I just finished my sophomore year, and I received grades of Ds or lower in every class I took. This puts me on academic probation for the first time. My freshman year I repeated 2 classes, which is the maximum amount of classes I am allowed to repeat for the entirety of my undergraduate career at this school. I am technically undecided, but I was taking classes for the chemical engineering track. But since I have no course repeats left, my only options are to either leave the school, change my major to a social science like psychology, or petition for a retake for my Linear Algebra class so that I can become a math major. I’m attending a very expensive private school and I don’t want to waste my parents money on a useless degree like psychology. My problem is, that I’m not quite sure I have a compelling case to retake this class. In my honest opinion, I feel that I was just overwhelmed my a difficult course load (Linear Algebra, Organic Chemistry, Intro to Engineering, Physics II), and that at that point in my life I lacked the necessary time management and study skills to do well, in addition to not giving 100% effort. I know I can do the work, and I know that I can do well if given another opportunity.
From what I have read so far though, it seems that the only reason that my petition would be accepted was if I had some mental illness like depression or ADHD and documented attempts at treatment. Although that is possible, my father suffered from depression and ADHD and I do believe I could have some of the symptoms, I feel that it’s just disingenuous to get tested at this point because the only reason I would be doing it is to fix my grades, not out of concern for my mental health. I did have familial problems during this time (my father lost his new job after a year of unemployment, my parents marital problems were causing me a lot of stress, at one point my mom called me telling me she felt suicidal). I’m not here to make excuses, I understand that the consequences I am suffering now are my fault entirely. I am reading about time management and practicing alternative studying techniques to prevent this from happening again. I guess it doesn’t hurt to try, but I really do not want to get my parents hopes up just to disappoint them again. So given my circumstances, is petitioning for a retake the right decision?
@screenname02 Clearly something went wrong. I’m surprised the school you attend hasn’t put you on required academic withdrawal yet, assuming that all of your course grades (i.e. courses you didn’t drop) are D’s and F’s.
Still, I feel your best course of action is to withdraw for a semester or two, so that you can really assess what went wrong, or maybe find another path that suits you better (e.g. employment or studying at a different institution). Right now it doesn’t seem to me like you are ready to retake linear algebra or continue your undergraduate studies. You need to talk to your advisor about it. If you do so, you usually are able to apply for readmission into the university.
Good luck.
@MITer94 academic withdrawal is only enforced when one’s gpa falls below 2.0 and they can’t get it up past 2.0 in one semester. I have a 1.9 gpa now so I am on academic probation. I would be dismissed if I attend school this fall and could not get it past 2.0 by the spring. You are not the first person who’s suggested I take time off. Frankly the idea of being idle for a couple months doing “soul searching” seems like a huge waste of time considering I already know what the problem is. What went wrong is I have a maturity/laziness problem, I doubt doing menial labor for a year will solve that. The only different institution I could study at is a community college since no other school will take me considering I am not in good academic standing. Seeing as schools do not accept more than 64 transfer credits and I already have 50 credits at best I would be able to attend CC for one semester before I had to transfer somewhere else.
@screenname02 If you wish to continue on the next semester, then go for it. However, you should still talk to your advisor - he/she will probably know better what to do than me or many others here.
If you wish to retake linear algebra, I don’t think it should hurt to try petitioning for a retake - if your petition is not approved, there shouldn’t be any additional consequences beyond the fact that you can’t take the course. However you’ll likely need to provide convincing evidence that you are capable of succeeding there and in the subsequent semesters.
Some students do decide that withdrawal is the best idea - note that time spent away doesn’t have to involve menial labor or studying at a CC. It could involve working on your own projects or doing other activities.
@MITer94 Ah I see what you mean about the break semester in that sense. I’ve already started learning coding for that purpose. As far as providing convincing evidence, does the idea of a trial term make sense? By that I’m suggesting that I propose I retake Linear Algebra in the summer and promise to achieve a grade of B+/A- or higher. Or perhaps I could take a course in time management/study skills to prove that I’m committed to improving my grades.
@screenname02 You won’t know for certain unless you try to petition with the department.
“Useless” psych degree is better than, um, no degree. Which is what you are currently on track for.
OK so I talked to my advisor, and she doubts that my petition will be approved. She recommended I continue with a social sciences degree and minor in engineering in order to be a competitive applicant for a graduate engineering program. But 2 things are holding me back:
- I don’t know if I could even get into grad school considering that if I maintain a 4.0 until the end of school I would end up with a 2.9 at best.
- I don’t know if I could even afford grad school right out of undergrad.
Are you subconsciously trying to sabotage yourself? Rereading everything you have written, including post #7, it seems like you are not trying to succeed, but rather finding reasons to fail. If you pursue the advice of your counselor, you get a degree, even if it’s just a “useless” one in social science. If you don’t, you get…what? To move back to dad’s house? Why are you even worrying about a graduate degree now? You have to get a bachelors first.
I strongly encourage you to visit your school’s counseling center and figure out why you are afraid to succeed. I suspect you actually don’t want to major in engineering, because if you did you wouldn’t have got D or lower in every class. You seem to not like any classes you have taken. Is there some kind of fear that you will be judged for not doing a degree in engineering? Take an honest look at your reasoning and try to figure out a way to stay in college. You don’t have to major in psych. Major in something else that interests you. And please seek some counseling, because I think you will benefit from it.
@Lindagaf I don’t really understand how you reached that conclusion. I already explained what I would do if I don’t return to my school, transfer to a CC, and then transfer back to another 4 year institution to complete an engineering degree. It seems like you take a lot of offense to me calling psychology a useless degree, I’m not sure why but the fact of the matter is people with bachelors degrees in psychology are extremely underemployed. Even with a master’s the median salary is like 80k. I’m worrying about a graduate degree because I need to find employment after I graduate school. I don’t see what about that is confusing you.The bottom line is I would rather get a degree that will get me employed, than waste thousands of dollars on a degree that I have such a low chance of finding employment with.
I don’t have a degree in psych, and I don’t take offense. It’s just an observation. It doesn’t seem as though you consider going to CC as a good option. I hope you can figure out a way to stay on track, best of luck.
@screenname02 I know several people in the psychology field that have gotten quite successful in life. So I wouldn’t call it a “useless” degree either.
It seems like you’re really undecided - you’ve taken courses in chemical engineering, were thinking of petitioning to retake linear algebra for a math major, and were thinking of switching to a social sciences major or an engineering (what kind of engineering?) major. So try to get that decided first.
Also, I wouldn’t even think about graduate school until you get your GPA up right away - many schools/departments require 3.0 or higher just for consideration, and 3.5 or higher is often recommended.
@MITer94 I think I was a bit unclear in the way I described things. In an ideal world I would be still be an engineering major. However since I am out of course repeats I can’t retake all the classes I need to continue in the major at this school. So in order to stay at the school I currently attend I must pick a major I can complete in 2 years without retaking any classes. Had I passed Linear Algebra the math major would have been a viable option. But since I haven’t unless my petition to retake math is approved the only major I can complete at this school would be a social science major. To reiterate, I want to be an engineer, this is my first choice and the program of study that interests me most.
@Lindagaf Going to a CC isn’t preferable because ultimately I will end up at a worse school than the one I’m attending now. But it’s no one’s fault but mine so if that’s what it comes to I’ll suck it up and do my best. Thanks for your advice!