Do old college grades follow me forever?

[Compnewbie01]

The brief version of my story is that I started attending college for a Computer Engineering major back in 2006. Due to various factors I dropped out and left in the middle of the quarter. Now 7 years later I am considering going back to school and while I am not 100% sure I might consider a different engineering major.

My issue is that since I left in the middle of the quarter 7 years ago all of my grades were undoubtedly recorded as either F or incomplete. Will this follow me down the road if I attempt to apply to a university? I have a hard time believing that 7-9+ year old records will be valid but I want to know what my potential roadblocks will be.

 

[AViking]

Same University? Yeah they will. If it's a different University and you're just going to start over don't transfer those grades.

If you have a valid reason for the bad grades they might let you turn them into a W. I got an F in a class due to flooding and being unable to get to campus and they let me remove it. I had to wait 4 years though. Really stupid policy but if you have some good reasons for dropping out maybe they'll be helpful.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

A bad grade is like having a bad child. It is with you for the rest of your life. You will never be forgiven. You can have a terrific child, but like grades it will just average out.

If you cannot get a terrific grade on first try then society considers you a loser. LOL

 

[BikeJunkie]

Agree with AViking. If you're going to a new school, just don't submit your old school's transcripts (no, you can't select individual classes to transfer, either - sorry).

If you want to attend the same school, they'd probably be willing to work with you.

 

[Hacp]

Yes they do follow you forever. Just work around it. I had the same experience. Left one semester b/c the school was just not right for me and I got 9 credits of Fs for the whole semester. Didn't matter too much in the end, might drop your overall .2-.3 points after you earn your degree.

For example, if you have 10 credits worth of Fs and you end up getting a 3.5 GPA for the rest of your 120 credits(for 130 credits attempted overall), your GPA would be 3.23 instead of 3.5.

 

[SandEagle]

don't worry about it. my first couple of years i was at a 1.6 GPA and was threatened to be expelled. i just didn't care until 3rd year. now look at me, i'm getting by alright. your GPA is like your credit score.....created to keep you on the lock down man....break free!

 

[FerrelGeek]

Just invoke the Obama rule and get your records sealed.

Jk

If you're starting over, don't transfer your grades. Your transcript counts towards getting your first job. If you stay there for a few years, your experience takes you forward. From my second job on, no one asked about my transcript.

 

[Compnewbie01]

I don't plan on attending the same school as before but I plan to transfer to a different 4 year type of university after 2 years at the community college. I just want to make sure that my old grades are not going to cause me problems and if so if there was anything I should do.

 

[Cappuccino]

Absolutely not! HOWEVER! You only need a grade A-C in Maths and English. How on earth did you get grade F in all your subjects? Did you do GCSE or A Levels? Trust me you cannot go into Uni without any qualifications. Well you do, but they are all grade F correct? I am certain that you need Maths to study Computer Engineering.
^
Ignore above, I misread thread.

You can reapply to any Uni no problem, just reapply lower ranking Unis. That's all really.

 

[unokitty]

The brief version of my story is that I started attending college for a Computer Engineering major back in 2006. Due to various factors I dropped out and left in the middle of the quarter. Now 7 years later I am considering going back to school and while I am not 100% sure I might consider a different engineering major.

My issue is that since I left in the middle of the quarter 7 years ago all of my grades were undoubtedly recorded as either F or incomplete. Will this follow me down the road if I attempt to apply to a university? I have a hard time believing that 7-9+ year old records will be valid but I want to know what my potential roadblocks will be.

First, I encourage you to pursue your education. (Assuming you have the time and money.)

Second, unless you intend on applying to MIT or Stanford or similar, I wouldn't be overly concerned about what happened previously.

Best of luck,
Uno

 

[Chaotic42]

That happened to me. I went to Ole Miss in 1998 and didn't go to class very much. I think I had a 0.3 GPA or something. Fast forward to 2011 and I applied to another university. I spoke with my advisor and he said that things like that happen. I haven't had an issue and I even graduated with highest honors.

You'll probably be fine.