Coming into college, I had been dealing with several years of unaddressed possible bipolar II symptoms. High school performance ended with about a 3.2-3.3 GPA and a 32 ACT. I got into my college of choice with nearly a full ride, but the transition from high school to college absolutely wrecked me. I graduated early by one year because I could no longer deal with my home environment. I am attempting to explain my current situation, not excuse it, and am seeking out help to change my behavior so that I can succeed in later walks of life.
I ended up withdrawing from the majority of my courses my first and semesters at college because it was near impossible to complete when I was constantly in and out of medical facilities, dealing with side effects of literally four or five medications at once, and abusing alcohol and other drugs. Because of a combination of all these factors, I ended up on academic probation, which I narrowly avoided by having a 1.1 instead of a 1.0. For this part of my academic career, I am wondering if there is a way to remove this year from my record or at least mend it in some way that does not set me back an entire year.
I am completing my first semester as a sophomore in college, and things are far better than they were before. I can get out of bed in the mornings, I’m not drinking on the weekends. I go to class in the mornings and study until late at night in a study bubble or library before ever going home. I believe the first year of college taught me quite a lot about how things operate.
Unfortunately, even with all of these changes, my grades are now either stellar (high A) or extremely poor (C’s and below). I am wondering if there are any wise individuals here that can give me some input on what I should do in this situation. Who should I contact in regarding my academics, how I should move forward so that I can (hopefully) attend graduate school and achieve my goal to become a psychology professor?
You can’t erase that first year. And the Cs you are getting now aren’t helpful to your long term goal. But it is good news that you are getting back on track. Focus on good grades, staying on track, and maybe coming up with a backup plan if your grad school hopes don’t pan out. Maybe a minor in a business subject?
Pat yourself on the back for the strides that you have made toward getting your life together. Bipolar disorder is a very challenging chronic mental illness that is going to take vigilance on your part to manage your symtoms over the long haul. Staying well should always be your first priority. You can’t erase your low freshman year performance. You can strive to do the best that you can from this point forward. Make sure to access every resource you have available at your school, academic support, disability services, professor or TA office hours, online resources, whatever it takes. I can hear that you are not satisfied with Cs, but it’s a far cry indicator of improvement from where you were a year ago. Try to focus on that. If you can keep an upward trend momentum then who knows where it can take you?
Also check out NAMI, there maybe helpful resources there too. @MaineLonghorn has a lot of great things to say about NAMI.
Is there a disability services at your university? I have a mental health diagnosis that resulted in having to get a deans withdrawl in my first semester at university. I contacted the disability services on the advice of one of the advisors and they were great. At my university mental health is under the disability people. They are able to liase with lecturers, get special conditions to assist with taking exams and assistance in lectures and more. Plus we have something called the access suite which is a quiet space for study and rest only accessable if you are under the disability people. So that would be my advice. Good Luck.
There is no rule that controls the relationship between mental health and college. Do contact disability and counseling services on campus. However there are legal constraints on disability services and resource services on counseling services. Visit them please, but identify other help such as the learning center, departmental assistance and academic tutoring, ads from students providing tutoring at a modest cost. Colleges often brim with self help croups study groups and other academic programs but you need to find them. Learn symptoms indicating you are having difficulty with your disability and figure out a remedy. Remain vigilant with medication and professional services. Never, ever skimp on sleep, eating, fluids because you can’t exceed your body’s limits. Watch time of, subject and number of classes. Overall, you want to graduate with a degree, physical health and a well known controlled disorder. Best wishes on keeping all your balloons in the air.