Can I a make a fresh start at a new college without being haunted by my past?

<p>I recently become deaf during my time in college, and have a little bit of hearing left. However after 2 years after taking an emotional and physical toll I decided I did not like this major and university, I have a 2.78 GPA from that university majoring in engineering with 60 credits, and my hearing problem has affected my academic performance. </p>

<p>I moved to California to get my hearing treated, as it is not a conventional hearing impairment. Hearing Aids didn’t really work for me because my hearing eventually become worse over a period of time. Now it fluctuates from time to time because my autoimmune system is attacking my nerves in my ear as if it was some foreign body. Doctor’s in Georgia do not know why and they haven’t done much to treat this. So they asked me to schedule an appointment with a Rheumatologist after a month and a half. My dad was upset that this was the earliest they can make this appointment, esp when my hearing is gradually decreasing. So we decided to get treatment in California instead where my parents live. My insurance doesn’t cover cochlear implants which costs more than 50,000$, so treatment is now or never.</p>

<p>Now I applied to Pasadena City College and saw a counselor. I felt unwelcome and unhelped after the meeting. She simply told me I have to transfer all my credits from my previous university to PCC and that would leave me with only a few courses left to take if I want to transfer to another 4 year college after attending the PCC junior college.</p>

<p>Thus she told me I don’t stand much chance of transferring to my dream colleges (UCLA and USC). Mainly because of the number of engineering credits I’ve taken at my previous institution and my GPA. Keep in mind I want to change majors from engineering to English lit.
What I’m confused about is WHY I can’t make a fresh start and WHY would that leave me with a few courses to take at PCC if I’m intending to change major and start afresh on English Lit. After all I paid for my education shouldn’t I have the right to choose whether I want to transferring my credits or not?</p>

<p>I simply want to start from 0 credits at PCC and take the necessary course to transfer to Eng Lit program at my top choice university.</p>

<p>Beside I know for a fact that even if USC or UCLA or my other match universities will look at my previous college record, I’m willing to show them if given a new start I can excel in something I’m interested in. I believe in second chances, and to be forced into being influenced by my previous institution upsets me. Now that I’m getting my hearing problem treated in L.A I just want to start at a community college and work my way up from the bottom. The college counselor at PCC gave me no direction whatsoever, now I’m left completely lost and confused as to what the next step is. I will be applying to Glendale CC and see what the counselor has to say there and hopefully allow me to not transfer my credits from my previous institution.</p>

<p>Is it wrong to be given a second chance at fulfilling your educational goals? I simply can’t take no for an answer, I know there’s some way to reach my goals but I just need some direction.</p>

<p>Tell me what you guys think, should I just transfer my credits and take a few courses, apply as a transfer and just hope for the best? Also many GEs and pre-reqs were mostly for engineering credits, so I don’t know why my PCC counselor told me EVERYTHING will be transferred even though I know most of them won’t be accepted as Eng Lit pre-reqs and GEs at another 4 year college, namely USC. Maybe I didn’t understand what she meant and am taking my emotional frustration out on her. But she did not recommend any alternatives and seemed to have discouraged me from applying. </p>

<p>I’m trying to get all the help I can. I know this is long but I really appreciate it that you’ve read this.</p>

<p>You can request for “Academic Renewal” , or something of that sort.</p>

<p>basically, you go to whoever is in command of the grading/transcript at your old university. and if you have a good enough explanation(which i think you have a very valid reason) they might just wipe your slate clean. This is a maybe, but its really worth a try. This is gonna be extremely difficult 1) youre here in CA, and the univ. admins are in some other state
and 2) well… its gonna be hard communicating over the phone with your hearing problem.</p>

<p>I really hope everything works out for you man. Sometimes I think I have it bad, and then i come across this. God damn, i can’t even imagine losing my hearing, or any of my senses for that matter. With a lot of hard work, and some luck, i’m sure you can do anything you desire. Next time i’m have a hard time, i’ll think of your situation as inspiration to keep moving.</p>

<p>good luck man.</p>

<p>Generally it is hard to make a fresh start - especially so soon. I checked the policies at both my kid’s schools and they do have Academic renewal but the student has have been out of higher education for at least 5 years to qualify. Mostly schools will not let you start from scratch. Perhaps you can make an appt with UCLA and/or USC and ask them directly what their policies are.</p>

