OMG! I Failed a Class! Now What Do I Do?

How could this happen to me?

College is harder than high school.  If you are living on campus, you are now also in charge of setting priorities and managing your time without the safety net of your loving parent.  Because you are often taking only 3 or 4 or 5 classes, you seem to have a lot of free time.  And you were successful in high school, so just doing what you did in high school seemed like it should be enough, right?

Actually, college SHOULD be different.  In general, you cover twice as much content during one semester of college as compared to how much to cover in a high school class.  And while it looks like you have more time on your hands because of the lower number of classes, in actuality, the classes are designed to keep you busy 35+ hours per week. In fact, you should plan to work independently (or in groups) two hours for every hour of class time.  So, if your class meets three times a week for an hour each time, you should plan to work an additional six hours a week on readings, assignments, project and pondering.  Those of you on a credit hour system can do the math pretty easily: if you are taking 12 credit hours, you will be studying an additional 24 hours for a 36 hour work week.  If you are taking 18 credit hours, you'll be working 36 hours on your own for a total of 54 hours.  College is really a full-time job if you want to get the most out of your experience.

"College is really a full-time job"

Figuring out the Consequences

Do this Search:

​<<Your College Name>> academic probation

So, you're here because you failed a class, or maybe almost failed a class, or maybe just didn't get the "straight A's" that you used to get in high school.  What now?  Well, it depends on how many classes you failed, where your GPA is, and what your school's academic policies are with regards to GPA.  Policies are unique to each school, so you need to find and understand the policy at your school for your program.  Make sure if you are in the school of nursing, you are not looking at policies for the college of liberal arts; if you are an undergraduate, you are not looking at graduate policies.  The easiest way to find the details of the policies at your school is to do a search for

"<<Your College Name>> academic probation" 

In most cases, if this search does not get you directly to the relevant information, you are only a couple a clicks away from the right information.

Academic Probation: What is it?

What's academic probation?  It's a status for students who are struggling enough that the college is concerned that they will not be able to successfully complete their degree if things don't get turned around.  In general, it is a GPA lower than 2.0, or a failing grade accompanied by an additional unsatisfactory (below a C) grade.  It's an opportunity to reflect on what is happening, and to get organized with strategies that are likely to succeed in getting better academic results in the next term.  Most colleges give you a semester to produce better results, but the risk of not improving your grades is that you could get dropped, that is, you could be disenrolled from the college.

Take academic probation seriously.  It's a wake up call that something needs adjustment.

So, What Really  Went Wrong? Personal Challenges.

Be honest about what really happened.

So what do you do?  The first step is to figure out what went wrong.  Did you actually put in two hours of work for every hour of class time?  If not, why not?  You might have over-scheduled yourself in other activities (including paid work); you might have decided that you never studied in high school so you figured that would work for college; you might have tried to study but found yourself consistently distracted; and so on.  Be honest about what really happened, so that you can put in place plans to overcome the problem.  If you're not exactly sure of what happened, ask some of your classmates what they observed.  If you were mostly over-scheduled, then pare down the number of non-academic activities to less than 10 hours total.  If you were highly distractable, find a better place for you to study, like the library or at a study room on campus.  Talk to your academic dean and your college/major advisors for ideas on what resources are available on campus to help you achieve a more successful semester.

What Else Went Wrong? Potential Institutional Challenges.

What if you did put in the time and still did poorly?  This situation could point to many possible factors, including unaddressed issues of mental health like anxiety; or learning disabilities like dyslexia, dyspraxia, adhd, and the like; or even physical disabilities that affect your ambulation, endurance, or access.  What is NOT likely is that "you just didn't want it enough" or "you just aren't smart enough."  You earned admission to your school based on their careful review and assessment that you DO have what it takes to be successful. ​And really, nobody wants to fail a class.

The problem is not your intelligence or your laziness.

Are some of the problems too big to solve on your own?  Help is available.

If you are not being successful because you have challenges that have less to do with your academic ability and more to do with how you are "wired" not matching "things are done," it's time to consider securing reasonable accommodations through the college's Disability Services department.  Most schools want to provide the reasonable accommodations that could help you be more successful, like taking your tests in a quieter environment, providing texts in an audible format, or moving classrooms to an accessible space. 

​Even if they are not happy to do it, they are required to do so by federal law if they accept any federal funds that cover your tuition.  Furthermore, they are not allowed to retaliate against you for needing or asking for the reasonable accommodations.  It's in everyone's interest that you successfully complete your college degree and get a good job so that you can be a productive taxpayer one day.  So you have a responsibility to identify what you need to be successful.

The world needs you to be successful.

Setting Up Success: Personal Responsibility

How do you do that?  There are things you can do on your own, such as securing appropriate medical treatment, therapies, and practices.  You should do that.  

A good place to start is your pediatrician or family doctor.  Tell them what went wrong at school in terms of physical health, mental health, distractability, and so on.  Talk about things that you knew you needed to do but did not seem to be able to get done.  Talk about how you wish things have turned out.  And talk about whether you have identified issues that could use a closer look by a specialist.

One specialist that you should definitely look into is a psychotherapist with experience working with college students like you.  You should find someone who understands your interests and your priorities and with whom you could develop a trusting relationship.  Your psychotherapist can help you understand how things are going, create strategies to improve how things are going, and simply help you document what is going wrong so that you can express that to other members of your healthcare team.  At this stage of the pandemic, most psychotherapists can meet via videoconference, so they will be able to continue to meet with you once you are back on campus.

​The other specialists that you need will depend on what you are experiencing.

Setting Up Success: Institutional Responsibility

At the same time, there are also things that the school will do to help  make things more manageable. 

You will need to get registered with the college's department that oversees accommodations and disability services.  They will need documentation from your doctors identifying the medical and behavioral conditions that underlie your need for accommodations, describing the disabling functional impacts that your conditions entail. 

The college accommodations specialist will be able to help you anticipate the problems that may arise as a result of your situation, and identify ways to neutralize the problems.  So, if your anxiety makes it impossible to complete an exam in the regular exam room, they can help you make arrangements to take tests in an "alternate setting" that provides less distractions and allows you to take breaks to keep yourself calm.  If you have trouble reading long texts, they can secure audible versions of your texts.  If your intermittent migraines or IBS cause you to lose several days of consciousness a month, they can help you secure extensions for work that comes due during an attack.  The key is to be specific about what could go wrong so that plans can be made to deal with the situation.

A Note About Anxiety

I have worked with many students who struggle with anxiety. 

Anxiety is often under-treated for a variety of reasons.  Some people don't  like the idea of medications.  Others think that overcoming anxiety is matter of will power or character.  Still others think it shows weakness and will prevent you from seeking future opportunities.  Some think working with a therapist is some sort of quackery.

Here's the bottom line: you are better off doing well academically while treating your anxiety than you would be bombing classes on a regular basis.  Failing academically takes a terrible toll on your self esteem, and it is an exceptionally expensive way to do school because classes need to be retaken (or worse yet, you give up and never get your college degree). 

In my experience, anxiety is one of the more dangerous conditions to your academic success and to your overall well-being.  Please find the courage to pursue practices, therapies, and medications that help you work to your full potential. 

Navigating All of It.

All the little details involved in sorting out your academic status, changing your habits, securing appropriate healthcare, and securing appropriate accommodations can be overwhelming.  I work with students sort out their challenges, discern their interests and strengths, and secure the administrative support they need to get back on  solid footing.  If I can be of service on your journey, please contact me.