Failed 2 1/2 years of city college. Help me, please.

Transfer Students
1

Hello,

I was in a car accident that left me severely injured. I’ve had two surgeries and have been in physical therapy since the accident.

I was hit from behind at approx. 55 MPH, full speed, two weeks before my freshman year/first semester was to begin.

I have done an atrocious job in my responsibilities as a student since.

Here are my current grades -

1st Semester - 4 classes
Anthropology 101: F
English: F
Japanese: F
Pychology 101: F
(I stopped attending halfway due to a hospitalization.)

Summer Semester
Psychology 101: A

2nd Semester
Research. Methods (Psychology) - A
Sociology: F
Anthropology: C
Japanese - C

3rd Semester
Abnormal Psych - A
Sociology - D
Anthropology - F
English - F

Summer Semester
Sociology - D

3rd semester
Social Psych - C
Intro to Law - A
Career Planning - B
Art - F

4th Semester
Criminal Law II - A
Paralegal Studies - W
Speech - W
Statistics - A

I understand how horrible my transcript is.

Reason:
I suffered from extreme depression after my accident, going from a happy 18 year old who was very active, to one who was no longer even able to sit for a movie. I’m rather immobile. I honestly felt that my youth had been stolen from me due to the driver who hit me - that negligence had caused me to spiral into a hopeless depression.

I suffered from seizures due to the medication prescribed to me. I had insomnia and lost 20 lbs from depression (going from 105 to 85 lbs). I ended up in a mental evaluation hold for 3 days to my despair.

Even now, I am constantly in pain. The left side of my body has atrophied and I have spinal stenosis due to the trauma.

I used to receieve straight A’s in elementary tthrough high school and academia was my passion. I even skipped a grade. I published two short stories in third grade for the city newspaper. I was chosen by the city to write to President Bush to attend a celebration our city was holding.

I honestly believed my future to be bright.
But my depression and pain has killed all motivation of mine.

Hence why I only managed to pass the classes I found most fun (stats, research methods) - everything else drained me.

I’m doing better now, but I feel hopeless in my academic future after ruining my grades so badly.

How can I fix this? Is it possible to?

My dream has always been to be a psychologist or an attorney, but I doubt any grad school or even a 4 year would even so much look at me now.

If I’m wrong in assuming so, please help guide me. How can I repair this? Is there anything I can do to get back on my feet now that my depression has finally lifted?

Thank you in advance.

2

As a person suffering from moderate depression myself, I sympathize with your loss of motivation and insomnia. However, I have consistently been a solid B student in college. I have never ever failed a college course. What concerns me is you took sociology 3 times. You got an F once and a D two times. This is not excusable for a college student aspiring to go to law school. I aced a lower level and an upper level sociology class. Sociology is a particularly easy subject, and yet it is useful. On the plus side you aced both law classes and that is impressive.

To the main point of my response; some people are born mentally handicapped, they might have dyslexia, or they may not have a handicap and they’re just not good students. A portion of these people graduate college and excel in their careers. You can be one of those people who succeed. I know that GPA does NOT transfer from community college to 4-year universities. Unfortunately, grad schools look at your entire undergraduate record. I actually can’t offer a solution but I hope what I’ve said will help you form your own conclusion.

3

Could you make your course repeat scenario more clear? You have so many duplicates I’m not sure what got repeated.

Are both those sociology courses with a D the same course?

If you get rid of the top list, you aren’t in bad shape. You should try academic renewal and repeats to fix the Fs and the 2 Ds. That’s 7-8 classes. Academic Renewal can probably get rid of all.

You definitely do well in psych, so obviously you should focus on that. This is correctable. And you have a good reason. All is not lost.

Anthropology 101: F
English: F
English - F
Anthropology F
Anthropology - F
Art - F

Soc - D
Soc- D

Assuming these below are all the same units, that’s a 3.3.

Psychology 101: A
Research. Methods (Psychology) - A
Anthropology: C (Repeat of one above?)
Japanese - C
Abnormal Psych - A
Social Psych - C
Intro to Law - A
Career Planning - B
Criminal Law II - A
Paralegal Studies - W
Speech - W
Statistics -A

4

Can you take a semester off just to concentrate on your physical and mental health? That is probably what you should do at this point. When you are truly ready to go back to school, don’t try to carry a full load. Take only one or two classes at a time, and make certain that they are things you are truly interested in.

And speak with the people at your CC about that first semester. Find out if it is too late to have those F grades changed to W for medical reasons.

5

I didn’t have good grades or attendance when I was younger. I stopped trying to take college classes for a few years, and then took a couple part time classes that went better. I waited longer and now I am a full time student. After maturing and learning things for work and working full time, it doesn’t seem as hard to go to college classes.

6

The other good thing about taking time off is that you may be able to take care of your body and explore ways to cope emotionally. Then go back to school when you feel ready for the challenge.

7

Because of both the accident and the depression you may be considered a student with a disability. I would start with a trip to disability services to see what they can do to help you out. If you have trouble with mobility, seizures, and have trouble sitting through a movie, it is not surprising that you are having issues with passing your classes. You may have some new learning disabilities, as a result of the accident, that you have not had to deal with before. You do not have to deal with all this alone!

Once you have registered with the disabilities office ask them what you can do to improve your grades and what they can do to help you transfer. Applying to a 4 year college with a verified disability can help to explain your academic dilemma, you will have people in your corner to help answer questions and to help you find a path to success.

Most importantly, don’t be ashamed to ask for help. This is why the disabilities office exists - to help even the playing field for those who have it harder than others. You are dealing with obstacles that other students are not. You are allowed to have help.

Good luck!