Hi, I have a friend who got accepted into a competitive life sciences specialization after first year with marks just above the acceptance requirement (6.1 where the acceptance requirement was over a 6). The requirement to stay in this program for third year states that a minimum mark of 6 must be maintained.

The problem is that in March, my friend was called down to speak with a McMaster staff and they said that the acceptance into the program for second year was a mistake and that now, my friend must have at least a mark of 9 to stay in the program, whereas everyone else only needs a 6. My friend tried to argue that her acceptance letter says that only a 6 minimum needed to be maintained, but the staff said that my friend SHOULD HAVE KNOWN that they made a mistake with the acceptance since everyone else's grades were so high and my friend's were so low.

So far, my friend worked to get a 7 average for this year, and I think it's unfair that they gave such late notice about bumping up the required mark to stay in the program, and by so much too (from 6 to a 9). She's working really hard to study for exams so that she may get over a 9, but we think it's impossible since she wasn't aware of the 9 minimum requirement until March of this year.

Is this normal McMaster behaviour, or is it actually unfair?

Which specialization is it?

iirc, they don't give out acceptance letters for specializations - it shows up on grade report which ones you got into and then you register in your desired program - so I'm not sure what acceptance letter your friend is referring to.

For limited enrollment programs, 6 is not the acceptance requirement - it is the bare minimum to be considered, but the acceptance requirement is typically much higher, unless there is virtually no interest in the program.

I question the argument that your friend should have known a mistake was made because of other people's grades. Not everyone compares grades. However, getting into a competitive specialization with a 6.1 should definitely have raised some red flags.

It's an unfortunate situation, but you could argue that it's unfair either way. Leaving the program shouldn't delay your friend's graduation, depending on the program she transfers into. It's certainly unfair to all of the people who didn't get into the specialization with a higher GPA than your friend if she is allowed to stay in the program without having the marks for it.

In terms of legalities, I'm really not sure what's going on here. She could consult a lawyer but I highly doubt anything other than that will make them change their mind, and I'm not even sure legally she has a leg to stand on.

They can change final grades after they've been released and downgrade your marks because of errors, and this is similar (though arguably has larger repercussions).

Anyways, from your thread title it seems like you're blowing this out of proportion a bit - nowhere does it say that she will get kicked out of the school. It's certainly an unfortunate situation, but it's not as bad as your thread title makes it sound.

Does (s) he still have that acceptance letter? I would definetly take it to ombuds. They cant just accept you then kick you out after a year

why do people always ask questions for their friends? i mean it's not hard to register a macinsider account, or is it just you want to ask but don't want to be embarrassed?

Lol, disneybee, of course it is YOU who is in the risk of getting kicked out...