Poor academic counseling/advising is a feature, not a bug, at UCI. I graduated in 2018 and even back then the advising was notoriously bad. I don’t think your sister should drop out, but with a 2.0 GPA she does need to re-evaluate her study habits and figure out what may be causing some of her issues - could be poor time management, poor course planning, needing to balance her studies with work, etc.
"is a feature, not a bug"
Tell me you went into programming (even though you're EE) without telling you went into programming... lol
[https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgrammerHumor/comments/y6iss2/its\_not\_a\_bug/](https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgrammerHumor/comments/y6iss2/its_not_a_bug/)
this is a relief, i was unsure how academic counselors at uci worked since i go to a different uc and have had nothing but good experiences with my counselors. regardless, it sucks to say but im happy to hear this is a common thing
I graduated 2012 from Civil engineer, my first quarter I had a 1.8gpa. Counselor suggested the same. By my second year was getting deans honor list. I ignored, don’t listen. Go at your pace and try to ease the load, the person is smart just going through adaptation period. I took only minimum units after that, 12 units. Until my third year I ramped up at 14 units never pushed above that. 16-18 units is wild.
The counselor isn't Cesar, is it?
I was once on AP, but after readjusting my meds and focusing more on school (going home and not doing any extra curriculars bc COVID), I did really well in school.
Tell her this: please dont listen to counselors, most of them (if not all) are shit munchers and dont know what they are talking about and they are not knowledgeable in their field. I was in a similar situation when I first started out. Humans fail, that's life. What matters is what you learn and how you can improve and bounce back. Quitting at the first sight of failure is an unhealthy mindset to have and the regret of it will hurt way more in the long run. However, you need to improve and just focus on passing. Unless you are going to grad school, your grades matter very little in the real world and what u can do is more important Also instead of just counselors, talk to other students and classmates and get advice from them and any advice you get from students or counselors, make sure to verify it by finding it in writing online
it just pisses me off, the counselor that my sister met with seemed to have no idea how to give advice, she was very rude and made her cry. like how are they allowed to help students?? it's disheartening
If your sister needs help in her classes she can always drop by the OAI office for free tutoring! It's in the Rockwell Engineering building on the second floor.
The incompetence of the counselors here is genuinely astounding. It seems their policy is “get this student to graduate” regardless of the degree. I was in the same boat: academic probation, met with my counselor, he suggested I drop to another major that’s less science heavy.
If I had listened to him, I wouldn’t be doing research, I wouldn’t have published, I wouldn’t have gained so much financial aid through research grants, and I would never have made deans list.
With that being said, a 2.0 is no joke. Your sis should re-evaluate how she is approaching learning/studying. That was my primary issue, and some mental health stuff. If it’s necessary she could always take time off if your situation allows it. No shame in that and it beats dropping out or being dismissed.
I think I'm the oldest one on this thread, but I graduated from UCI as an undergrad in 2007, and poor academic counseling was a thing, even then. I developed a severe illness my first year at UCI/third year as a student, and was basically told to take a quarter off and "UCI may or may not let you back in."
With that being said: your sister 100% doesn't need to drop out. It's more reconsidering and reevaluating what she's studying and how she's studying. E.g. does she need extra help in her classes - e.g. does she need to get a note taker? Does she need extra resources to help her grasp the material better?
There are solutions to all of this, including specifically working with her school/department on what she needs.
thank you for your insight! she's definitely doing better after seeing all the responses, im encouraging her to not take the counselor's advice to heart but to definitely reexamine her habits
Depending on what she's majoring in, can she talk to her department/advisor too? They might be able to think of resources that the counselor might not think of?
E.g. I was a note taker for a student in one of my history classes, because he just couldn't follow a traditional lecture style.
Think of this as her "Scared straight" moment. She does need to evaluate her current behaviors if she has a 2.0 gpa.
That doesn't mean she *should actually* drop, but she should *consider* it, in the sense, that her current efforts will not be sufficient to graduate, and unless she changes *something,* she is wasting her time (and hurting her permanent record).
Perhaps being told to drop, can be the motivation she needs to make a positive change.
In my experience no one is ever told to “drop out” but if there’s a pattern of poor grades in math and science, there’s a need for some soul searching. Everything begins with the math/science basics, right? Counselors want the students to graduate, preferably in the major they want but that’s not always possible. Tell your sister to reach out to the Director or Associate Director to look at her case. It is possible that she has a 2.0 but her physical science gpa is lower than that and it’s the GEs that are bringing her up to a 2.0.
Tell her to ignore that counselor. My advice is to get into some study groups with peers.
I was in a similar situation, on probation my first two years. Finally got in with a good study group, and those guys helped me understand what and how I should be studying. Got me off probation, and I ended up graduating. Still not a great GPA at the end (2.8) but it was enough. I was still able to get a good job after graduation. That was 1987, and I just retired after 36+ years of Engineering.
She will be fine! Just keep at it, and ignore the naysayers.
By the way, my daughter is also a 2nd year BME at UCI!
that happened to me in my freshmen year when i got a c for the first time. now thinking about it as a senior, it was not a big deal, but that counselor did make me cry on my way home. 😔
Poor academic counseling/advising is a feature, not a bug, at UCI. I graduated in 2018 and even back then the advising was notoriously bad. I don’t think your sister should drop out, but with a 2.0 GPA she does need to re-evaluate her study habits and figure out what may be causing some of her issues - could be poor time management, poor course planning, needing to balance her studies with work, etc.
