Failure Is Not the End
by Dr. Anahid Kassabian
published for U-WIRE* March 26, 2001

*U-Wire member papers have full permission to reprint all or part of this column. Enjoy!

I was academically dismissed from college. I know I made a lot of mistakes, but I am certain that I can do very well in college if I apply myself. How do I go about getting back into school?

This sort of depends on how many credits you had accumulated before your dismissal, as well as on your current financial situation and your goals.

If it's at all possible, I would forget the past and start again. I think everyone deserves a chance at a clean break, and I think you'd feel differently - better - about your degree when you're done if you did well straight through on the second go. I also think if you're really ready for school, you'll get a lot more out of courses this time than you did before.

If you can't start from scratch, you can perhaps petition your previous school to wipe out your worst semester. Did you have a documentable physical or emotional problem? Can you convince them that there were extenuating circumstances that contributed significantly to your problems? If so, you may be able to get some of the worst stuff wiped off your record.

I hope one of these approaches works for you. I'm a big advocate of returning to education.

I graduated this past May. My grades sucked, but I barely passed to receive a B.A. in economics. I had some problems during my four years in undergrad, but the past is the past. I've been very interested in pursuing an engineering degree, chemical or mechanical. Would there be any way for me to complete another degree in two years, since I already have a bachelor's? Would my sucky grades be a pivotal mark in towards another degree?

This is a great question, and one that I think many students and recent grads share. I knew someone once who finished an honors degree in literature, then went back and took the science courses necessary to get into med school. Changing our minds is something we all do at some point.

As for getting in, I think you should decide *where* you want to go, then make an appointment and talk with an admissions counselor. It's pretty hard to know how s/he would react to your case, since it's not totally routine, so just ask him or her.

One thing you can consider is taking a few technical courses as a non-matriculating student. Work your tail off, get great grades and rec letters from your profs, and that might really sway admissions folks in your favor. If the admissions counselor seems dubious when you meet, offer this as a possibility, and see if she/he takes it.

I'm pretty sure you can find a good school that will let you do what you want. I think your alma mater is the most likely bet, but if they turn you down, keep trying. And if you don't get into your top few choices, try taking some courses first to show them your stuff!

When I scheduled my class selections for this semester, I obviously overcommitted. I am doing very poorly in one of my classes with no better hope than a low C, which would severely affect my grade point average.

An option that people have suggested is to take a "W" (or withdrawal) on my transcript by dropping the class. I have heard mixed reviews on the consequences of such action. Some people assert that a "W" is equal to or worse than failing a class and would be detrimental towards graduate school admission. Others say that it is benign and one or two wouldn't hurt.

Taking a "W" is never a problem when it's only one. You can always explain it if you feel you need to, but when graduate school faculty and admissions personnel read transcripts, we generally disregard single aberrant grades. The best insurance against someone holding the "W" against you is to make sure you get really good grades in all the other classes.

More than one is a different story, so be judicious. But in general, I advise my students to drop things when they feel no chance of recovering a grade they find acceptable.

One last word of caution, however. You should find out how the school counts late withdrawals. If it goes on your transcript as a WF, that may be a different story, especially if it is calculated into your GPA. Be sure to explore all that before deciding.

Dr. Anahid Kassabian is a professor of communication and media studies at Fordham University in New York.

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