In part 1 of the AP plan series, we talked about how being on academic probation isn’t a punishment or a judgment of you as a person.

It’s an event, something that has happened, and that will end before you know it.

It’s also an opportunity—for you to get support and to learn and grow.

But to take advantage of these opportunities, you have to do some work and meet the situation with your best self.

It’s hard to reflect and problem-solve if you feel like you’re on your own.

There are a lot of people out there who want to help you—friends, family, people at your college, and people you’re connected to through other activities or work.

Find one person and ask them to be your #1 ally in bouncing back from academic probation. Ask them to help talk you through this process—the steps below, but also the other parts of this AP plan series.

Also, ask them to check in on you regularly. Consider scheduling phone meetings every week or two for the next few months or more.

After you’ve secured your #1 ally, circle back to all of your backup allies. They’re here to support you, too.

Remember, allowing yourself to be vulnerable builds your bravery and resilience. Likewise, leaning on your support network makes it stronger.

It can be hard to take a good long look at what went wrong. But that’s exactly what you need to do.

As we saw in part 1, it’s totally normal and okay to feel angry or upset about what led to you being on AP.

But … in order to move forward, you also have to go into a problem-solving mode, one where you can objectively investigate what went wrong and make plans to avoid it in the future.

Ask yourself:

• When in the term did you first realize you were having academic troubles?
• What were the top contributing factors? Finances? Work? Difficult classes? Time constraints? Family or health stuff?

Then ask:

• What could you do differently next time to change the outcome?
• What possible early warning signs could you look out for?
• How could you course-correct if you notice things getting out of balance?

What DID work out for you last term?

Sometimes it’s hard to notice what works. If you’re stuck, try finishing these sentences:

• I kept track of …
• I was there for …
• I reacted well to …
• I took care of …
• I enjoyed …
• I learned …
• Even though … , I still managed to ….

All of the things that went well for you reflect your strengths. What strengths do you see when you look at your list?

Go through these lists with your buddy, too! Our allies can be more aware of our strengths than we are.

Now that you’ve reflected, take time to come up with goals for this term—and maybe even the next few.

Of course, if you’re on academic probation, bringing up your GPA might be one of your goals.

But the reflection you’ve done so far—in part 1 of this series and here—might have brought to mind other goals.

For example, maybe you discovered that you’re not taking good care of yourself and want to make better self-care one of your goals. (It might even turn out that doing that energizes you in ways that bring your GPA up, too.)

Whatever goals you set, make sure they fit the SMART goals framework. Learn more about that here.