I failed two of my courses last semester, one which is a prerequisite to a course which I am suppose to be taking this term and one which is essential to basically all second year science programs. My other three courses were not bad, but they weren't that great either. I stopped by BSB-129 today and spoke with Nic Armstrong and he suggested that because I have less than a 3.0 CA, I should cancel my term 2 courses and just apply again as a Level 1 Science student in September 2011. I'm thinking, is this what I should really do? I was planning on retaking the two courses I failed + the one other course in the summer, but he seemed really convincing that I'm practically hopeless and should cancel my term 2 courses before it's too late (Jan 11-no charge, Mar 11-100% charge).

I got off on a really bad start in my first semester here at Mac..especially with the new environment and all, but I think I'm ready to pick up the slack now this term. I'm just really afraid that in the end, my efforts won't be enough and I don't end up getting into even a regular second year program, let alone an honours program...:crying_ani m:

To be honest, once you get a zero on your transcript it just kinda sticks to your cgpa for the rest of your university life. If I were you, Id do apply for first year in september again and re-do the entire thing. In the end, noone really cares how long you took to finish your undergrad. But if you rush it now and you have a really low average when you graduate...It can really hurt you.
I mean we're all in sciency programs..we need the average!! :(

GOODLUCK

I agree with ishk - and they said it really well. What will effect you in the end isn't how many years you spent doing your undergrad, but what your marks are. You probably don't know yet if you want to go to grad school or apply for internships, and those can be greatly affected by your marks. I would reapply in September 2011.

If I reapply in Sept. 2011 to Mac (or apply to another university), will the two zeroes still be in my transcript?

Originally Posted by Mint3

If I reapply in Sept. 2011 to Mac (or apply to another university), will the two zeroes still be in my transcript?

Yes, it'll still be in your transcript. Is Armstrong one of your academic advisors?

Basically the reason why you should drop your 2nd term courses and just "restart" is because you won't be able to move on to 2nd year due to the prerequisite. It's basically just to save money and you can concentrate on getting a job to fund your university career from now until September.

Talk to your academic advisor to figure out all the steps you need to take.

Usually any marks you get are on your transcript forever. However, if you are reinstated in your program (not sure if this is what your advisor meant) then any marks less than 4 prior to your reinstatement are not used in the calculation of your CA. That's how it works in engineering anyway, I'm not sure how the science faculty handles it.

Also keep in mind that you are not formally evaluated until the end of the academic year. So if your CA were to increase enough by then you should be fine.