Can you start over your college career?

[ThaHero]

I really feel like I'm at some sort of crossroads right now. I am turning 24 this year(Nov.) and realize I made bad decisions in life. Brief history before getting to my question.

Went to one of the top 3 public high schools in the State of California. Went through easily, but only acheived C average and had no desire to take any type of APs. Didn't even study for the SAT and got 1150. Not high at all IMO(I thought it sucked) but other students that took multiple SAT prep classes(spending hundreds) got 900s, but obv had better grades and APs so got into better schools. I go, unmotivated, to CSUN [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img].

Stayed there 3 years, slacking off. I never finished my GE courses, although I'm probably not too far away. I ended up on academic probation and was soon given the boot. Poker had nothing to do with it as I wasn't even playing it at that time.

Since then I've been working on and off at different places. I guess I had to mature a lot. I realize how stupid I've been. I had every opportunity to have a great academic career and basically squandered it. My college GPA is probably below a 2.0.

A year ago the school sent me a note to come in for counseling. Maybe they want me back? I heard the CSU school system was losing money or something because of the Governator but I don't know how true that is.

O.K. My questions-

I realize if I did go back to CSUN, I could probably get straight As for the rest of my time there and still not pull in a 3.5. I'm seriously thinking of at least trying to go to grad school but of course getting a degree from this school, which isn't that prestigious, and not having a high GPA would nix any chance of getting into a good grad school, which I assume is the only type of grad schools worth going to?

Can I just sign up at a Junior College and get good grades, and transfer to a better school(UCLA or something, maybe USC I like their football team)? FWIW I'm black, I don't know if they still have affirmative action, etc. in the schools anymore. Basically just burying my past performance at CSUN and leaving it off any resume and not providing it when asked for school transcripts? Thus if I could get good grades elsewhere, my past would hurt my GPA.

Am I screwed? Are there other alternatives? All this working these past years showed me the importance of a degree. I have a general idea of what I want to major in, but first things first I need to just get back in school and want to go about it the right way. Thoughts?