Anyone participated in Texas Academic Fresh Start Program?

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AggieRVT

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I've been searching the old threads about the TX Academic Fresh Start Program and cannot find many personal experiences about the program.

TX developed this program about 10 years ago and allows for TX residents to make a "fresh start" with a clean slate on their GPA for coursework taken 10+ years ago. The catch: this is an all or nothing deal, meaning all pre-req's will need to be repeated and the student will need a minimum of 90 hours of new coursework before admission into a professional or grad school.

I am strongly considering this option and would love to hear from a few others that have contemplated making this decision or even better, students and/or dr's that have taken this route. I graduated from TX A&M in 1999 w/a very low 2.3 GPA. Participating in TX Academic Fresh Start would probably be my best bet aside from Carribean schools!

The 90 hours of retaking classes I've is quite daunting, but I obviously did not learn a whole lot the first time around. If I can manage at least a 3.4-3.6 GPA I have a good shot at Tx a&m vet school after 3 years of undergrad courses which would be much more financially feasible.

Any suggestions/personal experiences of the fresh start program would be greatly appreciated!
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I'm actually not a TX resident, but I've read quite a bit about it. It's actually even tempted me to move to TX and establish residency before restarting my undergrad! It's a unique program, which I wish more places had. It's a great way to legitimately "start fresh", in case you have old grades that still haunt you (I know I do!).

I emailed TMDSAS (TX's own version of AMCAS) and they basically said whatever I've heard on this forum and oldpreds.org. Basically if the grades are ten years or older from the date you enroll, they can be cleared for gpa calculating. You have to apparently apply as a fresh start student. I say consider it if all the work you want to clear is over ten years before you invoke the fresh start (and of course, once fresh start is applied, all those grades can't be used for anything - gpa, distribution/prereq requirements, etc). The degree you have, if of course, still yours. It's just the grades, when calculating the gpa for the school and for TMDSAS). If the bad grades are more recent, then fresh start won't help. Talk to an adviser at the college or university you are thinking of attending at...and if you can, please let me know what they say! Or email TMDSAS and see what they have to tell you (forgot the email address but it's on their website). They're responsive.

Otherwise, if you don't want to use fresh start, consider DO schools, which replaces grades. I'm considering both routes to see which may work better for me, though I have a long road ahead of me either way (BSEE with cum 2.9 but I have a LOT of credit hours)...The DO system is pretty forgiving and the grades may be repaired fairly quickly that way but I have a lot of repeats as it is and the transcript just looks AWFUL.

I may stake my future on this "fresh start thing". I've been meaning to head west anyways (I live in MI). This may help push me to do it! Good luck. It will be a tough road. I'm still not sure if I'm cut out for this, but this place is a good resource to start...
 
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I am currently finishing my BS under the Texas Academic Fresh Start Law.

First, you must understand that this is very helpful, but only for admission to schools in Texas. You must apply for "fresh start" when in the processs of applying to a new undergraduate university, once you're accepted you can't go back and opt for the program. Also, it has no bearing for schools outside of Texas.

Your transcript will say "Student has elected his/her right to an academic fresh start under Senate Bill XXXX, all grades prior to (year) are not used for calculation in student GPA." However, the grades and hours still appear on the transcript. Public schools in Texas (undergrad. or grad) are required to calculate your GPA based on the grades after the fresh start period, but schools outside of Texas are not. You may have a 4.0 for purposes of admission to UT for instance, but if you apply to UCLA you will have all of your grades over the years used to calculate your GPA.

I do not know what bearing the fact you have completed a BS will have on this...Talk to the admissions office or whatever school you are interested in going to. Although it is not commonly used, I was surprised how much some of the faculty knew about it.

I hope this helps...Good luck.
 
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If something like Fresh Start was available in my state I would have taken it (I'm already 65credit hours into my postbacc after 3years while working full time, not bad). Combine it with DO grade replacement to apply out of state and it'll make a difference.

By my off the cuff calculations, if you have 128hrs at a 2.3, then 90hours at 4.0 will get you to 3.0, still not very competitive for allo schools.
 
Does this apply to all Texas schools having a medicine program (ie. DO, MD, PharmD, etc)? Sucks if you have to be a resident....:(
 
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I did fresh start and now I'm a M1. I'm also a bit older and had some pretty rough grades. Yep, started from scratch. Had to take govt, fine art, everything. graduated magna in 4 years while working fulltime with Bio degree from UT Dallas.
It was a long road, but I really enjoyed it- even govt and fine art.
Besides, the reality is that if your gpa isn't high enough, you will not get interviews.
PM me if you want, but I am rarely on SDN anymore since med school started.
I have met a couple of people who got into TX schools with only 90 hrs, but they are rare.
 
Yes, you must be a TX resident to participate in the TX academic program & it only applies to TX prof schools.
Thanks to everyone's advice, I would like more personal experiences if anyone has them or knows somebody that went through the program.
 
