<p>Fall 2012 was my first semester in college. I had not anticipated the huge jump from high school to college. I ended up failing my biology class. Getting a D in my chemistry class. Getting a CD in my Statistics class, and getting a C in my English class. I have a GPA of 1.143 for the end of the term. Under my grades it says "required to withdraw for academic reasons". I was never warned earlier about my academic standings. I don't know how to tell my parents that I'm going to be kicked out of college. I don't know what to do anymore. I don't know if I can request an appeal and be lucky and accepted to return. I don't know what to do or how to tell my parents. They thought I was doing a wonderful job in my classes, but in reality I was doing horrible. What do I do?</p>
<p>Contact your academic advisor to see if he or she can help you with an appeals process, if your school has one. </p>
<p>You should also be able to find this information in the catalog (which most schools have available online). The catalog should also clearly list the GPA requirements for good standing, academic probation, and academic suspension/ withdraw. </p>
<p>Once you have all of the information it will be easier to talk with your parents about your options. </p>
<p>To earn a D or an F in a course, you are likely to have been struggling for most of the semester, and receiving low grades on homework, tests, labs, etc? If you are able to appeal you will likely have to briefly explain the circumstances that led to the low grades, and discuss what you will do differently if allowed to return in the spring. When I was in college my parents had minimums I had to meet in order for them to continue to financially support my education. If your parents are similar, you may need to be able to articulate what happened and what will be different if you return to school in the spring, as well.</p>
<p>The transition to college can be hard, particularly in areas of time management, academic rigor, and work load. </p>
<p>Sent from my DROID RAZR using CC</p>
<p>Call them up (if you’re still at school) and tell them immediately so that you can work out plans going forward. You should have had advanced warning on your mid-term grades that you had potential problems and should have received warning notes from your professors to consider withdrawing to protect your GPA. Colleges usually provide a probation semester so it’s a bit odd that they are forcing withdrawal after a bad semester. You could also contact your school to see what your options are.</p>
<p>One option might be to attend your local community college for a semester to demonstrate that you can handle college work and college life and then go back to talk to your school to see if they will take you back in. But you need to talk to your parents to see what kind of options you have. The clock is ticking - if you’re going to go to Community College or local state university, then you need to get working on paperwork as fast as you can.</p>
<p>I’m going to a private college called Marquette University. They did not send me any warnings before hand. I don’t know what to do and I’m really afraid to talk to my parents. They will be so disappointed, and I’m already disappointed in myself.</p>
<p>Don’t make a problem of the problem - follow bc’s advise and head toward the solution. It’s tough but you are not alone in having this happen - your school will have a procedure intact - contact them asap.</p>
<p>Schools are not required to send you a warning that you could be suspended… those policies should be clear in the catalog. The “warning” is the grades you receive in the class over the course of the semester. Teachers are not required to advise a student to drop a class to protect GPA. Students need to keep on top of work, grades, the syllabus, and university policies. When students realize they are struggling they should go to office hours for assistance, and talk with their academic advisor for guidance. </p>
<p>It will be difficult to talk to your parents, and of course they will be disappointed, as are you. It will be easier to talk with them if you know what you did to earn the D and the F, and what you could have done differently… will do differently in the future.</p>
<p>Sent from my DROID RAZR using CC</p>
<p>^Surely you knew earlier in the semester how poorly you were doing? There’s really nothing to do but go and tell your parents the whole situation.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your help everyone. I’m disappointed in myself, and I’ve learned from my mistake. Now I just need to tell my parents.</p>
<p>Not to get personal, but did this involve -
A. Excessive Partying, video games or class skipping? or
B. Was it just very tough for you academically, despite a lot of hard work. </p>
<p>Be honest. Because these are two different issues that require different approaches after the difficult, common initial steps of talkig to your parents and the school administration. </p>
<p>Believe me, I’ve been in your shoes before based on bullet point A (minus video games which didn’t really exist except in our minds).</p>
<p>I actually was not a partier at all. I just found it tough academically. I think it may have been because I assumed I knew the information because I went to all the lectures. But I did poorly in my courses despite going to all my lectures.</p>
<p>
In that case you have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. In addition to my partying ways, I also had that problem, because I never really learned how to study in high school. That makes it more important to develop a strategy and get some help academically from tutors, teachers, etc. It took me a while. Good luck.</p>
<p>Hugs to you. You are not alone, not even in the hallowed cyberspace occupied by College Confidential.</p>
<p>I don’t know how to tell my parents.</p>
<p>It’s like diving off the high dive the first time. You are simply going to have to sit them down and tell them. If you are actually afraid, then bring a friend with you.</p>
<p>It can be better to break this kind of news in a public place, also. Keeps the decible level a little lower, and makes people think before they say things they might regret later.</p>
<p>Invite them to meet you for coffee and tell them there.</p>
<p>Or, just walk into the kitchen and tell them outright.</p>
<p>There is no way they or you are going to enjoy the process.</p>
<p>then, make some plans, get on with the solution. You need to take a study skills class at the local community college, for one thing. If your family can afford an academic coach, that might help, as well.</p>
<p>Good luck. Old proverb: fall down a thousand times, get up a thousand and one.</p>
<p>Thank you for your advice everyone.</p>
<p>If it was one of my kids, they’d probably tell me like this: I think I need to take a break from school for a while.</p>
<p>I’d ask why, and they’d eventually tell me about the grades, and why they were so bad (the reasons you mentioned), and their plan for getting back on track (maybe community college or time management classes).</p>
<p>I think the conversation will go better if you take responsibility for what happened; you show that you’ve learned from it; and you are committed to starting over and continuing your education at a place that’s more manageable.</p>
<p>Did you do all of the assignments, papers, and problem sets, and turn them in on time?</p>
<p>collegeflunkie, something similar happened to my son. We appealed, just for the heck of it, and the appeal was denied. We were all disappointed of course, but we all got on with our lives and he got on with his. He went to community college and was surprised to run into more than 1 or 2 of his high school classmates who also initially went away to college. The point being, it’s not all that unusual. He transferred to a 4 year university and is successfully finishing his degree. That first year at college is now a distant memory… can’t even call it a “bad” memory.</p>
<p>I run into that a lot with my freshmen. They continue with habits that got them through in high school. They really see no need to change because those habits have always worked before. In high school, many students found they could pick up what they needed to know in class. They go to lectures, study notes a few days before the test, but don’t do the assigned readings (because all the important stuff will be covered in class), don’t look for study groups unless the test is right around the corner, focus more on learning facts covered in lecture than looking for connections between lectures, readings, etc. Sounds like you might have fallen victim to that one? You wouldn’t be the first. </p>
<p>While it might feel like failure to leave your current institution at semester, you might consider the benefits of doing so. Would a semester or a year at a community college help you develop the “outside of class” study skills that you need?</p>
<p>
I think is probably a good idea. If the problem was not related to partying or skipping class, trying to return to your current college may not be a good idea now.</p>