Did you ever fail a year in college or school? Interview...

I bombed out at the end of the first year of a B. App Sc in Metallurgy the year after I left school. For a whole bunch of reasons, personal, social, geographic, economic - and the course just wasn't really grabbing me.

Didn't go back to Uni for 10 years (studying something completely different), but when I did I was D average, studying full time, working full time, playing two team sports and working in a paid band. If you're not interested, it's not what you want and you're not enjoying it - don't do it.

Also, don't expect that you'll get everything right first time - tenacity is a virtue. If you get kicked don't crawl under a rock - get up and this time be ready for that kick and prepare yourself to avoid it.

I can't imagine what it's like to be a young student in India, but in Australia I think I would have greatly benefitted from someone reassuring me that I'd have at least four career changes in my life and that no choice is permanent.

Looking back I really didn't get into the university experience the first time - too young, too poor, too insecure and no sense of purpose, no reason why.

I'll write to you spidergal if you promise to invite me into gmail (I can't find anyone with an account!)

Hiya spidey,

It was not a year, just one class: Inorganic Chemistry II. It was my first year of college and I had bitten off more than I could chew in terms of class work (I was also taking 2nd year Bio, Calculus II and Computer Science, plus I had just pledged a sorority). Keep in mind, though, this was 26 years ago.

1. How did you react on hearing the news? I recall it was upsetting, but I did not try to have the grade changed. I knew there was a good reason why I'd failed the class.
2. How did your parents, kins and friends react? Were they supportive or they just sneered at your tragedy? I didn't tell my friends and relations as it was none of their business. My folks were disappointed. Since I had gotten credit for High School classes, I graduated on time, which is what mattered.
3.What was the aftermath? I changed majors; I had been a Bio major, became a Math major and eventually settled on Philosophy, which is what I have my degree in.
4.How did you cope? Did you drop out or repeated the year and continued your education? Did you finally finish the course? I continued my education but in a different direction. I did not need to repeat the class.
5.What would you advice to would-be flunkers and those who have just flunked? Well, study! But the real advice I'd give is, know what you're getting yourself into. I started off studying Bio because I couldn't think of anything else to do with my life. Since Chem is required for Bio, I ended up in that class. But it was early in college; I didn't have to declare a major for another year and a half. So it would have been smarter to have tried out different classes; I could have saved myself a lot of grief.
Last.....
6. Does failing a year in college is the end of the world....?? (Of course its not, I just want to know your opinion) I rarely think of it and, in order to answer this question, I had to rack my brains to recall the year and the name of the course and what else I was studying. My work isn't anywhere near Chem or Bio. It proved to be a small blip on the highway, although, I have to say, if I had gotten a D instead of an F, I would have graduated cum laude. That's the only regrettable part about the whole thing -- but the reality also is, if I had gotten a slightly better grade in any class, I would have made cum laude, so why blame Inorganic Chemistry?

Thanks for your reply, HH. Mettalurgy.....eh? That sounds pretty boring to begin with. I can imagine how very boring it would be to actually study it. But, why in the world you opted for it?!

Jes, even I have opted for Bio at college. My course includes Botany, Zoology and Chemistry. And like you, Chemistry is my Achille's heel. However, I've lately discovered that most of what I find difficult in Chemistry isn't that difficult. A day before exam everything- anything from mile long equations to mind-boggling numericals- makes so much sense! If I can put in the same enthusiasm to regular studies, I would surely be better off. Anyways, thanks so much for your organised reply. Others' experiences always help understand things better.

I started college when I was seventeen. I was much too young and immature, and much more interested in socializing than studying. After a year, my GPA was very low, and I was asked to leave.

Over the years, I took courses non-matriculated. In my 30's I returned to school in earnest, with a much greater appreciation for education. I graduated with my BA summa cum laude, and then went for, and received, my master's degree.

What's a summe cum laude?

I think part of why I failed Chem is because I was starting to subconsciously realize that I didn't want to do it, didn't want to go into Bio and go down that road in my life. Hmmm.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_cum_laude

Not too shabby for someone who flunked out the first time around!

Thanks for the info, Phoenix.

I failed a college class once. I was American Government and I had little interest in it especially since I could not stand that arrogant SOB teacher.