I am in the process of completing my last 3 courses under Fresh Start and applying in May. I did a lot of research on this and basically all the previous posts are accurate. My case was a little trickier because I started college in 92 and it was a total disaster. From that time I did quite a bit medically-related in the military and returned to school in 99 as a civilian, graduating in 2002. Although I did pretty well on my second try, combining my GPA from 92-93 in my application has totally made it uphill for me. I returned to school and declared Fresh Start last Summer and it will eliminate my 92-93 GPA from the application, but it will also take away some of my prereqs from 99. Those are the ones that I ended up retaking. I called the TMDSAS office and spoke with the guru on this before making my decision, I think her name is Nicole. I wanted to make sure that in fact only the courses taken 10 years prior to my declaration were affected and not the ones after that. I was able to confirm this information. My advise is that you contact TMDSAS directly and have them clarify any questions. Most of the premed advisors know a little about the program but not the details. Keep in mind that you MUST declare Fresh Start BEFORE enrolling in school again or you will miss your opportunity, at least for another 10 years. Good luck.
 
I've been curious about the program for a while. One of my biggest questions when considering it when I went back to school was, How do med schools look at this in an applicant? anyone have any clues there? I wonder if its a negative on your application or not.
 
7starmantis said:
I've been curious about the program for a while. One of my biggest questions when considering it when I went back to school was, How do med schools look at this in an applicant? anyone have any clues there? I wonder if its a negative on your application or not.
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I guess I will know for sure in a year. But I can tell you that a 2.0 looks worst than a 3.5-4.0 Fresh Start anytime. :p
 
question:

i have read the actual code for this fresh start program in texas. Today i called UHD and asked them about this. They said i don't qualify cause i am currently enrolled in a community college and that this program only applies to you if you have not attended any school in ten years.

does that seem accurate at all?

it says nothing like that in the actual code.

i made some terrible choices in 2000-2001 and ended up getting f's in 6 classes. so now i am looking to do fresh start but since then i have taken tons of courses and even retaken the ones i failed previously. if i do fresh start will it wipe out everything or just the ones that are ten years and older leaving the rest of my classes alone?
 
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santiajj said:
I guess I will know for sure in a year. But I can tell you that a 2.0 looks worst than a 3.5-4.0 Fresh Start anytime. :p
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Good point! :)

apreludem said:
question:

i have read the actual code for this fresh start program in texas. Today i called UHD and asked them about this. They said i don't qualify cause i am currently enrolled in a community college and that this program only applies to you if you have not attended any school in ten years.

does that seem accurate at all?

it says nothing like that in the actual code.

i made some terrible choices in 2000-2001 and ended up getting f's in 6 classes. so now i am looking to do fresh start but since then i have taken tons of courses and even retaken the ones i failed previously. if i do fresh start will it wipe out everything or just the ones that are ten years and older leaving the rest of my classes alone?
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Yeah, as I understand it (I'm no expert by any means) you cannot use it if you have already begun taking classes again. It has to be used when you first apply again. May want to get in touch with an expert though, may be some loop holes or something you could squeeze through.
 
7starmantis said:
Good point! :)



Yeah, as I understand it (I'm no expert by any means) you cannot use it if you have already begun taking classes again. It has to be used when you first apply again. May want to get in touch with an expert though, may be some loop holes or something you could squeeze through.
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but the literature says nothing in regards to this. only that if you have already started taking classes at the college that you want to apply to with the fresh start program THEN you missed your chance. i haven't enrolled into any classes there yet though. only been taking classes at community college since 08. in fact, someone who posted above even said when they did it that it only knocked out the classes that were 10 plus years old but not the ones he had currently taken and transferred over.

i have taken lots of credits at a community college and i want to transfer them over to UHD while doing the fresh start program with them so i can get rid of those courses that are 10+ years old.

That's how i understand this to work...

anyone know if this is correct or no?
 
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Back from UHD. This information is knew to me so i will post it in here even though most of you probably already knew this:


1) only courses ( grade doesn't matter ) that are 10+ years will drop.

2) All classes <9 years remain. Meaning you can transfer courses from other institutions that are <9 years and they will be taken.

3) if you have already begun taking classes at the university that you want to do a fresh start program at then it's already too late. You will not be able to do fresh start AT that school. You would have to go to a different school and transfer your grades to knew school and apply to Fresh start program at that new school.

4)remember all classes get wiped out that are 10 years or older so if you have prereqs among those 10+ yr old classes then you will have to take them somewhere else first prior to applying at the university where you wish to do a fresh start program.


hope this helps. This info was obtained from a transfer counselor/advisor at UHD in houston texas.
 
