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RTW

Inchan
edited August 2013 in General
Hello everyone at talkSFU.

This has been my first year at SFU (or in any institution) under the Environmental Sciences program and quite frankly, it's been horrible, and now I believe I am going to be asked by the institution to RTW. I suppose this is mainly due to the fact that:

- never studied, despite doing homework
- lack of motivation and found the classes uninteresting
- review material due to history of academics

I want to know what I can do to start fresh. I've told my father, who's taken it really badly at first, but then lectured me about how life's biggest failures can turn into great successes, about this. But honestly I'm clueless as to what to do. I want to start fresh, under a new set of studies that interest me. I was wondering how I could start fresh under a new concentrated set of undergraduate studies (I.e. criminology). Of course I'll also be talking to an academic counselor, but I would appreciate some input from people who have transferred/switched degrees of study
and/or have been asked to RTW.

I've got a lot of mixed emotions racing through my mind, so hopefully what I've written isn't illegible and makes sense (trying to keep calm despite the mixed feelings of shame, despair, anguish and wanting to turn over a new leaf).

tl;dr

I've been asked to RTW. Is there a way so that I can start on a clean slate at SFU?

Comments

  • 112233
    Yes, enroll in the BOT program, its a program for students rtw. You're not alone. Google back on track SFU and you should find it. If you get sent an email saying you are rtw you will be invited to sign up. But go check it out now. this sort of stuff happens all the time, I know it sucks but you can improve.
  • BeAnBeAnBeAnBeAn
    McDonald's. It's the only way.
  • Inchan
    @BeAnBeAn:

    No need to be a complete ass-wipe. Things like this happen to even the best of us who've gotten straight A's be it in AP or IB. The issue for me was the transition to the boring university life since virtually everything was review. As a result I slacked off. It was something I've done well in before, so where was the need to try? I thought wrong. Happens more often than not. Is it so hard just to be polite and provide some legitimate good advice?

    Honestly, be humane for once.
  • crimematic
    What was your plan for after graduation? I'm just curious because environmental science and criminology are very different. 

    PS I'm a CRIM major 
  • BeAnBeAnBeAnBeAn
    @Inchan See, my advice was good. What I said made you think deep and fuel you to go try again.



    or not, bah bah bah bah bah I'm lovin' it.
  • Inchan
    @crimematic
    When I first entered SFU, I wanted to go somewhere "scienc-y", primarily due to the fact that like the typical average Asian, I was pressured to do so by my parents for an eventual transfer into UBC. However the sciences never interested me, despite being my forte in IB. Fact remains that it was boring and cumbersome having to do the same things I've already learned and as a result I slacked off with no motivation. The results of these actions speak for themselves.

    I do regret not taking courses that interested me greatly, however as of now I am looking to become either of the following: an officer at a local police station/RCMP or forensics analyst.

    PS. Sorry for the late reply. Been thinking quite a bit of what I do want to become/achieve.
  • ezc
    Well, once you get through BOT, I would recommend just taking a bunch of courses from different faculties to see what you like and try to do well in every class.

    Based on what you've mentioned you're looking at becoming ...

    If you're planning on becoming a police officer, it would be best to apply to the RCMP (or whatever police force you want) and go into training.  University isn't really the place for that, unless you just want to delay that until later.

    If by forensic analyst, you mean one of the forensic analysts that work in labs for criminal cases & such, you typically need to have an honours degree and do very well academically.  This is so your analyses can stand up to scrutiny in court.  It's very competitive to get a position like that.  I don't think SFU offers a clear route for this.

    Best of luck!
  • crimematic
    edited August 2013
    I'm not sure what @ezc meant about university not being the place for becoming a police officer. I'm not as familiar with the RCMP minimum requirements but all municipal departments require at least 30 college/university credits. Keeping in mind that is the minimum and all departments, including the RCMP prefer a full degree. As for going into training, you have to be hired first to begin training. Although, the Justice Institute does have a similar program which you can look into. If you want to be a police officer then I would recommend doing your bachelors in CRIM. Keep in mind, becoming a police officer is no where near as easy people say it is.
  • ezc
    edited August 2013
    For RCMP you can go straight to Sask.  I don't know about Vancouver Police since I'm not from the Lower Mainland.  

