Last spring an 18-year-old college freshman who got straight A’s in high school – but was now failing several courses – came to my office on the campus where I work as a psychologist.
The student was seeking a medical exception so that he could withdraw from the classes he failed instead of taking the F’s and dragging down his GPA.
I evaluated the student and determined – based on information from prior visits – that the student was depressed. This condition was zapping the student’s motivation and energy. Consequently, the student missed classes, didn’t study much and ultimately did poorly in class. I completed a medical exception form to enable the student to withdraw from the classes he failed so that he could keep his GPA from plummeting.
