Interesting Dillema

[snulma1]

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I am looking for some advice to see if I'm completely screwed or maybe there is a thread of hope...

I am a non-trad who has overcome a poor GPA (2.4 originally) to gain acceptance at a US DO school. I started this fall and rocked a 3.6 GPA (A's and B's). However, as the spring semester started I fell into a slight depression as I was living alone (away from my wife who was still residing in a diff state due to work), I had minimal social life (most kids studied till 11-12 while I was done by 10), and started to suffer anxiety attacks (self provoked) which prevented me from getting more then 1-2 hrs of sleep at night. Eventually at the 3rd week mark I cracked due to the lack of sleep and after taking a weekend off (but still not getting sleep) I withdrew from the school.

2 weeks later after finally getting sleep I began to realize what a horrible mistake I had made. I called the school to find out if I could change the withdrawal to a leave of absence but was told it was too late. I had to write a letter pleading my case to see if they would let me in for the c/o 2017's class. My wife has agreed to move back to the school with me, and the self provoked anxiety is gone.

As I am pondering all the possible outcomes I am wondering, as a student who excelled prior to leaving, caused no problems, and even was asked to tutor his own classmates...wouldn't it be in there best interest to have me return and finish, so its not a black mark on their numbers? Or am I behind the 8 ball once again?

 

[scarshapedstar]

Hate to say it but it doesn't seem like you have a lot of leverage. It sounds like you quit without discussing your situation with anyone at the school - I can understand why but it makes you seem like a liability, because you've got to survive 8 more years of stress, even if your wife is there.

Also, being isolated and unproductive and unable to sleep for weeks on end doesn't sound slight or self-induced, it sounds like a serious episode of mental illness. That's what I went through before I gave up on engineering - I'd been grinding it out for a while (math wasn't my strongest subject but I could get B's and C's) and then collapsed, socially and academically, under the weight of various personal and family problems. Anyway I switched to biology, saw a psychiatrist, and SSRI's helped me greatly for a year or so until I felt like my life was back on track.

Your school might give you one more chance, or you might have to reapply to other DO schools - at least your first grades are good. But you really need to figure out what changed between your first and second semesters to throw you into such a tailspin that you seemingly forgot about those four years you spent clawing your way into med school. And you need a way to stay sane if you end up having to reapply.

 

[DrAwsome]

I am looking for some advice to see if I'm completely screwed or maybe there is a thread of hope...

I am a non-trad who has overcome a poor GPA (2.4 originally) to gain acceptance at a US DO school. I started this fall and rocked a 3.6 GPA (A's and B's). However, as the spring semester started I fell into a slight depression as I was living alone (away from my wife who was still residing in a diff state due to work), I had minimal social life (most kids studied till 11-12 while I was done by 10), and started to suffer anxiety attacks (self provoked) which prevented me from getting more then 1-2 hrs of sleep at night. Eventually at the 3rd week mark I cracked due to the lack of sleep and after taking a weekend off (but still not getting sleep) I withdrew from the school.

2 weeks later after finally getting sleep I began to realize what a horrible mistake I had made. I called the school to find out if I could change the withdrawal to a leave of absence but was told it was too late. I had to write a letter pleading my case to see if they would let me in for the c/o 2017's class. My wife has agreed to move back to the school with me, and the self provoked anxiety is gone.

As I am pondering all the possible outcomes I am wondering, as a student who excelled prior to leaving, caused no problems, and even was asked to tutor his own classmates...wouldn't it be in there best interest to have me return and finish, so its not a black mark on their numbers? Or am I behind the 8 ball once again?

Have you talked to your dean or anyone at the school about this? Who said no as far as readmitting you? It's hard to comment really, but it seems odd that they would not readmit you, especially if you did not really fail anything, etc. I would say talk to your dean, professors, etc you can trust, perhaps request a hearing where you can make a case, explain how you've addressed the issue, perhaps if you've seen a psychiatrist see if they can help you out, etc.

It's unfortunate that you made a rash decision on something that I'm sure you've worked very hard to achieve, but I guess what's done is done. I don't think that all is lost, but I think that you definitely need to: talk to dean/faculty, plead your case, show how you've addressed issues, elaborate on how your support system has changed, etc. to show them that this won't happen again.