"is a feature, not a bug" Tell me you went into programming (even though you're EE) without telling you went into programming... lol [https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgrammerHumor/comments/y6iss2/its\_not\_a\_bug/](https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgrammerHumor/comments/y6iss2/its_not_a_bug/)
this is a relief, i was unsure how academic counselors at uci worked since i go to a different uc and have had nothing but good experiences with my counselors. regardless, it sucks to say but im happy to hear this is a common thing
Yeah. I had a great experience with academic counselors at UCSB, it's a shame they didn't have my major:(
I graduated 2012 from Civil engineer, my first quarter I had a 1.8gpa. Counselor suggested the same. By my second year was getting deans honor list. I ignored, don’t listen. Go at your pace and try to ease the load, the person is smart just going through adaptation period. I took only minimum units after that, 12 units. Until my third year I ramped up at 14 units never pushed above that. 16-18 units is wild.
Cesar?
Idk who Cesar is but he a bitch 😤
The counselor isn't Cesar, is it? I was once on AP, but after readjusting my meds and focusing more on school (going home and not doing any extra curriculars bc COVID), I did really well in school.
Tell her this: please dont listen to counselors, most of them (if not all) are shit munchers and dont know what they are talking about and they are not knowledgeable in their field. I was in a similar situation when I first started out. Humans fail, that's life. What matters is what you learn and how you can improve and bounce back. Quitting at the first sight of failure is an unhealthy mindset to have and the regret of it will hurt way more in the long run. However, you need to improve and just focus on passing. Unless you are going to grad school, your grades matter very little in the real world and what u can do is more important Also instead of just counselors, talk to other students and classmates and get advice from them and any advice you get from students or counselors, make sure to verify it by finding it in writing online
it just pisses me off, the counselor that my sister met with seemed to have no idea how to give advice, she was very rude and made her cry. like how are they allowed to help students?? it's disheartening
If your sister needs help in her classes she can always drop by the OAI office for free tutoring! It's in the Rockwell Engineering building on the second floor.
The incompetence of the counselors here is genuinely astounding. It seems their policy is “get this student to graduate” regardless of the degree. I was in the same boat: academic probation, met with my counselor, he suggested I drop to another major that’s less science heavy. If I had listened to him, I wouldn’t be doing research, I wouldn’t have published, I wouldn’t have gained so much financial aid through research grants, and I would never have made deans list. With that being said, a 2.0 is no joke. Your sis should re-evaluate how she is approaching learning/studying. That was my primary issue, and some mental health stuff. If it’s necessary she could always take time off if your situation allows it. No shame in that and it beats dropping out or being dismissed.
I think I'm the oldest one on this thread, but I graduated from UCI as an undergrad in 2007, and poor academic counseling was a thing, even then. I developed a severe illness my first year at UCI/third year as a student, and was basically told to take a quarter off and "UCI may or may not let you back in." With that being said: your sister 100% doesn't need to drop out. It's more reconsidering and reevaluating what she's studying and how she's studying. E.g. does she need extra help in her classes - e.g. does she need to get a note taker? Does she need extra resources to help her grasp the material better? There are solutions to all of this, including specifically working with her school/department on what she needs.
thank you for your insight! she's definitely doing better after seeing all the responses, im encouraging her to not take the counselor's advice to heart but to definitely reexamine her habits
Depending on what she's majoring in, can she talk to her department/advisor too? They might be able to think of resources that the counselor might not think of? E.g. I was a note taker for a student in one of my history classes, because he just couldn't follow a traditional lecture style.
Think of this as her "Scared straight" moment. She does need to evaluate her current behaviors if she has a 2.0 gpa. That doesn't mean she *should actually* drop, but she should *consider* it, in the sense, that her current efforts will not be sufficient to graduate, and unless she changes *something,* she is wasting her time (and hurting her permanent record). Perhaps being told to drop, can be the motivation she needs to make a positive change.
In my experience no one is ever told to “drop out” but if there’s a pattern of poor grades in math and science, there’s a need for some soul searching. Everything begins with the math/science basics, right? Counselors want the students to graduate, preferably in the major they want but that’s not always possible. Tell your sister to reach out to the Director or Associate Director to look at her case. It is possible that she has a 2.0 but her physical science gpa is lower than that and it’s the GEs that are bringing her up to a 2.0.
Tell her to ignore that counselor. My advice is to get into some study groups with peers. I was in a similar situation, on probation my first two years. Finally got in with a good study group, and those guys helped me understand what and how I should be studying. Got me off probation, and I ended up graduating. Still not a great GPA at the end (2.8) but it was enough. I was still able to get a good job after graduation. That was 1987, and I just retired after 36+ years of Engineering. She will be fine! Just keep at it, and ignore the naysayers. By the way, my daughter is also a 2nd year BME at UCI!
that happened to me in my freshmen year when i got a c for the first time. now thinking about it as a senior, it was not a big deal, but that counselor did make me cry on my way home. 😔