Good morning. I am currently in the process of appealing my scholastic suspension from my university for the Spring 2016 semester. Pretty embarrassed to even be at the point but alas here I am. My first semester of college was bad I failed two classes (F, D). Second semester I did much better earning a 2.5 (not great but better than a 1.5 something). The start of my sophomore year on campus I added both of the courses I had failed the first semester to my course list hoping to earn a better grade and have the failing marks replaced. I was doing really well in the courses too, much better than I’d done freshmen year however about a month in my dad fell ill and was hospitalized, I went home a few times to be with my dad and doctors assured us his recover was certain. He passed away in the hospital a few weeks later. This caused me to miss a week and a half of instruction time. But bereavement and all I returned to school and tried to give it my best. Most of my professors were understanding and helped me make assignments up but not all of them. The course in which I got an F in the first semester, I got a D in this semester bringing my recovering GPA down a bit. The school placed me on suspension for the semester and I’m now appealing it, do you guys think that I have a real chance at their decision being overturned?
You have no chance if you don’t appeal…if you want to return, you should at least try.
However, also consider if that is the right school for you right now…Would it be better to go to CC and get good grades and be near home for a bit?
Do you understand why you failed the first semester?
Did you talk to the Dean of Students when your father passed away?
Sometimes incompletes are a way to go (if you are doing well in a class).
Yes I’m sure this is the school for me. I got there the first semester and just had to much freedom and didn’t handle my business but I’ve grown up and realized that’s now the real world and how things should be. I did talk to my dean before my dad passed while he was ill a few times.
So three semesters of poor grades - though the last one was understandable. (And I’m sorry for your loss. That’s very hard.) Unfortunately you had no ‘good will’ built up with an acceptable first year performance to give them confidence that last quarter was an exceptional situation rather than the norm for you.
While you can appeal, I think the smart move is to have a conversation with the dean and ask what the university typically would want to see before they’d be willing to readmit you. They may want a year of strong performance at community college first. They may want to hear you articulate what went wrong freshman year and why this isn’t going to happen again (because life keeps happening - there will be illness, family issues, accidents, broken romances, etc…that distract you in the future). They may want to see a ‘gap year’ in which you can demonstrate some additional maturity. Perhaps if he/she is sympathetic, you can get some guidance and a read on the likelihood of success for your appeal.
In the meantime, check into enrolling in your CC or start looking for a job on the assumption that this appeal is going to be denied. There are second chances in this situation - but it might not happen right away, at this school.
In 2012 you posted that you were a freshman at TAMU. in 2013 you posted that you were a community college student.
Thank you guys for responding!
I wouldn’t necessarily call last Spring semester poor, although a 2.5 isn’t outstanding it was a huge improvement compared to the semester before. I also would like to remark that this past semester would have been okay had I not earned the D. My advisor actually applauded my efforts last semester and told me that I didn’t necessarily crap the bed this semester save for receiving the D. It’s not an excuse but I’m hoping that I conveyed well enough to them that I have learned from my mistakes my first semester and that losing a parent in the middle of school is an extremely tough event. I really have given it a lot and I know my GPA would have soared this past semester had I not faced this circumstantial setback.