<p>What fraction of students with GPA below 1.5 after their 1st semester eventually earn a degree at the same school or at some other school? In an effort to be supportive, people are giving anecdotes about students who started poorly but eventually graduated, but there are probably more students who started badly and whose subsequent efforts just took more of their time and left them further in debt, without getting a degree. If a college has a policy of kicking out students with GPAs below a certain level, there is a reason.</p>
<p>^^Yes, you are correct. The majority of students who can’t cut it first semester do not improve to the point where they finish college at that first institution. Twenty-two years with college freshmen have also shown me that GPAs tend to drop second semester for most. (The second semester of gen chem, for example, is tougher than the first.) Additionally, a lot of the “new freshmen” support is gone. Resources are still available, but freshman no longer have the monthly meeting with the peer advisor reminding them how and where to get services. The “freshman experience class” is over. </p>
<p>That being said, in spite of most students who perform poorly first semester continuing to perform poorly second semester, a number of students will get their acts together and graduate, just like a number of students who enter with poor stats will do spectacularly well. You never know who those students will be. </p>
<p>Personally, I wouldn’t encourage any student to return to the private school where she did poorly if there are big loans involved. Too risky. Better to get a handle on the new study habits at a cc or in-state college with lower tuition/fees. If cost is not an issue, however, there’s no reason not to try for an appeal.</p>
<p>I’m rather surprised by the # of parents suggesting the OP appeal and THEN tell his parents. </p>
<p>IMO, the more the OP procrastinates, the worse it will be. As a parent, I’d be REALLY angry if my kid hadn’t let me know as soon as there was any indication of a problem. Among other considerations, when is second semester tuition due? I’d sure the heck like to know that my kid wasn’t going back before I mailed the check! What if the parents are taking out loans to pay tuition?</p>
<p>Seriously, assuming the OP’s parents fall in the majority of parents who don’t abuse their kids, I think the sooner the OP tells them the truth, the better.</p>
<p>CalAlum is giving some great advice on how to tell your parents:</p>
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<p>Whenever my son has had bad news, he starts out similarly, and the second he says really, really bad news, I tend to immediately think the VERY worst thing possible (caused a horrible car accident, got a girl pregnant), and then, when he tells me the actual thing, well, it doesn’t seem quite so bad. My imagination is always way worse than reality.</p>
<p>I’m sure your parents will be angry, but to the extent that you seem contrite and have a plan - - I think they will take it better than you think.</p>
<p>Good luck! I’m sure they love you and just want the best for you - -so they will be disappointed. But, you can absolutely recover from this . . .</p>
<p>^^ I think one theory behind first appealing and then telling parents, is to show that the student knows this is serious and is trying to be proactive about it. </p>
<p>I think being very honest, and contrite, while you tell your parents is a good idea. Another good idea is to HAVE A PLAN. Assuming you can’t get back in, what would you like to do? Take a semester off and work? Or come home and take community college courses? Or a combination of work/study? Whatever it is, make sure you’re comfortable with the plan. Your parents’ reaction – yes, expect them to be disappointed, for a bit – may end up being measured and (ultimately) supportive if you show them you’re willing to pick yourself up, and move on sensibly.</p>
<p>-- crossposted with amarylandmom, who thinks like me 
--</p>
<p>A lot of community colleges and state universities are crowded due to more parents and students look at public education for their kids due to the difficult economic times. There’s usually some process involved in enrolling including the application, getting transcripts, taking placement tests and then meeting with an adviser to sign up for courses. In many schools, students have been signing up for courses since November so it’s important to work quickly if seats are tight for the courses that you are interested in.</p>
<p>Telling your parents early on may result in some help from them in investigating your options.</p>
<p>I would not watch tv, have fun ,play , go to a movie, or socialize. I would not see my friends. I would buy a kindle and start reading books 17 hours a day . I would try to gain academic skills as quickly as I could. I think how you tell your parents is a corollary to the problem and not the problem per Se. I recommend the book outliers. The author says that we need about 10000 hours to get good at something. So it is really hard to go from a D student to an A student IMO. But that would be my goal if I were u. </p>
<p>Sorry I did not read whole thread. Really wish the best 4 u.</p>
<p>Ps I second hover tine re video games. They are a scourge on humanity IMHO. Highly addictive. Don’t know if ureagamer</p>
<p>Again best of luck to you You seem very sincere and that is a good start.</p>