1. Don't remember being particularly upset about it - perhaps just disliked the teacher even more. 2. Everyone was very supportive. 3/4. Basically I had to pass this class so I retook it with a wonderful teacher and got a B. I made up for it so I wouldn't fall behind by taking a summer class. 5. Don't worry about it - not everyone is perfect - find out what you think is the cause of the failure and overcome it. 6. failing anything is not the end of the world - it is a learning experience. For instance I learned in a similar situation I should have been able to predict the outcome - I could have realized sooner about the personality conflict with this particular teacher and also how he taught. I did have the option to drop the course rather than failed and have it on my record, but I was too stubborn and thought I could deal with the situation.

Re: Did you ever fail a year in college or school? Interview

I flunked a year in high school, best thing that happened to me in those years.

Mind you, we didnt have an "end-of-the-school-year exam". Part of that is that Dutch schools work differently, not with one central end-of-year exam but with tests spread across the year. An additional part is that I was in a Montessori school, which has its own system. So basically, we did assignments, papers, read books, and did tests throughout the year, and all of that was worth percentage points. Like reading five books and doing your "hearing" on that with the teacher was worth 20% of your year for German, for example.

By the end of the year, they look at your record on quantity (100%? 90% If you had only 80% you were in trouble), and your record on quality (how good did you do your tests?), and each of your teachers (English, French, Math, etc) then gives a recommendation on whether they think you can pass to the next year or not. If one or two of 'em said "no" or "maybe", you got extra work for the holidays and could then still go on; but if two or more said "no", you couldnt move on and had to stay in that grade.

So, with me, my quality was always fine, always had high grades, but my quantity ... ee-yeah... So in the 4th grade, when I was 16, they flunked me and I had to stay in 4th grade for another year.

It was the best thing that happened to me, cause - well, the first two years in high school had been great, I had a cool group of friends, we had fun, I was enjoying school. Third had still been OK, but the fourth was yuck ... I didnt like my classmates, they didnt like me, I'd been bullied a bit in primary school and I felt like I was slipping back into all that ...

But this time, I didnt go sit in a corner of the classroom being disliked, I just started skipping a lot of the classes, hanging outside in front of the school with the postpunks and the alternatives instead. So I didnt study much, and I flunked. But that meant I got into a new class, and it had a lot of cool people, a bunch of the friends I'd newly made outside, we had a lot of fun, and having already done at least half the work the year before it was also kind of a relaxing year for me. So I felt good and started enjoying school again, and studying again as well, and it all ended up fine.

Will get to your questions in a sec...

OK, here's the questions..

1. How did you react on hearing the news?

I knew it was coming - I was still stuck at 30%, 50% for some of the different subjects by the end of the year - so I wasnt surprised. I was kind of relieved actually, felt pretty good about it.

2. How did your parents, kins and friends react? Were they supportive or they just sneered at your tragedy?

Ah, nobody considered it a tragedy. Kids flunk a year, happens to a lot of us. My best friend had flunked the year before. Some of my new mates were glad I'd be in their class now. My parents had seen it coming too, shrugged and thought, well it's probably for the better, he was in a bad space this year, perhaps this'll be a better deal. I cant remember anyone being angry.

3.What was the aftermath?

Since I wasnt going on to the next year anyway, I didnt have to do any work in the holiday to catch up

4.How did you cope? Did you drop out or repeated the year and continued your education? Did you finally finish the course?

I repeated the year. But the cool thing about the Montessori system is that the points that you had gotten the first time you did the class, they stayed - you only had to do the part that you hadnt done yet, you didnt have to do things over again. (And then the idea was of course to already work ahead into the next year's materials if you had time left..)

5.What would you advice to would-be flunkers and those who have just flunked?

Would-be flunkers: look at your situation and write down what would be the pluses and minuses of doing the year over. How would your family react? Would it take some of the stress of your school life (it's tough when you're constantly struggling to keep up), or would it just mean doing the same dreary tests all over again? Would you lose friends, or find new ones? Be honest, and if the minuses outweigh the pluses, get your ass in gear and your act together and start studying like hell; if they don't, start preparing your parents in advance, explain 'em the situation, keep your head cool.

Flunkers: dont worry about it. Life's full of second chances. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start again.

(One exception, of course, is if you're over 16 or 18 and you're only in college or university because your family really wanted you to and you didn't want to let them down. Or because you thought that's what was proper and what you were supposed to do - but you flunked because this studies (or studying, period) just turns out to not be your thing. You hate the subject. You're just not any good at it. You'd rather work with your hands. That kind of thing. Then it might be worth not going back. Even if your folks might be disappointed. Everyone has to find his own road in life...)

