Academic Probation Explanation Help!

[HopefulUndergrad]

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Hello! One semester, I foolishly assumed that I had enough credits to be a full-time student; however, once the semester was over, I was notified that I had only enrolled in 11 credits and thus was being placed on academic probation. I plan on addressing this in my AMCAS application; however, I am having a bit of trouble figuring out what to write/spin it in a positive light. I have done well during all four years of my undergrad, received a great MCAT score, and will be graduating with honors and distinction from my university and thus do not wish for a silly blemish on my application to ruin my entire process. Thank you for your help!

 

[candbgirl]

How did you not know you were only taking 11 hours? If you did well that semester why were you placed on probation? I doubt it will hurt you if everything else is great but it is confusing.

 

[Cawolf]

Why would you be on probation for a part-time semester? Makes no sense.

As above poster said sounds good. It seems so silly that a straight-forward description with no apologies is likely best.

 

[HopefulUndergrad]

How did you not know you were only taking 11 hours? If you did well that semester why were you placed on probation? I doubt it will hurt you if everything else is great but it is confusing.

Thank you for responding! I incorrectly thought one of my classes counted towards my 12 credits to be a full time student. At the time, I was a freshman and was still adjusting to college. My university can put you on academic probation if you get bad grades or take below 12 credits without petitioning the registrar.

 

[HopefulUndergrad]

Freshman mistake, dont worry about it, I would preface my above statement "during my freshman year...."

Doesnt even rise to "bonehead" level. dont worry about it

Thank you for responding! I've been fretting over this since the AMCAS opened and feel better responding to the prompt.

 

[Catalystik]

I am having a bit of trouble figuring out what to write/spin it in a positive light.

"Academic Probabtion: during Term/year I inadvertently registered for only 11 credits instead of 12 or more for full-time status by mistaking one 3 credit course was was credits"

gonnif's suggestion is a good one.

 

[puglet]

Why would you be on probation for a part-time semester? Makes no sense.

This happened to me as well when I had a personal situation and needed to drop some classes one semester. I didn't drop them all, but I completed just under 12 credits. The reasoning was because I was not going to finish in time if I continued taking part-time loads and I didn't have permission to be a part-time student. Yeah okay, but I made up for that by taking bigger loads for a couple of semesters and doing well in them. Unless it's a really extreme situation with lots of W's and incomplete courses over multiple semesters, I don't think probation is warranted.

Hello! One semester, I foolishly assumed that I had enough credits to be a full-time student; however, once the semester was over, I was notified that I had only enrolled in 11 credits and thus was being placed on academic probation. I plan on addressing this in my AMCAS application; however, I am having a bit of trouble figuring out what to write/spin it in a positive light. I have done well during all four years of my undergrad, received a great MCAT score, and will be graduating with honors and distinction from my university and thus do not wish for a silly blemish on my application to ruin my entire process. Thank you for your help!

Thank you for responding! I've been fretting over this since the AMCAS opened and feel better responding to the prompt.

Good! Like I said, you're not the only one. Everyone I've consulted about this has said that it's a stupid/silly rule and not to worry about it, especially if you've done well with full-time course loads in subsequent semesters. Once an adcom sees the explanation of what your academic probation was about and the rest of your transcript, they'll realize it's a really dumb rule/reason to get placed on academic probation and there isn't really anything to worry about. So yeah, I think you should feel better. I've seen persons with academic probation for legitimate academic reasons (ex. failing a semester) get into medical school if they've shown enough of a turnaround, so really there's nothing for you to worry about if you've been doing well this whole time.