<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>Thank you for your responses. I posted this thread in June 2013. Today it is January 2014, and I want to give you all an update on where I stand in my college career.</p>
<p>Guess what? I am typing this post from my dorm room at Penn State University main campus! Last summer, I was very tenacious in my efforts to return to Penn State. I did not let pesky letters of rejection from the Liberal Arts coordinator or Dean dissuade me from reaching my goal. In June, I submitted a Petition for Retroactive Withdrawal to the Faculty Senate. In my petition, I detailed a personally traumatic incident that occurred in November 2011 when I first attended Penn State. I explained how this event caused immense mental and emotional distress and even triggered debilitating anxiety and depression. I compiled supporting documents from my physician, psychologist, Penn State academic adviser, and the campus police who responded that night. I sat on pins and needles the entire summer, anxiously checking my mailbox to see a response. Unfortunately, I didn’t hear back from the Faculty Senate until mid-September, well into the Fall 2013 semester. However, late is better than never. The Faculty Senate approved my petition. All of my grades from the Fall 2011 semester were expunged off my transcript. This reset my Penn State GPA, allowed me to re-enroll as a student in the College of the Liberal Arts, major in Political Science, and receive financial aid. While my original intention was to return in Fall 2013, I returned a semester later than I hoped. But here I am!</p>
<p>I have decided to double-major in Political Science and Communication Arts & Sciences. Halfway through my junior year, I am definitely feeling the pressure to knock out my major course requirements (especially with two majors). This semester I am taking six courses, four of which are 400-level. So far I feel as though things are going smoothly. Last semester at Eastern University, I worked my butt off and earned a 3.95 GPA in six classes. I also had perfect attendance all semester long! That was a launching pad for doing well here. My studying habits have dramatically improved and I’m proud to say that I’m working hard at Penn State, which is where I belong.</p>
<p>This entire ordeal was draining yet humbling. The fact that my poor grades from my first semester are gone is like lifting a heavy albatross from my neck.</p>
<p>Let this be a lesson: Never give up fighting for what you feel you deserve! Now I’m just hoping that my courses transfer in an advantageous way for my majors.</p>