Texas Fresh Start Program and Non Trad route

[rrt]

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Hello all!

I'll start with introducing myself. My name is Ivan. I am a prior service member and am a respiratory therapist at the moment. I have always wanted to become a doctor, but messing up my first and a half year of school really set me back. After my hard time at school, I joined the military and became a respiratory therapist. I've been doing this for a few years now (5) and really love my job. I started to put myself in a state of mind in which it would be fine becoming a PA. I figured with me getting a little bit older and the length of time it takes to go to school, it would be hard for me to become a doctor. Then I started reading up on D.O. school and non tradition students. My goal is set once again on medical school.

My question may be best answered by a university adviser, but I figure someone might be going through what I am.

Like previously said, I messed up my first year and a half of school. I plan on utilizing the academic fresh start program due to this. I started school the fall of 2003 and pretty much botched up everything until mid 2005. That being said, I will need to apply for the fresh start program in 2015 if I want to get rid of all my bad classes. I am worried though because I already started taking classes again, and will need to retake some basics. I plan to do this at a 2 year college and really milk the smaller class sizes for what they are worth. If that happens I will be done with all the classes I can take at a 2 year college before 2015. 2015 is crutial for getting my GPA above 3.6. Otherwise I am stuck with a previous GPA of 1.2 that will get factored in. Since I will be done with 2 year college in 2013 to 2014 if I really take my time, I am worried because a pre-req to the fresh start program is applying for it when you transfer into a 4 year university you plan on getting a degree from. I don't want the time period between when I will be done with classes at a 2 year program and when I get admitted into a university to be more than a few months. My question is could it be possible for me to take some upper level university classes at a different 4 year university than I am going to finish at, then once 2015 comes along, transfer to the 4 year of my choice and finish then?

I know this is confusing, but any help will be appreciated.

-Ivan

 

[Iwillhealyou]

Hey Ivan,

The way I understand the academic forgiveness policy is that it only takes effect when you transfer from one school to another. So you would have to, like you said you were thinking about, transfer to another school in order for the fresh start to 'kick in'. I may or may not have to use the fresh start, but if I do, I wouldn't have to transfer to a 4 year university. The fresh start can be attained by applying for a philosophy course at a 2 year school. You just have to apply for the fresh start before signing up for that course. So for your situation, and what I might do if I don't get in this cycle, will be to finish next year's course load, apply for the fresh start the DAY that the 10 year mark hits on the old grades, and sign up for like an investing class or whatever at a 2 year school and have that 10 year forgiveness kick in.

I had a 0.89 GPA in 2001-02 school year and a not so hot 04-05 school year that is killing my GPA. Basically after 105 credits of A's I have managed to get my overall cumulative according to medical schools up to like a 3.1 so I know where your sitting at and what your thinking.

I have heard from others that you should really be taking your science courses at a 4 year university and not a two year school but I really don't know for sure how these are viewed by adcoms, you would have to ask them. I have also heard it isn't in your favor if your not taking a full load of classes when you return to school as it doesn't show how you will handle dealing with a course load in medical school but again, I have never really heard an adcom speak on this topic, it's just hearsay.

Everything I have told you about the fresh start program are things that my academic advisor has spoken to me about. He emphasized that I wouldn't need to transfer to a 4 year university for this to take effect but I would suggest for you to look into this yourself. I know I will when I get closer to that point just to double check on him.

Also, I have no idea if it reflects poorly on taking a year or 2 off before you file for your fresh start. My gut says it would have a negative impact on your application but for the same reasons noted above, I couldn't give you an informed opinion, just kind of seen how others have responded to similar questions and what the general consensus is but really, it is dependant on the people who are reviewing your application that have the real say in the matter. Whatever you end up doing, I would recommend researching the fresh start policy before you jump into the pool. Honestly, I just got lucky with all this. I unwittingly moved to a state where I had family and could help me get my feet on the ground which just happened to have this rule (the only state in the country), I didn't really plan on going back to college when I came here, it was kind of a spur of the moment decision I made based on a few experiences I had that got me interested again, and the 10 years just happens to be coming up at an opportunistic time for me. You are in a good position of being aware of these things before you get into all this so take advantage of that. Ideally, I would have waited another year before coming to school had I even known about any of this before I did so use that to your advantage. Sorry for the long reply, I hope this helps a bit. Wish you the best bro.

Edit: To more specifically answer your question lol, yes! As long as you start at a new school once you are able to apply for the fresh start you will be fine. I think your plan is a good one to graduate from the school you want to graduate from and setting it up to finish there after the fresh start kicks in. I'm not sure when your fresh start actually begins, I am assuming May of 2015
?? Then you would have to take one class after your 10 year anniversary at a different school for it to take effect, or a whole semester, it doesn't have to be just one class, but it is the cheapest and most stress free way to get there. Hell you could finish your degree in the spring of 2015 and take a quick maymester class, be done with it before June and your grades will be reset. Hope that is a little more pointed towards your question. Good luck!

 

[rrt]

Iwillhealyou,

Thanks for the lengthy reply. I've been looking into this for a month or 2 and I never really thought about what you said. Being able to apply to UTSA for instance and plan on finishing my degree there would be great. I wouldn't mind taking physics or even statistics at a 2 year college. I'll have to look into it a bit more to get a better answer, but if that is the case, I could go straight into a 4 year and not worry about transferring. Here in San Antonio, other than UTSA, we have a small branch to A&M and many private universities. My nearest and best bet if I had to transfer to another university would have been San Marcos (Texas State).

