Hi everyone. I'm a first year Physical Sciences student taking Physics 1B03, Math 1A03, Math 1B03, Bio 1A03 and Chem 1A03. I'm looking to get into the new Honours in Medical Physics program for 2nd year. But I have a problem..

There is a possibility that I've failed my physics, calc and linear algebra courses. I won't be 100% sure until I get my exams back. Calc and Physics are prerequisites for my program, while the linear algebra is not (though i will have to complete it at some point). If I do happen to pass these courses, they will be with 50s. I actually calculated what mark I needed on each exam to pass, and it's gonna be real close.

My question to you is where do I go from here? Am I allowed to stay in my program? I am willing to take whatever summer courses I need to get back on track; that's not a problem. I also need a 6.0 average to get into the med physics program, so I know (if i'm allowed back) I'll have to retake a lot of courses.

I've heard about reinstatement; but I'm not quite sure how it works. Do you need a "special circumstance" to have any chance of being reinstated (i.e. death in the family)? Because I definitely don't have any special circumstances.. in my case i was just not working hard enough at all (I tried to learn half of my linear algebra course in two days.... yup bad... but i nailed half of it if that says anything). However, I think I've figured it out now, and I am going to work my butt off next semester provided I get a second chance.

I want to stay in my program and at MAC; for me, the last two options would be to switch programs or switch schools (in that order). I don't think it's because I'm not smart enough to handle a science program (they were always my strongest subjects in high school)... I just had no idea how to study and in these past couple months I've learned alot about how to work and how easy the courses would have been if i'd just split it up every night (seriously, i think i walked into my second calc midterm having no idea how to integrate... and if i'd just studied it at that time I know I would've aced it). Another example: two weeks before my Chemistry exam I was doing homework from the second week for the first time. It wasn't much better in the rest of my courses, either. Not that I'm making any excuses for my self. I know that I've really messed up.

I'm also a year younger than most of my peers as I was moved ahead a grade in elementary, so maybe it's time to finally take a step back this time and re-evaluate.

Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks a lot.

If I was you I would direct this situation and your questions to a counselor at the Associate Dean's Office - it's their job to deal with this sort of thing.

If it makes you feel better, most people don't do so hot in first year, but grades do get better as you continue your degree.

Good luck.

Most of this information is a non-issue...it's ultimately what you learned from this that counts, and I'm glad to hear you're going to work on your work ethic.

First, see a counsellor (like jarzeck said above). They can give you specific details regarding the med phys program and so forth. Their information also overrides anything I say below.

Secondly, you're not sunk yet, even if you did fail all three of those courses. You can re-take courses in the summer, and raise your average by doing well next term. It's not too late, and while three 0's can hurt your average in the short term, you can likely raise this to a respectable average by fourth year.

Thirdly, there is academic probationary status...which means if your average is above I believe a 3, and less than 3.5, you will not officially register in any program, and simply be given an opportunity to raise your grades by taking more courses. (There's a limit of one year on academic probation however).

While this may cost you the ability to register in your program of course in the short term, you can always delay the inevitable by a year: 'shadow' med phys in your second year while not being officially enrolled (ie. take all the core med phys courses), and then having raised your average enough after two years, enroll in third year med phys and not actually miss a year at all.

The minimum average to be considered for med phys is a 6, but once you take into account competition and limited enrollment, that average will increase. With three failed courses, you probably won't get in right off the bat. I don't know how competitive it is or what the cutoff usually is, but it's probably higher than a 6.
Some programs allow conditional acceptance where you can take 1-2 prereqs in summer school, but I'm not sure if that applies for failed courses as well--see an academic advisor.
Also, if you retake failed courses, the failed grade doesn't go away. Both the 0 and your new mark count towards your average.
I think it will probably cost you a year of shadowing, before you can formally enroll in med phys, and even then you'd have to really bring your marks up (I'm assuming that your marks in the courses you didn't fail also aren't very good). You should talk to an academic advisor about this, as they can give you a realistic picture of what exactly you need to do.

Reinstatement is for people whose average is below a 3 and they are not allowed to continue at Mac. If you think your average might fall around there by the end of April, then you should consider reinstatement. It usually involves taking a year off doing something productive/taking courses at another institution, and then proving that you are aware of the problems that caused you to fail initially and have taken steps to solve these problems. Usually people successful at reinstatement had extenuating circumstances, but I don't know if this always has to be the case.
Keep in mind that they only do this review at the end of second term, so if your average is below a 3 after this term but you can pull it up by April, you're okay. I don't think they kick you out in December.

