this semester (junior year) i had some serious medical issues that resulted in me missing more class than i attended. if i finish this semester, i will get a 2.2 gpa (best case scenario) which will wreck my cumulative. if i decide to withdraw, i can appeal for tuition but i doubt universities are eager to refund. also, i have to withdraw from classes before i can appeal and that has to be done before the semester is over.
should i take the horrible gpa or risk losing a whole semester of money with nothing to show for it? i feel like my entire college career has been ruined for something i couldn’t control.
It sounds like you’ve had a difficult semester. But since you CAN finish, I think you should stick it out. There’s no doubt in my mind that you’ve passed the point where you’ll get any sort of refund. It’s just too late for that. And honestly there is time for you to improve your GPA. 2.2 for one semester is not the end of the world. I’d also recommend that you stop by your professors’ office hours and see what you need to do for finals. Your “entire college career” is not ruined. You just took a hit, but you can bounce back.
If you finish your classes, what kinds of grades will you have?
Before you do anything, TALK to your professors!! They are humans, and they understand illness. I had a very similar issue; I got sick in the first semester of my junior year and did poorly in my classes. One of the biggest mistakes I made was not talking to my professors until it was late in the semester. Once I did, they were very sympathetic, and I was able to medically withdraw from some of my classes. (In fact, it was only the class I didn’t talk to the professor in that I ended up failing and having to retake.)
When I was on the other side of the table, if a student came to talk to me about illness I did whatever I could to try to help them succeed in the class if they seemed willing to put in the work. Many schools have incompletes that you can take - it gives you some time to catch up with the work you were behind. In other cases, I allowed students to turn in work they had missed super late without penalty, or allowed them to redo/turn in new versions of work they had done poorly on because of the sickness. (Some professors will want verification of the illness, but in my case, I didn’t ask for it. Generally speaking my work plan for the student involved a lot of work anyway - they were doing the same thing their classmates were, just stretched over more time - and students who were malingering for a better grade would typically vanish.)
So talk to your professors, tell them that you were very sick this semester and struggling to keep up but were overwhelmed because of your health. You don’t have to disclose what you had. Then ask them how you are doing in the class. Most professors will tell you roughly where you stand in terms of your grade. Many professors at this point will offer a plan to help you get back on track, but you can also draw up a little proposal for what you can do (you don’t have to formalize it, just come up with an idea) to tackle some of the work that didn’t go so well because of your illness.
If you fail a class, you won’t get credit for it anyway. You’d still have to retake, but the F will tank your GPA AND look worse than a W. So if you’re in danger of failing anything, then I’d definitely withdraw from those classes.
Honestly, if you were in danger of getting a D in anything, I would also withdraw from that class too. Ds usually don’t count towards major requirements, and they often don’t count towards general education or divisional requirements either. So check your handbook - because you might have to retake a class you got a D in anyway. In that case, a D would functionally be the same as an F - still worthless in terms of credit, but will also tank your GPA - and so it would make the most sense to withdraw.
I’d only consider staying in if you were going to get a C, and in that case it would depend on the class and your career goals. A C in organic chemistry when you’re premed? Withdraw and take it again later. A C in a required general ed science class when your major is English? Eh, I might take that one and keep it moving. A C in a major class? That would depend on what my current major GPA was; if it was anything less than a 3.5, I’d withdraw and retake the class later. (Also, I say that if you have any grad school aspirations; if you plan to go straight to work after college, then a high major GPA isn’t so necessary.)
Universities are far more willing to work with students who need a medical withdrawal when it comes to refunds, so I would at least ask - it can’t hurt.
Hi thank you for the reply it was really helpful!! i probably should’ve clarified that my school doesn’t have a medical leave of absence, just the withdraw. i did talk to my advisor about it and she said i would have a year to return to school after withdrawing.
as for my teachers and grades, i have been in contact with them and most of them have been extremely accommodating. i think i have high Bs/low As in two classes (teachers won’t post grades) and a C- in another. i have two classes that my teachers have told me i will fail. one of my majors is music so the grades in those classes are based on attendance and playing and there just isn’t another way to get credit for them. also, the deadline for dropping individual classes has passed so i would have to drop all of them to drop one.
i feel like either way it is going to suck but i just don’t know which would make the most sense.
(i should probably add that i have already dropped two classes earlier this semester because of the same reason)
Did you meet with the Dean of Students and discuss possibilities. The Dean may have options you do not know about. Are you sure that the Dean cannot grant a Medical Withdrawal from certain classes? Are you 100 percent sure that the dean cannot grant incompletes and have you make up some of the music performances? Can the Dean intercede on your behalf to the music teachers and come up with a plan for you to get an incomplete and make up enough music performance to get C’s in those 2 classes? I wish you the best. Before you withdrawal and give up the good grades in your other 3 classes, make an emergency appointment with the Dean (and your department head afterwards) to see what last ditch options are available. And have proof from a doctor for your valid medical excuse.
It s better in general to Withdraw than Fail.
You have to take the class over anyway, but with no impact to your GPA (in general).
Withdrawal
BUT, there are Things to consider:
- ** Will taking a W move you from full time to part time? ** Full time is usually 12 credits (check your college). If you are part time you are not eligible for financial aid or living in dorms.
- ** Is this class needed for your major? ** If you don’t take it now, will you have to take it again? Will it cause you to fall behind in keeping up with your major classes?
- **Why are you getting a bad grade? ** One W is okay, but a pattern shows that you have difficulty with college. Also one semester might be okay, but still want to avoid a pattern.
- **Will Withdrawing from a course make it difficult to graduate on time? ** Will you need to make it up in summer $$ or do you have extra credits from HS?
- **TALK TO YOUR ADVISER ** before you make any decisions
- **Can you raise your grade? ** Check this post for ideas
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/1920853-college-is-a-step-up-from-hs-16-tips-on-doing-well-in-college.html - If this course is in your major, is this the right major for you? If you are pre-med but are getting a C in Biology, maybe this is not the major for you. If you are getting a C in an elective, that is another story.
- **Sometimes W’s are necessary. ** My daughter was in the hospital for a week early in the semester…she Withdrew from a course because she would not be able to catch up on all her courses if she kept all the classes. She was still full time and has some AP credits that will still allow her to graduate on time.