I have what seems like a common issue. I was an undisciplined child the first time around at school, and completed my first 28 units of college with a 1.71 gpa. This occurred when I was 18 years old. I am now 34 and on the fast track to completing a degree in psychology while also doing my premed coursework. I have about 70 units now (not including the first 28), with a 4.0 gpa. I did not know about the Texas Fresh Start program before, so I did not make use of it unfortunately.

My question is, can I apply for the Texas Fresh Start program when I apply to medical school? Or does it have to be done during my undergraduate program only? I ask because I only wish to apply to Texas schools. I very much appreciate someone taking the time to answer this question that has been weighing heavily on my mind.
 
It has to be declared at an institution at the time of enrollment and then have a class completed (on a transcript) before application through TMDSAS. There are multiple ways to do this, contact them to be sure about any questions you have.
 
TwinsFan said:
It has to be declared at an institution at the time of enrollment and then have a class completed (on a transcript) before application through TMDSAS. There are multiple ways to do this, contact them to be sure about any questions you have.
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Gotcha. Thanks!
 
I emailed TMDSAS directly. From what I was told, you can apply to a 4 year university and be working on a degree, and later apply to an other college or university and complete even ONE class there having applied for enrollment under the provision. What that tells me is, in my case, I will graduate around 2015. My bad grades end around 2005. I am 1 year away from transferring to UTSA where I will finish my degree. Even if I am 3.5 years in, I can elect to take any class that is in my degree plan at the other college as long as I have never attended college there.

My specific plan is to finish my first 2 years at a community college, but not take the full 60 hrs as that will be the cap that UTSA allows me to transfer in. For instance I will finish 57 hours and leave 3 hours to be transferred to UTSA later. I will then almost complete my degree and the summer before my last semester I will apply to Austin Community College for an online class that will work for my degree. I will apply under the provision. It doesn't matter where you apply, because from what I was told, on the official transcript, it will appear in a time line sort of outline, when I started the provision. The 10 years will start 2015 for me, which will remove the GPA from 2005 back.

*** Also, I ran across this information on UTA's website. If you are currently a student at the college you want to finish your degree at, you can take a year off from that college, and apply a year later at the same college under the provision.

Copied and pasted from: http://www.uta.edu/admissions/transfers/apply/fresh-start.php
Once enrolled, Academic Fresh Start may only be requested upon application for readmission to the University. Students can apply for readmission and request Fresh Start only after resigning for one calendar year. The Fresh Start application must be completed and granted prior to re-enrolling.
 
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rrt said:
I emailed TMDSAS directly. From what I was told, you can apply to a 4 year university and be working on a degree, and later apply to an other college or university and complete even ONE class there having applied for enrollment under the provision. What that tells me is, in my case, I will graduate around 2015. My bad grades end around 2005. I am 1 year away from transferring to UTSA where I will finish my degree. Even if I am 3.5 years in, I can elect to take any class that is in my degree plan at the other college as long as I have never attended college there.

My specific plan is to finish my first 2 years at a community college, but not take the full 60 hrs as that will be the cap that UTSA allows me to transfer in. For instance I will finish 57 hours and leave 3 hours to be transferred to UTSA later. I will then almost complete my degree and the summer before my last semester I will apply to Austin Community College for an online class that will work for my degree. I will apply under the provision. It doesn't matter where you apply, because from what I was told, on the official transcript, it will appear in a time line sort of outline, when I started the provision. The 10 years will start 2015 for me, which will remove the GPA from 2005 back.

.
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Thank you for sharing your situation. This is exactly what I will do. I am already enrolled at 2 schools now. I will need to enroll in another one in order to take advantage of the program which will make it a pain in the ***** later, but in reality, it's really worth it. In my case, my bad grades will be completely gone! Amazing. I just went from a really incredibly borderline applicant, to pretty spiffy overnight. Incredible! Thanks again for your post. :thumbup:
 
rrt said:
I emailed TMDSAS directly. From what I was told, you can apply to a 4 year university and be working on a degree, and later apply to an other college or university and complete even ONE class there having applied for enrollment under the provision. What that tells me is, in my case, I will graduate around 2015. My bad grades end around 2005. I am 1 year away from transferring to UTSA where I will finish my degree. Even if I am 3.5 years in, I can elect to take any class that is in my degree plan at the other college as long as I have never attended college there.

My specific plan is to finish my first 2 years at a community college, but not take the full 60 hrs as that will be the cap that UTSA allows me to transfer in. For instance I will finish 57 hours and leave 3 hours to be transferred to UTSA later. I will then almost complete my degree and the summer before my last semester I will apply to Austin Community College for an online class that will work for my degree. I will apply under the provision. It doesn't matter where you apply, because from what I was told, on the official transcript, it will appear in a time line sort of outline, when I started the provision. The 10 years will start 2015 for me, which will remove the GPA from 2005 back..
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Like you, I am very interested in the Fresh Start program. My undergrad grades from 2002 are poor, so I was hoping to use this program to erase them. The challenge for me is to get all 90 credits ASAP (in the next 2-3 years). What I was not sure is whether I need to have those 90 credits completed prior to applying to medical school OR prior to matriculating in September right as school starts? I emailed Anne from TMDSAS and here is her response:

.All required coursework must be completed before or by the time of enrollment into the medical school. .

