Readmission to College after Flunking out

Question: My son flunked out of college last year after his freshman year. Admittedly, this probably happened because of too much partying. He has been home working at a very low paying job. Now he is getting serious about wanting to return to college. Can he get back into his previous school? Will another college admit him? -- Flunked Out

Answer: Your son needs to know what the rule is for readmission to his former college. There is usually a waiting period before a student can be readmitted. It could be as short as a semester. If your son should flunk out again, chances are that he will not be readmitted to the school.

Some colleges will admit students who have flunked out of other colleges. Again, there are specific rules for admission in this circumstance. Some schools require that the student has attended another college and received good grades. There is also the slim possibility that the student may be given an opportunity to explain why he flunked out in an essay or personal interview and gain admission even though he performed poorly academically at his previous school.

Before your son tries to go back to college, the most important thing is for him to determine why he did so poorly academically and how he can prevent it from happening again. Was he unprepared academically? Did he realize that he would have to study harder in college than in high school? Did he even know how to study for college courses? Was he taking the right courses? And there is also the question of his ability to manage his time -- giving priority to studying over partying. Finally, your son also needs to ask himself if he selected the right college in the first place.

Besides trying to re-enroll in a four-year college, your son might entertain the idea of going to a community college. Wherever your son enrolls in a future college, it would be very wise for him to take advantage of the study skills center at the school, which will teach him how to manage his time and study for classes.

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