Hello, I am new to this site but I’ve lurked a few times before. So to get to the point, I failed my first two semesters of Freshman Year college and I am adamant about staying in college. My college said that I could repeal my suspension and take summer courses with the school in order to raise my gpa, and my credit hours. Currently, my gpa is a .76 and I need a 2.0 at least. What do I do?
I think you will need to provide more information. Based on the information you provided, the obvious answer is to cut your losses and drop out.
Why do you think you failed? Why do you think you might succeed in the future, having failed your freshman year? What would be the basis for your appeal? Your GPA almost rounds off to about 0. Even if you took a full load over the summer and got a 4.0, what would your GPA be and how would that get you off of suspension? Are you receiving financial aid or parental aid? How would you argue to them that you are a good risk going forward?
Did you party a lot? What caused you to failed? Was it the transition from high school to college? There has to be a reason
What happened was the lack of family support. Not too long ago, I learned that my mom was in the E.R due to high blood pressure caused from the stress at work. Ironically, she doesn’t help pay for my tuition, my dad does and he suffered a stroke less than two years ago. He doesn’t look the same and I can tell, but he’s the only one that’s actually helped me attend college. As far as the partying goes, I only partied on the weekends but I knew it wasn’t why I failed. Part of the reason why I failed was dude to low morale and I had no idea where to go. I’ve always lived isolated due to my parents, and when it came for asking for help, I isolated myself as well. Less than a month ago, they admitted me to the hospital for almost two weeks.
@the first response you seem cold and despondent like I as if I simply didn’t care
Nobody’s saying you didn’t care. The first post didn’t give enough info for that judgment to be made.
Your school has given you advice on how to proceed already – they know best, so I’d follow it.
@bodangles I understand but I just feel so anxious like my head is going to explode
It is not obvious that you are ready to do better. I am wondering whether you should take some time off, with the intention of going back after your life gets a bit more straightened out.
I feel the same way! I haven’t been going through the exact same shoes as you but I do feel lack of family support and my grades have suffered becuase of that!
@DadTwoGirls I know that if I take time off, I will never finish. And how can you be so sure that I’m not ready to do better?
@SuperGeo5999 my mom would always harp about going to a college near me (I am from Richmond) but I find people from VCU utterly pretentious. When I was in the mountains I felt a sense of calm and self
Go to the doctor and tell them about the anxiety issues
@iubaccounting I can’t afford it
@Ristretto, then maybe just go to the mountains for a while. Seriously.
@WalknOnEggShells My college is IN the mountains…
Sorry about your dad’s stroke. Stress does not cause hypertension. Having been in the hospital for two weeks, you would have been referred to someone at discharge. Virtually all schools have free mental health counseling. There is no reason to avoid help further.
You have not said what has changed about you that you think you would do better.
The advice to take some time off and getting to a better place in your mind before resuming school seems good. You have given no reason why you would never return if you took a semester or a year off. People do it all the time. Maybe transferring to a school close to home (or much farther from home) when you return would be better.
Is there a community college near your home where you can take classes one or two at a time? This might help you to rebuild without costing so much.
OK, deep breaths.
The secret to doing better is to find out what went wrong the first time, and change it. You don’t have to tell us all the details, but I do think it’s something you’ll want to spend some time thinking about. What went wrong? What could/should you have done differently? What will you do differently next time?
The short answer to your question is this: register for courses you’re likely to do well in, and take them this summer. That doesn’t solve the long term problem, but it will help your GPA.
What does your advisor suggest?
- Were you medically diagnosed with depression? If not, have you seen or will you see a doctor? If so, then you may be able to get a ** retroactive medical withdrawal.** Talk to your Dean of Students.
- Have you seen a doctor? Is your depression under control? What evidence do you have?
- Can you appeal your dismissal?
A successful appeal must do several things:
- show that you understand what went wrong
- show that you take responsibility for the academic failures
- show that you have a plan for future academic success
- in a broad sense, show that you are being honest with yourself and the committee
Here are some examples:
Some of this is general, and some specific to your situation.
- search this topic on CC and you will see many other posts on academic appeals
- Make sure your letter states what the issue was that caused you to have academic difficulties
- Did you talk to your professors/dean of students about the issue?
- Did you make use of the many resources your school has? if not, why not?
- Find out what those resources are…e.g. counseling center, talking to professors, talking to your adviser, withdrawing from class, talking to dean, maybe taking incompletes,
- State how you would use those in the future
- How are you addressing what caused the issue? Have you addressed the depression?
- Think about if you should continue at college, or take a break for now.
- Think about if you should continue at a community college, to be close to your family
- How is your college funded? Will that continue?
- Can you talk to a therapist about how not to make your parent’s issues your issues?
In general, keep in mind what the college wants…they want students who can succeed. They need to know that you understand what the issue was, know now the resources that you can use, how the problems is resolved so you will not have academic issues in the future.
@bopper has given you the best advice. I alos think you really should consider moving hkme and going to commui Ty college, then apply as a tranafer. You had serious thoughts about self harm. Honestly, I can’t see you succeeding at a residential college right now. There’s no shame in going to community college. It’s affordable,many with the money not being spent on more expesnive tuition,youcan afford therapy. I think putting yourself back in the more high pressure atmosphere of university without addressing your mental health is not going to help you succeed.
@Ristretto have you been able to figure out a solution yet? Don’t give up hope, I’ve been through many failures in life! While my GPA isn’t as bad as yours,it’s still pretty low at a 2.2! I just finished my first semester of Communtiy college and community college is supposed to be easier than University. People would think I’m dumb or that there Is no hope for me If I’m doing poorly in community college. Do you like the environment where your at or would you considered taking classes for cheaper at a Communtiy college? Can I ask, what is your major?