It is very likely I will arrive to NB campus by the start of week2 or week3 of classes my freshman year (we’re talking about Sep 2015) due to the end date of my required Army training. What will I miss??? Will this be a huge challenge to catch up on missed classes??? I am admitted to SAS in NB, I’ll probably be an undeclared major looking to experiment with history, some science (astronomy/physics) and the other required 10X level classes. I’m not on an honors track or anything heavy like that. I’m a reasonably good student (3.25 HS GPA who took few AP classes, 1780 SATs). My delayed start will be unavoidable and unfortunate, but is it a deadly way to start off my freshman life???
Potentially deadly.
Not really deadly. Annoying, maybe.
I would try to have your books ready to go when you arrive. So maybe you can order them and have someone receive them for you at home so that you don’t waste time with that.
I would also contact admissions and let them know, if they are not already aware of your situation. Your instructors should be aware of your situation and why you will not be in class. Most of them are good at responding to emails so you might want to contact them individually.
You will be fine, you just have to be organized.
This is HUGE issue, and you need to communicate early, often, and closer to the semester start date, to make sure everyone is aware and on board with your delay.
Get things in writing, and keep a paper trail of your correspondence and especially the school’s willingness to help you navigate potential problems. Professors may not go out of their way to be of help, if you are talking about a lecture class of 500 students. So be prepared to ask for help from other sources, like classmates, TAs, and the tutoring center.
Picking the most elementary of classes with the most student-friendly professors would also help. Check out ratemyprofessor.com to get an idea of good and bad professors. Communicate directly with the professors to get a sense of their willingness to work around your delay. (What is their testing policy? Will they offer to let you take your first tests a bit later to give you time to catch up? What is their absentee policy? Some profs have a strict policy of “miss more than 6 classes in a semester and you get a decrease of one letter grade in the class.” ) My D took a college English class her senior year of high school, and met with her very strict instructor and got a waiver on strict attendance policy to be able to take a spring break trip with her high school to London. But it was arranged ahead of time, and D made sure her attendance was spotless the rest of the semester.
Will your Army training allow any free time to do any schoolwork, or at least do some required reading? My D gets her textbooks in eformat to be able to read on her Kindle Fire tablet. Maybe profs will email you the syllabus ahead of time so you can hit the ground running the moment you step on campus.
Thank you for your service to our country, and I hope that you can find ways to make your late start less traumatic.
Great advice. Thank you.
Will do and plan ahead as you suggest. Thank you!
Also, can you limit the number of courses you take this first semester? I highly suggest you take the minimum 12 hours to give yourself the best chance for success.
OP Lah is a freshman. First semester freshmen fill out a form and their classes are picked by admissions. They don’t get to choose professors, or even what section they will be in. Changes have to be made during the add/drop period, if anything is left.
As I said, most professors at Rutgers are pretty good about emailing, and it provides a paper trail for you, should anyone dispute your version of events, which I don’t think they will.
Some professors take attendance and some don’t; but if you can get the books or online version early, it would help with any readings.
I am sure most instructors will be lenient as you have a good reason for your delay.
Good luck!
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