So, I messed up real bad my first year...

<p>So, I'm taking a really heavy 20 hour schedule and I'm doing pretty badly right now. First of all, I recently changed my major to Mechanical Engineering from Electrical. My second major is still Computer Science. I'm taking a Junior level math class on Set Theory; I learned that I am terrible at proofs. THe grade in that class is in the range of a D or F... Another class I messed up was my modern physics class; I bombed the section on particles and particle interactions. So, I have a C or something in that class now. I still have a final to take in my classes that might help significantly. In general, I messed up real bad. I'm only taking 15 credits next semester. Why I took those classes in the first place? I don't know, really. I honestly took them because I could take them. Has anyone recovered from a bad first year and was able to transfer?</p>

<p>You should have withdrawn from many of those classes when you had the chance.</p>

<p>Why do you want to transfer? What are you looking for that your school doesn’t provide?</p>

<p>@muaythai:
I should have, but I was getting pretty decent grades in Physics at that time (B range) and then in math, the second test was being graded and did not get it back until after the period to withdraw ended. I thought I did great on it, but it turns out my proofs were not “formal” enough and they were more “hand wavy” proofs than expected.</p>

<p>@Hanna:
First of all, I have been exposed to a lot of the issues on campus as I hold one of the highest positions in the student government (I interact with the administration quite frequently). I deemed that it’s time to jump ship as the one I’m on is on the verge of sinking. Secondly, it’s the student body; more than half of my class would have dropped out or put on academic probation by next semester. I have seen, more often than not, kids who do miserably due to videogames and the like. Even some of my close friends are on the verge of dropping out. I first came to this school thinking of going into academia because I pay so little, but I’ve changed my mind of going into academia and am willing to pay a bit more to go to a school with more resources. What I mean by more resources is things like better facilities, money, faculty and environment (the surrounding town/city). The lack of money is a sore thumb that can’t be avoided; that’s part of the reason why I believe this is a sinking ship. Many faculty have been removed or moved schools due to the lack of funding; the ones that stay are underpaid. In return, many classes cannot be offered (in fact, just this semester, a department was removed outright) or offered every 3 years and fill up way too quickly. The lower level classes often fill up (that’s not much of a concern for me as I will be taking mostly Junior level classes now). Another personal anecdote is that my friends and I had to beg for a month to simply get $100 for a project. I’m aware that these issues persist in many colleges, but bigger school have a bigger buffer in resources than the one I go to. These issues cannot be fixed during my time here and even though it’s selfish, I want to transfer. </p>

<p>I believe these are totally legitimate reasons to transfer, but I believe I have not put forth my part of the bargain. I am taking a lighter course load next semester to hopefully bring my GPA up. The root of of my problems was my ego; I tried to rush through and start taking graduate classes by my third year. That forced me to take some classes that I was not ready for and/or did not have time for. Like many first year students, I’ve underestimated my classes and I am paying for it now. I will be attaining a Junior status at the end of this semester and I believe that would force me to try transferring next year as I might lose my eligibility as I attain Senior status the year after.</p>

<p>No offense, but you can’t list “the kids here should all be on academic probation” as a valid reason for transferring when you’re nearly failing two classes. I mean, is your GPA even above a 2.5? Glass house, meet stone.</p>

<p>Yes, sure, I’m doing badly in higher level classes; compared to those who are failing 100 level classes and getting on AP, which is below a 2.0 at my school, it’s not a severe. Surely, you don’t think a 300 level course is on par with a 100 level one? It gives me no excuse to be doing so badly, but everything must be viewed in context.</p>

<p>Good luck selling that narrative to any college you apply to…</p>

<p>should have just went to a California CC, you could have easily transferred to Berkeley or UCLA after one or two years depending on how many AP credits you had, worst case scenario UCSD.</p>

<p>You didn’t say what type of schools you would like to apply to. If you apply during your sophomore year, they will only see at most three semesters of work. It is going to be difficult to transfer to a decent school with an entire year of poor grades, despite those being advanced courses and possibly having decent grades during the fall semester of your sophomore year. </p>

<p>I would take as many courses as possible this summer, and take a very large courseload next semester, and don’t obtain anything lower than an A. it sounds like you might have problems with study habits/focus. undergraduate courses are not that difficult, you just need to put in the time to study and go to class, and it’s easy to make perfect grades.</p>

<p>of course my advice is irrelevant if you would just like to apply to some state universities with lax standards of admission (with admissions requirement of 3.0 GPA or something).</p>

<p>With all things considered, I think this has been a better experience than going to a cc. Most of my classes I’ve taken would not have been offered at the cc level, and I’ve learned so much. I think this experience has been more of a cold splash of reality than anything else. We could talk could’ve/should’ve all we want, but at the end of the day, what I do from now on is the most important thing. I am forgoing taking Senior level classes next semester and only sticking with Sophomore/Junior level classes. I won’t be able to take classes in the summer as the classes are generally lower level than what I am taking. So, I’m spending my summer coding and working on various projects that I’ve been working on already. One issue I faced was giving my personal projects presidence over my classwork during the semester.</p>

<p>Who signed off on a 20 credit engineering schedule? It sounds like you fit in well at the university. Live with the mistake. Power down to 15 credits, go forward and graduate with the best grades you can manage. GL</p>

<p>Where do you hope to transfer to?</p>

<p>UT, TAMU, UIUC, GT, VT, UW, Purdue, Carnegie Mellon, Case Western, U Mich, Vanderbilt. Something along those lines.</p>

<p>Are you familiar with automatic articulation agreements? This is how a kid who has a terrible first year can graduate from a great public school. You go to a community college a second year - or whatever it takes - and you graduate from the CC with an AA degree. Then, you are automatically admitted to a (listed on the articulation agreement) public school in the same state. This would be an option. I would suggest staying where you are though. A lot of people find they really like their schools by the middle of the second year.</p>

<p>So, I had a couple of academic integrity violations and now I have been dismissed for a year from UIUC. I am an international student and a computer science major with 3.1 gpa (after sophomore year). I will be a junior in the fall semester.</p>

<p>What do I do next ? I want to take classes at Parkland college and petition to reenter in my senior year at UIUC. On my drop letter it says :

  1. Have to show good academic history during time away from the university.
  2. 100 hours of community work.</p>

<p>WHich application form should I submit to Parkland College.
These are the options. I don’t know what happened to my visa status when I am dropped from UIUC. </p>

<p>According to my passport , I am on a F1 student visa till 2016. So do I have to reapply for my i20 .
Here are the options for the application forms for Parkland for international students:</p>

<p>Want to apply for F-1 student visa
Current F-1 status: Transferring to Parkland
Current F-1 status: University of Illinois students seeking concurrent enrollment.</p>

<p>How do I go about this process ?</p>