I was still confused what she meant by "enrollment" so I sent her another email to clarify. Here is her response back:

It is BEST to have completed the 90 semester hours at the time of application. It is also BEST to have the “required” 45 semester hours completed and graded at the time you apply as well.

If I interpret her response correctly, she is saying it is recommended but NOT required to have all 90 credits when applying to medical school. This means we can apply to medical schools when we have 45 credits. Then, as we go through the admissions process (our gap year), we need to complete the remaining credits to get to 90 total credits prior to matriculating. Does everybody else interpret her response the same way?

At the moment I only have 16 credits (not counting my bachelor credits since I plan to erase them). I figure it will take me another 3 years to complete all 90 credits. My game plan is take 80 credits at UT Dallas in the next 2 years, then take 1 class at the local Community College (to qualify for the Fresh Start), finish it and apply to the Fresh Start, then apply to the Medical School. Then, as I go through my gap year, I plan to complete the remaining 10 credits to get my 90 total credits prior to matriculating at medical school.

Any holes in this plan I am not seeing? Thank you for your suggestions!
 
PTWOB02 said:
Like you, I am very interested in the Fresh Start program. My undergrad grades from 2002 are poor, so I was hoping to use this program to erase them. The challenge for me is to get all 90 credits ASAP (in the next 2-3 years). What I was not sure is whether I need to have those 90 credits completed prior to applying to medical school OR prior to matriculating in September right as school starts? I emailed Anne from TMDSAS and here is her response:

.All required coursework must be completed before or by the time of enrollment into the medical school. .

I was still confused what she meant by "enrollment" so I sent her another email to clarify. Here is her response back:

It is BEST to have completed the 90 semester hours at the time of application. It is also BEST to have the “required” 45 semester hours completed and graded at the time you apply as well.

If I interpret her response correctly, she is saying it is recommended but NOT required to have all 90 credits when applying to medical school. This means we can apply to medical schools when we have 45 credits. Then, as we go through the admissions process (our gap year), we need to complete the remaining credits to get to 90 total credits prior to matriculating. Does everybody else interpret her response the same way?

At the moment I only have 16 credits (not counting my bachelor credits since I plan to erase them). I figure it will take me another 3 years to complete all 90 credits. My game plan is take 80 credits at UT Dallas in the next 2 years, then take 1 class at the local Community College (to qualify for the Fresh Start), finish it and apply to the Fresh Start, then apply to the Medical School. Then, as I go through my gap year, I plan to complete the remaining 10 credits to get my 90 total credits prior to matriculating at medical school.

Any holes in this plan I am not seeing? Thank you for your suggestions!
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I believe that 90 credits must be completed before application, however let's just say for a second that you CAN apply with 45 credits. Why would a medical school take your application over the horde of other, more qualified applicants? I understand you are in a hurry to get there, as we all are. Just understand that this will be a long and arduous process; and for you, a second and more difficult one most likely. That said, best of luck to you fellow Dallasite.
 
ShoTyme said:
I believe that 90 credits must be completed before application, however let's just say for a second that you CAN apply with 45 credits. Why would a medical school take your application over the horde of other, more qualified applicants? I understand you are in a hurry to get there, as we all are. Just understand that this will be a long and arduous process; and for you, a second and more difficult one most likely. That said, best of luck to you fellow Dallasite.
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Thank you for the reply. The main point I am trying to make is after 2 years of school I will only have 80 credits. If I apply to medical schools under Fresh Start provision at that time, then I can use the Gap year to fulfill my remaining 10 credits prior to matriculating. That's 3 full-years of school VS. 4-years (3 years to get all 90 credits + 1 Gap year). Time is always a factor for me. I'm 35 already and not getting any younger as they say. More importantly, I have limited finances to pay for everything, which is the biggest factor in my decision to get my schooling done in the next 3 years prior to med school.

To answer your question, the way I understand the Fresh Start process, medical schools would not necessarily know that I have 80, as opposed to 90 credits accumulated, because all they would see is I am applying under Fresh Start provision. As long as I complete my 10 remaining credits, they would never even know the difference between me and other qualified candidates.
 
Keep in mind you have to be a resident before you can get a "Fresh Start" and having a bachelors is required to be competitive, regardless of GPA (check the MSAR, very few do not have bachelors)
 
PTWOB02 said:
Thank you for the reply. The main point I am trying to make is after 2 years of school I will only have 80 credits. If I apply to medical schools under Fresh Start provision at that time, then I can use the Gap year to fulfill my remaining 10 credits prior to matriculating. That's 3 full-years of school VS. 4-years (3 years to get all 90 credits + 1 Gap year). Time is always a factor for me. I'm 35 already and not getting any younger as they say. More importantly, I have limited finances to pay for everything, which is the biggest factor in my decision to get my schooling done in the next 3 years prior to med school.

