A Watershed Moment in My Life

Parent Cafe
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<p>I ended my high school career with a 3.3 unweighted GPA, had never not taken an honors course, had taken 10 AP classes, had a 1490/2240 on my SATs, was accepted out of state to a top flagship state university,was going into college with 25 credits, was a prospective doctor, and, in my mind, had all the potential in the world for success. I certainly had ample excitement to have the privilege and ability to go to this college; excited to start a new life, with new friends, new experiences. After my freshman year as a pre-med student, I was not able to maintain a GPA that was needed to earn a coveted spot in a prestigious medical school (followig in the footsteps of my sister and the wishes of my father at the time). So I decided to switch; obviously not uncommon. College courses were tough, and during them, I never really had the drive or willingness to put in the necessary time and effort. Inconsistency was my main problem throughough my collegiate career. But with dogged ears and determined heart I instead set my sights on a history degree in a top 10 department.</p>

<p>So after my freshman year, after deciding to reevaluate my priorities; a bachelor's degree in the humanities rather than the path to a prestigious career as a doctor, has seemed to relegate my fate to a less successful prospective. After my first two semesters in college I had earned a 2.643 and a 2.0, respectively. Starting out as a sophomore and a declared history major, I earned a 3.077 my first semester and a 2.692 my second semester. Things were looking up. But in my junior year things started to unravel; taking all history courses during my first semester, I went to only a select few lectures (in the single digits for each of my three classes), however did take the time and effort to complete essays for two of my classes on time. Not going to discussion for two of my classes was extremely deleterious to my grades; for which I earned a C and a D. For the D I did not take one midterm and did not go to discussions or class and turned in a few late papers (I guess getting a D was fortunate). For one of the C's I did not attend discussions but completed all the midterm essays and final. For my other C I did not attend class but attended most of the discussions for the semester. I only read what was necessary for me to complete essays and the tests that I attended. It was during this year in the Fall of 2009, that I spent living alone in a studio apartment. My girlfriend lived very close by and we would spend all our evenings together; eating dinner together, watching movies, etc. However there was an obvious change in my interactions with her and with the outside world at large. No longer did I complain about school or schoolwork; since there wasn't much I could complain about. I'm sure I was more introspective than usual and definitely had a lack of energy to do certain activities. And due to the fact that I was living alone I had less and less restraint to my magnetic attraction to smoking large amounts of weed. I could go home after spending my evenings with my girlfriend and spark up a joint, or two, or four... and play computer games and browse the internet and go out for late night pizza or other munchies-related cravings with seemingly no repurcussions. Seemingly of course. I had blocked the entire world out until only a very limited few activities were left in my life; and none of those included things that could possibly have any positive effect on my future successes. I'd estimate that in the two semesters; one in which I only very marginally attended classes, and the other in which I did not attend at all after the first two weeks, I probably smoked well over a pound of weed. It had been a recreational habit until this point but during this semester I was not able to control my usage, and coupled with the fact that after a few weeks of not attending classes and not turning in essays, a fair bit of despair, an insane amount of denial took over. Months and months passed in this vein and by the end of the semester I finally contacted my folks; I was also out of money. They were relieved that I called them, but extremely disappointed and worried about my current situation. Since the end of the school year I have not smoked at all. I see this as a big step towards improving my situation. I have recognized the laundry list of wrongs I have accomplished and will try to resolve every last one of them for the future. This is just a slight summary of how my life went awry.</p>

<p>I'm starting to feel quite a bit of resignation. At this point in time my GPA stands at 2.424 having earned 81 credits and I have been dropped from the university for a year. After my first semester I had a 2.643. Second semester I earned a 2.0. Third semester I earned a 3.077, fourth semester a 2.692, and in my fifth semester I got a 1.667; 2 C's and one D. Overall in my college career I have earned 1 A, 1 AB, 5 B's, 3 BC's, 7 C's, 1 D, and 4 NW's (No Work). My parents are not willing to pay for me to re-attend the same college and I do not want them to shoulder that same burden for me again. Having this amount of credits and a low GPA hampers my ability to complete my degree at another college, and most would not even consider it seeing as my status is currently dismissed or dropped for a year. I have been looking into alternative ways to complete my bachelors degree but am getting more and more resigned. I want to, and think I am ready to, once again study and complete work in higher education after my complete lapse of sensibility, responsibility, discipline, control, etcetera ad nauseum. I feel the deepest feelings of guilt, regret, and embarrassment. </p>

