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First year student about to fail a course, need advice!
This is my first semester at university and I am about to fail a course. I still have a term paper to do for the course, but I am doing so bad that even if I get a good mark on the term paper I will still fail. So, is it even worth it to attempt the term paper knowing that I will fail anyway? Does it matter if I get 10% in a course as opposed to a 49%, since they are both fails anyway? How much does failing courses/getting bad marks in first year matter, especially if I wish to transfer into another faculty? I am currently a communications student doing very poorly this semester, getting a little above 50% in my other classes, but I have realized that I do not wish to continue studies in this faculty after this semester and plan on either transferring to computer sciences or dropping out and pursuing something else. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Comments
Also, SFU allows up to five repeats. So if you fail one course it’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things but you don’t want to make it a habit otherwise you’ll be screwed. You can reevaluate where you went wrong and retake the course to boost your GPA if worst comes to worst. Just tough it out this semester and who knows, you might pass the course with a D. Some profs will bump the class up a letter grade. For example, in BPK 110 I’m pretty sure Diana Bedoya bumped everyone up a letter grade or some percentage because I got an A- and I’m pretty sure I was supposed to get a B+. Therefore, if you’re getting 49% and your prof bumps everyone up you will get a D. So I would try your best to get 50% or even 49% because sometimes the profs will do that especially for first year courses.
Not to sound like an asshole but I honestly think you not doing well may not have anything to do with your major. First semester/first year is the hardest. I’m a business major and after my first semester I wanted to drop out of school but I kept going and didn’t give up and now I’m halfway through my degree and doing a lot better. Maybe you just need to re-evaluate if you want to study your major and why you’re struggling (freshman transition, procrastination, not passionate about what you’re studying, study habits, etc.) . At SFU, you can take a semester off. I would recommend you consider taking the next semester off and just working. If you’ve come to
SFU straight from
High school that’s not always enough time for someone to actually THINK about what they want to do with their life or at least university.
If you fail the course or do really badly you may be placed on academic probation. You won’t get kicked out of SFU.
However, if you have extenuating circumstances you can WE. So if you have extenuating circumstances this semester you may be able to apply for WE. I would recommend talking to an academic advisor regardless of what the outcome is / your decision to make sure you’re on the right track.