Click the image to read the original letter we received recently from a young man named Caleb. Thank you, Caleb, for sharing your story! May you be an inspiration to others.
From 2.2 GPA to 3.5 GPA
My name is Caleb, and I have passed all the levels for Fast ForWord. I'm a college senior at BYU-Idaho. I want to share my story and express my gratitude. Your diligent efforts with your software program improved my life.
In July of 2017, I completed the worst semester of my academic career. I earned a 2.2 GPA and it was, by far, the worst GPA I've ever had in my life. I was discouraged, confused, and frustrated with myself. I'm an accounting major and found that junior year accounting is difficult! Probably the most frustrating thing was that I put in the time to learn the material and earn the grade I desired. I was spending 10-12 hours on campus daily, but I did the worst I've ever done. This was probably the lowest point in my life.
My brother's unexpected success story
In July of 2016, my mother found an academic counselor for my little brother to see, who was 16 at the time. My brother is a very smart person, but struggled with school ever since Kindergarten, specifically with reading, writing, and spelling. He was diagnosed with visual and auditory processing (lrlen Syndrome) disorders and motor problems. Immediately, the academic counselor worked with him. He started doing the Fast ForWord exercises. In eight months' time, my brother went from a 3rd grade to a 6th grade reading level. Amazing progress! Today, my brother is doing even better. He just earned his first 4.0 for the quarter! Not only did he improve academically, but he has more confidence in himself and his social skills have improved.
My turn using Fast ForWord
After learning about my disastrous semester, my mother encouraged me to see my brother's academic counselor as well. Any other point in my life I think I would have said, "no", but I was so humbled and devastated that I was willing to try anything. I was also diagnosed with visual and auditory processing (lrlen Syndrome) disorders. In some ways, mine was more severe than my brother's.
Starting in the fall of 2017, I went to the Academic Counselor and did the same things my brother had done. I also started the Fast ForWord exercises. It took me four months to complete all five reading levels and both literacy levels. The two most challenging were Sky Rider and Quack Splash (especially Quack Splash!).
When I was frustrated with it one time I almost threw my laptop out the window!
What did Fast ForWord do for me?
Fast ForWord helped me immensely. That same fall semester, I jumped from a 2.2 to a 3.5 GPA. My grade in Intermediate Accounting jumped from C- to A, and Advanced Spreadsheet Application improved from an F to a B. This past winter, I did my internship in South Florida and had an amazing experience. My manager told me I'm the best intern they've ever had, loved my work ethic, attention to detail, and my ability to be teachable.
I give a lot of credit to Scientific Learning. I can't begin to thank them enough for the work they've put into their software. I've done some coding, and it's hard, and I appreciate what they do! I'm so much happier now, and academically I'm excelling. The best part is I'm more efficient with my studies. Now that I don't need as much time to study, I get to enjoy other facets of life. I am less stressed and more relaxed after completing the Fast ForWord exercises. My marriage is even better, and my wife has noticed. My social skills and the ability to understand people have improved as well.
Thank you again for all you have done. It has made all the difference for me, and I'm excited to see where my career and life takes me. Because of you, I now have and will continue to have a higher quality of life!
Read the original letter from Caleb here.
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