<p>At this point I am currently a resident of Tennessee; colleges will not overlook my dismissal from my former university to accept me, and I feel too far along on my way to my bachelor's degree in history to look into getting an associates degree or technical degree. Just wondering what other types of options I have. I'm afraid I'll have to finish my degree in a really shotty school because no other school will take me in my current status. From here on out I know that most of what I do in the next few months will define the rest of my life. I started volunteering my time during the week until I can find a job (a tall order), and gain some semblance of financial independence (through completing my degree and finding a job) and other opportunities for me to get back on my feet.</p>

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<p>There is hope. Sounds like a bachelors degree from somewhere is what you need…I’ll leave it to others to advise spefici schools but I’ll just tell you my sister’s story. She started at “junior college” (what it was called back then), stopped going to class mid-first semester, didn’t drop anything, so the sum total of her college transcript was one semester of straight Fs. About 20 years later she was admitted to a four year lower tier state U and got her degree.</p>

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<p>The obvious solution would be to start retaking the NW and D classes and apply to schools that are affordable to you or within commuting distance. Are any of these classes offered as online courses through your state u’s? Your 2.4 cum, while not stellar, is not the worst either. With some effort on your part, you can salvage this situation and grow from it so don’t get too down about it (and don’t dabble with your demons!). </p>

<p>Btw, it doesn’t sound like history is really something you’re passionate about, or even find engaging. I’m a bit puzzled why you would go from a health career goal to history -or was the MD thing more of a family expectation? If you’re really more of the type who likes to help people, there are many other fields within healthcare that might be appealing and less competitive - PA or the therapies, for example. If you can target your volunteer work to give you some exposure to other fields, that might help you gain a sense of purpose and direction.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>One question. You state your GPA to three decimal points, which is much more than most people remember off hand. </p>

<p>Did you look up this data when writing the post? Or do you have an excellent ability to remember this detailed information?</p>

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<p>There are options, 2.4 isn’t too terrible as a cumulative to completely rule you out of all bachelor’s programs. Are you still interested in something in the medical field? You might think about something other than being a doctor, maybe nursing, physical therapy, or sports medecine? None of these would be easy with your grade history, and you might have to put in another four years to get the required pre-requisites out of the way, but if you seriously apply yourself, you could probably qualify for a program somewhere. Not a top tier, but a decent program anyway. </p>

<p>Otherwise, start thinking not just about getting your bachelors, but what you want to do afterwards (teaching? business? accounting? something else entirely)? Since you’ve whittled away a couple of years already, you’re going to have to start thinking soon about your future job prospects and how to best position yourself for what you want as you finish your education. </p>

<p>Also, there is the possibility of the armed services or ROTC or Americorps as a means of racking up a record of responsible, disciplined service to others and creating a more positive basis from which to begin the next phase of your life. The service record helps with colleges and jobs, and the experience gives you a way to make a break with the past and start clean. I knew a student very much like you, who attended my college and ended up leaving after her first year (variety of reasons which were causing her not to perform well) and she ended up joining Americorps. When she finished with that she had a much better idea of what she wanted to do, she had met her future husband, she was much more disciplined and focused, and she was able to get into a State university and successfully complete her degree. You might need some time off that is more structured and positive to help you get your head staight before you go back to school.</p>

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<p>Can you attend a community college for one, preferably two semesters, NOT to get an AA, NOT even necessarily to get back into good graces with your original college - but specifically to prove to yourself that you are ready and skilled and motivated enough to handle college now.</p>

<p>Benefits: The CC experiment would be cheaper than a 4year should you fail out another semester. It also provides a way to show other 4year colleges (should you choose to transfer away from your original school) that you have your act together now.</p>

