Getting bad grades removed from transcript?

[GeneValgene]

At a previous school I attended, I got an F in Chemistry due to a really rough time in my life...my Grandmother (whom I was close with) died in a car accident right around the end of the semester before finals. I was mentally and emotionally a mess and only 19 at the time. I didn't know how to handle it, and I bombed my final. I tried explaining to the teacher, but she didn't give a s***. My Calc professor gave me a UW so that I could avoid another F on my transcript.

 

I'd really like to somehow write a letter or petition those grades. It was in the Fall semester of 2009 and I just wish there was a way to get the F off of my record, because it is really bringing down my GPA.

 

i guess wouldn't hurt to ask, but one F and W is not going to be the end of the world. how have your grades been since then? did you get As when you retook chem and calc? at worst at an interview they may ask you about it, and you can give your explanation as to why those grades are incongruent with the rest of your grades, and that they were merely an anomaly.

 

you could even spin it as a positive. a common behavioral interview question is "tell me about an obstacle you had to overcome to reach your goals" or something like that. if you destroyed your classes after those two classes, you can even use the whole situation as a talking point!

 

good luck!

[txpsychchick]

Hey Anthony, be encouraged, :) . I have some serious bumps and bruises on both my bachelor's and master's degree transcripts (which is the worst possible time for your grades to drop!), and didn't think anyone would ever consider me as a viable candidate, but still got accepted. The fact that it happened your second year of school is certainly in your favor, I think admissions committees and faculty run into less than perfect grades pretty frequently, and are usually willing to extend grace to students who prove themselves in other areas. Empathy and compassion generally hold more weight than a 4.0 and anyone who has suffered a loss is more likely to have those 2 qualities as a result. Best of luck to you!

[txpsychchick]

Hey Anthony, be encouraged, :) . I have some serious bumps and bruises on both my bachelor's and master's degree transcripts (which is the worst possible time for your grades to drop!), and didn't think anyone would ever consider me as a viable candidate, but still got accepted. The fact that it happened your second year of school is certainly in your favor, I think admissions committees and faculty run into less than perfect grades pretty frequently, and are usually willing to extend grace to students who prove themselves in other areas. Empathy and compassion generally hold more weight than a 4.0 and anyone who has suffered a loss is more likely to have those 2 qualities as a result. Best of luck to you!

[taotaox1]

Anthony,

 

I had 21 hours of F on my transcript because I was an unmotivated, selfish turd that just stopped going to classes 3 semesters in a row. I will start PA school at Duke in the fall. Now, I busted *** hardcore when I came back to get there...... pm me and i will tell you more if your still worried. Your one F wont really hu rt you if you are a great student otherwise.

 

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

[taotaox1]

Anthony,

 

I had 21 hours of F on my transcript because I was an unmotivated, selfish turd that just stopped going to classes 3 semesters in a row. I will start PA school at Duke in the fall. Now, I busted *** hardcore when I came back to get there...... pm me and i will tell you more if your still worried. Your one F wont really hu rt you if you are a great student otherwise.

 

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

[eliseis]

I had a horrible semester in undergrad when my grandmother died and I ended up with three W's and maybe like a B and a C in my other classes. I was really worried about it when I applied because of how it made my transcript look! I addressed it briefly in my personal statement, and was asked about it when I went for an interview. I just explained the situation and pointed to the efforts I had clearly made in the semesters since. I was young and I didn't deal well with the situation, but that one semester doesn't have to define you. I was accepted and the interviewer even applauded my honesty on the situation. Good luck to you!

[eliseis]

I had a horrible semester in undergrad when my grandmother died and I ended up with three W's and maybe like a B and a C in my other classes. I was really worried about it when I applied because of how it made my transcript look! I addressed it briefly in my personal statement, and was asked about it when I went for an interview. I just explained the situation and pointed to the efforts I had clearly made in the semesters since. I was young and I didn't deal well with the situation, but that one semester doesn't have to define you. I was accepted and the interviewer even applauded my honesty on the situation. Good luck to you!

[IdahoPA]

I got a D the first time I took O Chem. I chalked it up to not being able to sleep since I was having nightmares all the time. (Wahoo, combat-related PTSD!) I later called my school and asked about having it removed and was told that since I didn't contest it at the time that there wasn't anything to be done about it. So, bummer, but not the end of the world. Not to call out my own husband, but he had way more than 1 F and he ended with a 3.0. I'll also note that he certainly didn't get a 4.0 for his remaining semesters to achieve that, either.

 

PS. I didn't address the D in my PS and only one school asked about it in interview. I feel the rest of your grades/LORs/PS tell a story and the adcom will know if the one bad grade was due to poor circumstance versus you were a consistently poorly achieving student.

[IdahoPA]

I got a D the first time I took O Chem. I chalked it up to not being able to sleep since I was having nightmares all the time. (Wahoo, combat-related PTSD!) I later called my school and asked about having it removed and was told that since I didn't contest it at the time that there wasn't anything to be done about it. So, bummer, but not the end of the world. Not to call out my own husband, but he had way more than 1 F and he ended with a 3.0. I'll also note that he certainly didn't get a 4.0 for his remaining semesters to achieve that, either.

 

PS. I didn't address the D in my PS and only one school asked about it in interview. I feel the rest of your grades/LORs/PS tell a story and the adcom will know if the one bad grade was due to poor circumstance versus you were a consistently poorly achieving student.

