Hi Guys,
I really need advice. I’m a transfer student who got accepted as general studies at UMD. I applied to the school of engineering and was denied due to withdrawing two classes (Calc II) because of personal financial reasons, took two years off to work as a mechanic and went back to school not knowing the repercussions as my community college advisor did not discuss what this would mean for my career.
I sent the college of engineering an appeal letter and was again denied. In their letter they stated that I was denied because of the the two gateway class (calc II) withdrawals as well as not completing a pre-requisite class for the major. Would it be wise to stay at this institution, do really well in the gateway class and pre-requisites and re-appeal after the year/semester? Or should I attempt a different career path, though my heart is set on engineering.
Feeling really down about this.
https://eng.umd.edu/advising-faqs may have some information about changing into the engineering division.
If it is not clear, you may want to ask directly whether you may eventually be able to change into the engineering division after completing the gateway courses with sufficient grades.
As UCB said, talk directly with an undergraduate advisor in the College of Engineering. If they allow you to re-take the courses, that may be an option. However, it’s not uncommon for schools to place a limit on how many and how often you can drop a gateway course (critical tracking classes, etc.) and they may not be willing to waive it. But you can’t know until you ask.
To study engineering, you may need to transfer to a less selective COE. Some (Mechanical), but perhaps not all, of the engineering programs at UMBC have the retake limit. They also may be more willing to waive the requirement (for those programs that have it). If you’re willing to transfer, then talk with an advisor at UMBC.