Last.....
6. Does failing a year in college is the end of the world....??
Nah...

Nimh

I haven't yet read your replies but the two of them look great!!

Thanks for the input.

I have to agree with you,yes. Thanks for sharing your experience Linkat. May I know what college were you reading in when this occured?

It was a private business college in the Boston area so you can guess correctly that it wasn't a subject of interest - numbers were my area of expertise.

I failed so many classes in highschool it was celabratory if I passes a class, but I never failed a grade.
College was a different story. I failed very few exams and I never failed a class. with the exception of one D my lowest grade was a B.
When I was in college I told my dad that I was getting a 3.0 for a semester and he was asking why I was slipping. I reminded him of the day I came home in highschool and showed him my report card with 3 D's and 1 F. He stopped complaing.
Mind you, I went to college as a non-traditional student. I didn't register for my first class until I was 31.

Hi Ralpheb, When you have time, can you please recount what was your experience like as a non-traditional student? You know the difficulties, challenges etc?

So, I just saw my final examination results. Though I didn't flunk out (like you guys. ) still my performance ......well, I just have to say I could not reach out to my goals.

I am pretty sucked up. You know what guys, I was expected to be among the top three students in class and....(ugh). I can't think how am I going to face my pals and teachers.......its going to be so embarrassing to confront them. I won't be able to keep my head high. I wanna take a break........

Being a non-traditional student was a scary experience. All I had to fall back on was my lack of success in high school.
I started slow taking 6 credits then moving to 9 a semester. As I was doing this I was also working 40+ hours a week as a machinist, and being in the Army Guard. Since I found I had too much free time on my hands I also became a motorcycle instructor.
It took me 4 years to get my AS in Education. But I did it with a 3.5 GPA. I found that my life experiences helped me understand more information. I was able to make connections that the traditional student couldn't.
Oh, I was also a day time student. NONE of my professors gave me any leeway for this. (My sister was a night student and she received less work than me because her professors believed that night students had jobs on the outside.)
transfering to my 4 year college became more of a challenge because I also became a full time student. Twelve credits plus my normal work load was interesting. Luckily my dad was my boss at work and he would put me on work that let the machine do all the work. I did a lot of homework while running some jobs.
Being that I had very little spare time I knew that I had to get my assignments completes as soon as I could or they would not get done. I later found that if I had spare time I couldn't plan my schedule.
I completed with a BA in History and a 3.4 GPA.
The biggest challenge for me was when I was doing my student teaching. Between that and work I was pulling over 80+ hours a week just in work. That did not count commute time. I had to quit my job to finish my last semester because the sleep deprivation was getting to me.
Overall, I felt that going in as a non-traditional student gave me a maturity and a discipline for education that I did not see in very many traditional students.
One quick story: I was in my 4 year college in an economics class. I was trying like hell to get the A, I had a B locked but that's not what I wanted. We were getting exams back and I was pleased with my grade. I heard a couple of students behind me talking about their grades when one of them said "D means degree." That told me a lot about his attitude. Every other non-traditional student I ever met had the same attitude as I did.
Besides me, I have a brother and a sister who were also non traditional students. All 3 of us left our 4 year colleges as cum laude graduates. My poor sister was the bottom of the totem pole with "only" a 3.38. But so far she is the first one to get her MA.
I hope that helps out a little spidey. There are losts of stories but that was the quickest I could do.

I started doing bad in education as soon as I hit year 10, were you had to have chosen your desired courses at year 9 and those would be gcse's. Well anyways, my parents wanted me to take computing (ICT GNVQ), even though I wanted to take History and Geography as I enjoyed those lessons, was always getting B's minimum. My parents continued to argue with me that where will History & Geography take you? They dont pay good etc (you know parents)! My parents kept persuading me to take the IT class, so I did. 6 months into the IT course and I was struggling, struggling like I have never struggled before, units upon units there was too much work. I never understood anything the teacher said, I had failed the IT EXAM twice, it took me three times to pass it and I had studied like hell, I just couldnt understand why I failed it soo many times. Always was asking my mates for help, I dont think I ever did anything else then just ask for my mate to help me.

