"Clearing" your college transcript?

[Fred Flintstone]

More than likely this is not true but there is always a possibility. Is it possible to totally wipe out your college transcript becuase of low grades 1st year and start out fresh? Of course money is involved, but I've never heard of anyone do this, so I highly doubt this is possible.

Any opinions? I'd like to start college over with a clean slate as a freshman, even if it requires losing the few credits I did earn. :-/

[Tooker]

A surprising place to ask the question, but perhaps more surprisingly, I can answer your question.  I have worked with universities all across the USA (I'm a software consultant), and as far as I can remember, they've all had some kind of policy allowing this.  

The bad news is that I can't be more specific, because the policies vary so greatly.  Some schools will let you get rid of just your Ds and Fs, others make you get rid of everything.  Some will let you do it after a few years, others after no less than ten.  Some will do it for free, others may charge you a nominal processing fee to help cover the time of the person doing the actual work.  The one constant that I've seen is that it's a one-time deal.  If you do it now, you can't come back later and do it again.

To find out the specifics at your school, ask at the Registrar's Office (in person or on the phone, whatever) - it may be called a "forgiveness" policy, but everyone has their own name for it, so it may not.  If you describe what you're looking for, they're sure to know what you mean.

[Akanbe-]

Is it at the same university?  If so, it might be as simple as retaking the courses and getting better grades.  While your old grades would still be on your transcript, they wouldn't affect your GPA.  I don't know if this is the exact answer you're looking for, sorry.  Tooker also hit the nail right on the head too.

[Tooker]

Is it at the same university?

Oops - I totally assumed it was, and I shouldn't have.

Repeating classes is another option - make sure you ask about the school's repeat policy before you get started, though.  That's another area where schools vary GREATLY.  Some will let you repeat whatever, others will only let you repeat classes where you got a D or F.  Some will let you repeat as many classes as you want, others won't let you repeat more than a certain number of credits.