i just finished my first year engineering and did quite poorly in it. my CA is a 2.5 and my status is "may not continue at university." i spoke to guidance, who said i need to send in a reinstatement letter requesting i be readmitted THIS sept (ie. sept 09)

i am taking eng programming and maro economics in summer school. and doing quite well in them despite my grandfather passing away last weekend. im expecting a 9 in programming and 11 in econ. also, durin the year i was involved in IRC which took away about 4 hours/week.

are these sufficient reasons for me to get back in this sept? not specifically to eng, i will be applying to humanities and soc sci too. is it hard to get reinstated without sitting a year out? what r my chances?

I'm pretty sure you need at least a 3.5 or something for reinstatement into engineering. If you get below a 3, you aren't allowed to continue in any program at McMaster. I think the most you can do is wait a year and apply again to the school.

Lets hope I'm wrong about that. Good luck!

I have a question. Where does it state your status that you may not continue at university? I need to know because I'm in the exact same situation as you. My Cumulative Average is also below a 3. However, nowhere on my final grade report does it state that I may not continue at university. Also, did you get on probation first?

right after the marks it says stauts, you will see it

it says
results: (then your status)

Mine says:

RESULTS: NO RESULT OF SESSION AVAILABLE

Could this be because I deferred an exam?

@angela

its right below the list of my marks and it says
RESULTS: MAY NOT CONTINUE AT UNIVERSITY.

and no, i was not put on academic probation ie. i didnt recieve anything from
the uni saying that if i dont pull my marks up, i'll get kicked out during the year!

are you taking summer school as well/ applying to reinstate for
this sept? it really sucks, especially since i dont hv a real reason as to why i did
so poorly other than i just couldn't handle living on rez etc etc.

sigh.

Oh my.

Looks like we're on the same boat! I think the only reason my grade report does not say "May not continue at university" yet because I deferred and exam and still have to write it. I'm 100% sure my status will change to "May not continue at university" after I write the deferred exam.

I talked to an academic advisor from Mac, and she told me to apply to Ryerson University and go there for a year. I told her that I do not have a valid reason for having done so poorly in my first year. She told me to just aim for an 80% average at Ryerson University, and then apply for reinstatement to Mac for September 2010. She said if I get good grades there, it won't matter if I don't have a good reason for reinstatement. She said they will most definitely take me back at Mac. And fortunately, Mac will accept the credits you take at another school so it's not like you will have to start all over again from first year or anything.

I did poorly for the same reasons you did. I lived on rez, and I got way too carried away and had way too much fun for my own good. But I am definitely going to get myself out of this mess by going to Ryerson for a year and doing my very best. (So that I can return to Mac the following year)

Hey guys ... I'm on the same boat as the original poster. My avg was 2.9 in Eng I ... however, I wish to switch to Economics. The reason why I didn't do well in Eng is because I don't have the acumen to do well in such courses. I wanted to switch after first semester but I did decent enough that my parents forced me to stay in. However, second semester was much harder.

@angela
yup. same. but maybe if u ace the deferred exam you can at least get a 3.0?

are these actual courses at ryerson? as in, are there classes that you have to attend...its not just online courses?i would prefer that. my guidance counselor suggested online courses at ryerson or going to college and she wasn't "sure if all your credits can be transferred."

and how do you apply to go to ryerson for just a year?

@drig

heyyy whadddaya know! im in eng too. my parents wanted me to stay in it too, thats why i did... eng is just too much work, especially when you don't want it.

hey myinteger

when did you talk to your guidance counsillar? I found out my grades yesterday and couldn't talk to anyone since the offices are closed.

and I definitely don't want to go anywhere else. Can't I convince them that I can do well in Economics? Put me on academic probation or something.

well drig, i talked to guidance in the beginning of may cus i knew that my GPA would be less than 3.0.

she said that it would be helpful to take courses (in your case econ) in the first sem of summer and ace them to show that you are capable of doing well at the university level.
the procedure is that you fill out a form and write a letter to Social Science faculty saying what went wrong, how your fixing the problem, what you've done that shows u've "changed" now, why ur applying to Econ etc.

guess, its best to go talk to sally on monday.

hmm


I'm not taking summer courses right now but I am registered for Macro Econ for second semester of summer. I took Micro during the year and I did well in it ... so can I use that to prove that I can do well in courses that suit me rather than engineering courses?

But yea, you are correct. I'm going to talk to Sally tommorow. I'm just extremely stressed at the moment because not being able to stay in McMaster next year will pretty much ruin me. I just hope that I can stay in and do Econ.

Angela, myInteger and drig:

Never be afraid to beg.

Go see your academic advisors, explain your situation (in particular, mention that you're getting the hang of university and your marks are improving in the summer), and just ask for the letter...don't assume you're done for without knowing for sure!

Exceptions can definitely be made, you just need to go and fight for it.

Mowicz

I'm not sure about Angela and myInteger but I'm extremely encouraged by your words. There is no doubt in my mind that I can prove to them that I can do well if I'm allowed to continue on with Economics.

Hi, I'm glad I found a thread like this because, unfortunately, I'm in the same situation and I really need help. I'm sure there are many people out there with the same concern as well.

I was enrolled in Life Science I in first year and I had not taken any of the chemistry courses because they were too difficult for me. So I took other electives instead and I was planning to complete the two chemistry courses in second year. Once I was finished with exams, I felt good about my marks until I checked it a few hours ago and I found out I have a GPA of 2.1 with 2 failed courses and that I cannot continue at the university. This is really discouraging and I don't know what actions I should take. Like should I call the academic advisor today (Monday) or something? How do I apply for reinstatement?

Thanks in advance, any help would be greatly appreciated at this time!