My French Professor Just Ruined My Life!

Transfer Students
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<p>I just finished up my first year at a CCC & am planning to transfer to UCSB by this winter to major in Global Studies: Culture & Ideology. I already have 42 units including most of my major prep classes & only need one english class + one physical science with lab to complete IGETC.</p>

<p>this summer, I am studying abroad in paris where I was planning on taking art history & french 2. BUT, my horrible french 1 professor made a mistake of giving me an F for the spring semester. it was an ridiculously awful class really, all we did was watch movies & have potlucks but I thought I deserved a C at least! he didn't even show up to class the day of the final & we later found out he flew to france the previous night. I e-mailed him about it but he won't reply! I've already taken 3 years of spanish in high school which waives the foreign language requirement but I really wanted to take french 2 in paris since I'll gain a better experience which I am planning to write about in my personal statement.</p>

<p>the french 2 professor actually knows my french 1 professor, so should I ask him to e-mail him about my grade? what I'm afraid of is my french 1 professor explaining to him how 1 really did deserve that F somehow then the french 2 professor holding it against me. I'm already enrolled in this french 2 class which starts next month on campus & continues in paris. should I tell the french II professor at all? if I end up taking the french 2 class without the french 1 credit, what will happen?</p>

<p>my GPA right now is a 3.3, major GPA a 3.5, but with this F I have a 2.7 since french is a 5 unit class. I've read on previous posts that with a 2.8 & IGETC completed transfer is guaranteed? I can already see myself staying at my CCC for the spring just to raise my GPA. <em>sigh</em> what should i do? help!</p>

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<p>OMG thats terrible</p>

<p>he sounds like a horrible teacher</p>

<p>you need to learn how to avoid those bad teachers by using ratemyprofessors.com</p>

3

<p>yeah, i know about that site. i would've dropped the class but i already have two Ws, one from a calculus class i found out i didn't need.</p>

<p>oh, that's another thing. IGETC only requires 1 math course. i used to be a psych major so i took the behavioral science statistics but would regular statistics be better now with my major?</p>

<p>i just read more posts about the UCs being strict with too many units though. i can't even sleep just thinking about this F. ugh!</p>

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<p>That prof sounds like an a**hole. </p>

<p>You said he made a "mistake" in giving you an F. If you really didn't derserve an F, yeah you need to talk to him. Otherwise, you'll have to find some way to test out of FR 1.</p>

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<p>First off....the same situation happened to me in part. You can't do anything until you get that grade taken car of and once more UCSB only accepts students in Winter who have outstanding records and excellent GPA's. I had quite a few friends with 3.5's and higher who barely made it in last year. Nothing is certain. I also had friends who had c. 3.2 and they were accepted and then given their deposit back and told to apply in the Fall. With your cumulative GPA as it is......you won't get in because they're raising it to 3.0 in the next Guaranteed Admission Agreement and also because Winter is not guaranteed actually.</p>

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<p>I've read on previous posts that with a 2.8 & IGETC completed transfer is guaranteed? I can already see myself staying at my CCC for the spring just to raise my GPA.</p>

<p>That's terribly information because UCSB's own material for transfers says that they're average GPA for incoming transfers is 3.2, at the very minimum. What can however make that statement true is the complete of the IGETC and a TAA (Transfer Admission Agreement). Just make sure you fill one of those out with your current CC and you're in, yes. However, they only guarantee for the Fall and they will be raising it from 2.8 to 3.0 very soon. You definitely have a shot! Good luck to you....</p>

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<p>I had a moth professor like that,</p>

<p>Gave everybody an F and refused to change grades. The department didnt even care becouse he had been teaching there fo so long.</p>

<p>pretty sad. had to take a math 101 class over again. I got a A- this term.</p>

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<p>Correction: Please disregard the last statement.....you HAVE to have a TAA for Winter admission acceptant. So, if you've already filled one out then my last statement doesn't apply.</p>

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<p>Go see the Dean of the department as soon as possible. If your test grades support your statements then you've a great arguement. If not, then you better come up with something. The Dean should be able to get in touch with this hack anytime anywhere.</p>

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<p>CC colleges without forced curves do not lightly fail students. You deserved a C? Sounds more like you're getting in the way of your life than this prof.</p>

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<p>Yes, but Winter applications have to be turned in in July and even then, she can't get in with her GPA the way it is. I feel bad, had the same thing happen to me and finally got it back to a B (a grade that I didn't need but still didn't want an F by any means). It made my GPA go from a 3.78 to a 3.6. Anyway.....it took two months and the signatures of many folks and the dean. It's a good things I was friends with the president of the college. There is NOTHING wrong with Fall application. You're going to need Spring to bring up the GPA, fill out a TAA, complete all lower div. and IGETC. But yes, when I had an "F" it was the only dark mark in a sea of A's that I had....it was a terrible time.</p>

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<p>That can be tough (getting rid of your F) but I wouldn't ask the french 2 prof to ask the french 1 prof about your grade it would be much better if you gor in touch with him and rold him what you deserved for that class. Yeah Michelle is right the 2.8 is no longer a guarantee for admission to UCSB competition is getting tougher and they are raising the bar but like Iv'e said before having all your major prep completed will set you apart and seems to be priority #1 for the UC's good luck btw.</p>

