Dismissed from major at UCR cause I focused on the wrong things and now trying to get readmitted

Hi,

I have a long story but I’ll try to make this brief. I was a transfer student to UCR as a psych major and started classes there right at the beginning of the new year 2018. I was happy and nervous that I stepped foot onto that campus and grateful that I worked hard to get there. I passed winter 2018 and spring 2018 with a gpa 3.0+ and was happy of my effort. However, when summer school came, I enrolled into 3-4 classes at two different community colleges in hopes to earn credits and boost my possibility to graduate by 2019. I passed summer school with a gpa of 3.0, I had strong will and in the end I was worn out. By the time fall quarter began that year of 2018, I thought I was happy and ready to smash more courses but until a later moment occurred things started to fall apart. How that happened was because I focused on the wrong part and that was my brother who was under so much distress and it became not only personal but a family matter as well. I was taking 3 courses, 1 lower-div psych prerequisite course, 1 upper-div psych course, and an elective. I realized I’m starting to fall behind and thought I can battle it out. But I was so focused on my brother which had really distracted me from schoolwork. By the time fall 2018 ended, I didn’t pass 2 courses except the upper-div. I was given another opportunity but I was unable to successfully be part of it, meaning I had to retake the prerequisite course again which was needed for my other upper-div requirements but was unable to enroll in the class because everyone in that class had already packed the class. So that was it, that was where they were going to dismiss me from the major because I had a certain deadline to finish lower-div requirements for psychology. When I received an email from the psych department I was heartbroken, I was not given another chance and by department policy I was dismissed from the major. I liked psychology and I still do, and I’ve been continually studying it ever since I was declared an undeclared student. I don’t want to choose a new major, it’ll take me longer to graduate, that’s why I enrolled in extended learning at an out-of-state university through online learning and it has been a year ever since I started. I enrolled in 4 psych courses, 1 was “Research Methods in Psychology” which I didn’t pass at my university, the other is social psychology, the other is abnormal psychology, and the last one is psychology and law. I’m hoping to transfer the credits to my university and convince the people there to reverse their ruling and allow me to continue. Also, I submitted my readmission application and haven’t been enrolled in classes there for the whole academic year. I have 6 weeks to turn in transcripts before the upcoming quarter. However, because they’re going by department policy to me it’s a way for them to say no; I don’t know what to do but I can’t stop what I’m learning now, this is something that I feel I’ve got to do. A while ago a professor of mine who happens to be a an undergrad advisor told just retake that lower-div prerequisite course and I did. I just don’t know what to tell those people who dismissed me from my major in order to be convinced to reinstate me back to psychology. My purpose to learn psychology is to understand my parents better, understand the Asian community, and help youngsters one day, and I feel some people including one policy has no right to tell me no. How should I convince the psych department to reinstate me?

Sorry but your writing is really confusing and hard to follow.

You seem to be making up your own rules.

They do not have to re-admit you.

If the university suggests that you retake a course, within a certain time frame, you retake the course. If you fail a class, you figure out why you failed and you fix it.

If the course is popular, you figure out another time to take it.

If you continually can’t pass classes, you get placed on academic probation. Most universities have these policies. The UC’s make suggestions about tutoring and office hours. They don’t leave you hanging.

If you still can’t pass classes, they dismiss you. This is very common amongst universities.

You can’t use the excuse that your “brother was in distress”. There are lots of students whose families are affected by death and disease. If that’s the case, you inform the university and take a medical leave of absence.

(What does “distress” even mean?)

They have to go according to department policy because they want students who are successfully going to pass their classes and follow their rules and guidelines. It’s a UC and they expect you to be able to do the work. Failing a class every quarter is not acceptable. When you apply to grad school or look for a job, your GPA MATTERS!

They told you what to do and you don’t want to do that? Why? You have to follow their rules if you want to go there.

There are other schools that teach Psychology. You don’t have to go to UCR. Their school, their rules.

It sounds like psychology is a popular major at UCR. If it’s full, I don’t see how you can get in. If you haven’t met the prereqs for admission, they aren’t likely to reinstate you even if it’s not full. You can ask, but you should have a backup plan.

Are you a commuter or residential student? If you have to transfer, what other schools are affordable? It sounds like you’ve completed 3 years of college. If you’re depending on financial aid to finish, keep track of what you’re using and how much is left.

UCR plainly spells it out what is expected from you as a transfer student in Psychology. Since you transferred, you should have completed the majority of the lower division requirements before even starting at UCR, so how many courses were you lacking since you state you did fine 2 quarters at UCR and summer classes at a CC?

If you failed 2 classes both times, you were not only on academic probation from the Psychology department but the University as a whole.

**Transfer students and others entering the major after achieving sophomore standing must complete the requirements within one year by enrolling in applicable courses every quarter until the requirements are met. Students who do not complete the lower division requirements in this timely fashion and with the minimum grade average will not be permitted to continue in the Psychology major. Students must check course descriptions for prerequisite requirements.

A. One course selected from MATH 4, MATH 5, or MATH 6A or MATH 9A

B. Biological Science: One course from any BCH, BIOL, BPSC, ENTM, NEM, OR PLPA

C. Physical Science: One course from any CHEM, PHYS, EARTH SCIENCE with the exception of cultural geography.

D. Two additional courses selected from the CHASS Natural Science and Mathematics breadth requirements
(Note: please check the catalog for duplications of credit)
E. Psychology lower division PSYC 1 _ PSYC 11
PSYC 2 _ PSYC 12**

This is 9 courses that needed to be completed and even retaking 2 of them should have given you plenty of time over 2 quarters and 1 summer semester?

If you had family issues, why did you not bring this up with your major advisor and ask for a leave of absence as suggested above?

How many more courses and units are needed to complete your degree at UCR?

I only needed to retake PSYC12 but everyone filled the class and basically no one dropped out, winter 2019 was my deadline for their policy. In regards to family issues, I was afraid; the family issue interfered with my learning and I was scared of facing my parents’s disappointment of letting them know I wasn’t doing well. I thought I could man up about it but I was wrong, I realized I needed help more than ever. I’m finishing four courses and one of them will fulfill PSYC12 and the others will fulfill other upper-div requirements. Transferring them over will give me 4 required courses not only for the degree but also graduation. For the units, I would have 26 more to go.

I only needed to retake PSYC12 but everyone filled the class and basically no one dropped out, winter 2019 was my deadline for their policy. In regards to family issues, I was afraid; the family issue interfered with my learning and I was scared of facing my parents’s disappointment of letting them know I wasn’t doing well. I thought I could man up about it but I was wrong, I realized I needed help more than ever. I’m finishing four courses and one of them will fulfill PSYC12 and the others will fulfill other upper-div requirements. Transferring them over will give me 4 required courses not only for the degree but also graduation. For the units, I would have 26 more to go.