I’ve dropped out of my current grad school and am applying to another (we can address the follies of only applying to one grad school later,) but I am a little worried.
You see, being the complete and utter MORON that I am, rather than officially drop out last semester, I just stopped going to my two classes…and of course got two F’s. :smack: Call it my natural laziness with a dash of uncertainty about officially dropping out thrown in. So now I have two F’s on my transcript…should I try to explain that anywhere on the application? I fear that if I do, I sound like a whiny bitch making excuses, and if I don’t, I feel like they’ll look at it and see someone not fit for their school. You can see the bind I’m in.
FTR, my GPA before last semester was a very respectable 3.63 (Mostly A’s and A-'s, one B+.) After last semester, it’s a 2.93. Still good, but below the ever-important 3.0 mark that so many grad schools say they have a minimum of. So should I just cross my fingers and hope, or actually attempt an explanation (which wouldn’t really amount to much, anyway.)
It depends. Those two F’s are going to look bad, no matter what, and you aren’t going to be able to ignore them. Even if you make it through the application process, it’s going to come up in an interview. The fact that your grades were good beforehand might help, but even your “I was planning to quit anyway” excuse might not look so great. Definitely don’t ignore it; the admissions committee won’t.
You’re probably best off trying to do anything you can to get those F’s erased or explained. Can you beg for an incomplete? If you had a good reason for dropping out, your old program might be willing to help.
Also, what kind of program is it? In the program I’m in (Neuroscience PhD), the department looked very unfavorably on people who were trying to switch from one school to another unless they had a good reason and the school was cooperating. So they may ask you why you’re switching schools.
I can’t retake classes when 1) I’ve dropped out, and 2) classes have already started and 3) the classes are only offered in the fall.
So I suppose I can try to explain it…but I can’t think of anyway to actually say it without just going:
“I received two F’s…but only because I stopped going to my classes out of laziness.”
Yeah…that seems a lot better than just coming off as stupid.
Whether you should explain or not depends a lot on the type of program you’re applying to. Something art based? Usually it’s the portfolio that makes or breaks you. Doctoral program in psychology? Um… good luck.
Call the admissions office and ask about their minimum GPA requirement. Ask which part of the application is weighed most heavily.
Admissions Offices have all heard stories like your before. Many, many times a year, actually. Frankly, all the explanations tend to blend together. If it’s a problem, someone will ask** you **about it. Until then, don’t mar a good application with a lot of excuses.
How far into your program were you? Is it worth it to pretend this last school never happened? I know that sounds insane, but that’s what my boss has been known to advise (she’s a counselor, but not in admissions). We work at a very prestigious art school which doesn’t take transfers into it’s grad programs. To switch to us on that level would be like pretending your old grad school never happened even if you had a 4.0. So, it might be something to consider…
Well, from your old thread about the situation, it sounds like you could easily “spin” the story a little better than that by explaining that you had very little guidance from your advisor so did not realize at the time what a mistake that was…and were also dealing with “personal difficulties” of some sort (since you did sound depressed about the whole thing, understandably so).
However, I think you definitely need to be brutally honest with yourself about what has changed in the last few months that makes you sure you feel motivated enough to stop being “lazy” or a procrastinator and not fall in the same trap. The grad schools don’t look down on people with Fs just to be mean, but because the best predictor of future performance is past performance. Be certain you have truly conquered your “lazy” inclinations before you end up getting yourself back into the same mess, and find a way to prove that to the admissions people.
Good luck whatever path you end up taking!
Go back to your old school and throw yourself at the mercy of the dean of your college. It would help if you could get your old advisor to throw his weight behind you as well. Your professor’s could help too if they’re not screaming assholes. It may be possible for the F’s to disappear and be replaced by W’s.
I have in the past, as an advisor, helped get students out of “bad” semesters. It can be done. Be diplomatic, be contrite, don’t be accusational. Everybody has bad times occasionally. Grades are not cast in concrete, well not for awhile anyway.
It can’t hurt, and it may help.
Also take lavender violet’s advise and spin this better. Was it truely laziness or was it depression? Do you know? From your previous thread it sounds to me like more of the one than the other.
Well, the problem is, I already had the transcripts sent because the due date for the application is looming. So I guess I’ll make a small statement about how I’m working to resolve that issue (which I will,) and trying to get the F’s changed into withdrawns/incompletes?
Don’t go for incompletes. Your profs don’t want to deal with that and neither do you. You’re goal should be withdrawals, no harm no foul.
What you have going for you is your previous good grades and probably good grades as an undergrad. Students don’t usually go from B+, A- to F in one semester unless something is WRONG.
If absolutely necessary, go see your family Dr if you have one and show him the thread about cutting yourself. That should be enough for him to write you something about getting a medical withdrawal for the semester.
