Terminated from Graduate School with No Warning

[Pillsbury]

This summer I began a graduate school program consisting of two 5-week summer semesters, a fall semester, and a spring semester. My first semester was a 5-week summer semester requiring 3 classes. I received two B-'s and one B resulting in a 2.78 GPA. The grad school program requires a 3.0 after each semester. For some reason I thought it was a 3.0 for graduation which was my fault. I had a one-week break after summer semester before fall semester. Less than one hour before my first class of fall semester I received an email from the dean of the university informing me not to go to class because I was being terminated from the program. I was surprised and heartbroken. I was so excited for my program at my dream school.

I chatted with the dean of my specific program and associate dean/professor and they seemed to be on my side. In fact, the dean of my program said he was notified my GPA fell below a 3.0 and was wondering if I resolved things with my professor leading me to believe he didn't even think I would be terminated. The associate dean was surprised as well because he has only seen people terminated for failing classes. They advised me to appeal the termination and officially report my health issues to the school then use that as part of my appeal. I have ADD and anxiety but did not report it to the school because in the past I have not taken advantage of resources such as extended time and been fine. Looking back, I guess I need it in graduate school. The dean of my program said my professors noticed I was very anxious but there was no record of anxiety. I didn't report that mainly out of embarrassment, but I should have looking back. I was getting off anxiety medication at the time which contributed to my performance. I moved from a pretty conservative part of the country where mental health was not discussed and stigmatized to an openminded area for graduate school. I had my psychiatrist write a letter stating I am now in good mental health to continue. My mental health also went downhill because I just moved to a new city alone for the first time and did not have access to my psychiatrist as much as before and was still working on finding a new one in the area. I also appealed the decision due to not having access to my grades in one of my classes. My professor accidentally muted me from seeing my grades, so I had no idea I had a B-. I had an A until the final presentation which I received a D on.

I received an email today stating they sympathize with the challenges I faced during my semester, but my appeal has been denied because my 2.78 GPA falls well below the 3.0 GPA requirement. This just seems crazy to me and I am in shock a graduate school would kick a student out so abruptly then deny the appeal even with the health explanation. Should I keep fighting or just move on? Thank you!

[Bird Vision]

I'm sorry that you're going through this. Mental health accommodations are a tricky thing - they must be infinitely available to those that need them, but impossible to abuse. Every school I have been a part of refuses to retroactively accommodate; it sounds like yours is the same.

Maybe you should see if you can reapply next year - you are already familiar with the faculty and you have proven that you are capable of doing the work.

[dr. t]

There are some points in life - and oh dear God do I feel old saying this - where the only point of the issue that matters is "did you do the thing." Changes of medication, mental health support, and professors who are bad at using online grading systems can all garner sympathy for you if you did not do the thing, but sometimes that's not enough to outweigh the fact that you didn't do the thing. When you don't do the thing, there can often be unavoidable consequences with life-changing impact. That's adulthood.

And this is a case of you not doing the thing. There were many places for you to take agency here. Whether it was at the point of your final GPA or not, getting a B/B- on assignments in graduate school is a severe point of concern. You earned those grades. Despite your perception of stigma, you nevertheless had health issues you didn't report, so you did not get the accommodations you might have - or at least an avenue of legal recourse. And whether or not you knew specifically you had a B- on the class, you must have at least been aware your presentation, a large portion of your grade, was nowhere near the standards expected of you. 

The program administration could still show some mercy, but they were under no particular obligation to do so, nor, in an accelerated M* program (which usually having high non-complete rates), were they ever even likely to do so, whatever they have told you. And I have to disagree with @Bird Vision - you have not proven to them that you are capable of doing the work.

I don't say all this to be mean, or to beat up on you after you've obviously had such a difficult and trying time. Moves are hard, new cities are hard, and grad school ain't exactly easy. But this wasn't unfair, and you can't stew on the treatment you've received because if you do, you can't move forward. Learn lessons from this as to what sort of support network you need to have in place to move to a new town, to start a new life, whether you go back to graduate school or not. You've already paid too high a price not to get something out of the experience.