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<p>OP, your HS record doesn’t really suggest a future career in med school. I’m wondering if family and personal expectations put you on a career path that was unrealistic. Now that you “failed” that career path, I wonder if your self-esteem has suffered. It seems you need to figure out what you want to do with your life. Certainly a liberal arts curriculum with a mixture of humanities and science may help you find your passion. Or, if your still interested in medicine, nursing, though not an easy curriculum, can be a great career and give you the financial independence you seek. Does your university have a nursing program you can transfer into?</p>

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<p>I went to school with two guys who had been though experiences not unlike yours. They were both older students who had failed out of college their first time around, took some time off, and came back with a new motivation. They both graduated this time. My advice would be to stay away from college for a year or two and then apply fresh to somewhere new. You’ll have to mention your previous experience on your applications, but if you’re not asking to transfer credits you would start at the beginning without the prior GPA baggage.</p>

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<p>For clarification; my goal of seeking a profession in the health care sciences was basically a default plan for success pushed partially by my parents and partially by my own indecision. Going into college I had no idea what I wanted to do, and taking science classes and math classes seemed to be a quite normal thing to do. In high school the sciences and math were subjects in which I excelled, however in college I realized it wasn’t because of any inherent love for the subjects, it just so happens that I got adequate grades in those high school subjects. To GTalum; yes i fully agree that the career path was unrealistic. Whenever I went on college visits; I remember at Cornell at leat 40% of the prospective students said “pre-med” when asked to introduce themselves; many, many students had the same goal, however illusory they may have been, of becoming a doctor or being involved in the health sciences. There are some high school students who won Intel science awards and did major research with big medical companies, but the majority of matriculants that I know do not have those types of credentials. And many of my fellow chemistry and calculus classmates were definitely not obsessed with those general classes. For me the dream of being a doctor died young, and I’m happy I was able to get that out of the way after my freshman year, rather than waddle through O Chem and Biology whilst being uninterested and struggling to keep up an already waning GPA. The glory and respect associated with the profession is enough to explain that; however right or wrong the correlation is. As for my dedication to being a history major; I view it as a major which I derive lots of pleasure from. This does not mean I want to become a historian right out of school, or that I want to do anything academic with said major. The liberal arts major does offer many options; even if the job market is a crapshoot at the moment. And after being a bachelor’s degree and even working for a few years if that road does not offer the type of stability I want another option I have is to go back to school for a more technical degree of sorts. Looking down the road jobs such as historian/park ranger working for a national or state park would be ideal. Such a government job would be stable, and the outdoors environment is particularly appealing.</p>

<p>Yes I wholeheartedly agree that finding structure and discipline that I can use for the rest of my life will take me far away from the old habits and deep ruts that I was stuck in. However I’m not keen on joining the armed services and at the time being the Peace Corps and Americorps, correct me if I’m wrong, both require degrees AND are extremely competitive. Actually the university I attended had the most Peace Corps workers in the nation. But there many other programs similar to the Americorps that would provide the same benefits. Those are options I would look at to partake after college.</p>

<p>A community college or junior college, while providing the structure I need does not advance my goals of getting my bachelor’s in history, to my knowledge. At least not ones in Tennessee; although in I know in Florida some CC’s are morphing into 4-year institutions. At the moment I am looking towards Middle Tennessee State to finish up my bachelors. Their GPA requirements are nearly non-existant and they say nothing of needing a letter of good standing for admission. </p>

<p>Yeah bigtrees; I was looking at my transcript at the time. Plus I think I will remember that GPA for the rest of my life now. </p>

<p>As for retaking the history classes I got NW’s for; it would require me to wait another year to re-enroll in that university, and pay out of state tuition for. Both things which I do not see advantageous or practical. It would be practical if I had the resources since those NW’s would most likely be seen by future employers, but they do not count towards my GPA, they count as 0 credits hours and 0 grade points towards my degree.</p>

<p>To spdf; I would definitely want my credits to transfer to my new school. Going to a new school would reset my GPA at that school (and would be the GPA I technically graduate with), but, correct me if I’m wrong, my overall GPA would still include the grades from my last university.</p>

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<p>Peace Corps requires a degree, but Americorps does not. Also Americorps is only a 1 year, in US service committment. Peace Corps is quite competitive, but Americorps will take people of all backgrounds as long as they are willing to work.</p>