To answer your question, the way I understand the Fresh Start process, medical schools would not necessarily know that I have 80, as opposed to 90 credits accumulated, because all they would see is I am applying under Fresh Start provision. As long as I complete my 10 remaining credits, they would never even know the difference between me and other qualified candidates.
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In my opinion, this is an expensive way of going about things. If you are worried that you won't have the 90 hours before you reach the date you intend to use the fresh start provision, then here is an easier thing to do.

Keep taking classes. When you get to the month/year you want the 10 years to start at (in my case its May of 2015) then take a class somewhere else. Even at a local community college you have not been to in at least 1 year. Some colleges will allow you to re-enroll as a fresh start applicant if you haven't been there is a year.

Another factor is, the chances of you getting in with only 90 credits is very low. All things aside, if you and a like GPA were to be compared, but he has a BA/BS/Any degree, who do you think they would pick. Most medical schools even write that they strongly give preference in applicants with degrees.

My advice is to take a look at all your transcripts. Put them together in a time line and figure out the point you want to erase EVERYTHING prior to. If it is 2002, then that would mean applying as an applicant in 2012.
 
TwinsFan said:
Keep in mind you have to be a resident before you can get a "Fresh Start" and having a bachelors is required to be competitive, regardless of GPA (check the MSAR, very few do not have bachelors)
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I am invoking the "fresh start" in Spring '12. I earned my B.A. in 2001. Just to clarify you don't lose credit for earning a degree and do in fact retain any degree earned. This is a really great program in TX. It allows me to change my GPA (without fresh start) from a 2.93 to a 3.45 (with fresh start). Now with a decent MCAT I may get a shot at an interview.
 
rrt said:
If you are worried that you won't have the 90 hours before you reach the date you intend to use the fresh start provision, then here is an easier thing to do. When you get to the month/year you want the 10 years to start at (in my case its May of 2015) then take a class somewhere else. Even at a local community college you have not been to in at least 1 year. Some colleges will allow you to re-enroll as a fresh start applicant if you haven't been there is a year.
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Yep, that's exactly what I plan to do. As soon as I reach my 10-year point, which would be summer of 2012 for me, then I can do take 1-extra class at the community college and apply to Fresh Start.

rrt said:
Another factor is, the chances of you getting in with only 90 credits is very low. All things aside, if you and a like GPA were to be compared, but he has a BA/BS/Any degree, who do you think they would pick. Most medical schools even write that they strongly give preference in applicants with degrees.
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You don't lose Bachelor degree by doing Fresh Start. It's true that none of the classes would count from 2002 and earlier, but the bachelor degree would still count. So, I'm not sure what you mean by "my chances would be very low." If anything, my chances would be much higher because I would go from 2.6 undergrad GPA in 2002 to a 4.0 undergrad GPA if you only count grades from 2002 - 2012.
 
PTWOB02 said:
Yep, that's exactly what I plan to do. As soon as I reach my 10-year point, which would be summer of 2012 for me, then I can do take 1-extra class at the community college and apply to Fresh Start.



You don't lose Bachelor degree by doing Fresh Start. It's true that none of the classes would count from 2002 and earlier, but the bachelor degree would still count. So, I'm not sure what you mean by "my chances would be very low." If anything, my chances would be much higher because I would go from 2.6 undergrad GPA in 2002 to a 4.0 undergrad GPA if you only count grades from 2002 - 2012.
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I think we miss-read each other. I wasn't aware you had a degree. I was talking about the situation if someone that doesn't have a degree applied. I think a few people that responded were thinking the same way, plus I am responding from a phone, so it's hard to go back and read :cool:

If you have a degree, and you use fresh start later after pre-reqs, then yes, you'd be a shoe-in!
 
Here are my stats:

GPA: 2.97
Grad Year: 2004
I earned 2 B.S. degrees, one in Biology and the other in Neuroscience.

I am considering the Fresh Start Program but I am also considering the DO option.

Why are you people completing courses prior to applying to the fresh start program? Is it just to save time? For instance, if your 10 year cutoff begins in 2017 and you do a 4 year bachelor's degree starting in 2013 you would just need to take a single course at another school in 2017 to qualify for the fresh start medical school applicant status? In other words, you can apply to medical schools in Texas in 2017 rather than waiting 4 years after your start the fresh start program?

In my case the 10 year cutoff is 2014. I plan on taking community college courses in 2013 probably 30 credits, then apply to a university under the fresh start provision and complete the extra 60 credits. Is that advisable or should I complete a bachelor's degree from a university, apply to another university under the fresh start provision, take the single course to qualify, transfer all my courses from the new bachelor's degree to the fresh start program, and then apply to medical schools?

