������

Part I. Please review the following list and circle all of the items that you believe troubled your academic performance the last semester you were enrolled. Once you are done, please place a check mark next to the items that presented the most significant obstacles to your academic success that semester.

Academic

• Lack of adequate study skills
• Poor application of study skills
• Poor high school preparation
• Did not manage your time well
• Did not know how to use a schedule effectively
• Unhappy with the teaching skills of your instructors
• Instructor seemed negatively inclined toward you
• Unable to understand the course materials
• Took too heavy a course load
• Could not afford to get all or some course materials
• Did not have course materials
• Possible learning disability

Family/Social

• Adjustment to the United States
• Adjustment to ������‐Dearborn
• Separation from former peer group
• Housing issues
• Home or family problems
• Trouble making new peer group
• Relationship issues – platonic
• Relationship issues – romantic (local, long distance)

Career/Concentration

• Not able to pursue initial career goals for academic reasons
• Not able to pursue desired career goals due to parental pressure
• Difficulty handling current pre‐professional coursework
• No clear career goals or plans
• Unsure of choice of concentration
• Unsure of what I want to do after college
• Unsure of interests, skills and abilities
• Not aware of the Career Center and its resources
• Difficulty choosing a concentration(s)

Personal

• Financial difficulties – no access to adequate resources
• Financial difficulties – debt related
• Physical illness, health problems, injury
• Use of alcohol or other substance abuse
• Pressure, stress, tension, anxiety
• Loneliness, lack of emotional control
• Can’t find meaning for anything
• Motivational issues
• Identity formation/transformation issues
• Conflicts with social obligations/activities
• Excessive time spent on internet or playing video games
• Slept a lot/too little
• Depression/anxiety
• Other mental health difficulties
• Had to work to many hours

Part II. Now take a moment to tell your story. Write a brief narrative (500 words or less) of your academic struggles your last enrolled term, including whatever impeded your meeting your academic goals.

*Adapted from the Academic Success Exercises‐University of Wisconsin‐Stout and The University of Michigan‐Ann Arbor, College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters website.