Hi all . My first year didn't go the way i thought. I failed most of my courses and got kicked out. I took a year off to pay for all the tuition fee and other expenses. This year i want to apply for reinstatement and i talked to one of the academic advisors and they told me that i need to take Math 265 = Math 1ZA3 , Math266 = Math 1ZB3 , Math 270 = 1ZC3, Computer Sci 268 = Eng 1D04 at Athabesca University. Can you guys please advice me : 1) What's the minimum number of courses do i need to take to prove that i can perform well at McMaster if given reinstatement (considering i get all A's in the courses) ? 2) I had a medical problem(kidney stones) during my first year(i know it's not something to fail courses over) and i do have bills and emergency room papers with me . Do you guys think that including this in my letter of reinstatement would make any kind of difference ? Thanks to everyone.

For reinstatement letter, the common mistake for applicants is to focus on the reason why they performed badly instead of how and what actions to ensure future success.

Don't make the same mistake.

Having a solid reason on why you flunk out is great (don't just put because you didn't care or partied too hard), but reserve only a small paragraph to it. The rest of the letter, state what you learned from the experience, your future academic goal and how you will achieve it, and show them why you want to be in engineering so bad that you are willing to repeat first year.

As for the minimum amount of courses, its zero. Provided your entrance marks is above average and your letter follow the above guideline. Of course, results might vary.

Thanks ! My entrance marks were about 95%. And i'm thinking about taking 2 courses one for maths and the other for computers. The online courses are quite expensive, $750 each. This and provided i write a convincing letter , how do you like my chances of getting reinstated?

If your kidney stones didn't really have anything to do with you failing all those courses, then don't mention it because it'll sound like you're just trying to make excuses. As you said, it's not really something that people would tend to think would result in a lot of trouble academically, but I don't know your exact situation so I really can't say that for sure.

There is no minimum number of courses, but make sure you don't take so many that you end up doing poorly in them, because that will hurt your chances of reinstatement.

You haven't said the reasons for why you did badly in first year, or what your plan is for ensuring that it doesn't happen again if you are reinstated, so nobody can even begin to judge what your chances are. You obviously don't have to elaborate if you're not comfortable doing so, but just keep in mind that we can't guess at your chances without knowing what happened.

Originally Posted by starfish

If your kidney stones didn't really have anything to do with you failing all those courses, then don't mention it because it'll sound like you're just trying to make excuses. As you said, it's not really something that people would tend to think would result in a lot of trouble academically, but I don't know your exact situation so I really can't say that for sure.

There is no minimum number of courses, but make sure you don't take so many that you end up doing poorly in them, because that will hurt your chances of reinstatement.

You haven't said the reasons for why you did badly in first year, or what your plan is for ensuring that it doesn't happen again if you are reinstated, so nobody can even begin to judge what your chances are. You obviously don't have to elaborate if you're not comfortable doing so, but just keep in mind that we can't guess at your chances without knowing what happened.

First year , i missed a lot of lectures, didn't go to tutorials or labs .My finals were okay i guess ,about 60% of the questions were correct.The reason is a bit comical; i kinda thought i was in love . Obviously, the girl ditched me and i was devastated for about the whole school year. I talked to Sally(didnt tell her the love story) , she advised me to drop a couple of courses , which i did. But still , i failed most of the remaining courses. Then in 2nd term , my brother died in a car accident. It was a total emotional breakdown. Needless to say, i failed my second term too . I did apply for a reinstatement the same year but didn't included the passing away in my letter. I thought that i'd be using his death as an excuse and a disrespect to him.It just didn't feel right . I only said that i partied a lot and travelled and as a result i was denied. Anyway, this year , my head is straight and i'm more focused. I want to make something out of myself. Can you also please tell if obtaining A's in 2 online courses would be enough to demonstrate my readiness or should i go for say maybe 3 or 4 ? Thanks again. PS: i know i was a sissy back then concerning the whole love scene , but hey it teaches you a lesson , doesn't it? =)

Originally Posted by kakarot

First year , i missed a lot of lectures, didn't go to tutorials or labs .My finals were okay i guess ,about 60% of the questions were correct.The reason is a bit comical; i kinda thought i was in love . Obviously, the girl ditched me and i was devastated for about the whole school year. I talked to Sally(didnt tell her the love story) , she advised me to drop a couple of courses , which i did. But still , i failed most of the remaining courses. Then in 2nd term , my brother died in a car accident. It was a total emotional breakdown. Needless to say, i failed my second term too . I did apply for a reinstatement the same year but didn't included the passing away in my letter. I thought that i'd be using his death as an excuse and a disrespect to him.It just didn't feel right . I only said that i partied a lot and travelled and as a result i was denied. Anyway, this year , my head is straight and i'm more focused. I want to make something out of myself. Can you also please tell if obtaining A's in 2 online courses would be enough to demonstrate my readiness or should i go for say maybe 3 or 4 ? Thanks again. PS: i know i was a sissy back then concerning the whole love scene , but hey it teaches you a lesson , doesn't it? =)

