I dropped out of college during my second semester back in 2015 as I had a hard time dealing with an assault and my grandparents who raised me dying. I had a breakdown and did not sign documents prior to dropping out I just stopped showing up a month into classes. This was obviously a huge mistake. My first semester I was about a 3.0, and this was due to dealing with my grandparents dying. I was the full time caregiver. I thought I would be ok, again a mistake and started my second semester where after a weekend of hanging out with people I barely knew I was assaulted and had a mental breakdown over everything and just shut off. Locked myself away and did not recover for a good 6 months. Now my GPA is messed up and I owe them 3000 in money.
Now I am dealing with the fallout as I am ready to go back to college. Have a wonderful job, am mentally competent, and have a great support system. The problem is the community colleges in NY want transcripts. I dont really want to transfer due to the horrible GPA. I want to start fresh. I dont mind paying my old college 3000 for the transcripts though it will make me put off college for one more year, my main issue is I really want to apply as a fresh student. Is this possible? From talking to the NY colleges it seems impossible, as when I apply for FASA they will see my current loans that have been being paid.
The college system is CUNY in NYC.
Please help 
Unfortunately you cannot start fresh. You will need to pay the debt to your former college and explain on the CUNY application the extenuating circumstances of the past.
Your GPA won’t transfer. I have a degree from a NYS university. After working for a good number of years I returned to a (different) NYS college to study a different major. Only credits from courses you passed transfer. Credits from courses you didn’t pass won’t. No grade is attached to the transfer credit. My transcript just has a “T” in the grade column.
Did you go to your doctor after the assault? Have you seen anyone regarding your grandparents’ deaths? What school were you attending? It’s a long shot, but I’d look into a medical withdrawal. If you could get one it would cancel out your last semester’s grades.
If you have a semester with all F’s, you may not be eligible for financial aid until the number of courses you’ve passed is high enough to qualify. That means you may have to pay out-of-pocket for a few courses until you meet satisfactory academic progress.
- As stated in the previous posts, you will need your transcripts from your old school. This means that you will have to pay your bill at your old college and get them.
- How old are you?
If you are under 24, you will still need your parents income and assets for the FAFSA (unless you are are an independent student, or you get approved for a dependency override).
In addition you will not be eligible for NY State aid (TAP or Excelsior Scholarship) your your parents do not have a physical presence in NYS. The age for independency for state aid is 35.