I messed up two semesters last year because of severe medical condition; my chances??

Transfer Students
1

<p>This is a very long and frustrating story...a little over a year ago, after about 1 1/2 years at community college I got my acceptance letter to the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Florida. I was previously on track to graduate with my AA from Valencia Community College by the end of summer '10...but after I submitted my application in February of that year I ended up getting very sick because of a severe medical condition (adrenal insufficiency) that I was struggling with since high school. It's a condition that tends to flare up when I am under extreme levels of stress.</p>

<p>That spring I was taking Physics I, Calc III, a Humanities class and US Government. I missed three weeks of classes when I fell sick and could no longer keep up with my Physics and Calc III courses because of my health. I ended up failing my Calc III, Humanities and Government classes that I was taking because it was past the withdrawal deadline and all of the professors except for my Physics professor did not want to give me Incomplete grades and work with me later. My grades for that semester were 3 F's and one "I"....at this point my GPA tanked from a 3.46 to a 2.75.</p>

<p>Over the summer I managed to finish that Physics class with a B, which raised my GPA from a 2.75 to a 2.77. In the fall of that year, my stubborn self thought I was feeling well enough to attempt to retake Calc III for a new grade, while also registering for Microeconomics, another Humanities class, and Physics II. Once again, I succumbed to my medical condition halfway into the semester and couldn't keep up with any of the work. Because of this I fell into a depression and stopped attending my classes...I ended the semester with an F in Microec, ANOTHER F in Calc III, and my Humanities and Physics II professors were kind enough to withdraw me from their classes past the withdrawal deadlines rather than giving me F's as well. At this point my GPA fell further from a 2.77 to a 2.45.</p>

<p>I decided in December that I couldn't take it anymore, and wasn't going to attend the Spring semester of this year and possibly any semesters after that. I stayed home and relaxed over the next 5 months, while trying to my best to recuperate through alternative means such as yoga and acupuncture because I was tired of my condition and wanted to find a way to get off of my medication. Lo and behold, in mid-March I took blood tests which came back normal for the first time in nearly 4 years...my endocrinologist started weaning me off of my medication and this summer I'm taking more classes and feeling healthier than ever. I decided to switch majors from Engineering to Accounting, which I am discovering I have much more of a passion for...I took Microeconomics and Financial Accounting during Summer A and received A's in both classes. I am currently retaking the Government and Humanities classes for Summer C along with Statistics for Summer B and I am doing very well in all three...I am 100% sure I'm going to get A's in these three classes as well, meaning I'll have 5 A's for the summer. </p>

<p>Since I have switched majors, for the fall semester I've registered for additional prerequisites for Accounting transfers...these classes being Managerial Accounting, Macroeconomics, Computer Fundamentals and Applications and I am also planning on retaking Calc III one final time because I've failed it twice and I want to come back and get an A in it now that I am healthy. </p>

<p>After doing some calculations, my GPA after this summer with Valencia's grade forgiveness policy would raise from a 2.45 to a 3.14. And if I retake Calc III for grade forgiveness in the Fall and get an A in that class along with the 3 other classes I plan on taking, my GPA would raise from a 3.14 to a 3.45.</p>

<p>BUT it is my understanding that UF does not take grade forgiveness into consideration when calculating overall GPAs...so my actual overall GPA, as it would be calculated by UF with all of the previous attempts at classes that I failed, would raise from a 2.45 to a 2.76 after this summer. And if I make it with straight As in the fall like I did this semester, it would raise further to a 2.94. The minimum required overall GPA for UF's Accounting school is a 3.0, which puts me below the borderline. </p>

<p>What would you guys recommend I do in my situation? Should I bother sending in an application to UF if my GPA doesn't meet their minimum overall requirement? My pre-professional GPA (which will take only my Micro and Macroeconomics grades, Financial and Managerial Accounting grades, Calc I, Calc II, Stats, and Computer Fundamentals grades into consideration) will still be a 3.45 if my calculations are correct and I do get straight As in the fall. Should I write a letter along with my application, or indicate it in my essay (which would only allow for 500 words)? Or should I find more courses to take in the spring of next year before reapplying to UF so I can try to raise my overall GPA to a 3.0? (If I graduate this fall, it will be with 88 credit hours including the courses that I attempted and failed.)</p>

