Just Chatted With Admissions Officer....Q About Probation! Forum

[EricBerry]

Is not ending up in good standing going to get me an auto-ding at a lot of places?

[ArchRoark]

First, how about you find out if you left the school in good standing. Then if you didn't you can worry about the consequences.

[EricBerry]

alright sounds good

[fatduck]

I have a similar question...I attended a college for one year in 2003-2004, and basically stopped attending classes a couple weeks into my second semester. I was too dumb to withdraw from school, unfortunately, so I have a semester of F's that I have to deal with. Fair enough. Since my GPA for that semester was 0.00, my current standing at the school is "Probation" - I did not re-enroll, I enlisted in the Army and 4 years later finished my undergraduate degree at a different institution, and now I am applying to law school. Do I need to clear this up with my old school somehow, or just explain the situation when I answer the question about "have you ever been on academic probation" on all my apps?

I know that my LSAC GPA will include those scores, which brings me down to a 3.1 (sucks, but that's life), but I assumed that would be the only consequence. Am I worse off than I'm thinking because of the probation standing?

[northwood]

did you get a letter from your undergrad saying that you were unwelcome there? If you did, then theres your answer. It sounds like you didnt though, ( im assuming you would not have forgotten something like this) so i think that contact that school ( if possible do it in person) and have them review your file should be something you should do immediately.

[EricBerry]

I just asked the 'rents and they don't remember ever receiving a letter or phone call about it.

[trudat15]

Contact the school in question - Their Dean's office. The letter of good standing is typically a Dean's Certification letter.

[Kohinoor]

I just asked the 'rents and they don't remember ever receiving a letter or phone call about it. It seems like Freshman year would be too early to kick someone out for grades so maybe I was allowed another semester to get off of probation. I also wonder if my subsequent grades could put me in good standing at the first school. I'll ask and report back tomorrow. But my real question is whether or not the fact that i was not in good standing at a school half of decade ago would be that big of a blemish if my final grades themselves are not terrible. I thought that I would be considered equally as any other 3.0 with a small boost for the extreme upward grade trend but the admissions lady seemed to insinuate that it would be a huge problem.

Hard to say how much it matters except that you lose in a tie.

[fatduck]

I spoke to the Dean's office at my school and was told that the only way to change my academic standing would be to appeal to have the semester withdrawn based on extenuating circumstances (medical, death in the family, etc). Unfortunately my only extenuating circumstances are that I was young and foolish, and I don't think those count. So, I'll just have to explain why I'm not in good academic standing with one of my previous institutions, and hope for the best