Successfully Reinstated Students
Here are stories from six different students on their experiences with academic disqualification and in reinstating to the university.
Student 1
I took a Biology class and I ended up failing that class and I remember sitting back in the lectures and really not being interested at all. I would try to do the work, but I wasn’t really interested in the course but I still kept going. I remember even some days I wouldn’t go to class and we would just go to the beach. I think at first I was excited as a freshman like hey this is so cool, meeting new people…but then as it started to sink in, you feel overwhelmed a little bit because you don’t have that support and you’re on your own. Which is good because you get to be independent, but at the same time, you have to be the one to take initiative and say, I am going to schedule an appointment with the counselor, go to the writing tutor, I am going to do this or that. I think I definitely learned to be more organized with my school work, because as opposed to someone telling you, okay your assignment is due Friday, or you have to see your counselor in two weeks, it’s more of, here’s your syllabus and the assignments are due on the dates listed. So, procrastination happens and all these other factors…it was definitely overwhelming. But, as time passed, I turned the overwhelming feeling into more of a proactive feeling and learned to push forward and you have to do this on your own. Of course, there is help, you just need to go find it. When asked, what advice would you give to a family member, friend, or peer who may be struggling in college she said, “know your resources”! She also shared that she wished that there was some sort of program when a student is disqualified that pairs you with another student who had experienced the same thing. She said, “this way you can talk to someone who can let you know it’s all going to be alright”. [student 1] is enjoying her courses, new major, and working with children and is looking forward to completing her degree.
Student 2
Failure of classes for the first semester of being at the university right after the community college. The classes seemed a lot harder than at community college and there was a distraction…with my mother being ill, having to take care of her and my siblings, since I’m the eldest. I didn’t put a lot of effort in to school, having to still have an income for the family, work, and take care of them. It’s been different because I am older now and going through that stress made me learn how to deal with it. Now, that my mother is better and my siblings are older as well, I feel like they can have some sort of responsibility in helping out my mom. Therefore, I moved out from my mom’s house. So, now I live with a family that’s supportive towards my school and I have time to study with no interruptions, motivation to do my homework and just being focused on school. Just keep going, keep working on it. Even if it takes you a long time, as it has for me, the goal is there and as long as the goal is there, there’s a pathway to go ahead and accomplish it. So, keep going, don’t give up, just find another route towards that goal.
Student 3
School started that Monday and it ended up working out that I could start, but I had to crash basically anything that was open. I was in bio, chemistry, math, and like sociology or something my first semester. With the bio and chemistry, that’s where the hardship started. I got all D’s and one F. The second semester it was the same thing. It was another three D’s and one F, it just was not working. That’s what happened with the disqualification. My mom has always tried to do anything I needed in order to help me get to this university. She drove up with me on the day they told me I could be here. She got in the car and she drove five hours to school with me. My sister, she’s just as supportive. She’s always said I will graduate from this school, like I know you can do it, it may be hard but you can persevere. You can do it! So, without the family support it would be a totally different situation. It’s sad because I was telling you about my best friend and her family had never told her she can go to college. So, looking at my family, it’s just crazy, like they’re really supportive and really there for me. Every step of the way they have been there.
Student 4
At community college, it’s very easy to just get by and the workload isn’t that demanding there. So when I got here, I was like okay, I could still have that mentality of it being community college and I could just scrape by. I’m sure that good grades just kind of fall from the sky or something. I would go out all the time, go party all the time. So, school was like a secondary compared to my social life. Of course you don’t just get disqualified after one semester. It wasn’t just one semester, it was one semester and then the next and I remember there was this one semester where I just stopped going to one of my classes. So when I got disqualified I had no one to blame but myself. It’s not like most people, who get angry with the school and tend to blame everybody else, you know? I messed up and it’s time for me to fix my mistakes. I have to get good grades because my mom’s going to ask for them and I want to make her happy, but in theory, then I’m just doing it for her and not me. But when it comes down to it, you have to just do things for yourself and I feel like people need to start doing that.