<p>I'm terribly sorry as I know this was a lot to read...if there's anyone who can give me some guidance in what to do I would very much appreciate it. My medical condition has always held me back in my academic life, to the point where I couldn't even walk at graduation my senior year in high school due to spending months in the hospital and opted to get my GED rather than retaking the entire year again. I want the people at UF to know that I didn't slack off during the spring and fall semesters of last year and that the severe condition of my health was to blame for those 5 F's. I want them to know that I came back stronger than ever this summer; with 5 A's this will be my first straight A semester at Valencia in the 3 years that I've been here and I'm aiming for straight A's in the fall before I graduate. I really want to go to UF and I'm still upset that I had to turn down my admission for the fall of last year after my health screwed up my spring semester. For the 4 semesters prior to the straight F's of last spring and fall, I had only gotten A's and B's in all of my classes and never anything less. Could anyone give me an idea of what my chances of acceptance would be if I were to maintain straight A's for this semester and the fall?</p>

2

<p>Also I checked the transfer requirements on FACTS.org, and the overall GPA requirement for UF’s Finance program is a 2.0 with a 3.0 requirement for the pre-professional GPA. This is opposed to the 3.0 requirements for BOTH overall and pre-professional GPAs for UF’s Accounting program. Should I maybe apply to their Finance program instead, since the prerequisite courses are essentially identical but the GPA requirement is lower?? Does anyone know how competitive their Finance program is vs. their Accounting program? I was thinking of double majoring in Accounting and Finance anyway, no matter what school I end up at, since the core classes aren’t much different from each other for both majors.</p>

3

<p>You need to take copies of your medical records, and sit down with your advisor at your CC and find out if anything can be done. Sometimes it is possible to get a retroactive medical leave. If that isn’t possible, your advisor may be able to help you sort things out with UF.</p>

4

<p>Like I said though, my condition is mostly gone and I’m feeling healthy now and taking classes this semester…I don’t see why I would need retroactive medical leave :-&lt;/p>

<p>Do you think UF would read any letters and documentation from my doctor if I send it to them in the mail after submitting my application?</p>

5

<p>A retroactive medical leave could make some of those Fs disappear from your record. That is why it is worth discussing with your advisor.</p>

<p>You should speak directly with the admissions office about your grades and your medical history. They may be able to admit you despite the bad grades if they are willing to take your illness into account. However, they are going to want solid evidence that a) you are on the mend, and b) you have learned from these experiences to take a medical leave instead of failing classes should you have a relapse.</p>

6

<p>Thanks for the help, I appreciate it…I’ve done some long thinking over it and I’ve come to the conclusion that I basically have three options:</p>

<p>Option A: Go to the Dean’s Office at Valencia with medical documentation, explain the situation about my medical condition, that I want to apply to UF and they don’t take grade forgiveness, and ask if there’s any way they’d be able to retroactively remove the Fs from my transcript from last Spring and last Fall…I’m really nervous about this since I’ve never spoken to the Dean though, I’m also doubtful that they have any sort of retroactive medical leave policy and that they’ll remove the Fs :frowning: …I’ll probably go after the semester ends and my summer grades are in, since I’ll have 5 straight As fresh on my transcript which should make my case a bit stronger.</p>

<p>Option B, which I’ll have to do if the retroactive leave doesn’t work out: Go up to UF and speak to someone at the Fisher School of Accounting. I plan to take my recent transcript with the 5 As for the summer semester on it, some medical documentation along with a letter from my endocrinologist…I’m thinking I might even go talk to my Office for Student Disabililties advisor at Valencia and see if she can type up a letter for me explaining what happened last Spring and Fall. I’m praying this will work in my favor, as long as I can prove to them that my medical condition was what held me back last year, that I’ve overcome huge obstacles in the past and that I’m extremely hardworking and really passionate about attending UF.</p>

<p>Option C: Stay at Valencia for an extra semester next Spring before I apply and take a bunch of GPA-booster classes to try and get my GPA over the 3.0 hump, that way I’ll meet the minimum requirement for when I apply for the Fall 2012 semester. What do you guys think about this option? I’d really prefer not to have to do this though since it’ll cost extra money…</p>

7

<p>Please post how your situation turned out. We are also in the process of applying for a Retroactive Medical Withdrawal from UF. S had a terrible first semester and mistakenly thought his prior gpa (from other colleges and AP courses) would get him through to retake the courses for grade forgiveness etc. However, UF only considers the gpa earned at their school when figuring current GPA, which put him in a deficit. No one had advised him of this situation! No warning, no probation, just dismissal for poor academic performance.</p>