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<p>You could also become a Parks Service volunteer in the summer time. I know people who do this doing all kinds of jobs, helping with trail clean up, working at visitor’s centers, even fighting forest fires (a real seasonal job with the interior department, you get paid per fire). BAsically I think that you just need somethign that will allow you to make a clean break with your past, and give you some discipline and healthy pursuits and camaraderie, so you’re not drawn back into bad habits by your malaise. You need to be doing something active that instills you with a sense of confidence in yourself and your ability to make positive contributions. </p>

<p>Check out being a parks service volunteer if you can afford it and have nothing else going on this summer. Your parents might even bankroll it for you if you explain to them why you’re doing it and how you think it will help you in the future.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the advice Smithie and the rest, I will look in to it.</p>

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<p>I think there are places that you could transfer to. Do you mean that you had to leave your prior school because your GPA was too low? What was the cut off? 2.5? I know someone who graduated from a fairly decent college with a 2.5ish GPA and went on to grad school for teaching, got an MA in teaching and got certified as well. </p>

<p>If you can return to your previous school and retake the D class for a better grade (and maybe a low C or two) perhaps you would have better success transferring by improving your GPA. Many people take more than 4 years to graduate for a number of reasons (transfers frequently took more than 4 yrs at my undergrad.)</p>

<p>I took many history courses in college, and I love history. I still found them challenging, and one thing that is daunting is the sheer amount of reading. I also did not develop the writing skills for stellar grades until after I was finished with undergrad. Any writing classes would help a history major.</p>

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<p>anothermom2; I do not have to leave my current school, I have been suspended/dropped for a year because last semester I received four grades of NW (No Work) which counts as nothing towards my GPA and gives me no credits. On my transcript it officially says ‘dropped for one year’; however I do not know the exact meaning as all schools have different terminology. I will have to contact my former advisors to see if this means suspended/dismissed/other. Prior to that I had received a D in my Fall '09 semester and a GPA of below 2.0 which had left me on probation. I was not below any such cutoff. Returning to the school after a whole year hiatus and retaking my D grade would most likely mean for me to attend that college for another two years after the gap, or three semesters at the least; adding up to at least 60k. And going back after one year just to polish up that 1.0 GPA mark on my transcript does not seem too practical from my point of view. I do not think improving my GPA at my former university is not a choice in the least since my main goal is to finish up my degree as soon as possible to have some viable options in the job market. Transferring to a different school would greatly help that cause as I could start back in the Fall of '10(I do think I am ready to start again), and would possibly be able to graduate in 4 years because of the amount of credits I came in with. This would all depend on the amount of credits that transfers from my former university to my new school.</p>

<p>I agree that the amount of reading was certainly daunting. But I know that in my heart I could have done all the work for the classes; and had for classes in previous years; my main problems were of inconsistency and laziness, coupled with a semester filled with thousands of little mistakes that snowballed into one seemingly insurmountable one. However, at this point in time I’m looking to move forward. </p>

<p>If anyone has advice on which schools in Tennessee (where I am eligible for in-state tuition) would be best to transfer to that would be great. The schools on my radar are University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, Middle Tennessee State, Tennessee State University (Nashville), and any others of the same caliber in the state. </p>

<p>I guess to make it easier for those trying to gauge my situation my former university was UW-Madison…</p>

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<p>There is no reason you need to retake the D and NW classes at your former school - I was suggesting you take them locally at another 4 year school, or online from a 4 year school so that you would a)show that you can complete and master the course materials and b)you will improve your overall gpa on your transfer app. If you think you can be accepted with your current transcript, you should apply to your state schools and see what happens. It would be strange, to me anyway, if a school accepted you with such a record in your major coursework though…</p>

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<p>Okay, this is a wild suggestion as I don’t know if it would in any way be financially feasible, but perhaps you should consider transferring to Paul Smith College in the Adirondacks?</p>

<p>They are not highly selective but do specialize in preparing students for the type of career in which you have expressed interest:</p>

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<p>See: [Paul</a> Smith’s College - The College of the Adirondacks](<a href=“http://www.paulsmiths.edu/]Paul”>http://www.paulsmiths.edu/)</p>