having problems in school

hi everyone. i am a sophomore in college, and for the past month i have been having symptoms of depression. last week i made an appointment with a college counselor and my appointment is this thursday. i have been tired, lethargic, and upset for no reason. it has hindered my ability to put effort into my studies. for example, in the beginning of the semester, before my depressive symptoms, i received an 89 on my organic chemistry test. on the second test, i received a 55, which does not show my true abilities. i am doing better in my other classes only because they require less studying. I am getting marks in the B range, but i would normally be getting A grades in these classes. I want to withdraw from the organic chemistry course, but the withdrawal date passed (it was on april 5th). i also want to declare my major as psychology, so i would not need organic chem anyway, so i would not care about retaking the class for a better grade. ( I thought i wanted to major in neuroscience and go to med school, but i have changed my mind). do you think there is anyway i can still withdraw from organic chemistry, instead of the professor giving me an F. Withdrawing looks bad, but at least it won't bring down my GPA. Thanks.

Ask the professor if he/she could withdrawl you it would be a WP.

Talk to the counselor when you meet with them. They might be able to help you process a retroactive withdrawal. There probably will be a couple hoops to jump through, but they'll know the system and how to best help you.

Good luck

I am in a similar situation. It's difficult.

yes I am definitely telling the counselor tomorrow, and I will see what she says. I really think I am depressed. Tonight I decided to go to a spin class on campus with my friend, but I felt so lethargic and irritable that i left the class even before it started. I have never left a spin class before.

*hugs* Keep us updated!

Good luck today!

Hi. Counseling was not very helpful therapy wise, but the counselor said he is more than willing to give academic advising documentation of my issue. He also told me to see a psychiatrist on campus, so I did, and made an appointment for this tuesday. I am waiting to see what the psychiatrist says before I give in my petition for a late withdrawal of the course. I am not doing as well as I should in any course, but it has affected me the most in chem because it requires to the most concentration, and that is what I am lacking right now. I am getting B's in my other classes, when I should be getting A's if i felt okay. I'll take B's this semester, considering my circumstances, but an F is not acceptable on my transcript, ever.

I think you are being too hard on yourself and too unrealistic. There is no "should" about receiving A's and there is no need for receiving A's or harm/badness is receiving an F. You are working on your life/problems and that's good. I got an F because I withdrew from a class incorrectly and it was around/affecting my GPA for so long the course I got an F in became wholly obsolete! There was no such course when I went back to school to take again to "fix" that grade with. But I was not interested in that course and had changed my interests by then (like you have now) so it was wholly germane. I got straight A's in my core courses and went to grad school fine, etc. Concentrate on the courses and your health and do the best you can and let the grades sort themselves out; they are not what is important; it's like saying you only want X amount of money and not a penny less or must have multiple plastic surgeries to look a certain way, it's all external to you and your life.

Your job at the moment is to get healthy. If you can withdraw from the course okay, great, if not, do it anyway. I would go to the professor and discuss what is going on and ask his help (getting an incomplete or WP) and not mix the two, what courses you have changed to out of changing interests with your health/depression issues.

You have options...You could ask for a withrdrawal or incomplete in the course. Do it before any major tests, talk to a psychiatrist about meds or see if you can whether the storm on your own by treating yourself nice and taking care of yourself.

I am glad you were able to, or are likely to get, documentation. I was too depressed myself to get extensions or even medical withdrawals. I have a required to withdraw on my transcript, but, you know what, I still got into the bachelor of nursing program. Universities understand a bad course, or semester if you can demonstrate it was an anomaly. I also know grad schools, in most cases, only count the last 60 credits, in an 120 credit degree anyway.