rcgold

Hi, I am need of a lot of help. The Fall of 08, I attended my 1st semester of graduate school, however I found out that I was kicked out when I recieved one C and two B's my first semester. Although the 2 teachers I did receive B's in tried to help me when I tried to appeal to the college I was denied. So I tried to apply to other graduate schools, but I was denied which im pretty sure was because I was kicked out of my first Graduate school. So I really feel lost and dont know what to do. Does anyone have any advise? Please help.

Professor X

Get a job and reapply in a few years.

carpecc

Yea, get a job, take some part time classes, reboot, refocus. Or if you really want to go back to school now, you might have to apply lower in the food chain, which might not be bad for certain careers.

eager2hear

Did the university offer you a conditional acceptance prior to your attendance? If you don't mind me asking, what program did you apply to?

juillet

The conditional acceptance situation - possibly, but a lot of graduate schools will kick you out if you get any Cs regardless of your acceptance status, especially if your two other grades are Bs. Generally in grad school As are expected and Bs are tolerated; Cs are unacceptable.

ParAlum

what is your field of graduate study. In biomedical related fields, you can remediate your situation by working in a research lab (academic or biotech). This approach can also help you learn if this field is really one that you want for a long term career.

MaceVindaloo

I think working in a research lab is important (or working in whatever field you plan to study), but in the end you did poorly in the academic portion. I would do as ParAlum said and really figure out if graduate school is the right path for you. If you decide that it is, it might be worth it to start taking some classes within your field. I think time is your best friend in this situation. You need to show you can consistently perform well while handling a full workload and demonstrate that the first time was a fluke (a good essay will handle some of that).

Since you did not indicate your field, it is hard to say if going to a lower tier university or doing a master's program first is worth it.

hahalolk

I don't know anything about grad school, but how can a C get a person kicked out? Please explain.

ParAlum

in graduate school, you are training to be a leading expert in a field. anything less than a "B" is considered unacceptable progress. So a "c" is a failing grade in graduate school.

MaceVindaloo

hahalolk:

The academic standards for graduate school are completely different. Schools usually have a minimum requirement of 3.0, and even that is considered "bad" to get. If you are in graduate school (for a PhD specifically), you are training to be a scholar essentially. A low grade demonstrates that you have not truly comprehended the material. In addition, some schools offer fellowships and stipends so they will not want to continue funding a student that is not motivated.

However, I can see how someone would get those grades because graduate school is completely different than undergrad. Sometimes people just need to ease into it a few years later. I worked with several people who did not do well at first, so they worked their butts off and got into it later. They were both extremely motivated, and just needed to do it at their own pace.

hahalolk

That makes sense. Thanks for explaining!