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<p>sorry to hear about that.</p>

<p>I heard u can file a complaint and a teacher will need to provide proof or reason for ur F to the dean and ur grade can be overturned. </p>

<p>Hopefully u have some tests or syllabus w/ grading to prove urself.</p>

<p>But it appears based on ur story u were hoping to sneak by w/ a C.</p>

<p>If ur prof is such an A-hole, there more people who are in ur shoes and are facing same probs. U guys need to organize petitions and u can easily fight this thing. Good luck</p>

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<p>mead13, test out of french 1 before i start french 2? if only i could. haha, the french 2 class starts june 13th!</p>

<p>vinny77, hopefully your GPA didn't drop too low. i'm sure i can bring mine up, it's just that i am so annoyed at how this jerk prof took away my hopes for completing all 4 semesters of french before i transfer. i was going to take french 3 in the fall then french 4 in the spring.</p>

<p>michellebruin, thanks for all the info. so i guess transferring by winter is totally out of the question for me now. no biggie. but wow, how did you do it? '...took two months and the signatures of many folks and the dean.' details please!</p>

<p>spyderman24, i'll try meeting with the dean. it's not as good as being friends with the president of the college but one of the spanish professors was in my french class. she constantly had to fill in for him whenever he didn't show up, so i'm sure she'll back me up.</p>

<p>zagat, i said at least a C. & by no means an F!</p>

<p>thanks for the encouragement, mexbruin.</p>

<p>highschoolda, he never even returned most of our tests back to us! there were 30 people in the class to begin with and two-thirds of the class dropped since he was so horrible, leaving only 10 of us. i should've dropped too but i already have 2 Ws.</p>

<p>& another thing! one of the TAA requirements, someone explain this:</p>

<ol>
<li>Complete the last 30 of your 60 or more UC-transferable semester units in residence at your current community college or at any California community college (you may complete summer session course work at an institution other than a California community college without jeopardizing your residency status).</li>
</ol>

<p>i've already taken 42 units at 3 different CCCs. can i still sign a TAA? those of you transferring next year, when did you sign your TAA?</p>

<p>actually, the school i took this french class at is a different one from where the study abroad program is at, so they probably won't find out about my F until later! what will they do if they see i got credit for french 2 without credit for french 1?</p>

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<p>i've already taken 42 units at 3 different CCCs. can i still sign a TAA? those of you transferring next year, when did you sign your TAA?</p>

<p>I don't think the amount of CCCs matters, you should be fine. Also, you don't have to sign anything, all you have to do is check a little box when filling out your UC application in November (for fall transfers) or whatever month it is for Winter transfers.</p>

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<p>rc, that doesn't answer her question at all actually....lol.</p>

<p>She was asking for clarification of that particularly point in the agreement. I actually commented on that on another thread, really hope that helps. You're really doing some great work, schools can see that and they will overlook one sour grade certainly.</p>

<p>With my situation, of goodness, it's a long story, I'll bottom line it for you. Spring of last year, I was taking an online Spanish class and due to some complications, I had to take out an Incomplete Contract with the professor, no problem. I just needed to take the Final at a later time. During the next Fall semester, I tried repeatedly to get a hold of the professor in order to schedule a time to take the Final, left him voicemails, e-mails, nothing. Even sent a letter. Well, after several months, I saw that I he had given me an F. I was outraged to no end. I had a cum. GPA of around 3.75 previously so needless to say I was not happy. I had had a 97% in the course, however, 1) he had forgotten I had an Incomplete contract with him, and 2) he claimed that I had not tried to get a hold of him in "time."</p>

<p>Well, I went to the department head, the dean and a few counselors and at first they were no help, so I sent copies of e-mails with the time-stamp, sent phone records, anything I could to prove that I had tried to get a hold of him. Anyway, after everything and sufficient proof, it took me over 6 months (including last Fall semester's attempts at contact) to get that silly F off my transcript down to a B which is fine with me because I just needed the credit. English majors need two years of language.</p>

<p>anyway....there's my sob story. lol I hope yours also has a happier ending.</p>

<p>You know, as students we work so hard, both in class and at our jobs, etc.....yet professors in many ways forget what it's like to struggle, so my only advice would be to be persistent and fight in a methodical manner. I'm usually a pretty cooperative student in class, but when it came to that situation, I had to get pretty aggressive, step on toes and get in people's faces til I was heard because I had deadlines. At the time, the UC-application was coming up, at least the update was and I certainly couldn't have reported an F, that would have hurt my chances of ever getting into Cal or UCLA from the start....</p>

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<p>bruinmichelle, you are the best. thanks for sharing your story. darn foreign language courses & their 5 unit weight which deteriorate GPAs of hard working transfer students. haha!</p>

<p>well, i just sent an e-mail to the dept chair so maybe i can gain his support on this before i go to the dean. hope this all works out somehow.</p>

<p>the thing is, if this grade doesn't get changed, there's no way i can make it up for it to be reported for fall 2006 UC apps. what to do. ugh. must stay optimistic. thank you!</p>

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<p>he hasn't replied yet.</p>

<p>but it was a holiday so i guess i'll give him time.</p>

<p>ah, frustration.</p>

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<p>Cool, I will be in Paris too next month. What dates will you be in the city?</p>

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<p>june 24th - july 25th.</p>