-Ivan

 

[malpractician]

iwillhealyou is right. I emailed the people that process it and they said exactly that, you can take apply under it to a college and take 1 class then it's on.

i'm applying this cycle, but i know in 2 years my gpa will skyrocket after using fresh start.

 

[rrt]

This is getting me so excited! Now I am worried about one thing.... I plan on attending UTSA. I am currently taking classes through Alamo colleges. Since all the 2 year colleges are now under Alamo colleges, I wonder if me already taking classes through ONE of the colleges disqualifies me from applying for fresh start through another college in the same group. (If you are familiar with San Antonio, I mean since I am taking courses through NWV college and ST Phillips College and I enrolled at UTSA, could I go and take 1 course at Palo Alto or SAC to initiate my academic fresh start?) I may have to apply to another college in another town (Texas State or Austin Colleges) and pick fresh start there. What a mess!

It will be nice to see my GPA jump up from a low 2 to a high 3 overnight lol!

 

[Iwillhealyou]

Ivan,

As far as I am concerned you could even do an online class from another school and it would still count so you wouldn't have to even leave your home to get your fresh start. No moving, no commute, no one year of bad grades lol. I don't know for certain but I have never heard anyone say that you had to physically attend a new school to activate the fresh start, just apply to and take a course at a different institution.

 

[rrt]

This is an email conversation that I had with TMDSAS. I asked about the program in general and how it would affect someone that doesn't plan to start to program until he has re-done 95% or more of the classes, and use it just to wipe the 1st 2 years of his record at the very last minute of his route. By that, I mean that I will be applying to another university or college to take just 1 class that may or may not be relevant to my degree plan (may pay out of pocket for this) once May of 2015 hits which will then wipe everything before May of 2005.

I may still have a shot a D.O. programs before then, but if I can not get in by then, I will attempt this route.

This email answers my basic 1 class question:

Ivan

You can take courses now and the ten year rule will begin only after you have enrolled in the Academic Fresh Start provision and completed at least one course.
Anne
Anne Diamon
TMDSAS-Administrative Asst.
702 Colorado Suite 6.400
Austin, TX 78701

This email gives me general information:

Ivan,
Academic Fresh Start is a program designed specifically for those interested in furthering their academic careers and have been out of school for several years. In addition, it is to help those non-traditional students who did not perform well earlier in their undergraduate career. You would have to officially enroll in a Texas university or community college under the Academic Fresh Start provision and complete ONE course before the program is instituted. So say you enrolled in Summer 2015, any courses taken prior to Summer 2005 would be deleted from your GPA's. If any of these deleted courses are part of the prescribed coursework criteria to enter medical/dental schools, then you would have to retake those required courses. You cannot pick and choose which courses are used in the calculations of the GPA's. The courses not considered for inclusion in your GPA's would all come from the ten year rule. You would not lose your previously earned degrees, but the GPA's will be calculated differently. You will still need to meet the 90 hour minimum requirement from the courses you have taken after the provision is used.

Below is the information we provide on our website:
Academic Fresh Start Requirements:
The following sequence must occur for an applicant to be eligible to invoke the Academic Fresh Start provision when applying to a post-graduate or professional program.
1. Apply for admission to any undergraduate public institution of higher education under the Academic Fresh Start provision.
2. Be admitted to the institution as an undergraduate student under the Academic Fresh Start provision. Generally a contract or some signed documentation is required.
3. Enroll in the institution under the Academic Fresh Start provision.
4. Complete a course of study. (For TMDSAS purposes, an applicant must complete a minimum of one course in residence during the initial term of enrollment under the Academic Fresh Start provision. This term must be completed before the application deadline - October 1.)
5. Earn a baccalaureate degree. (This requirement is waived by applying to medical school because a baccalaureate is recommended but not required. A minimum of 90 undergraduate semester hours, including ALL of the required courses, must be earned, after the 10 year cutoff date is established by enrolling under Academic Fresh Start.)
6. Apply for admission to post-graduate or professional school under the Academic Fresh Start provision.
7. TMDSAS must receive all transcripts before we can process an Academic Fresh Start applicant.NOTE: The term in which the applicant was admitted to the undergraduate institution MUST be noted on the institution's transcript. That gives TMDSAS the authority to drop all courses 10 or more years prior to enrollment under Academic Fresh Start in calculating the admission Grade Point Average (GPA). A letter from the institution's Registrar certifying admission and enrollment under Academic Fresh Start is required in lieu of the notation on the institution's transcript.
Please feel free to contact us directly if you need more information or clarification.

Anne Diamon
TMDSAS-Administrative Asst.
702 Colorado Suite 6.400
Austin, TX 78701

 

[Regal Regan]

Are you guys sure you won't have to report these classes on AMCAS, even if you do Fresh Start? I'm pretty sure that AMCAS doesn't care about Fresh Start and you're still required to take ANY college course you've ever attempted, no matter how long ago.

 

[rrt]

Are you guys sure you won't have to report these classes on AMCAS, even if you do Fresh Start? I'm pretty sure that AMCAS doesn't care about Fresh Start and you're still required to take ANY college course you've ever attempted, no matter how long ago.

This only applies to Texas schools. By law, all Texas programs (MD, DDS, PA .....) cannot use gpa or credits (good or bad) prior to start of fresh start provision. Being that Texas public med schools needs to accept 90% residents, it really helps TX pre-med students.

Also, TX applies to TMDSAS instead of AMCAS

 

[danchoi03]

hello RRT,

In regard to Texas fresh start, can I transfer the last 40 semester units that I recently done for postbach for the 90 units required by Texas fresh start once it activated? Meaning, can I just complete 50 semester units once I am enrolled in Texas fresh start? Thanks