I just graduated from college a few months ago. This semester, I’m taking two courses through a different school. Due to some scheduling problems with my job, I’m not able to attend one of them on a regular basis, so I’m probably gonna get a less than stellar grade. The add/drop period has already expired, so I think I’m stuck with whatever they give me. No big deal though, I’m not an undergrad anymore, the credits were completely superfluous and unrelated to any field I might ever go into.
But…
When/if I apply to grad schools, will I have to supply them with this transcript, even if it’s only 6 credits? What would happen if I failed to include that transcript with my application? Is it possible anyone would know the difference?
Thanks for any information, this actually has me pretty nervous.
As an undergrad, I presided over the judicial board at a “large East Coast university.” A couple cases come to mind: in one, a student was charged with fraud of some sort, as they had gotten accepted to the university but did not disclose all their previous university studies (which included a poor showing at another school, though not enough to have denied them admission I thought). Another case was a student who had been expelled from another university (for a drug incident, I believe) who did not acknowledge his time at that school when he applied (and got accepted) to my school.
I’m not sure how they figured out these people’s academic history, but was told “we have our ways,” which I took to mean some sort of national clearinghouse of student enrollment. Which makes sense, since schools don’t want to attract people who’ve been expelled from other schools.
I’d recommend disclosing all your academic history, since a poor grade in just one class over that many years (which you can explain in your personal statement) will not likely deny you admission – or at least not as much as a discovery of application dishonesty will. But then again, perhaps a Doper who works in a university admissions office will be along shortly to clear matters up and explain how schools find out about their students academic histories.
I don’t know the answer to your question, but many schools let you “withdraw” from a class even after the add-drop deadline. You might look into this and see what will end up on your transcript, if anything.
Have you looked into the possibility of receiving an “incomplete”? Most professors and universities are very reasonable when dealing with part-time students who are also holding down a full-time job.
I would suggest going to your professor and explaining the situation to him/her. Ask him/her what your options are. Specifically ask about withdrawing or receiving an incomplete.
If you apply to grad schools and are unable to get rid of the bad grades, write an addendum explaining what happened. Considering the circumstances, they’ll probably understand and ignore it.
Most schools require you to report ALL the colleges you have attended. Check with your grad school and see if the application requires you to list all the schools you’ve attended. If so, then do what the other guys said and talk to your professor. Almost always they’ll accommodate you in some way.
I’ve heard of people using the excuse provided below. You, of course, will have to wrestle with the ethical issues.
Tomorrow, get a physician to refer you to a counselor/therapist. Go one or two sessions, talk about the considerable stress in your life at the moment (which seems true, to a point), and then ask your physician to dash off a quick note to your school’s administration, in which s/he concurs with your opinion that you must drop out of school for medical reasons pronto. The university will not dare challenge you, especially if you present an argument founded on your acute emotional state.
(The downside: You may have to explain this later to a future employer, though this is not likely and you can then wing it.)
I regularly review files for undergrad and graduate admissions at my university.
Contact grad programs that interest you. Ask if they also want transcripts for courses you took for pleasure in another field at a school where you did not matriculate. Chances are they’ll say no. Nobody ever wanted my Hebrew University or my community college transcripts because they were only for a course or two.
There is no covert database or clearinghouse of shame.
In the California State University system, we require ALL coursework for classes taken, even if you had went to a university thirty years ago. And we do have our ways, because it will usually show up one way or another on a transcript (usually transcripts from other schools show credits calculated from previous coursework at your previous university).
Grad programs are different sometimes, and vary, but the grad programs at my university require the same transcripts you submit to admissions, which are again, ALL transcripts from previous universities.
This reminds me. I work the front desk at Admissions, this girl came in claiming she never went to this college we were asking transcripts for. However, it was showing on her transcript as she took coursework at this college. She claimed it was through her HS. But the problem is, it would never show up on a transcript as a course taken at a university if the class was a HS course. She knew we were on to her so she didn’t fight us.
Two additional pieces of advice: (a) it’s not too late in the semester and (b) the less you say to school officials, the better.
The idea is to file your withdrawal slip before the semester officially ends. Should your university later wish to quibble (which is most uncertain, given the PC atmosphere and ADA issues), you can later follow-up with needed legal/medical heat.