<p>As stated earlier, seek an appeals explaining what you did wrong and what you will do differently. You may be granted another semester under academic probation.</p>
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<p>There is such a thing as IQ, and there is no crash program to raise it in 18-year-olds.</p>
<p>I am the parent in this situation. Went to pick up our student after final exams last week – learned that no final exams had been taken. Had not gone to classes in about a month. Got overwhelmed, slept through a few classes and got behind, and just QUIT. And yes, we are disappointed. If we had known, we could have helped earlier. We spent a ton of money for this kid to go to college. I think part of it is being SO bright, and never learning study skills, as a previous poster said. Student says he was shocked by how hard college was, as this is not a top-notch college, but a safety school for this student. Now we have an 18yo back in the house. We are considering a medical withdrawal, based on previous “overwhelmed” and anxiety issues. But then will we lost the Pell Grant money? And how does that affect going back later? I guess the important thing for everyone to keep in mind is that, in the big picture, over the course of someone’s whole life, this is just a blip. You redirect, and keep on going. It will be OK.</p>
<p>Quant Mech- You are so practical and helpful. Sometimes when things are overwhelming, its great when someone else does a practical thing for you</p>
<p>You are correct WhatToDo…some students don’t understand that college is a whole new ballgame and requires a large amount of self direction and an ability to learn how to balance. So, you do redirect and yes it can be just a blip. And yes, it can happen just as easily to the top of the class high school students as it can to the kids that squeak through. Just take the time now to figure out what the next step will be and know that finishing college is not a race…for some it’s a slow progression to the end.</p>
<p>What to do with them-</p>
<p>You have my sympathy and my admiration. I think you’re doing a great job dealing with this. But I know you must be being very brave.I hope the original poster’s parents deal wiht it as well as you have.</p>
<p>I’m in a similar boat. I failed two classes and didn’t do that great in my other two. However, check with an advisor. I am meeting with mine tomorrow. I’m going to be on Academic probation next semester, so my eyes have been opened. I can only take 16 credits, but my Fs will be taken out of my gpa calculation and replaced when I retake the courses. They’ll stay on my transcript, but hey, I’ll take it. Maybe your school offers the same thing? It seems harsh to kick you out after one semester. Usually it’s after your first year. Hope it works out for you.</p>
<p>I’m another of those parents. Our DD started college in Fall of 2010. Between the freedom and partying, ADHD and anxiety , and being overwhelmed by how difficult the work is and how easy it was to just sleep in, she blew it big time. We did not let her go back for the next term. She had to take on two of three: taking classes at a local CC, doing a productive internship and/or work. She has had a few false starts but is finally fairly steady on her feet, having taken two courses at her original school while working a prestigious internship AND working a paying job in retail. She has matured enough to recognize what choices she has to make. She will be back full time in January and expects to also work part time and to continue her internship.</p>
<p>Students are less prepared than ever to handle the pressures of college. You have spent too much time in front of a screen. You have also developed a need for instant response and gratification rather than working hard and being patient so the transition can be harder for you than it ever was for us. </p>
<p>You are NOT the first or the only student to have blown your first semester. Contact your advisor first thing tomorrow. You have to address it proactively. You are expected to take responsibility for your own education and decisions and nothing will be addressed until you begin the conversation. Some schools are more likely than others to work with you. You need to get to your advisor and see what your options are. Yours wont be the first story he/she has heard.</p>
<p>You have to let your parents know now as well. It won’t be easy but you have to face what you have coming and move on with a plan to do better. You are not a bad person and you have not ruined their life or yours. You are human and young. Pick yourself up and start all over again. Good luck.</p>
<p>OP I’m in a similar, yet slightly different situation. I am attending community college; this was my first semester. My high school transcript was mediocre as a result of the terrible procrastination that I’ve seem to taken with me into college. Going in, I told myself this year would be different. I was going to do everything right and that this year would be fairly easy. I took my last exam on Friday, though I’m not sure what my final grades are (my school has a terrible online record system). I know I received at least a B in one class, a B or B- in another, and although I’ve been too scared to check, I’m sure I failed another class indefinitely.</p>