<p>If you have any D/F’s you can retake those classes at PCC , UCLA will just take the new grade. But you academic follows you but you can’t just start over. Its not up to the community college to see what transfers , when you apply to any school they want to know all school you attended and they can check.</p>

<p>edit: if you just want pcc not to transfer the units. I don’t see how that benefits you, when you apply to the University the want all your grades, and if you retake class you already pass they take the first grade.</p>

<p>i dont think you CAN just start over from scratch becuase of the credits you already have, but i do think that you should be able to use the credits you do have to help you achieve that dream of yours. just beucase you are deaf, does in no way mean that you are not* equal to the rest of us and deserve a chance like any other…</p>

<p>good luck, and i have my fingers crossed for you!</p>

<p>-tiffany-</p>

<ul>
<li>- edit</li>
</ul>

<p>Pitcher</p>

<p>My situation is extremely complicated and I don’t think you’d fully grasp the difficulty I’m going through, to become deaf during your time in college is a HUGE adjustment. The main reason it hurt me academically, I’m not looking for sympathy by all means, honestly I don’t give a crap about it. I just want the same advantage every student in my university gets. Frankly, I messed up, and had no idea about compulsory credit transfer. I am an international student and didn’t have much idea about the U.S education and credit system, I’m not covered by insurance so I cannot get surgery, unlike some people who were born deaf, they had the chance to learn sign language and lip read. I will need to take quite a bit of time to learn this, right now I’m doing all I can to treat my hearing so I don’t have to resort to this. </p>

<p>Right now I just need all the info and advice I can get so I can plan my future accordingly, like I said I’m not going to give up, I’ll do everything I can to fulfill my goals and a lot of you have been extremely helpful and I’m thankful for that.</p>

<p>Anyway thanks, Tiffany, I might have taken it the wrong way and I apologize, but I still appreciate the response.</p>

<p>The problem with transfering to UCLA in your situation is two fold - first is potentially your culmulative GPA. You would probably need at least a 3.2 (recommended for TAP transfers) and the average culmulative GPA is more like a 3.5 for English Lit transfers to UCLA. You do have a major mitigating circumstance (your medical issues/deafness) which would play in your favor. However, the other issue is total number of credits - UCLA will NOT accept your application/transfer if you have more than 86 semester units total (do the math if you have quarter units). Do double check this information, but I recently looked it up for my daughter who is at CCC and is interested in UCLA transfer. [University</a> of California - Counselors](<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/educators/counselors/adminfo/transfer/advising/answers/applying.html]University”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/educators/counselors/adminfo/transfer/advising/answers/applying.html)</p>

<br>

<br>

<p>Unfortunately, this is not how 99% of the colleges in the US work. And certainly not in California. You will be told at EVERY California Community College that your prior transcript will follow you. The actual CCC may not need it for you to attend the CCC - but as soon as you apply to the UCs or CSUs or California private colleges, you MUST submit ALL transcripts. The thing to do is to look at your situation now and see what positive moves you can make.</p>

<p>Note that many UCs have credit limits, so check out that URL I posted above to see where you may qualify to transfer. UCLA and Berkeley are both fairly strict. UCI has more leeway, if I recall (plus UCI is not too bad in terms of English Lit!). Take a look at the private schools - many of them have a lot more leeway on total credits before transfer.</p>

<p>You may want to plan to have your peak experience in graduate school. In preparation for this, aim for a very solid transfer school within your parameters and then ace all of your English classes so that your GPA within your undergraduate major is VERY high. Apply for graduate schools.</p>

<p>It sounds like you have a lot on your plate right now with the medical issues. I wouldn’t worry too much about any time taken off right now. In fact, it would probably be better that your hearing issues are taken care of and that you hit a stable place <em>before</em> trying to transfer. Take more classes at PCC - it will likely only raise your overall GPA (and since it sounds like you will have to apply to places that don’t have credit limits, this would be fine). The bottom line is that you don’t want to compound your prior struggles with another set of struggles after transfering - fix them/adjust/learn new study skills while at PCC!</p>