Just something to keep in mind--even if science was your strongest subject area in high school, that doesn't mean you'll find it at all easy in university. High schools differ greatly, and it tends to be quite different from university. The subject matter in high school is (for the most part) very very basic and simplified.

Keep these "I'm failing" posts coming! They really help me feel better about myself in these stressful times.

Also I'd like more "I lost my iPhone" posts too.

Cheers!

When I came to McMaster, I had my heart set on becoming an Astronaut (yes, I know most people give up on wanting to be an astronaut when they turn 6, so let's move on.) I decided that I'd get an Honours Astrophysics degree so I could be an astronaut, and I started in Physical Science. In my first term, I took Chem 1A03, Math 1A03, Math 1B03, Physics 1B03, Astronomy 1F03, and Psych 1X03. I dropped Psych after the midterm, and ended up with a F, D-, D, D and C in the rest of the courses respectively. I decided not to give up, but failing chemistry mean I couldn't take Chem 1AA3, so I needed to switch into an elective, and I'd take Chem 1A03 again the next year. I picked up the elective Enviro Sci 1B03, and by the end of my first year, I realized that I enjoyed environmental science more than physics, and that I needed to accept that any plans I make can fail, and when they do, I can't just try to save them, I have to move on. In second term, I ended up dropping all my classes except for Enviro Sci 1B03 and Philos 1E03, and I got a B and a C respectively. I needed to drop everything else to make sure my GPA was at least 3.0. In physical science, you can stay in the school with a GPA of 3.0 or higher, even if you don't get into honors.
Because I realized that I'd be better off switching into Environmental Science, I didn't take any difficult physics classes I originally planned on taking in second year, and by the end of second year, my marks were good enough to get into the Honours program.
If you do terrible and fail one class, you should seriously consider switching majors. I think failing multiple classes is more of a problem - I think it can mean academic probation or expulsion from the university - but that's something you'll have to talk to an academic adviser about.
Basically, even if you have your heart set on something, you have to be able to accept failure, and move on. I recommend that if you don't have at least a 4.5 at the end of first term, you take a variety of electives in second term. If you are do poorly in an elective, dropping it isn't a big deal, and if you enjoy an elective, you may decide to pick a new major. If you still want to do physics after sampling a variety of other options, the electives should at least bring your mark up. If you finish the year with less than a 3.0, you get suspended for a year, and basically have to submit a formal request to return to McMaster that explains how you'll improve your academic performance, and you'll have to show that you're making an effort, likely by taking courses online. That's why you should drop any classes in second term that may prevent you from getting a 3.0GPA or higher.
This is based on what I was told by academic advisers in my first year, and on my experiences in first year. Even if you do start getting great marks, poor first year marks will drag down your GPA forever, so you may have to accept that you may not graduate in an honours program, and you'll always have to drop classes if your doing really bad in them. When I finished second year, I had a 6.4 GPA, but it would have been a 9.0 without my first year first term marks. If you find something you get good marks in, you'll still be able to go to honours and get into grad school, but staying in physics may mean, even if you do bring your mark up to a 6.0, you probably won't get into any grad programs. There's a chance you can do enough damage control without changing majors to follow through with your plan, but you really need to accept the fact that you're best chance of succeeding is to give up, find something you're good at, and do that. That's what I did, and not only do I enjoy my major, but I'm much more likely to get a job and get into grad school, and my marks went up by about two and a half full letter grades.
And keep in mind, you may be able to get the same (or similar) job in a different field. I'm not sure what you'd want to do with Medical Physics, but if you want to be a doctor, you can go to med school with a variety of degrees. You should really try to set a broad goal, so that, as you go through university, you can play to your strengths instead of trying to make up for your weaknesses. I'm in environmental science, and I don't know what I'll end up doing, but I've decided that I want to get an Honours Environmental Science degree, and as I've taken the lower level classes, I've started understanding what specific branches of environmental science I enjoy and do well in, and what branches I don't enjoy. This term, I took a class on mineralogy expecting it to be fun, and a class on soil expecting it to be really hard, and instead I learned that I want to continue in soils in upper years, but I never want to touch mineralogy again. In your first and second year, don't decide a detailed plan of your future - take different types of classes, and figure out what your strengths and weaknesses are. In the end, it'll mean the difference between getting a job doing what you love and getting a job you though you wanted when you were 16, but hate.

Bottom line: you're not screwed, but you may be better off in a different major.

Thanks guys. Yup I've already made an appointment with an academic advisor for tomorrow so we'll she what she says. Looks like it basically means that I've wasted a year and I'm going to have to work extremely hard for the rest of my undergraduate. Which is what I should have been doing in the first place.

