How do I explain two terms of NP?

[floofy]

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I spent my junior year studying abroad and thanks to some significant miscommunication between myself and the program director about course equivalencies, I did not end up taking enough transferrable credits. I suspected at the time that there might be an issue so I made sure to ask my study abroad coordinator about it, but he assured me that it would be fine.

Then almost a year after I got back from overseas, I received an email saying that they had finished evaluating my study abroad grades and that they were going to give me 24 quarter hours of F's! I was obviously confused and upset, and when I spoke to the coordinator he told me that because it was so far after the fact the best I could do was petition to have them "commuted" to NP's. I did that, and now on my transcript my junior year shows all of my transferred classes in the fall quarter followed by two terms that just say "Study abroad - 12 credits - NP."

I have no idea how to begin to explain this on my applications because honestly I'm not totally sure what happened myself. I didn't actually fail or "not pass" any classes, but this is still obviously a massive red flag on my transcript. Help?

 

[rhesuspieces]

I spent my junior year studying abroad and thanks to some significant miscommunication between myself and the program director about course equivalencies, I did not end up taking enough transferrable credits. I suspected at the time that there might be an issue so I made sure to ask my study abroad coordinator about it, but he assured me that it would be fine.

Then almost a year after I got back from overseas, I received an email saying that they had finished evaluating my study abroad grades and that they were going to give me 24 quarter hours of F's! I was obviously confused and upset, and when I spoke to the coordinator he told me that because it was so far after the fact the best I could do was petition to have them "commuted" to NP's. I did that, and now on my transcript my junior year shows all of my transferred classes in the fall quarter followed by two terms that just say "Study abroad - 12 credits - NP."

I have no idea how to begin to explain this on my applications because honestly I'm not totally sure what happened myself. I didn't actually fail or "not pass" any classes, but this is still obviously a massive red flag on my transcript. Help?

Explain it just like you did there. Most (if not all) secondary applications have a section in which you can explain any weirdness in your transcript. I'd also suggest that you call the admissions offices of the schools you're applying to and get advice on how to deal with the situation.

If I were you, I would push harder with your school's administration to fix the problem, though. Explain that you're applying to medical school and you're concerned about how all of those NP's will look on your application. It's absurd that they didn't notify you about the F's until a year after the fact, then wouldn't let you do anything about it because too much time had passed. That's their fault, not yours.

 

[Helen Wheels]

I am really confused why you had to get them changed to "not passed." Why couldn't they just be changed to "0 credit" if you couldn't get credit for them since you didn't fail them? I think you should go to someone above your coordinator, probably the dean, and see if this can be changed.

 

[floofy]

It's absurd that they didn't notify you about the F's until a year after the fact, then wouldn't let you do anything about it because too much time had passed. That's their fault, not yours.

That's exactly what I said in my original petition, which the coordinator responded to with some hostility. Then I found out that he was also the chair of the scholastic review committee that would be evaluating my case, which made me think that it would be a good idea to revise my petition and just take the NP's instead of F's. I am considering filing a new petition now though, as he is no longer on the committee, but I don't know how much good it will do since they've already seen my case once.

 

[floofy]

I am really confused why you had to get them changed to "not passed." Why couldn't they just be changed to "0 credit" if you couldn't get credit for them since you didn't fail them? I think you should go to someone above your coordinator, probably the dean, and see if this can be changed.

I think part of why they gave me "NPs" was the fact that I received federal loans while I was abroad so I had to be considered an enrolled student or something (like I said, I really don't understand either). At the time they told me all this I was too angry and confused to handle the issue as well as I should have, but I think you are right. I will look into who would be the appropriate "higher up" to talk to.

 

[CurrySpice]

What grades did you receive in the classes? Did they simply screw up inputting the grades or did you actually do really really poorly in the classes? Something smells fishy in this story. I can't imagine ANY intelligent student who would accept 2 semesters of "not passing" courses IF they had successfully completed the courses (especially not a pre-med, where every grade is scrutinized).

 

[floofy]

What grades did you receive in the classes? Did they simply screw up inputting the grades or did you actually do really really poorly in the classes? Something smells fishy in this story. I can't imagine ANY intelligent student who would accept 2 semesters of "not passing" courses IF they had successfully completed the courses (especially not a pre-med, where every grade is scrutinized).

Sorry if this wasn't clear, but the NP's were not in place of classes that I successfully completed, they were put in to fill for credits that I didn't take. The classes that I took went through with the right grades (which were fine), but I did not correctly calculate how much credit they would transfer and I ended up with a deficit. The way my school chose to handle that deficit was by putting all of the classes I took into one quarter and then putting in NP's in the other two.

I know it sounds dumb that I would just take the NP's but the way it was presented to me it was as if I did not have a choice, and in fact I had to battle just to get the NP's instead of F's. At the time I was not planning on going to medical school so it didn't seem as big of an issue. I fully realize that I could've and should've handled the situation better, from start to finish, but it is what it is and I am just trying to figure out the best way to minimize the damage.

 

[Astarael]

Just to recap, it sounds like you received federal loans in an amount that required you to be enrolled full-time, but due to some shoddy calculations on your director's part, you were not in fact enrolled full time. So it sounds like your university decided to give you a bunch of 'dummy' credits to boost you back up to full time so they wouldn't have to deal with the financial aid end of it (as I imagine it would be fraud to give you full time federal aid when you weren't taking enough credits). If that is the case, then you just need to keep going up the chain of command until you get someone to give you a better answer. This is their problem, not yours. While you may have calculated your credits incorrectly, they did as well-and it was their responsibility to get it right, not yours. That's why there are study abroad departments to make sure everything goes smoothly. Students just can't be expected to know enough about it to get everything right on their own.

 

[floofy]

Just to recap, it sounds like you received federal loans in an amount that required you to be enrolled full-time, but due to some shoddy calculations on your director's part, you were not in fact enrolled full time. So it sounds like your university decided to give you a bunch of 'dummy' credits to boost you back up to full time so they wouldn't have to deal with the financial aid end of it (as I imagine it would be fraud to give you full time federal aid when you weren't taking enough credits). If that is the case, then you just need to keep going up the chain of command until you get someone to give you a better answer. This is their problem, not yours. While you may have calculated your credits incorrectly, they did as well-and it was their responsibility to get it right, not yours. That's why there are study abroad departments to make sure everything goes smoothly. Students just can't be expected to know enough about it to get everything right on their own.

Thank you, this is correct and the way you put it actually makes it a lot clearer to me. What kind of solution do you think is possible? If the dummy credits are removed would I be facing some kind of trouble about the loans?

 

[Astarael]

Thank you, this is correct and the way you put it actually makes it a lot clearer to me. What kind of solution do you think is possible? If the dummy credits are removed would I be facing some kind of trouble about the loans?

I'm not an administrator, so I'm can't tell you for sure what the outcome of this should be. My guess is that you need to receive the credit in order to be in compliance with your school's loan policies, but that shouldn't mean that you end up with a bunch of NPs on your transcript. As far as the loans go, you shouldn't be in any trouble for them, as you are not the one who calculated your financial aid. My suggestion would be to go up the ladder and ask for a Pass for all of those credits-it won't factor into your GPA so it shouldn't be an issue of the University giving you a grade for something you didn't deserve. Maybe be prepared to settle for a W (withdrawal) for those credits if that's all they'll give you. I'd also ask for a letter from the dean or someone higher explaining the situation.