<p>On a side note - there may be some colleges that will erase one or two semesters of uncharacteristically low GPA - but these are limited and few and not likely to help in transfer process. Even if the GPA gets raised because of it, it doesn’t ‘erase’ the classes… they still show up on the transcripts and still are counted in terms of total # of units in terms of transfer as well. It is something to look into, but probably not going to drastically alter your transfer posibilities.</p>

<p>Also - what are your goals? There are many ways to get to the same place, though the paths may be very different. You may find more success by widening your options vs. struggling to hit your head against the same (unmoveable) wall.</p>

<p>If you like PCC, you may want to talk to another councelor. Not because anything your first counselor said was incorrect, but perhaps because you did not establish a good working rapport with her. Some counselors are just not very good at their job! Find one that makes you at least feel there is hope - not hope for a path that you may not qualify for (ie: if you have too many units for UCLA, that’s not something that can change) - but who is willing to explore your realistic options. </p>

<p>If, for some reason, you do at least minimally qualify to apply to UCLA or other “dream” schools - doso. But be realistic and have a plan for transfer that includes a fairly guaranteed path.</p>

<br>

<br>

<p>It is very easy to cross wires of communication when dealing with the details of transfering, especially when comparing universities with different policies. For example, UCLA looks at ALL your transferable classes for GPA - but your GPA starts “new” once you are in the college. Most colleges, USC likely also, look at ALL your transferable classes for GPA. It may be that she was commenting on that factor rather than exactly how your transfering classes fit into USC’s GE pattern. I do think you are correct that many of your engineering courses will languish if USC accepts you - but in terms of getting <em>into</em> USC, they will look at ALL of the classes for your culmulative GPA. Remember you do have mitigating circumstances, and hopefully places like USC will take them into account.</p>

<p>Another reason to go to PCC for 1 or 2 years fulltime is to “prove” that your disability has been handled and that A) you can handle a fulltime courseload in spite of a hearing loss B) you can get As in your new chosen field of English Lit C) you can maintain it for several semesters in a row. It seems that in order for colleges to take your mitigating circumstances into account, especially since the issue is ongoing rather than short-term, they would likely prefer to see a new, solid, sustained track record. This can’t be established in just one semester of classes and immediate transfer.</p>

<p>Annika</p>

<p>Chris;</p>

<p>First of all, I do not know why you were told that all of your credits would transfer. I can guarantee that is not going to happen. A few that are applicable to your major will, but that should be seen a positive. I have heard of students petition to have credits transfer, but I have never heard of anyone trying to stop credits from transferring. I had ten semesters of college experience under my belt before I begin taking classes at the current CC that I am now enrolled in. Now, by ten semesters, I mean ten semesters of going full time (at least twelve credits a semester). So, I have a lot of credits. Out of all of that, only two courses -six credits- transferred to my new major. </p>

<p>Now, with that, I must say that I am also wondering the same thing that you are; why can’t I just start over with a clean slate? In a way I am, though. By attending a new college, and a new major, as far as anyone is concerned I am a thirty-four year old freshman. And when I transfer, I will do so as a junior. So, in that essence I do have a new slate. </p>

<p>What does concern me, however, is that I am still confused about one thing; some schools place a limit on the amount of credits that a student can earn up to the point of transferring. I will be over that limit. Way over. What confuses me is that I get conflicting reports about what this means. Some people tell me tuff luck, there is nothing that I can do about it while others tell me that it is only the credits taken while in a certain major that matter (granted that you continue with that major once you transfer).</p>

<p>Like you, I am hellbent on not letting my past interfere with my current and future educational goals. I am going to use the essays to explain this (not going to be the only topic that i cover).</p>

<p>Also, keep in mind that your GPA will not transfer with you and most colleges want to look at the records from all the schools that you have attended for the purpose of looking at your educational trends.</p>

<p>Thanks for all the responses guys, especially Annika for taking the time to write all that. I will take everything you all wrote into consideration. In fact, I’ve chosen a handful of universities to apply to so I can increase the chances of getting into a solid university.</p>

<p>So I was wondering if you guys could chance me. My choices aren’t finalized yet, as I’m still in the process of visiting and researching other schools. I posted the link below.</p>

<p>Thanks for everything, I really appreciate it</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/transfer-students/565645-honest-transfer-chances-student-disability.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/transfer-students/565645-honest-transfer-chances-student-disability.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;