    But even if some police forces require 30 credits, it might be a better option to do them at a college as opposed to university.  University has a higher cost and university credits aren't very valuable if you don't finish a degree.  That doesn't mean you can't do university, it's just not necessarily the best option (especially if you choose RCMP and can get started right away).
  • crimematic
    Oh I didn't know that about the RCMP. Like I said I'm not as familiar with their process. I volunteer for a municipal department which only hires a few people per year. Of those, usually 1 or 2 are exempt officers and the other 1 or 2 are new recruits that usually have their bachelors in CRIM and experience as a jail guard or something similar so I guess it really depends on whether you choose the RCMP or municipal route @inchan
  • BeAnBeAnBeAnBeAn
    You should check out @lakerfanatic. She's hot.
  • ezc
    I did a quick check and it seems like only police forces in Metro Van require post-secondary.  RCMP, OPP, Toronto, Calgary, Victoria, and Edmonton don't have it as a minimum requirement.
  • BeAnBeAnBeAnBeAn
    ^No wonder they are so incompetent and need to ring in 13 shots in 9 seconds on a teenager with a small knife and then taze him AFTER. hahahahaha uneducated pigs.
  • lunapt
    beanbean so mad
  • BeAnBeAnBeAnBeAn
    edited August 2013
    You gotta be heartless to not be mad over that shit. Police retardation happens way too often in a democratic "free" society.
  • crimematic
    I remember my CRIM 131 prof telling us about how a study showed that police officers with a university degree are less likely to use force 
  • BeAnBeAnBeAnBeAn
    Hm not sure if I remember that from crim 131 but it clearly makes sense. 90% of cops nowadays are all brawn and no brain, so they resort to force as their only option and sometimes lethally. Why do you think they choose to be police officers in the first place.
  • AnonCAS
    To be honest SFU is quite hard on first years. Which is why I took Summer term off just to cool off and settle things in personal life. I got AP 1st semester and GAS after 2nd semester just by the skin of my teeth. 2.0CGPA with 2.33 TGPA. I'm a comp sci student trying to transfer into SIAT for game designing purposes and SFU isn't too friendly when it comes to transfer for that I discovered that I stunk at cmpt since it isn't like high school ICT and my math well lets say SFU isn't friendly when it comes to this department. So to sum things up you are not alone man. Hang in there and come back and show SFU and or the university institutions their flaws and hope it gets reformed for the better.

    Sincerely,
    Fellow 1st year
  • AnonCAS
    edited August 2013
    To sum it up hang in there man!
  • ezc
    SFU is actually one of the best schools in NA for internal transfers.  It's programs are among the most flexible when it comes to course selection.  You can pretty much take whatever courses you want, 3 semesters throughout the year.
  • BeAnBeAnBeAnBeAn
    Yeah "pretty much" take whatever courses you want, when really you can only get into the course you want like 1/3 semesters and it probably a really shitty schedule.
  • ezc
    Second years who don't have a scholarship have a pretty rough time.  Everyone else has a pretty good shot at getting in a class, unless they're stuck in dept. that doesn't schedule well or have very low GPAs, especially if you plan well.  If you're lucky enough to get a scholarship, you're golden.
  • BeAnBeAnBeAnBeAn
    My GPA is the highest among my friends and the only difference is I get my enrollment time 4 hours earlier than them. That isn't shit.
  • 112233
    Just calm down, as soon as you hit enough credits for third year you'll have prime selection. It doesn't go by gpa, it goes by credits unless you have a scholarship/athlete/first year.
  • BeAnBeAnBeAnBeAn
    I am calm, lol. 3/4 of my courses are requirements so I'm satisfied I guess but not the best schedule and other higher priority courses were taken up. EZC said it's also by GPA though, is he right or wrong? I've heard GPA also somewhere else.
  • ezc
    Sorry, I should have been clearer.  When I said it was GPA, I was referring more to being able to get the open scholarship.  If you look on your advising transcript, it tells you what category your are in, which is based on credits.  The category levels decide the general order of class selection.  However, it wouldn't surprise me if a higher GPA gets you a time earlier in the day or one of the earlier days for your category.  SFU doesn't let out those specific details.  Once a student gets out of second year, they're usually ok.
  • biochemsfu
    hang in there, i can tell u from experience if your are doing something because u feel pressured from your parents it will backfire on you.  people who are not at sfu don't understand what it is really like..they think its like it was 40 years ago. degrees arnt always gonna get you the best job as everyone requires experience these days.   i enrolled in biochemistry 4 years ago and i can tell u it has been a struggle.  i always hated chemistry so the last 4 years has been pretty miserable.  now im coming up into my mid 20's and i will never get that time back so just do something your are truly interested in, not what your parents want. 

    as for registration, sfu is known to be one of the worst schools for that.  not sure why they have a summer semester as i tried to take some 4th year biochem classes and they only offered 1. it also pisses me off that im required to take a computing science class to graduate.  mad props to those computing science students.   

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