<p>So my friend at Cornell kind of did poorly during his first semester and is receiving a "leave of absence" for the next semester. We were wondering what's going to happen to him?</p>
<p>Also, does anyone know how he can...well not get a leave of absence or how to return from it? His situation is that issues such as his mom's near death experience and other factors had a negative impact on his first semester grades.</p>
<p>Additionally, if he gets a leave of absence this will force his family to prematurely pay their loans which they cannot afford to do. Is there anything he can do???</p>
<p>If he is taking a leave of absence, it is because HE requested it. Perhaps he wants to take a break from the college atmosphere to sort things out. Unlike a withdrawal from the college, a leave of absence allows him a break from the college with the opportunity to come back (without reapplying) if he wishes. </p>
<p>If his parents can’t afford to pay off the loans now, imagine what sort of financial situation they will be in if he continues attending that particular college for another 7 semesters.
For whatever reason/reasons, he has decided that a leave of absence is in his best interest at this particular time. </p>
<p>If he is indeed a good friend, you should support his decision.</p>
<p>If he was asked to take a leave for academic reasons, the academic advising office will be pretty clear on what he needs to do to return. </p>
<p>I know of a kid who was asked to take a leave, also at Cornell. Was studying engineering. Took classes at his local CC and did well, and went back to Cornell in liberal arts. Graduated a year later than his entering class.</p>
<p>Maybe someone else on this board will know about the loan situation…</p>
<p>At least at my university, if he talks to his Student Services center or wherever else deals with leaves of absence, he may be able to explain the situation to them and get a second chance. It seems pretty strict that he’d be asked to leave after only one semester of college, though, so I’m guessing that it was at least partially his choice.</p>
<p>Depending on the loan situation, if your friend attends community college, he may still be considered enrolled in school and he won’t have to pay back the loans just yet. He should probably look into this.</p>
<p>If he can take classes at a CC while he’s away he should be able to defer the loans still, shouldn’t he? Though if he is taking the leave because he needs it, that may not be an option either.</p>
<p>Most colleges and universities have a prescribed procedure for re-entry. He should talk to them but also find out where it is in writing. Some schools (S3’s for one) do NOT want you to take CC classes, others allow it or encourage it. Most have a special re-admit application and maybe special classes that have to be taken on return. It will mean graduating later, between poor grades and leave. The loans could be an issue, but if he returns in the summer the 6 month time period will not have expired and I don’t believe the loans will be due. BTW summer term is a great time to get grades back under control silence there are fewer distractions. </p>
<p>No matter what, before retuning your friend needs to figure out what he is going to do differently next time so as not to have it happen again. Also he needs to understand what kinds of grades he has to get in order not to be on probation. Usually a second failure is permanent.</p>