<p>Hi, please bear with me on this... I was a Biology major when I started out (I'll be a junior this year), and I basically screwed up second semester of my freshman year; got an F and a D, otherwise, I am pretty much an A/B student.</p>
<p>In any case, I decided Bio wasn't for me, so I wanted to change my major this year, but I was wondering... what help is there for students who've found out that they were really in the wrong major with a couple of terrible grades, and how can we salvage our GPAs other than getting straight As on everything else? </p>
<p>Is there anything that my advisor can do? I also feel a little weird discussing this with my advisor... I tried to and I felt like they look down on me because of those two grades. This is not my normal academic performance (last semester I got 3 As and 2 B+s) </p>
<p>I really would love to get into law school instead (was pre-med) and there is no chance that any college would have me because simply trying to get out that GPA range would be extremely difficult since those two grades are holding me down.</p>
<p>Is there an academic forgiveness policy at UNC? Can some experienced advice me, please???</p>
<p>I don't think that UNC has an academic forgiveness program but I could be wrong. That said though, the way most academic forgiveness programs work requires you to retake the class(es) in question and depending on the school, replace the grade with the new grade (better or worse) or get an averaged grade. Since you don't want to be a science major it seems unlikely that you'd want to retake those same classes.</p>
<p>If you do really well on the LSAT, your personal statement along with advisor letters may be able to overcome the grades from the other major This should be easily explainable and easy to spot as science classes versus the rest of your body of work. You may not be able to get past a GPA requirement at a top 25, 50 or even 100 Law School but a really strong LSAT, good letters of recommendation and a well written personal statement should get you into Law School somewhere. Regardless of where you matriculate, after passing the Bar you will still be called an Attorney.</p>
<p>i dont go to UNC but i came across this on the website maybe itll help u out</p>
<p>Repeating Courses
by admin-oasis — last modified 2006-09-20 12:10
Occasionally it is advisable for a student to repeat a course enrollment. Any student wishing to repeat a course should meet with an advisor on their advising team to discuss the appropriateness of repeating the course. Students may repeat a course if:</p>
<p>the course is specifically required by the student's academic major and is a prerequisite to other courses required in the major;
a certain grade (e.g., 'C-' or 'C'), or better, must be earned in a course specifically required in the student's academic major;
several years have elapsed since a student's initial enrollment in a course and a current, satisfactory knowledge of the course material is either required or advisable. In some circumstances, permission may be granted to repeat a specific course regardless of the grade earned during the initial enrollment.</p>
<p>If a student is permitted to repeat a course in which a passing grade previously has been earned, no additional credit hours beyond the first enrollment will be counted toward the fulfillment of the University's minimum 120-academic hour graduation requirement. </p>
<p>Grades and academic hours earned as a result of both enrollments will appear on the student's transcript and will be computed in the student's semester and cumulative grade point averages. Credit hours earned for repeated courses will not be counted toward graduation.</p>
<p>Some courses allow multiple enrollments and are designated as such in the description of the course that is available in the Undergraduate Bulletin.</p>
<p>Eadad-- Thank you for you input. I guess I was hoping for a "GPA reset" option that some schools offer to students who change their major...not exactly academic forgiveness. I intend to do really well on my future courses, so it seems I might just stick with it. I don't want to take those courses over again since I don't need them for my major. It's just difficult... I feel embarassed and I haven't found a good advisor who I can talk to without feeling as if he/she thinks I'm an idiot. Should I talk to a dean? </p>
<p>Gator-- I've read that already. It's pretty inconclusive and doesn't quite fit my situation. Thank you for looking, though!</p>
<p>It wouldn't hurt to talk to a Dean or Dept head for your new major. You might also seek out the pre-law advisors and get their opinions.</p>
<p>My advice about the LSAT and letters of recommendation have a real history, albeit a bit old.</p>
<p>Many years ago I also changed from pre-med to pre-law (English and poli-sci double major) after I realized that I really hated science classes and loved to write. I didn't have the D or F you have but had two Cs in a chem classes...but in Orgo I guess I was still sort of okay. I just hated the work that was required for science classes and really lacked the passion others had.</p>
<p>I finished my last two years with about a 3.9 but the two 4 hour Cs did have an impact on my overall GPA. I did well but not outstandingly on the LSAT ( I was never a great standardized test taker) but had really developed close relationships with several professors in each of my majors, one of whom really served as my mentor. I had many options on graduation for both law and grad school including U Chicago for Poli Sci which at the time was the top school in my area of concentration, Political Philosophy.</p>
<p>My reason for sharing this is don't despair, but DO seek out someone you can talk to as soon as you can and spend your next two years working to develop relationships within your chosen major so that your letters of recommendation will be strong and meaningful.</p>
<p>medical reasons can be used to retroactively remove grades but i am not aware of change of major. check with the dean of students she is your advocate....</p>
<p>Meet with the dean of students, that's their job to help people in your situation. I don't think I would repeat a class in a different discipline under these circumstances. I know that all the statistics out there are for cumulative gpa's. But if you do well in classes more relevant to your field, that wouldn't be lost on an admissions committee. Perhaps, they would even value that you had the persistence and dedication to do really well after a setback. Can I make a suggestion...find out what is really important to you. With a jump from premed to prelaw, it sounds like you're just rounding the triad of respectability and will soon decide that business is your calling. Other careers that are not represented in grade school classrooms by culturally iconic figures can be far more rewarding if they are right for you. For instance, did you love science but dislike memorization? Maybe physician or surgeon isn't right but public health or pharmaceutical development is.</p>