What is Academic Fresh Start?
Your old grades don’t have to count against you. If you’re a Texas resident and apply for admission (or readmission) to Texas public colleges or universities and enroll as an undergraduate, you may be able to begin a new course of study with a clear academic record.
If you have credits for college courses taken ten or more years prior to the planned enrollment date, those credits (and grades) can be ignored for enrollment purposes under the "Academic Fresh Start" Law.
Please remember: This is an all or nothing option. You cannot pick and choose which courses to ignore and which courses to count. If you choose the "Academic Fresh Start" option, you will not receive any credit for any courses you took at least ten years ago.
This means that courses taken previously:
- Cannot be used to fulfill new prerequisite requirements;
- Cannot be counted toward your new degree; and
- Will not be counted in your new G.P.A. calculations.
Who determines your eligibility for Academic Fresh Start?
The Director of Admissions at the college or university where you are planning to enroll is the final authority on applying or interpreting your right to an Academic Fresh Start.
How does this affect your admission as an undergraduate?
Even if you choose the Academic Fresh Start option, you must still complete the usual admissions process. This includes providing information on all colleges or universities you previously attended, along with copies of transcripts from all schools you attended.
How does this affect your financial aid?
Academic Fresh Start clears only your academic record. When deciding your eligibility for financial aid, the school must still count all prior credits earned. If you earned a graduate degree prior to enrolling as an undergraduate under the Academic Fresh Start option, you will only be eligible for aid available to graduate students. Contact the Director of Financial Aid at the school where you are enrolling for details.
What happens if you enroll under the Academic Fresh Start option, earn an undergraduate degree, and then apply to a postgraduate or professional program at a public university?
Admissions staff for master's, doctoral or other professional degree programs at public universities will consider only your G.P.A. established by the course work you completed after enrolling in Academic Fresh Start, plus any other criteria the school uses in evaluating applicants for admission.
Credits and G.P.A. you earned prior to Academic Fresh Start will not be used to evaluate your application for admission into the postgraduate or professional program.
Please note: Nothing in the law prohibits a public university from applying standard admissions requirements.