aska’s back!!!!!!!

Dear Aska,

I REALLY screwed up last year and failed two courses (1.5 credits) and barely passed the rest. I also failed two summer courses right after. This one year REALLY screwed up my GPA. But I’ve been getting As and Bs since. I have no real reason for failing besides my existential crisis which I don’t think counts as a real reason so I can’t say it was medical. I heard somewhere that it’s possible to drop those failed courses as long as you agree to drop all of the other courses you took in that year from your record too (even if you passed the others). Is that true? And if it is, how would I go about doing that? Is there ANYTHING I can do? PLEEEEASE HELP!!!!!!

So here I am, after a short leave of absence, ready to address all your issues, grand and miniscule alike! And for all of those of you who feel they have been ignored or neglected- well, you sort of were… But fear not! I will make the effort to answer all the questions that have been mounting here since the beginning of September (except for the really inappropriate ones). Oh, and any technical issues will be solved promptly, I promise. Let’s get on with it then (it’s good to be back…)!

So, you really screwed up. Yeah, that happens. And I wish I could tell you that those mid-undergrad-personal-breakdowns earn you some sort of medical credit, something like: “the patient was a self-indulgent, lazy &^%$ and was unable to function as a member of society”. But unfortunately, I cannot.

Oh, and the rumours about dropping the whole year are, as common folk might say, the excrement of a male bovine animal. Honestly, I don’t know where you kids pick up that stuff! Wouldn’t it be much easier to come to askastudent for help??? I mean, disregarding the past two months…

What you might be able to do is petition for a late withdrawal. This is a procedure done through the registrar’s office, and it’s a case by case thing, which means that you will need to petition separately for each course. The problems are: a) it has to be done within 6 months of the end of the course. b) you’ll need a darn good reason in order for your petition to be granted. In any case, talk to your registrar’s office; it’s worth a shot… maybe.

Another thing I can recommend is not freaking out. Easier said than done, I know, but seriously- you need to assess your situation mindfully. What is the consequence of your affected GPA? What grades do you need in order to improve it? How high are you aiming, and what is it for- grad school? A specific program? Future job prospects? Maybe there’s actually less work into fixing last year’s boo-boo’s than you think.

And hey, your situation is by no means unique- students screw up all the time. It sucks, it’s a pain to amend that, but it’s doable. I suggest (as always) booking an appointment with one of your registrars, aside from the desperate petition attempt I mentioned earlier. They can help you devise a scheme to help raise your marks sufficiently to get you to the next step, whatever that may be, even if it means doing an extra semester or even year. Why, some of my best friends are fifth-years (although I do try to avoid being seen in public with them). So at the end of the day, you’re good. And with those As and Bs that you’re getting, you’ll be out of here in no time.