<p>It was an online class, intro to computer programming. I thought this class would be cake for me, and it should have been because I have an extensive history in computer programming. But my professor would post the assignments and I was totally lost where they were coming from, I couldn’t find the questions in the notes. It wasn’t until the second to last assignment that I realized these assignments were out of the textbooks. I had been totally unaware that online classes required textbooks. I had been posting on our discussion board more frequently than anyone, even the professor, helping classmates with problems they had. That is why I would be really embarrassed to try and explain to my professor my circumstances and stupidity. It would be far too late now anyways. Other than my homework grade, though, I think I did well on exams, projects, and participation.</p>
<p>Another class I had been taking, an english/writing course, was going fairly well up until a few weeks ago. Underlying the entire semester we had a research paper due on the last day of class that was to be ten pages long. The paper is worth 25% of our final grade and if you fail the paper you fail the course automatically (although my professor said people rarely failed the paper). So of course, I put off this entire paper until the day it was due. With another final that day I made a valiant effort and got 6 pages done. They were to be submitted by 5:00pm electronically. I essentially lied to my professor and submitted a blank file with the proper name, hoping that she would think I sent the wrong paper. I’m still unsure of the status of this situation, I honestly deserve to fail.</p>
<p>It’s true that I have not spent nearly as much money as you but what’s worse is that I easily could have achieved a 4.0 GPA. I have spent the majority of my time sitting at home doing nothing or working, and my parents know it too. I really wish I could have just busted my ass for once then I could enjoy this winter break but so far I’ve been dreading the day grades are released. My parents have been asking me constantly “When are report cards coming out?”, and I answer with “I don’t know and I don’t really care”. I suppose just to set them up for a foreseen failure. </p>
<p>I’m not sure what my options are now. I’ve potentially failed two classes. Truth be told I have no idea what I even want to study and lately I’ve been trying to convince myself that school isn’t important in the grand scheme of things, but I’m probably just trying to justify my failure. I would love to do better next semester but I’m a perfectionist and being constantly reminded of that permanent blemish on my transcript would just put me off from doing anything because it will still average out to less than great. It seems like my life is falling apart…</p>
<p>If you really think your issue is purely academic, I’d recommend testing to see if you have learning issues such as dyslexia or some other learning disability. </p>
<p>When you are back in school, be it a new community college or Marquette, you have to be brutally honest with yourself. You need to keep a study log listing the hours you spend each day in study. You will probably discover that you may not be as engaged as you thought you were. Just as those of us attempting to lose weight, when you keep track, you discover you’re eating more than you thought you were.</p>
<p>College is a different ball game than high school. Pick yourself up and get going. Your parents have probably spent a significant percentage of their paychecks for you to have this experience. They deserve the truth as soon as possible.</p>
<p>Marquette allows students to appeal academic dismissal as detailed in the link below. The procedure involves setting up a future academic plan. Since you just finished your first semester, it seems very unlikely that Marquette would not give you another chance. </p>
<p>[Academic</a> Regulations | Bulletin | Marquette University](<a href=“Policies | Marquette University”>Policies | Marquette University)</p>
<p>We had this conversation with our daughter today. We found out about her grades, because we knew they had been posted and she was stalling, so we knew something was not right. We sat down at the table and had a straightforward conversation. She failed 2 out of 4 classes. She had withdrawn from another. </p>
<p>We asked her these questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Do you really want to attend college?</p></li>
<li><p>Do you realize that you are now on academic probation?</p></li>
<li><p>Do you understand this WAS your warning? We will not pay for any grade less than a B from this point forward?</p></li>
<li><p>If you do not go back to school and go to academic assistance, tutoring, to your professors, that you will not go back next fall.</p></li>
<li><p>You will have 3 options if you do not return to school:</p></li>
</ol>
<p>You will…A…Join the military
b. Go to community college and have a job
c. get a technical/certification and go to work full time.</p>
<p>We talked a lot about how blessed she is…She has parents that care, she’s attending a small college, she gets $200 per month, she has her own dorm room…life is good…She just needs to settle in.</p>
<p>We know she can do the work. She earned an A in Eng and an A in French. So…what to do…</p>
<p>Have the conversation with your parents…Assess your situation…MOVE FORWARD…Get help from your academic advisor soonest…DO this quickly!!!</p>