Let's say I take courses now and apply to the fresh start program in 2014 and complete a bachelor's. Can I still use those grades from the fresh start program to replace grades in my bad transcript from 2004 when applying to DO schools outside of Texas?
In other words, let's say I take 30 credits at a community college now before applying to the fresh start program in 2014 and I complete the extra 60 credits. Can those 60 credits be used towards replacements for the purpose of applying to DO schools outside of Texas? Or should I just do a bachelor's degree now and then apply to the fresh start program in 2017?

Since I have 2 bachelor's degrees already, I can just do the 90 credits prior to med school applications? What is the 45 credit deal? I don't understand. What is a Gap year? Will medical schools see my grades from my dual degree or will they only know that I earned 2 degrees back in 2004? Will this give first preference to non fresh start applicants?

I'm a pennsylvania resident. I need to be a resident of Texas for at least 1 year prior to applying to the fresh start program. Is that right? what is your advice as to how I should do this?

PTWOB02 said:
To answer your question, the way I understand the Fresh Start process, medical schools would not necessarily know that I have 80, as opposed to 90 credits accumulated, because all they would see is I am applying under Fresh Start provision. As long as I complete my 10 remaining credits, they would never even know the difference between me and other qualified candidates.
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What are you talking about? Won't they have a transcript of all the courses you have transfered into the fresh start program?

Thank you all for your replies.
 
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TurboMed said:
Here are my stats:

GPA: 2.97
Grad Year: 2004
I earned 2 B.S. degrees, one in Biology and the other in Neuroscience.

I am considering the Fresh Start Program but I am also considering the DO option.

Why are you people completing courses prior to applying to the fresh start program? Is it just to save time? For instance, if your 10 year cutoff begins in 2017 and you do a 4 year bachelor's degree starting in 2013 you would just need to take a single course at another school in 2017 to qualify for the fresh start medical school applicant status? In other words, you can apply to medical schools in Texas in 2017 rather than waiting 4 years after your start the fresh start program?

In my case the 10 year cutoff is 2014. I plan on taking community college courses in 2013 probably 30 credits, then apply to a university under the fresh start provision and complete the extra 60 credits. Is that advisable or should I complete a bachelor's degree from a university, apply to another university under the fresh start provision, take the single course to qualify, transfer all my courses from the new bachelor's degree to the fresh start program, and then apply to medical schools?

Let's say I take courses now and apply to the fresh start program in 2014 and complete a bachelor's. Can I still use those grades from the fresh start program to replace grades in my bad transcript from 2004 when applying to DO schools outside of Texas?
In other words, let's say I take 30 credits at a community college now before applying to the fresh start program in 2014 and I complete the extra 60 credits. Can those 60 credits be used towards replacements for the purpose of applying to DO schools outside of Texas? Or should I just do a bachelor's degree now and then apply to the fresh start program in 2017?

Since I have 2 bachelor's degrees already, I can just do the 90 credits prior to med school applications? What is the 45 credit deal? I don't understand. What is a Gap year? Will medical schools see my grades from my dual degree or will they only know that I earned 2 degrees back in 2004? Will this give first preference to non fresh start applicants?

I'm a pennsylvania resident. I need to be a resident of Texas for at least 1 year prior to applying to the fresh start program. Is that right? what is your advice as to how I should do this?



What are you talking about? Won't they have a transcript of all the courses you have transfered into the fresh start program?

Thank you all for your replies.
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My understanding of the way it works:
EX1
Lets say you last did course work in the fall of 2004. The end of 2014 will be 10 years. So if you invoked the fresh start in Spring of 2015 then TDMSAS will only compute your gpa based on the classes you took starting spring 2005. Now any class prior to spring 2005 cannot be used ..eg lets say you did all your chem and bio prereqs in 2003 and 2004 then you must retake... It only consider the classes taken during and after spring 2005.

EX2
Now lets say you had a great year in 2004 but bad grades in 2003, 2002 etc... Then you invoke the fresh start in the spring of 2014 so that the grades from 2004 count. It's real straight forward.

So the course work 10 years prior to when you invoke the fresh start are the courses that will be used to calc gpa and admissions. So in the case of EX1, the transcript(s) prior to spring 2005 will be blocked out to TMDSAS before they send it to the schools (only state schools).

A good stratergy is to take classes you did crappy on before... this way if you apply to DO schools outside the state you can use the grade replacement.

Of course the school will know that you used the fresh start... Then the whole process..... If you're accepted, you will then need to send the school transcript...then at this point, after you have been accepted, the school will see your entire transcript :eek:... What did we just do?????:laugh:


When you apply to TMDSAS you tell them which semester you invoked the fresh start. You will send transcripts to TMDSAS and they will block out your transcript prior to that fresh start semester.
 
