Failing a class in college is weirdly taboo, even though it happens to all kinds of students. If you found this post, you\u2019re likely facing the likelihood of failing a class. It\u2019s hard to know what to do after that. Like, what \u2026 happens to you? The answer is actually nothing, unless you\u2019ve failed a bunch of them. What\u2019s more important is what you do next. If you just failed your first class, here\u2019s what you do.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll be honest here: I went back to school for my master’s last year, thinking that because I had a whole decade of adult experience under my belt and I was always a good student, it would be easier than ever to do well in class\u2014especially now that I was taking specific courses I already know I\u2019m interested in. What I did not account for was that there would be math involved at this level. Math is something I struggle with tremendously; I barely scraped by in the intro-level stats class I had to take in undergrad. It did not occur to me, as someone who cannot do math, does not do it in daily life, and has no plans to do it in the post-grad future, that there was a chance of it coming back around. I thought, when I signed up for epidemiology, that I\u2019d be learning about diseases\u2014and I did! But it was basically math. It was a ton <\/em>of math. And, I soon found out, all of my other classes were based on the foundational stuff I learned in that secret-math class. Despite my best efforts, I did not pass on my first time through it. Even at my big age, this \u201cfailure\u201d hit me hard. Was I going to get in trouble? Was I going to get tossed out of my institution? Was I an idiot for thinking I could go back to school at all? No, no, and no, it turned out. What happened was I had to have a slightly embarrassing chat with an advisor and retake the class, since it was a required course.\u00a0<\/p>\n When you find out your grade at the end of the semester, don\u2019t panic if you didn\u2019t pass a class. It\u2019s not going to help; what\u2019s done is done. As Dr. Kim Crowley, Associate Professor of English at Bismarck State College puts it, \u201cDon\u2019t ruminate.\u201d First, remind yourself this really does happen to people. For instance, Crowley\u2014who has a PhD\u2014had to take college algebra more than once in order to pass it. You\u2019re in good company if there\u2019s a class you struggle with. Next, consider a very simple question: Is the class required or not?\u00a0<\/p>\n If you failed a class that is required for your major or program, you don\u2019t have much of a choice but to take it again. You do have some choices when it comes to how you take it, though. Crowley says you should consider whether you want to take it the next semester \u201cwhile material is fresh in your mind\u201d or \u201cwait to let the emotion of the whole thing go\u201d and try again after a little break. When I retook epidemiology, I opted to do it right away\u2014but that was because it was a prerequisite for all the other classes I had to take. I found this out by conferring with an advisor, which you should do right away when you find out you didn\u2019t pass. Their job is to help you figure out your next steps; mine worked fast to help me get into a second-semester class. While I had no choice about having to retake it, I did get to choose if I took it online or in person, which is something Crowley says you should think over, as well. My first shot at epidemiology was in one of those big, bowl-shaped halls with hundreds of seats; I didn\u2019t stand a chance of retaining a thing and usually sat in my stadium chair feeling vaguely sick. When I got to go at my own pace, sit in my un-intimidating apartment, and read (and reread and reread again) the materials online, I did way <\/em>better. (I got a B+!) If you took your failed class in the morning, consider an afternoon slot. If you took it online, try in-person for some extra accountability. If you really hated your professor, you already know whom not <\/em>to retake it from.<\/p>\n There are some questions you\u2019ll need to ask your advisor when you chat about failing a required course. An academic advisor I spoke to (who will remain anonymous because she forgot to check her employer\u2019s media policy before agreeing to the interview) suggested these:<\/p>\n When can\/should I retake the class?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Does this impact my financial aid?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Am I able to remain in my major?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Which of my other required classes can I not <\/em>take until this is done?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n What is the consequence if I continue to do poorly?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n You\u2019ll likely end up on academic probation, which means you\u2019ll have to check in with your advisor periodically. In some universities, you\u2019ll get a humbling email explaining that to you. In others, you might have to reach out to the financial aid office and your advisor directly to see what repercussions you\u2019re facing. The good <\/em>news is that in most schools, when you retake a failed class, the new grade replaces the old one, shoring up your GPA.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here\u2019s where it gets tricky. If that class wasn\u2019t required, you may not want to retake it at all. Crowley suggests calculating your GPA overall to see just how big of a hit one F is going to give you. If it\u2019s a significant drop, retake the same class, if you can, to replace the grade on your transcript. If it\u2019s not, though, it might just be OK for you to skip it. For instance, if you need three credits of some kind of art and you hated theater and ended up failing, there might be wiggle room in your GPA to just sign up for drawing or something and take the loss.\u00a0<\/p>\n Again, discuss all of this with your advisor before proceeding, but consider if retaking something that was hard for you and <\/em>sort of unnecessary is really a way to keep morale up while you\u2019re on probation. Bear in mind, too, that required classes are usually offered abundantly at various times, with different professors, and using different structures, but electives are rarer. In your school, it may not be possible to retake the same exact class again, so work this out directly with your advisor. The worst thing you can do is dither over it and let it slow down your progress into the next semester. One F won\u2019t destroy a GPA full of other good grades, but spending weeks agonizing will torpedo your productivity.\u00a0<\/p>\n Honesty is the best policy here. If you go on to apply for jobs, transfer to a different school, or seek admissions to a program for a higher degree, the failed class is likely to show on some version of your transcript\u2014even if you retook it and your GPA is solid. Not all jobs will ask for transcripts, but as a rule, most schools will. Don\u2019t shy away from discussing it. In a job interview, this would be a great story to pull out when you\u2019re asked about a time you overcame a hardship or adversity (provided you went on to get a better grade the second time). Failing isn\u2019t necessarily a bad thing and won\u2019t destroy your reputation. Being able to detail exactly how <\/em>you reoriented and did better afterward will make you look good.\u00a0<\/p>\n Crowley says that when she was applying for grad school, she was clear in her admissions essay about the issues she faced in undergrad that led to some of her worse grades. I know another student who was recently accepted into a school\u2019s \u201csecond chance\u201d program after detailing in a letter to administrators why he\u2019d failed so many classes in his previous attempt to secure a degree\u2014and how, after a few years away from the classroom, he was in a much better position to do well.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEven if you have nothing to write other than, \u2018I was a dumb 18-year-old who couldn\u2019t make it to class,\u2019 sometimes just \u2018fessing up to that at least shows someone down the line that you\u2019re taking responsibility for it and you\u2019re less likely to do it again,\u201d says Crowley.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Failing a class in college is weirdly taboo, even though it happens to all kinds of students. If you found this post, you\u2019re likely facing the likelihood of failing a class. It\u2019s hard to know what to do after that. … Continue reading What to do if you fail a required class<\/h2>\n
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What to do if you fail a class that isn\u2019t required<\/h2>\n
What to do about a failed class in the future<\/h2>\n
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\nSource: LifeHacker – What to Do When You Fail a College Class<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"