With this "shadowing" you guys are talking about - say i'm shadowing the med phys - how is it possible that I can get into the program in third year if i didn't get into it second year? Does it depend on people dropping out? Or if my average was good enough at the end of second year and I have proven that I've learned from my mistakes they'll accept me no matter what?

Originally Posted by redwine

Thanks guys. Yup I've already made an appointment with an academic advisor for tomorrow so we'll she what she says. Looks like it basically means that I've wasted a year and I'm going to have to work extremely hard for the rest of my undergraduate. Which is what I should have been doing in the first place.

With this "shadowing" you guys are talking about - say i'm shadowing the med phys - how is it possible that I can get into the program in third year if i didn't get into it second year? Does it depend on people dropping out? Or if my average was good enough at the end of second year and I have proven that I've learned from my mistakes they'll accept me no matter what?

Shadowing is taking as many courses as possible for a program you want to be in, but for whatever reason weren't able to formally register in.

This way, you'll have (hopefully) completed most/all of the second-year requirements for the program so that you can apply to get in at the end of the year and you'll still have second year completed or nearly completed for the program. If you get in, you can then take the 3rd year courses for the program as if you'd been in it all along, rather than having to repeat second year taking all of the 2nd year courses for the program.

You don't ever get accepted "no matter what". It depends on your average, competition, and how much room there is in the program (usually from people dropping out).

Originally Posted by TroubleStorm

Keep these "I'm failing" posts coming! They really help me feel better about myself in these stressful times.

Also I'd like more "I lost my iPhone" posts too.

Cheers!

If reading "I'm failing" posts on a message board helps you de-stress, you really must have nothing better to do with your time. I posted on here because I had some questions; if you don't have anything useful to add, please don't reply. Thank you.

Originally Posted by nerual

Shadowing is taking as many courses as possible for a program you want to be in, but for whatever reason weren't able to formally register in.

This way, you'll have (hopefully) completed most/all of the second-year requirements for the program so that you can apply to get in at the end of the year and you'll still have second year completed or nearly completed for the program. If you get in, you can then take the 3rd year courses for the program as if you'd been in it all along, rather than having to repeat second year taking all of the 2nd year courses for the program.

You don't ever get accepted "no matter what". It depends on your average, competition, and how much room there is in the program (usually from people dropping out).

Ok, so if no one dropped out I wouldn't get in. Alright, well switching programs is something I will definitely consider. I'm going to have to take a look at what else is out there. Thanks for all of your help everyone.

Originally Posted by redwine

Ok, so if no one dropped out I wouldn't get in.

Not necessarily. It's usually from people dropping out, but not always. Some programs hold spots for transfers, sometimes they had less people than expected due to less people accepting their offers of admission into the program, etc.

Originally Posted by redwine

If reading "I'm failing" posts on a message board helps you de-stress, you really must have nothing better to do with your time. I posted on here because I had some questions; if you don't have anything useful to add, please don't reply. Thank you.

I really, sincerely, don't have anything better to do with my time. I come here solely for these posts as I find them extremely rewarding. Thank you for your contribution and keep us posted!

Originally Posted by TroubleStorm

I really, sincerely, don't have anything better to do with my time. I come here solely for these posts as I find them extremely rewarding. Thank you for your contribution and keep us posted!

Ok, obviously you do, and i get you were joking around, but you did you really need to post that? You don't know me - I don't know you; there's no need to post a snide little comment like that. It wasn't even a funny joke anyway... lol

And no problem, I will continue to keep you posted! Seeing as that's what macinsiders is all about, and most of the other individuals on this board are willing to help me out. Not to mention they're giving me some really good advice! Which is what I came here for in the first place.

Originally Posted by redwine

Ok, obviously you do, and i get you were joking around, but you did you really need to post that? You don't know me - I don't know you; there's no need to post a snide little comment like that. It wasn't even a funny joke anyway... lol

And no problem, I will continue to keep you posted! Seeing as that's what macinsiders is all about, and most of the other individuals on this board are willing to help me out. Not to mention they're giving me some really good advice! Which is what I came here for in the first place.

I'm not joking around... I'm not acting like I know you. I'm being honest, we all come here for different reasons.

Did you do well in your other courses?

Another option for you would be to take some time off away from school to travel or gain some kind of life experiences...maybe school right now for you isn't the best option.

You could always try going to college as well. There's plenty of practical college programs that lead to gainful employment in the med physics area (rad therapy, x-ray tech, ultrasound).

Good luck!