The Texas Academic Fresh Start is only recognized by Texas schools. I don't even think Baylor uses TMDSAS. I'm torn between using this to fix my GPA. I wish more people who used it to successfully get into medical schools could give some feedback on how it was brought up during the interviews. If any schools look at fresh start unfavorably, I would like to know before I used it.
 
CastleG8 said:
The Texas Academic Fresh Start is only recognized by Texas schools. I don't even think Baylor uses TMDSAS. I'm torn between using this to fix my GPA. I wish more people who used it to successfully get into medical schools could give some feedback on how it was brought up during the interviews. If any schools look at fresh start unfavorably, I would like to know before I used it.
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I used it and I have an interview with at Houston. I can let you know if they ask about it, but I doubt it. I believe my current grades speak to the kind of student I am.
 
ShoTyme said:
I used it and I have an interview with at Houston. I can let you know if they ask about it, but I doubt it. I believe my current grades speak to the kind of student I am.
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That's awesome. I am waiting to hear back. I also would like to get an interview at Houston, because I live 15 minutes away. My GPA has been 3.74 for the last 2 years of full time school and my last credits earned before I returned are 7 years old. I plan to use Fresh Start after I finish my bachelors, and then go back to CC retake the two history courses that I will lose from Fresh Start. I hope to hear good things.
 
ShoTyme said:
I used it and I have an interview with at Houston. I can let you know if they ask about it, but I doubt it. I believe my current grades speak to the kind of student I am.
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Sho, good to see you on, haven't seen you on here in a bit. Very happy about your Houston interview! All the best! :thumbup::luck:
 
CastleG8 said:
The Texas Academic Fresh Start is only recognized by Texas schools. I don't even think Baylor uses TMDSAS. I'm torn between using this to fix my GPA. I wish more people who used it to successfully get into medical schools could give some feedback on how it was brought up during the interviews. If any schools look at fresh start unfavorably, I would like to know before I used it.
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I think it's a state law for state school thing, Baylor is private so is not required to use it.
 
CastleG8 said:
That's awesome. I am waiting to hear back. I also would like to get an interview at Houston, because I live 15 minutes away. My GPA has been 3.74 for the last 2 years of full time school and my last credits earned before I returned are 7 years old. I plan to use Fresh Start after I finish my bachelors, and then go back to CC retake the two history courses that I will lose from Fresh Start. I hope to hear good things.
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Yeah, it seems like a great school. I've been researching a bit here and there when I have time. I will update this thread when I get back. My interview is on November 2nd. It sounds like you are doing a good job with your undergrad work. Keep it up and things should work out.

EE12BMD said:
Sho, good to see you on, haven't seen you on here in a bit. Very happy about your Houston interview! All the best! :thumbup::luck:
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Thanks very much. I've been soooo busy. I apologize for not being on here very much anymore. I'm taking 15 credits now and juggling my kids activities as well. It's quite a lot for me at the moment, but I will make more of an effort to contribute to this awesome resource when I can.

NuttyEngDude said:
I think it's a state law for state school thing, Baylor is private so is not required to use it.
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This is correct. Baylor is private so they do not need to adhere to the state law by which public schools must abide. This can also be seen in the fact that they do not use TMDSAS as their application service. Because of this, I did not apply to Baylor.
 
Texas Academic Fresh Start is wonderful for older students returning to school. Credit by examination (CBE) can mitigate the problems of losing older credits under Fresh Start.

Obtaining 90 hours doesn't have to be difficult. Find a community college with a very liberal CBE policy. Central Texas College and Houston Community College (HCC) are two options. Typically once you've completed 3 or 6 hours at a community college (these could be online courses), they will start posting credit by exam to your transcript. You can get credit for passing AP, CLEP, and DSST exams. If you are already out of high school, you probably won't be able to find a place that will administer AP exams to you. If you're good enough to get into professional school, you won't have trouble passing CLEP and DSST tests.

Since we are talking about Texas state law here, there are some interesting facts about CBE. For example, let's say you pass a CLEP U.S. History exam (important: this is a Texas core curriculum course) with a score of 50, the minimum pass for your school. It will be posted on your transcript with a course identifier, HIST 1301 U.S. History or something similar. If you transfer to UT Austin or TAMU, since it is transcripted as a course, UTA and TAMU are legally bound to accept it in transfer even though they require a score of 65 when they grant CLEP credit. The reason this loophole exists is because UTA and TAMU aren't giving you CLEP credit. They are considering the 3 hours to be transfer credit. Furthermore, if you get CBE credit for a Texas academic core curriculum course at your community college for a CLEP or DSST exam that UTA or TAMU don't give CBE credit for, they are required by law to accept the credit in transfer. All of this is because of an end of the millennium state law that protects students from losing credits when they transfer core courses. Noncore credits earned by CBE may or may not transfer, but usually do.

