Hello, all. I am desperately trying to find a solution to help someone close to me. My boyfriend has depression and pretty much failed his entire first year. He doesn’t even have the credits or gpa to transfer to another school.
He attended Georgia State University away from home (3-4 hours away), but wants to go to school from home, where he can get a lot more personal help. The problem is, he applied to Armstrong State as a freshman, which requires you to include EVERY institution you’ve attended. So he had to include that he went to Georgia State. And that was the only way he could apply, because like I said, he has no college credits to transfer. None. He called and they said his process is completed, but it doesn’t say whether he got in or not online. So I’m going to have him check that today.
But my overall TL;DR question is, if you literally failed every first year class because of depression and want to start over, what’s the best way to do so? I believe he wants to start medication again and I was going to do my best to help him with classes and things, as I’ve done very well my first year.
He is in desperate need of help, as he’s having a lot of self doubt right now and it’s worrying.
Perhaps a local community college would be a good way to prove himself at the college level before diving back into the kind of school he failed out of?
Every school will require a student to list prior schools, not just Armstrong. A good way to restart is at a local CC. Start with baby steps, possibly fewer classes.
I think that is a pretty good idea.
Plus, I’m researching and there’s a community college in his hometown. The admission requirements seem very doable, as I would assume is the point.
If he failed first semester, why didn’t he get help?
But he should talk to the Dean of Students at his old school to see if he can get a retroactive medical withdrawal. Your boyfriend should get diagnosed and treated by a Psychiatrist.
Can he then appeal his academic dismissal once he shows that he has his mental health issues under control?
He should not go to college until he does.
In SOME cases, it is possible to get a retroactive withdrawal due to an undiagnosed medical condition that affected student performance. A retroactive withdrawal means the student has a clean academic record.
Oops, just read identical advice from @bopper . Sorry - and carry on.
Getting Fs turned into medical withdrawals would be the ideal first step (in addition to getting help for depression.)
With a GPA lower than 2.0, your boyfriend is not in good standing and will not be accepted by many other colleges. Community colleges often have open enrollment and so he could get in there with a previous history of bad grades.
Armstrong State requires a 2.0 for transfer students.
If you really want to help your boyfriend you will help him get his depression under control. He will not be successful anywhere with mental illness bringing him down. As others have mentioned he can probably petition to have his Fs turned into medical withdrawals. The thing is that no matter where he goes to school depression saps energy and ambition.
He needs to get himself healthy before he can worry about school. Helping him regain his health is the biggest favor you could ever do for him.