I'm so sorry about your brother. I definitely understand not wanting to use his death as an excuse - my younger brother and sister died several years ago, and it just doesn't feel right, even for something as simple as people making stupid comments. Try to keep in mind though that the letter is not about excuses, it's explaining the reason(s) why you did poorly, and it's a pretty understandable reaction to the death of a family member. It might even help if you explained why you didn't include that in your original reinstatement letter - I'm not sure if they look at previous attempts at reinstatement, but if they do, explaining might really help. Also, taking a year off and taking time to deal with everything allows you to be in a much better position when you start school again, and this is definitely something you should emphasize in your letter. As someone said earlier, it's important to focus on why things should turn out better this time, and why you won't just fail all your courses a second time. Part of that is recognizing what went wrong the first time (this includes problems in first term, because they'll see that your grades were low even before your brother died), but mostly it's explaining how you're going to fix it.

I don't think they would look at A's in two online courses and say that it's not good enough. It does show that you're capable of doing well in university courses, and taking two courses and doing well in them is probably safer than doing 3 or 4 and doing mediocre.

Also, about the kidney stones...that seems like an "excuse", not a reason

Good luck with everything! I hope it works out for you.

Originally Posted by starfish

I'm so sorry about your brother. I definitely understand not wanting to use his death as an excuse - my younger brother and sister died several years ago, and it just doesn't feel right, even for something as simple as people making stupid comments. Try to keep in mind though that the letter is not about excuses, it's explaining the reason(s) why you did poorly, and it's a pretty understandable reaction to the death of a family member. It might even help if you explained why you didn't include that in your original reinstatement letter - I'm not sure if they look at previous attempts at reinstatement, but if they do, explaining might really help. Also, taking a year off and taking time to deal with everything allows you to be in a much better position when you start school again, and this is definitely something you should emphasize in your letter. As someone said earlier, it's important to focus on why things should turn out better this time, and why you won't just fail all your courses a second time. Part of that is recognizing what went wrong the first time (this includes problems in first term, because they'll see that your grades were low even before your brother died), but mostly it's explaining how you're going to fix it.

I don't think they would look at A's in two online courses and say that it's not good enough. It does show that you're capable of doing well in university courses, and taking two courses and doing well in them is probably safer than doing 3 or 4 and doing mediocre.

Also, about the kidney stones...that seems like an "excuse" , not a reason

Good luck with everything! I hope it works out for you.

I'm sorry for your loss . Losing someone so close to us is the hardest thing in the world. I hope you're doing okay . As you advised , I would definitely keep the focus on stating the circumstances that led to the failed courses and how i won't fail courses a second time. I would also leave out the instance about the stones as well as even to me it sounds exactly like an excuse . Anyway, thanks for all the info, your time and your wishes. I wish you the best of luck for your future =).

A death in the family is a perfectly legitimate reason for doing badly in school. I respect you for not wanting to "play that card", but it's a genuine excuse.

I helped write two reinstatement letters for friends so I am familiar with the reinstatement process and I can tell you there are really no rules. I helped my one friend get back in after a year off during which she did jack all but work a minimum wage job. I believe they care less about what you've done than what you've learned and how you've grown since you left Mac. Focus on that, and show them how this makes you an ideal candidate for starting over.

I'd recommend maybe taking two classes if you don't think you can handle all four between now and June and doing really well in them, but honestly I think you'll get back with a well-written, honest letter. PM me if you need help writing it!

Originally Posted by Kudos

A death in the family is a perfectly legitimate reason for doing badly in school. I respect you for not wanting to "play that card", but it's a genuine excuse.

I helped write two reinstatement letters for friends so I am familiar with the reinstatement process and I can tell you there are really no rules. I helped my one friend get back in after a year off during which she did jack all but work a minimum wage job. I believe they care less about what you've done than what you've learned and how you've grown since you left Mac. Focus on that, and show them how this makes you an ideal candidate for starting over.

I'd recommend maybe taking two classes if you don't think you can handle all four between now and June and doing really well in them, but honestly I think you'll get back with a well-written, honest letter. PM me if you need help writing it!

Thanks =) You're right. Doing well in a couple would be far better than doing average in 4 and then there's the financial aspect as well. Thanks again for your offer, i'll gladly accept it =)