<p>Hi guys, </p>
<p>Has anyone ever had experience with this? I just finished my freshman year at a pretty good college so I definitely don't want to lose my seat and have to reapply. My grades were not the best (2.7 GPA), but I have to STRESS that I have not been forced to take a gap year due to excessive academic failure or something like that. </p>
<p>I originally was going to go straight back to college after summer but I have to stay in my home state for a month during the Fall semester to help my parents with something that urgently came up after school had ended. I am now thinking of taking a full gap year so that I can re-focus, get some help for some personal issues and take a few classes at a local community college so that I am more prepared for when I get back. </p>
<p>I'm now freaking out because I don't know if I'll have to "reapply"? There's a readmission form but it doesn't seem like being "accepted" back is 100% guaranteed. I'm freaking the hell out, can anyone please soothe me? Do I have to worry about losing my spot? My grades definitely aren't good enough to transfer anywhere worthwhile...</p>
<p>Why don’t you call your school and ask? Office of the registrar or some place like that?</p>
<p>Most schools will let you take a year off for a family emergency - just call and ask how you do that.</p>
<p>Yes, call the registrar at your college and ask about your options. You may or may not be able to take classes someplace else and come back, so check on the specifically. Or you could consider just taking one semester off and going back. Don’t worry about calling and asking, you are under no obligation either way for just asking questions. 2.7 is a B- average… that is not that bad, you are certainly a “sophomore in good standing” with that GPA.</p>
<p>@intparent,</p>
<p>My GPA may have technically been 2.7 but when you pull out all the “fluffy” crap like PE and the other one credit hour courses, it’s about 2.5. Yikes. I tried calling today but the registrar seemed to have closed early. I’ll try contacting my advisory in the meantime but he’s absolutely ****ing useless. </p>
<p>There should be a section about leave of absences online or in your student handbook. It isn’t really called a gap year after you start college, that is meant for between hs and college. You may have to get permission to take classes elsewhere and have it transfer, though.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about the “fluffy crap”, it is still a 2.7. I personally got my butt kicked by a couple of 1 hour geology courses in college, so don’t discount them, either. I guess I am just saying don’t beat yourself up too badly over your freshman GPA. Look into a gap semester or gap year. Think about what to do while you are out to help prepare yourself to come back. Stuff like:</p>
<ul>
<li>Are there any subjects or skills you should brush up on?</li>
<li>Consider whether you are in the right major. Or was part of your challenge that you had to take distribution or core courses outside your major area (if that is the case, your GPA may go up as you get to take more classes in your major)?</li>
<li>Take a serious look at your study skills and habits, could they use improvement?</li>
<li>Did you have any unhealthy addictions or activities that kept you from being productive, getting sleep and decent meals, etc.?</li>
<li>Did you take full advantage of academic resources on campus (professor office hours, tutors, study groups, writing center, etc.)?</li>
<li>Did you get too involved in non-academic pursuits (ECs, part time job, home on weekends, etc) that had a negative impact?</li>
<li>Are you taking too heavy a course load? My kid got sucked into 19 credits (!) her 2nd semester freshman year, and it about did her in. Not so great advising, IMHO – you may have the same issue. Don’t overload, take the number of credits considered a full load and no more.</li>
</ul>
<p>Set some goals for yourself in any of these areas where you had problems during your break so you are ready to hit the ground running when you get back. Even a small improvement in several of these will likely have a payoff for you.</p>
<p>Thanks so much @intparent</p>
<p>-I’m planning on brushing up on my math. I’ve never had the best grades in math but on further reflection it’s because I didn’t work hard enough and was an idiot that didn’t pay in class, which only made things more difficult later. Because of this, I’m definitely planning on taking math
-I also realized that I was in the “wrong” major. Thankfully, many of the classes I took towards the major count towards general requirements and other majors so I haven’t lost too much time.
-Hell yes.
-Yes, and I’m very ashamed of how out of control it got. I’ve thankfully cut back drastically and I plan on keeping it this way even when I return. I actually like being clear headed!
-No, and I should have.
-I feel like I could have been more involved in extracurricular activities and I’ll definitely work on this and get more involved when I get back. I think surrounding myself with very driven people in focused clubs could actually boost my academic performance.
-Hell yeah. I took over 20 credits one semester. Very dumb. Not doing that EVER again. </p>
<p>While I’ve always known exactly what I did wrong, I have to admit that this is the first time that I’ve comprehensively articulated everything and wrote it down. It’s almost like you knew what was going on in my head! </p>
<p>what college do you go to? and 20 cr in 1 semester? ■■■?</p>
<p>Look for your college’s withdrawal and readmission policy. The answer to your question is school-specific.</p>
<p>So it sounds like you know what you have to do. Be careful about planning to take classes away from your college, check with them first to see whether that impacts your ability to return without reapplying. To me it sounds like a semester off and a solid plan to address your issues might be all you need. Just be careful not to over-commit on any new ECs. </p>
<p>And that list I wrote? It is an accumulation of a lot of the issues I have seen other posters and my own kids have in college. And maybe a few things I with I had done better myself when I was in college, too…</p>