withdrawal - askastudent

Hi! This year has been rough so far (who am I kidding the past 3ish years have been garbage), and I’m not doing so hot right now. I’ve been considering taking time off from uni for a while now but much more seriously recently. Since we are mid-semester how would I take a leave of absence (if that’s what it’s called) and would it mark all my current course as incomplete/failed? That would tank my GPA which I can’t afford. I’m at UTSG if that makes a difference. Please and thank you!

hey there,

i’m sorry to hear that and given midterm season right now it’s definitely hard not to feel at least a bit like everything’s a whole dumpster fire. but i really hope things get better and less garbage for you, and some time away could help for sure.

This Is Fine GIFfrom This Is Fine GIFs

for starters, here’s a bit of good news — there’s actually still a two two weeks left until the course drop deadline, which is on november 16th this year. as long as you drop your courses by then, they’ll completely disappear from your transcript without affecting your gpa.

Ghost Ghosted GIFfrom Ghost GIFs

if you drop all your courses now, you’d be able to cancel your registration on acorn and take a leave of absence, no problem (more info on that here). okay actually, don’t do that right now, just hear me out first…

the not so good thing is, you’ll probably still be charged for those courses because the “program/course freeze date” for fall and full year courses was on september 21st, and usually you’d be charged for any courses you had enrolled by that date. it might still be possible to ask for a refund, but you’d have to speak with your registrar for the details.

on the other hand, maybe CR/NCR would be a better option? the deadline for that is december 7th. if there are some courses that you think you can pass, you can add it as CR/NCR on acorn so that it doesn’t affect your gpa. if you’re able to complete these courses and get the credit, this could save you some money and time in the long run so that you won’t have to retake them in the future. but as you may know, you won’t be able to use CR’d courses for program requirements, and you can only choose CR/NCR for maximum 2.0 FCE in your degree, so those are just a few things to keep in mind.

in any case, i’d definitely recommend talking to your registrar asap to go through all your options, whether it be possible refunds, withdrawals, CR/NCR, whatever, you never know until you ask.

best of luck,

aska

Hi, I have a unique situation . In my first year my father just passed away which affected both my first and second year marks in university. I then had to take some time off and returned back to school after 1.5 years. Its been a couple of years, and due to academic stress. Because my GPA is so bad after failing 3 courses in both years ,I wanted to know if it was possible to petition to remove the marks I didn’t pass due to these extenuating circumstances.

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hey there,

i know it’s been a few years and you’ve probably heard this already, but i’m sorry for your loss. i can’t imagine what dealing with that must have been like, and it’s totally understandable that your GPA took a hit.

i looked into this for ya, and i think your best option is to go after a withdrawal or WDR. it’s not gonna be a clear-cut process, because the official rule is that you can only request one until 6 months after the end of the term in question. there can be exceptions to this 6- month rule with extenuating circumstances, but i’m not sure you’ll be able to apply the exception to all your terms. apparently the faculty (artsci, although i’m not sure which one you’re with) argues that if you could register for more courses, any issues with past courses will have been resolved. i don’t know if that makes much sense, but the bottom line is you may only be able to fight for your last term of courses.

i would recommend that you talk to your registrar’s office and make an appointment with an academic advisor. they’ll have access to your academic history and be better able to talk you through your options, as well as walk you through the petition process if they believe filing a petition would be in your best interests. there are fees associated with petitions, and if yours is successful you won’t get a refund for the courses you withdrew from either. but an academic advisor can give you specifics on that, as well.

best of luck, my friend. i hope they’re able to work something out for you!

over n out,

aska