of mine with lower GPAs (~3.3-3.4), with similar work experience received maybe 1-2 offers.

At many firms, you need a 3.6 to even be considered for the elite entry level positions.
 

Deeko

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
30,213
12
81
GPA could be just one factor in that, bheemsoth. GPA alone is a useless quantifier of talent.

To the op, that's at your school's discretion. Talk to an adviser.
 

nanette1985

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 2005
4,209
2
0
Have you actually seen your transcript? They're usually full of mistakes. A good way to deal with your problem is to look at your transcript, ask one or two questions, and then say "whoa, I withdrew from that class, it shouldn't be here. What can we do?"

Might work.
 

Leros

Lifer
Jul 11, 2004
21,867
7
81
So if you screw up college then give it another go 5 years later, you are screwed because your old bad grades?
 

KarmaPolice

Diamond Member
Jun 24, 2004
3,066
0
0
I thought that most schools(including mine) have a time limit on how long the courses can be used to a new degree...which I think you should have passed by now.l

If they are serious about keeping the grade, you can take it again and get a new grade for the course.

When I graduated they totally screwed up my transcript. Seriously...why can not school get it right, its like they don't really care if you graduate they just want your money. I transferred two classes in as my last to classes to graduate. Took them forever for them to transfer in..I had to call them every week to check, and once they finally did, they transferred in as the wrong thing. I had to take off work to file exemptions to move all these classes around to meet my requirements, and no one really seemed to care. I asked...when were they going to tell me I wasn't going to graduate. They replied " Oh probably in a few weeks or so, you would get something in the mail". They take forever to do stuff and I know when they say a few weeks they mean months. WtF. What if I had a job that asked me if i graduated and wanted to see my transcripts...they are not going to be happy when it sounds like I am BSing my degree.


Do yourself a favor..keep on top of your registrar
 

invidia

Platinum Member
Oct 8, 2006
2,151
1
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I thought grades that old wouldn't even count towards any degree, nonetheless which school.
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
66,415
14,819
146
Originally posted by: pontifex
Originally posted by: Lonyo
An F from 13 years ago is dropping your GPA? WTF.

yep. i recently checked in with the local community college about going back to school. i took a few classes about 10 years ago and got poor grades in a few of them and the counselor told me that would affect my GPA unless I took them over again and got a better score. Pretty shitty if you ask me, but what are you gonna do?

Me too...sort of. 11 years ago I took a few night classes at the local CC. About halfway through the semester I started working 7-12's in a refinery shut-down that was 108 miles (one-way) from my house...making a 4-5 hour commute on top of the daily work schedule.
Needless to say, I didn't have time to go to school, nor did I have time to drop the classes. I called each instructor (left voice mails) and explained what happened. 2 of them dropped me (so I ended up with "W"s for those classes, but one kept me on the books. A couple of months later, he called me and offered to allow me to take the final for the class and wouldn't hold my missed time against me...I ended up with a B for the semester. While the "W"s don't directly affect my GPA, they are on my transcript, and the only way to make them go away is to retake the classes.
MOST schools allow you to retake classes you have received F's in...that may be your only option...HOWEVER, before doing that, calculate what kind of difference it will make in your overall GPA. For a full point, it'd be worth it, but for a couple of hundredths or even 1-2 tenths...nope, probably not.
 

KarmaPolice

Diamond Member
Jun 24, 2004
3,066
0
0
Originally posted by: BoomerD
Originally posted by: pontifex
Originally posted by: Lonyo
An F from 13 years ago is dropping your GPA? WTF.

yep. i recently checked in with the local community college about going back to school. i took a few classes about 10 years ago and got poor grades in a few of them and the counselor told me that would affect my GPA unless I took them over again and got a better score. Pretty shitty if you ask me, but what are you gonna do?

Me too...sort of. 11 years ago I took a few night classes at the local CC. About halfway through the semester I started working 7-12's in a refinery shut-down that was 108 miles (one-way) from my house...making a 4-5 hour commute on top of the daily work schedule.
Needless to say, I didn't have time to go to school, nor did I have time to drop the classes. I called each instructor (left voice mails) and explained what happened. 2 of them dropped me (so I ended up with "W"s for those classes, but one kept me on the books. A couple of months later, he called me and offered to allow me to take the final for the class and wouldn't hold my missed time against me...I ended up with a B for the semester. While the "W"s don't directly affect my GPA, they are on my transcript, and the only way to make them go away is to retake the classes.
MOST schools allow you to retake classes you have received F's in...that may be your only option...HOWEVER, before doing that, calculate what kind of difference it will make in your overall GPA. For a full point, it'd be worth it, but for a couple of hundredths or even 1-2 tenths...nope, probably not.

No one cares about Ws unless you have like 10 of them or something. I think I have 3 but they all can be explained for logical reasons..
 

Whisper

Diamond Member
Feb 25, 2000
5,394
2
81
Like others have said, the colleges I've attended had a time limit on how long ago you were allowed to take a class and still have it count towards an uncompleted degree.

As for grad school, grades truly aren't THAT important...your GPA needs to be high enough to get you past the school's minimum requirements, but beyond that (and especially in Psychology), your research experience, recommendation letters, and fit with possible advisers all matter much more. If you're thinking of a Clinical Psych program, just spend the next few semesters raising the GPA to a 3.5 or 3.6 and that WILL be high enough to get you interviews at many places.
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
66,415
14,819
146
Originally posted by: KarmaPolice
No one cares about Ws unless you have like 10 of them or something. I think I have 3 but they all can be explained for logical reasons..

Yeah, that's what my advisor says too...but to me, they scream FAIL! (without actually being F's)
 

TanisHalfElven

Diamond Member
Jun 29, 2001
3,512
0
76
Originally posted by: BHeemsoth
Originally posted by: waffleironhead
Originally posted by: Jumpem
Originally posted by: waffleironhead
Why are you so concerned about your gpa? Planning on masters or phd?

Because employers take GPA into account when deciding who to interview.

True, but iirc its only about 3-5% of their decision weight. So I dont see it as that important.


Lol....how can you quantify that? It just seems like a stat made up to help people with lousy GPAs feel better.

Let me tell you this. I'm a senior this year. I have a 3.82 GPA, and received offers from 9 firms. Friends of mine with lower GPAs (~3.3-3.4), with similar work experience received maybe 1-2 offers.

At many firms, you need a 3.6 to even be considered for the elite entry level positions.

most likely your interview skill is far above them. interview count more than anything (atleast in engineering). ofcourse that not to say that you can get a great job with a 2.0 and a great interview but you can with a 3.2 beat out someone with a 4.0.

hell i've even had emplpoyers that said they didn't like people with high GPA's since they're too proud/snotty/unwilling to work in teams/cooperate and follow instructions.

OP. just show them that you've learned from your mistakes and grown up. that is far more impressive that someone who was always perfect.

ps. i've heard of 1 school that allowed you to retake a course and wipe the old grade from your gpa (UT arlington) so there might be others too.
 

FoBoT

No Lifer
Apr 30, 2001
63,084
15
81
fobot.com
no
my wife went back to college last year and has F's from 20 years ago

it is on her permanent record
 

imported_Imp

Diamond Member
Dec 20, 2005
9,148
0
0
Question is have you "cleared those F grades?

I got one from my first year of college, and I almost like it showing up. Ya, it shows that I was a failer, but I took it again and passed it pretty convincingly. Also, if you look at the rest of my grades for the past 3 years, it clearly shows a bounce back. That is, it doesn't look like I'd give up the second things didn't go my way or cry when the going gets tough. Or if the employer is some GPA-whore, then I'm a failure, then they can eat **** and die.