Additionally, once you get Texas Academic Core Curriculum Complete on a transcript, all other state schools must treat you as core complete. For purposes of discussion, I'll pick math for my example, but the discussion applies to any core course. If you are core complete with 3 hours of math at a community college and transfer to a Texas public university that requires 6 hours of math to be core complete, they have to let you graduate with only 3 hours of math because you transferred in core complete with 3 hours of math. The exception would be if you majored in something that requires an additional math course as part of the major's requirements.
 
I used this program in Texas and got into med school. A very difficult journey, but if anyone needs advice on this matter, send me a message.
 
AggieRVT said:
I've been searching the old threads about the TX Academic Fresh Start Program and cannot find many personal experiences about the program. .

TX developed this program about 10 years ago and allows for TX residents to make a "fresh start" with a clean slate on their GPA for coursework taken 10+ years ago. The catch: this is an all or nothing deal, meaning all pre-req's will need to be repeated and the student will need a minimum of 90 hours of new coursework before admission into a professional or grad school. .

I am strongly considering this option and would love to hear from a few others that have contemplated making this decision or even better, students and/or dr's that have taken this route. I graduated from TX A&M in 1999 w/a very low 2.3 GPA. .Participating in TX Academic Fresh Start would probably be my best bet aside from Carribean schools! .

The 90 hours of retaking classes I've is quite daunting, but I obviously did not learn a whole lot the first time around. If I can manage at least a 3.4-3.6 GPA I have a good shot at Tx a&m vet school after 3 years of undergrad courses which would be much more financially feasible. .

Any suggestions/personal experiences of the fresh start program would be greatly appreciated!.
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Which schools in TX allowed you guys to invoke Academic Fresh Start with a degree? I've been calling around and SFA and Univ of Houston DO NOT allow you to invoke this if you received a bachelor's degree. Is there anyone who knows of a loophole or some way to sway the Admission Director into allowing you to invoke it there??
 
Sorry to necro this old thread but figured it was better than starting a new one (flame on if I'm wrong in that assumption).

Anyway, I understand the facet of the "all or nothing" policy regarding grades that are > 10 years; basically you can't take the A's and dump the C's. However, what about courses that are less than 10 years old? You get to keep those correct? Or do you have to throw out all previous credits, even if you only got them say ~ 4 years ago.

In my case for example, I have:

- 60 hrs at GWU with a 2.97 GPA. These date from 1997, so clearly fall under the > 10 year rule and since most of these courses won't help me do prereq's, there's no love lost in letting them go
- 24 hrs at YSU with a ~ 2.5 GPA. These date from 1994, so also falls under the > 10 year rule. Only a couple of valuable courses, namely English and History, which should be easy to knock out again
- 114 hrs at TCU with a 3.931 GPA (Religion major with an East Asian studies minor, no degree though). These grades date from 2007 to 2010, so < 10 years, and ofc I would like to keep them.

so my question is, under the above scenario, if I choose the academic fresh start program, do I get to keep my TCU credits and (assuming most of my credits transfer) start a new undergrad program with 114 hrs, or, if I choose the fresh start do I get no credit hrs at all and have to start with 0?
 
It seems like you would keep all the TCU hours. You probably wouldn't get all 114 in a transfer of course but they should still be ok. Maybe contact the advisors/admissions dept at the school you want to start at? Good luck-
 
2010houston said:
It seems like you would keep all the TCU hours. You probably wouldn't get all 114 in a transfer of course but they should still be ok. Maybe contact the advisors/admissions dept at the school you want to start at? Good luck-
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ok, that's great news then. I was thinking of applying to UNT to knock out my prereqs.
 
I applied this cycle with Academic Fresh Start and thus far have received 6 interviews from 8 TMDSAS schools applied to. My uGPA without AFS is 3.3; with AFS, it's 3.9.

You can go through a community college to get Academic Fresh Start. After your AFS is approved at the CC, you only need to take and pass one course for that semester.
 
ZPakEffect said:
I applied this cycle with Academic Fresh Start and thus far have received 6 interviews from 8 TMDSAS schools applied to. My uGPA without AFS is 3.3; with AFS, it's 3.9.

You can go through a community college to get Academic Fresh Start. After your AFS is approved at the CC, you only need to take and pass one course for that semester.
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But you already have a degree and have taken your prereq's I presume? I have basically zero prereqs (if I use the AFS and exclude my GWU coursework) and was still a semester away from graduation at TCU, so no degree yet. I'm a little bummed THB b/c I had no idea such a program existed when I first went to TCU in 2007. If I had, I would have dumped the 12 hrs I got transferred and opted for the AFS then.
 
medls said:
Which schools in TX allowed you guys to invoke Academic Fresh Start with a degree? I've been calling around and SFA and Univ of Houston DO NOT allow you to invoke this if you received a bachelor's degree. Is there anyone who knows of a loophole or some way to sway the Admission Director into allowing you to invoke it there??
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Did you every find a good answer to this? I'm in the same boat right now...
 
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