Anyone else getting refusals to connect? Been having trouble reaching the boards today.
Thread tax: Sickness + depression = missed a midterm. Hoping the prof' lets me retake it, or else I'm basically failing this quarter.
cant retake it.
Going to fail.
Fuck.
If nothing else, you can always retake the class. Even if you've got some kind of financial aid that's based on academic performance, you generally get one mulligan so long as you jump through a few hoops and fill out some paperwork. Talk to an academic councilor at the school and at the financial aid desk, they should be able to point you in the right direction. Also check the school's academic policies regarding this stuff.
And don't be put off by wording in the rules that makes it sound like you've got to super convince somebody that you're worthy of another chance. I was in the same boat a while back and what I didn't realize at the time was that they basically rubber-stamp these requests so long as it's the first time and you go through the motions. I've seen people whose excuse was something like: "Well, I just got kinda bored and started skipping class." or "I just partied too much that semester." and they got a second chance, so
you should be fine. Bring documentation like a not from your doctor/therapist if you've got it, but don't worry too much if you don't.
If anything, failing--rather than squeaking by with a low grade--might be a good thing because IIRC a law was passed that prevents students from retaking a class if they've already received a passing grade. I remember my into to engineering teacher telling us about that and advising us that if we thought we were falling behind in a class it might be better to intentionally fail so we could retake it and come out with a better GPA.
Also, I highly recommend visiting the student health center and making an appointment for
counseling counseling. It is exceedingly common for college students to get overwhelmed and depressed, and if nothing else having documented visits to the councilor gives you something to back up your claims that you were having a hard time when you're trying to appeal.
I realize it's probably a bit late for this, but in the future go in early. The councilors tend to get swamped especially towards the end of a semester, and if you wait until you're actually having problems and feel like you need help the waiting list may be too long for you to actually get in. Better to start going to regular appointments before it becomes a problem that wait til you're having a total meltdown to try and navigate the bureaucracy.
And yes, definitely inquire about retaking the test as well when you talk to the academic councilor. Some schools have specific policies about things like that and many times teachers will try to do bypass academic policies they don't like. I actually had a teacher who openly refused to work with the department of disabled student services, which is a violation of
federal law, to say nothing of school policy, and nobody but me tried to take it up with DSPS or any other authority on campus.
Point being, don't just take a failing grade lying down--especially if you've got a genuine excuse like illness or personal hardship. There are policies in place specifically to help people in your situation, but you've got to stand up and ask for it or they
will let you just slink off in defeat while pocketing your tuition.
