<p>I'm not sure how many Cornell students still check this forum, but i desperately need help. I'm on academic probation now and because I have a registration hold from last spring due to a past bursar balance, I couldn't register for fall classes and missed the add deadline and withdrawal seem inevitable at this point.</p>
<p>I bombed last semester (3 As, 3Fs) due to severe mental health issues and instability caused by a number of factors, bringing my GPA down from 3.6+ to 2.9 in a hard sciences major. I stopped going to classes during the middle of the semester, and unsuccessfully tried to communicate my health issues with Gannett (so I did try to get help) when I stopped going to classes, but there was no followthrough with CAPS/therapy from the center. </p>
<p>My mental state mainly deteriorated due to financial reasons--I'm an international student that didn't get any aid since coming to Cornell, but have persistently tried adjusting my eligibility status for FA and succeeded this past August, so now I'm a permanent resident. So I filled out the FAFSA for 2012-2013 aid and should be hearing back about my 2012-2013 aid package very soon. </p>
<p>I can't take out private loans because my parents have bad credit, and I have no one else willing to cosign for me--I have no other family in the States, and I'm a first-generation college student with almost no network to draw cosigners from. Paying even tuition here has been a crushing burden--my family lives off of a <$40K annual income, and almost all of that money has gone towards paying for my first two years at Cornell. That is why I have had a past due balance (usually not more than 5-8K) last year and had to work myself out of a registration hold every semester (because I was at least allowed to register during pre-enroll before the hold took effect). I have repeatedly begged the bursar for a semester deferment on my past due balance so I have a little more ime to pay it off, but the office has been unmerciful and of the attitude "don't let the door hit you on your way out." </p>
<p>After getting placed on probation, I have also pleaded with my college registrar for leniency this semester and a chance to redeem my academic performance through late registration. They have been resistant so far, suggesting that there are "other universities out there for me." I was planning on taking only 12 credits this semester (as opposed to my regular load of 20) to do some GPA repair and show the school that I'm serious about getting back on track. My paren't are bled dry and need a little more time to scrounge up the money to pay off the last of my past due, but the registrar is unrelenting. Only a notice from the bursar asking for a extension on late registration would let the registrar reconsider the withdrawal, and even then I would need to petition to add the classes I need for fall (i've been regularly attending and handing in work). I'm meeting with the bursar tomorrow to see if I can get a week extension on repaying my balance and have them write something favorable to the registrar, but I have little hope of this based on the consistently caustic, unmerciful attitude of the bursar reps I've tried to negotiate with.</p>
<p>The kicker though is that even if I am withdrawn/forced to take a leave, I would still have to pay tuition, room and board for fall 2012 without being able to be on campus. I still would fight to stay, but charging for a term that I can't even participate in AND informing me of this four weeks into the semester is ridiculous.</p>
<p>I'm just stunned by the registrar's lack of understanding and willingness to watch me flounder. Even if I do leave Cornell, what other school of a similar caliber would take me with 3 Fs from my most recent term? My family's already put $60,000 towards my education from their saving and most of their income and I will not see it go up in flames because of one bad semester, and being expected to pay for a semester without attending is ridiculous. That's why, for me, the best option is to continue with Fall 2012, ace my classes, and get off of academic probation so I can be a decent student again.</p>
<p>Sorry for the long post--my situation is very complicated and right now I'm between a very large rock and a very hard place, and I need not only any advice you CC'ers can share, but also your support. Yes, I have so little support in this fight that I have to turn to an internet messageboard for reassurance. Cornell is my life and I want to take it back.</p>
<p>Thanks for reading.</p>