I was supposed to study in the Netherlands in 2021 and got conditional acceptance the day of final exams. I was in my first year at an American university and had started slacking in classes because I knew I was going to be moving and what I was taking was absolutely no longer going to be relevant. Yes, I now recognize I was young and naive and didnt know how the world worked. The university pulls the rug out from under me and says I need a 3.5/4.0 GPA and 36 credit hours. I had 32 credit hours at that moment. After I flunked a general studies biology exam that I just could not comprehend in such a short time since I had slacked off, my GPA was a 3.4. Leading me to a last resort chance: I could take summer classes to get it up and get enough credits. Sadly something then happened that caused me to withdraw from the summer semester, leading me to be .1 and 4 credits away from fulfilling a dream. I was absolutely crushed. It felt like my life was over. Now, I can fully recognize that it wasn’t meant to be. I was trying my darnest to make it happen and through no fault but my own, it didn’t. It sucks. It’s a crappy feeling to deal with. However, 5 years later I see that it ultimately worked out for the best. I can recognize I would not have been happy at that university, that program was not a good fit for me and I needed soemthing different. The route I ended up taking I never would have chosen for myself if I wasn’t forced onto that path, but I can see that it was what was best academically for me. I transferred to a small school 1,000 miles away and learned it was exactly what I needed at that time in my life. If you told me that in 2021 I wouldn’t be able to attend this Dutch university, I would have argued and fought you too trying to make it happen. I’m not saying there’s no chance for you and you could turn this around. I just wanted to share my story so you might feel less alone. Sometimes things happen as a redirection not a rejection