Is my College career over?

April 28, 2018 9:59 AM

I was placed on academic probation, filed a successful 2nd final appeal, but failed to bring up my GPA the following semester. Is it over for me?

Have I run out of options? I looked around so far it mentioned transferring to a CC then reapplying to a different college but wouldn't it be tied to SAP?

- Since I failed to make enough progress on time I lost my financial aid but is it for all colleges forever? I attended a public NY college as a 2nd year student and I'm just lost on if I should give up on accept working part-time jobs until I die.

- Would it be possible to transfer to another college with academic dismissal on my records? Is this a crazy idea in the first place? I don't mind CC but not sure how to proceed.

- I'm a disabled student if that matters and I have a slightly different timeline for graduation and accommodations

- I've accepted that I will never return to this college due to my poor academic performance but I'm not sure if there's a good way out from here on as this was my last chance. Thanks.

posted by chrono_rabbit to Education (7 answers total)

I can't imagine that you're going to be denied financial aid for all of eternity for failing to make sufficient academic progress. I sign SAP appeal forms *all the time* for students who don't meet SAP guidelines and are requesting an exemption. Can you meet with financial aid before the semester is over and ask them if they can help you figure out how that would work in the future?

One concern I have is that it sounds like you're planning to go to community college and then try to come back and do exactly the same thing you're doing now, but maybe at a different school. And that might not be a good idea: it's not working for a reason. Can you figure out what that reason is, so you can do better in the future? Is it possible that you'd do better at a different kind of school or in a different major? Are there any health issues you need to address in order to be successful? I think it might make sense to enroll in community college, take some classes, figure out your direction, and then make a plan for getting back into a four-year college, if that turns out to be right. (But don't discount two-year degrees if that might be a good path for you. There are some very good careers that require a two-year community-college degree.)

I know that failing out of college feels totally catastrophic, but it's pretty common, and lots of people who get dismissed do eventually earn four-year degrees. This is not your last chance!
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 10:14 AM on April 28, 2018 [12 favorites]

This is a very hard question to address without specific knowledge of your institution and fairly specialized knowledge of financial aid. One thing I can't tell is if you've talked to anyone at your school about this (academic advisors, student services, financial aid advisors, etc). The institution I work for has an entire administrative unit that deals with questions/situations like this, and I have the impression they have a lot of flexibility to negotiate in specific situations. (But this is a private university and the students pay quite a lot, so the university is incentivized to give students many chances.) I have certainly known of students at my institution who were offered more chances than this; being disabled may help your case too. Though one definite impression I have for the way these things work here is that students who are struggling to this degree are often required to take some time off before trying again, exactly to prevent them from repeating the same situations over and over again.

I'm just lost on if I should give up on accept working part-time jobs until I die.

I know that failing out of college feels totally catastrophic, but it's pretty common, and lots of people who get dismissed do eventually earn four-year degrees. This is not your last chance!

I very much agree with this sentiment. I once was on probation, lost my scholarship, and very nearly failed out of undergrad. It's definitely possible to come back from these situations: 20 years later I'm now a tenured professor at a highly ranked university.
posted by advil at 10:30 AM on April 28, 2018 [12 favorites]

For what it's worth, 30 years ago I flunked out of university on three occasions at two different schools within about five years. Today I wish I had stuck with it.
posted by rhizome at 10:42 AM on April 28, 2018 [1 favorite]

You absolutely don’t need to give up on college. I would first try to figure out what went wrong for you (was it specific to the school? Are there different accommodations you need? Do you need to be in a different place mentally for school to work for you?), then start at a community college. Community colleges (at least all the ones I am aware of) don’t have competitive applications - you basically just sign up for classes. Once you have a track record of doing well in community college classes you will absolutely be able to transfer to a school that offers a bachelor’s degree.

It’s really not uncommon for people to drop out or fail out of out of undergrad, then go back a few years later and do really well. It happens for all sorts of reasons and being unable to complete your degree now at this particular school is not a reflection of your character or your intelligence.

I’m not familiar enough with financial aid to comment on that part of it.
posted by insectosaurus at 10:56 AM on April 28, 2018 [2 favorites]

Hello. I had similar problems when I went to college the first time. I eventually stuck with it, but I graduated with a really low GPA, and found it all a really frustrating process.

When I went back to school for a second time, and felt the same thing happen, I took actions to assess why I wasn't doing well, and how I could fix it. I ended up dropping out for a year and working, and seeing both a therapist and a Psychiatrist to get down to the heart of the problem - in my case, I had untreated anxiety. Once that got treated with medication, I was able to return to school to complete my program - and I graduated with Honors.

It may be worth it to talk to your school to see what they're policy is on students who take a break - do they require readmission? Or can you take some time off and then re-enter a following quarter/semester/year? Then, you can use that time off just work, and use that time to sort out what's going on academically. You can also check out the local community colleges to see if there's classes there that you'd be able to take, that could transfer over to your 4 year institution. Not all CC classes transfer over to 4 year University. An advisor at both your current school, and the community college, can help you with that.

But, no - it's not the end of the world!
posted by spinifex23 at 12:03 PM on April 28, 2018 [2 favorites]

Yeah, this stuff varies a lot by institution. At my own university, I've seen a lot of cases (in the course of my work in the Admissions and Appeals Committee, which I serve on pretty much every term they'll let me) of students placed on suspension for academic reasons, returning from such suspensions, exploring their prospects for continuing without the excessive burden of their previous attempts on their transcripts, etc. A lot of public universities have one or more programs designed specifically for students in your situation, who weren't prepared (in any of a number of different possible ways) for college the first time around. One of ours, for instance, is Fresh Start, which gives students a blank slate after an extended absence. Your college may well have a similar program, although it's likely to differ in particulars. Talk to the advising staff; it's their job to help students navigate situations like this.

I would echo what A&C said above about making sure you address the root cause of your trouble before giving it another go. If you need to shore up your knowledge of background material, improveme study habits, get over an emotional/personal rough patch... do that before re-enrolling, either at your current college or a different one.
posted by jackbishop at 4:06 PM on April 28, 2018 [1 favorite]

There's a lot of good advice already, and probably more to come. I just wanted to recommend something for the financial side. I don't think you're permanently disqualified from receiving financial aid (and even if you are, there are always private loans, as much as they should be avoided). But what I'm suggesting is tuition reimbursement. Find a job that will pay for your college. Both my dad and my brother got their bachelors' degrees on someone else's dime. My dad failed out of his first four-year school, and my brother got an associate's degree first. It might take some digging to find a company that offers it as a benefit (look for jobs with the state, or staff positions at colleges), but it's a great way to make college more affordable.
posted by kevinbelt at 4:39 PM on April 28, 2018