I finished my first year at a community college as an early childhood education major, wanting to transfer to a four year school in a year and half. I passed all my 8 classes with A’s and B’s but one class, history, i completely failed. an F. Im so discouraged but the class was extremely long and was so hard to keep up with with things that were happening in my life on top of the fact i couldn’t afford to buy the book. how bad will this look for me? I know I can bring my gpa up this year but having that F every time i look at my transcript really brings me down when i did so well in all my other classes. anyone else fail a class but still had everything work out for them?
An F is like a weight on your GPA. Find out if you can retake the class and rep!ace the grade. If that is not possible, then ask your advisor if just retaking the class again and earning a good grade. Compare your GPA to the school you want to attend, to see if your GPA works for that school.
Never, go without a textbook. As you pointed out, history is very difficult to keep with and that gets worse with time. Go to the college library and check out an earlier edition of your textbook or find something comparable to dead. Follow along topically and get another book if some topics are missing missing. You must do well the second time. Gather up several books and read them until you grasp and remember each topic.
Why didn’t you drop it or withdraw from the class.
Does retaking a class allow for only the highest grades of the attempts to be calculated in your GPA but all grades are still visible on the transcript? If so then that should be good enough to transfer to a four year institution. If the school you wish to transfer to has an admissions essay component then that could be one component of your essay of why you got a bad grade but It has to be something like if a family member passed away or you had an injury/illness. Are there History tutors at your community college?
I got a D in a class this past spring semester and am retaking the class this fall for a better grade to increase my GPA.
I wouldn’t be too shy to ask an advisor at the university you want to transfer to how bad this looks when transfering. I’ve asked schools how bad W’s look because I also withdrew from a class this past spring semester and they said a few shouldn’t be a problem as long as I have atleast the minimum required GPA.
There should be a way to retake the class. Maybe there’s a policy like “freshman forgiveness” where you’re allowed to retake a certain number of classes and the new grade will replace your old grade. Visit your academic advisor for what you can do regarding the class and what you can do about the transfer.
I haven’t failed a class yet, but I’ve had some friends who have retaken classes and it has worked out better for them. Their grades were higher than before and they realized what they were doing wrong the first time around.
As for history, follow along closely. Read the book. Review your notes. Look for back-exams for the class if the professor hands out exams. See how the information flows. History is affected by things from the past so see how one thing leads to another. Don’t be afraid to ask the professor questions.
Hope this helps and best of luck!
Deep breaths. You’re not the first or last kid to ever fail a class.
First: ALWAYS find a way to get the textbook.
Speak to your advisor to find out how to best handle this. An alternative to retaking the class might be to take another class that fulfills the requirement, one that’s more interesting to you.
The good news is that GPAs don’t transfer. When you do arrive at your 4 year school, you’ll have a fresh start.
But I think your first step should be making an appointment with an advisor.
Good luck!
I’d say failing a class at university is no big deal. Failing a class at a community college to me is a rather big deal as you’re trying to transfer. There was a definite jump going from community college to university intellectually for me.
Honestly, it shouldn’t matter too much in the eyes of the admissions people if you can explain away your F and replace it with a good grade after you’ve taken the class again.
After graduating college once and caring so much about grades, I returned after working for a bit to college and have failed a few classes. I’m retaking them this semester. I just did not have time to dedicate to them, but this semester I am dedicating my life to them so I can continue with my masters.
If you want a good grade in that class, make it a priority.
I took history this past semster and I can understand how difficult this subject is.