I hardly ever was able to answer a question when the teacher asked one. I fell back with my studies in english, maths, and science, was struggling so badly to get all coursework done for all subjects. At the end of year 11 GCSE results came in all I got was a B for GCSE ICT GNVQ, english, maths, science I had recieved a 'D'. The day I recieved the report card, I just wanted to die, seriously I felt like I had let down everyone that had respect for me, my sisters felt sorry for me etc, my dad and mum just seemed so angry I was worried they were gonna kick me out of the house, or not believe in my abilties. All I wanted to do was to make my parents proud, but I failed miserably. Hearing my friends get A's, B's tore my heart into pieces, I felt as if I was just human garbage. Like a test drive.

Since I only had GCSE ICT GNVQ pass, all I was able to take in college was ICT (Software Development), through whole summer holiday I was hating myself and too worried to talk to my parents. I enrolled for the IT course, started enjoying the course for about the first 3 months, till my teacher became a pain, when I asked for help, she would tell me to ask a mate (she had this very strange accent you cant understand a word she says), on-top of it the lady couldn't even spell properly, she always said my grammar and spelling was perfect then when anoher teacher checked it he found many errors in grammar. She ended up looking like a fool on front of the other teacher, and then since that day, she had a grudge on me for my whole course, she refused to mark my work, she would kick me out of the lesson when I was 2 minutes late, Id have to wait to get to the next lesson, anyways thanks to her I failed my course, she made me feel not welcome, everyday she would try to complain about my lateness to other teachers, she was always telling me 'You fall mah cose' yeah bad english eh? Thats the way she says 'You failed my course', she called my mate a 'b****' when he refused to leave the class. She seriously was a big headache, other tutors and students complained to edexcel about her but nothing happened.

Well I got kicked out of the course (because I didnt complete a core assignment, I was too embarrased to ask for help, I felt like I'd look like a fool/stupid because everyone already had already done what I was confused about). I had to re-do the first year again, I missed about 5 months of ema payments because of her. My parents were extremely mad at me for losing 5 months of ema, I never really got anything sorted because of my shyness, its seriously a problem for me, it stops me from doing the many things in life I want to.

Well hear I am, re-doing the first year, hating every moment and wondering how will I explain to my parents, that I have failed them yet again. I feel like im a waste of my parents money, time and many other things, I do nothing then keep telling my sisters to study, study, and study, I dont wan them to turn out like me. Everyone has so big expectations of me and I have let them down again. I feel as if I am dumber then everyone else.

1. How did you react on hearing the news?

Felt terrible, but knew it was going to happen. The worst part of was knowing that my parents will get very angry.

2. How did your parents, kins and friends react? Were they supportive or they just sneered at your tragedy?

Well lets just say when I came home I had to give a two hour lecturer on why I failed once again. I could see my parents lost their confidence in me. My sisters kept reassuring me that everything will be fine. My parents were very angry for days. I couldn't sleep at night.

3.What was the aftermath?

Repeated the year.

4.How did you cope? Did you drop out or repeated the year and continued your education? Did you finally finish the course?

Felt gutted, kept asking myself, 'Why did I fail?', 'Why me?', 'What do my parents think of a failure?', 'I dont deserve what I have?' etc. I didnt finish the course.

5.What would your advice be to would-be flunkers and those who have just flunked?

Would-Be flunkers: Think about all the things that matter, what your parents will think of you, who you will let down, the annoyance of doing the same year again heh and watching your fellow pupils a year ahead of you.

Flunkers: Like nimh said, dont worry about it, we were born to make mistakes, I know its hard once it happens, but dont beat yourself about it, everyone has the ability to do well. Happened to me, happens to nearly everyone, and for those that it does not happen to haha lets just say they dont know what 'enjoy yourself' on your free time is. .

Does failing a year in college end the world?

NO WAY, dont believe those movies were they show a pupil he fails his education becomes a thief, drinker etc( End of his life). Failing makes us stronger for when we come back. Hold your chin up, believe in yourself and you can be whatever you want to be. Always do the courses you enjoy doing, dont do the courses your parents want to do or what your mates are doing or what your cousins and uncles want you to do. They dont know, you do.

Live happily.

Well, thank you, Gunnar. It's a long reply and I can't read it before this weekend. Infact, that assignment is long over. But, thanks anyway.

It is, however, strange to me that a thread which was long dead and buried under scores of older pages should suddenly be revived by a newbie. A newbie with one post in total.

Gunnar, were you lead to this thread by a Google search? I just figured that this thread is the first hit Goole registers if you put in "Did you fail a year in college" as the search term.