[vaston]

I feel it's appropriate to share part of my story with you. I haven't shared this before, so here ya go~

A few semesters into undergrad my father-in-law became terminally ill with a very rare disease. This placed a lot of stress on my young wife who felt a TON of pressure to help take care of her younger sisters who were still at home. This in turn placed a large amount of pressure on me as I attempted to be supportive and to help out with her father's care and that of her sisters. It was during the summer semester that he died at the age of 47 after months of battling his disease. That semester I had signed up for 5 classes, 2 of them were offered online. I completely forgot about my online coursework. While I performed acceptably in the 3 other classes, I was awarded 1 UW and 1 F on my transcript for the online classes. I successfully petitioned for the UW to be changed to a W, but I had to retake the course that I received the "F" in. Do you want to know what class that was?? I am still embarrassed to say this........I failed Medical Terminology. YEP. You heard that right. Not because I couldn't master the material. I failed because I tried to complete the course instead of taking an Incomplete. I retook it and aced it of course.

 

This leads me to my very first PA School interview. In the individual interview portion the FIRST thing out of the interviewers mouth was this: "How does someone FAIL Medical Terminology??" I smiled, chuckled a little (lets face it, it is a bit ridiculous to FAIL that course......) I explained to him the situation surrounding my grade and what I had done to rectify the problem. I was honest and succinct. I was subsequently accepted to that program 3 days later. I chose not to attend there, but I will always be grateful for his candor and bluntness regarding that grade. I recently graduated from a top notch PA school that also chose to overlook that period of struggle in my life. You can do it. You may have a lot of work ahead of you, but you can do it. Stay strong.

[vaston]

I feel it's appropriate to share part of my story with you. I haven't shared this before, so here ya go~

A few semesters into undergrad my father-in-law became terminally ill with a very rare disease. This placed a lot of stress on my young wife who felt a TON of pressure to help take care of her younger sisters who were still at home. This in turn placed a large amount of pressure on me as I attempted to be supportive and to help out with her father's care and that of her sisters. It was during the summer semester that he died at the age of 47 after months of battling his disease. That semester I had signed up for 5 classes, 2 of them were offered online. I completely forgot about my online coursework. While I performed acceptably in the 3 other classes, I was awarded 1 UW and 1 F on my transcript for the online classes. I successfully petitioned for the UW to be changed to a W, but I had to retake the course that I received the "F" in. Do you want to know what class that was?? I am still embarrassed to say this........I failed Medical Terminology. YEP. You heard that right. Not because I couldn't master the material. I failed because I tried to complete the course instead of taking an Incomplete. I retook it and aced it of course.

 

This leads me to my very first PA School interview. In the individual interview portion the FIRST thing out of the interviewers mouth was this: "How does someone FAIL Medical Terminology??" I smiled, chuckled a little (lets face it, it is a bit ridiculous to FAIL that course......) I explained to him the situation surrounding my grade and what I had done to rectify the problem. I was honest and succinct. I was subsequently accepted to that program 3 days later. I chose not to attend there, but I will always be grateful for his candor and bluntness regarding that grade. I recently graduated from a top notch PA school that also chose to overlook that period of struggle in my life. You can do it. You may have a lot of work ahead of you, but you can do it. Stay strong.

[Anthony T]

Wow. Thank all of you guys for your support and sharing your stories. They are really inspirational and motivate me to do better. I did speak to my professors about my situation but there was nothing they could really do. I did retake Chemistry that I got an F in, and I got a B+. I have yet to re-take Calc and don't know if I will, because the program I'm applying to doesn't even require it. But I might just take to boost my math/science GPA back up, because I think I can ace it this time. :)

 

I guess what scared me when I went into my current school was that the director told me ONLY my math and science grades that are being transferred from other universities will count toward my overall GPA. Which leaves me with a very low GPA applying to the PA program. I guess I have a lot of work to do to boost that back up...

[Anthony T]

Wow. Thank all of you guys for your support and sharing your stories. They are really inspirational and motivate me to do better. I did speak to my professors about my situation but there was nothing they could really do. I did retake Chemistry that I got an F in, and I got a B+. I have yet to re-take Calc and don't know if I will, because the program I'm applying to doesn't even require it. But I might just take to boost my math/science GPA back up, because I think I can ace it this time. :)

 

I guess what scared me when I went into my current school was that the director told me ONLY my math and science grades that are being transferred from other universities will count toward my overall GPA. Which leaves me with a very low GPA applying to the PA program. I guess I have a lot of work to do to boost that back up...

[cinntsp]

All of your coursework will be included in your CASPA cgpa/sgpa. Read through the FAQ to get an idea about how everything works.

 

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[taotaox1]

Yup, the GPA your school calculates doesn't mean *@#^. :)

[Anthony T]

All of your coursework will be included in your CASPA cgpa/sgpa. Read through the FAQ to get an idea about how everything works.

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

That's why I want to get the F changed.

 

Apparently at the school I got the F in, only the professor can change the grade. So I will have to write her a letter explaining everything. Any ideas on what I should say? I don't want to make it a sob story or anything...but I definitely want to mention that I re-took the course at my new school and got a B+.

[Anthony T]

All of your coursework will be included in your CASPA cgpa/sgpa. Read through the FAQ to get an idea about how everything works.

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

That's why I want to get the F changed.

 

Apparently at the school I got the F in, only the professor can change the grade. So I will have to write her a letter explaining everything. Any ideas on what I should say? I don't want to make it a sob story or anything...but I definitely want to mention that I re-took the course at my new school and got a B+.