Title more-or-less sums it up, but I need a little more advice as my situation is a unique one.
I’m a minor; I don’t hit eighteen until the middle of next year. I graduated high school in 2016 with a cumulative GPA of 2.7, so I’m already not the best student. I attended a film school that ran through a community college system with my parents paying for two-thirds of the total cost of classes so long as I didn’t fail anything. However, as I don’t have a car of my own, and the school is in a different city altogether, I spend anywhere from 6 to 8 hours a week on the bus and train back and froth from class to home and so on. Combined with needing to be on film shoots that sometimes were nowhere near the school, working a 20-hour work week to be able to pay my part of college/save up for a car AND my own bad time management skills, this semester did not go well for me.
I just got an email from them stating that my GPA was less than a 2.0 and that I have been placed on academic probation for the upcoming Spring term. I’m now, most likely, going to have to fork over the rest of the money I had been saving for a car to my parents as per the deal we agreed upon, but if that’s the case, my commute is going to be the death of me before classes do that.
At this point, I am strongly considering taking a break from school to focus on working more hours so I can start recouping my losses, while taking time to get my life back in order and figure out how the hell to “adult.” But I don’t know. I’m just so beaten down that this point I can’t figure out in which direction I need to go.
It sounds like a break could be a good thing. If you could buy a car, work and save some money, and maybe continue to work on some film sets (if that is related to what you’d like to do for a career) that might give to some time to think about what you really want in the future. Maybe some time to mature and consider your academic goals would help you get to a better place to be prepared for college classes and what they require. You’re not the first and won’t be the last to have this happen. The important thing is how you respond to the “failure” and what you decide to do to pick yourself back up. You’ll learn a lot from this challenge. Good luck!
I don’t think you failed. The college put you on probation; they didn’t fail you. I think you are young and working hard in a difficult situation. Commuting is difficult because it can make it hard to find the friends who help make studying meaningful.
I started college young, too. I had some trouble getting on track (little money, impractical majors, difficulty focusing on classes). It took me 8 years to finish my B.S., but I’m a professor now. It just took longer than some.
What I think you need is a plan. Sit down and talk with the college counselor. Sit down and talk with your parents. Write down a 5 year career goal and a 10 year career goal. Make a plan on how to get to those goals. Good luck and hard work!
Oh goodnes, that’s disappointing for you, I’m sure. This happens pretty often, and you need to stay positive. All is not lost. Somepractical suggestions:
don't go back if you really don't want to -- but don't give up if you aren't sure yet.
talk to your parents about a payment plan
either drop the job, or take only one class -- your schedule was superhard, imho. My student was very academically able and also in film, and the erratic last-minute scheduling and location shoots made him drop classes left and right. You just can't have normal academics in film.
don't lie to your parents about the situation. not that you have, but it will go better if you share the disappointment together.
There is no timeline here. It’s okay to go slow, or take a finite time off. I would advise against anything too open-ended, but taking a semester off is certainly a choice. Don’t feel like a freak or failure — you’ve tried something and the first attempt hasn’t gone as you wished. You’ll figure it out. When people ask, tell them something honest and succinct (it’s better for your mental health than hanging your head in shame like you commited a crime or something truly awful)
I have three different family members who all had this “flunking college” thing happen. All three found a way forward and are well adjusted adults. Are they regretful? Sure. But they found a path that suited them, and that’s what counts. Let us know how you are doing.
Maybe you could look into online classes and eliminate the commute. One of mine is in a similar situation (no car, working a lot) and she takes one class at a time, two per semester (her program splits semesters). It is a program geared to adults of all ages.
I think the fact that I failed classes isn’t what’s keeping me down. I embrace failure as the best method of learning, but don’t actively seek it out. It’s more of the fact that going into my first semester where my parents weren’t guiding me through it (as unfortunate as that sounds, I’m apparently incapable of keeping my grades together without their assistance. This just proves that.)
It’s also the financial hole I find myself in - I’m essentially broke and most likely in debt to them because of how bad these grades are. Combined with the physical stress of the commute and what film work demands in general and I’m a hopping, stressful mess. But it’s not as though you replied just to hear me complain about how bad my life is.
Don’t blame yourself for bad time management when you’re working a 20-hour week in addition to your classes and long commute. That’s a very tough schedule. I do think that it’s going to be difficult for you to succeed as long as you have to juggle so much on a tight schedule.
i think it makes sense to take a break and work full time until you can save up enough to buy a car. Eliminating that commute on public transit will solve much of your problem.
You need to give yourself a break because you are still only age 17. Most kids your age are still in high school – you have been trying to manage a long commute to school plus holding down a half time job. Your idea of taking a break is a good one – just meet with the school first, let them know the issues and find out what the conditions will be for you to return later on.
Then give yourself time to grow up.
I also was accelerated as a student. I graduated high school and started college at age 16, but I didn’t face any of the challenges you have. (I went away to a 4 year college where I dormed; my parents paid for everything – all I had to do was to attend classes, all of which were in walking distance).
It is only in hindsight, as an adult, and as a parent, that I realized what a difference those years make. (Knowing what I know as an adult, I was very much opposed to the idea of either of my kids graduating high school early – and I do think they were better off to have hit that milestone of their 18th birthday before starting college).
You really are going to become better at managing your own life as you grow older. So give yourself some time.
You are lucky that you are young - if you feel ready to return to school next fall, you will be the same age as most other entering freshman- so you can take time off and still plan to graduate at a typical age – but there is no shame in taking more time, either.
I was put on academic probation and it was the wake up call I needed. But you are really young. Just take a break for a bit. You should not be in a rush to become an adult. You need a car. Prioritize that for now.
Like Lindagaf, I was put on probation my first semester. I felt so crappy about it that I really pulled my attitude and grades up. I don’t know what advice I can offer, other than to tell you that all is not lost. You had one bad semester. Maybe you should take a break, maybe you should go back with a different energy, I don’t know.
One of my kids took a circuitous route through college. He spent some years at a Community College while working as an EMT, attended Rutgers for a year and a half (at age 25+), and is now looking into transfer opportunities. He sometimes wishes that he’d taken the easier route, but it wasn’t for him at the time.
I want to hug you! It’s waaaaaay too early to know what you are capable, or not capable of. You were capable of getting to class, you were capable of getting to work. You are capable of not blaming anyone else,and also capable of the maturity to live up to the deal you made with your parents. I don’t deny it’s really painful to not meet a goal. You will feel crappy for a while. But not forever.
And actually, we all come to CC to complain, commiserate, moan, be discouraged and have people Who Have BTDT hand out optimism. So complain all you want or need to. And go talk to your parents about next steps. Keep in mind to be kind to them, too. As well as yourself.
Take a leave of absence from your college (if needed.) Check all administrative requirements so that you can easily return - don’t just assume you can ‘not go’ for a semester.
You don’t have federal or private loans, do you?
If you do, you must unfortunately take 12 credits a term or start paying back your loans. If you don’t, you’re good once you’ve sorted out administrative stuff!
Just checking: you’re attending a public college - this isn’t a scammy 'for profit ’ school, right? Because if it’s a so-called ‘for profit’ you may have more problems - once they got their claws into a student they don’t let go until they’ve drained him/her of all federal loans.
Focus on getting a car, making money, and working on film sets this semester, while exploring online possibilities for the summer.
If you have any academic area that’s weaker, you can try and see if you can enroll in an online class, perhaps even a virtual high school class to start again on solid ground for cheaper than college.
