Accepted to UMass Amherst honors college, but bad senior grades. Help?!

Applying to College Admission Stories
1

Hi everyone,

This is my first post here on the forum. I have been browsing here a lot, and have always managed to find a good answer to my questions. So here goes:

I got accepted to UMass Amherst for the fall. I got into the Commonwealth Honors College as a mechanical engineering major and was awarded a Chancellor’s scholarship of $8,500 per year.

Since I am an international student from Bangladesh, all my courses are O, AS, and A Level courses.

My grades are as follows:

grade 9 - 80% overall
grade 10 - 79% overall
grade 11 - 80% overall
grade 12 - 62% overall.

The pass mark at my school is 50%.

My O, AS, and A Level grades are as follows:
O Level - A<em>,A</em>,A*A,A,A,B,B
AS Level - A,B,B,B
A2 Level - [to be given in May 2012]

I got accepted based on my grade 9-11 scores. But in my senior year, I got very busy preparing for college. First of all, I was writing my college applications and essays till the end of January. Second, I am having to take the immunizations for college as I could not take them before as I had complications (As an infant, I developed a bulged fontanel on my head, which subsided after 9 days of fever, so i never got all my shots).All this kind of distracted me from my studies, causing my final grades to drop. I do have an “F” in physics in my third quarter of this year, but that was averaged out and became a pass (53%) at the end of the year.

I am aware that A level courses are dealt with like AP courses, so would I be getting extra points?

Also, I would like to mention that I feel confident about my A Level exams in May as I am concentrate on my studies again. But, the last date to send in final transcripts is July 1. I will not have my A Level results until August. I was hoping to average out my high school grades with my A Level grades to make my scores look better.

I am now afraid of having my admission rescinded from the University. I am planning on sending them a letter explaining what has happened this year, before I send them my transcripts in May. Could my admission get rescinded? Or could I be placed on academic probation? I have worked hard to get into UMass, and I do not want to pass over this opportunity.

All help will be appreciated!

2

I don’t know if the policy for rescinding applications applies the same way to international students as it does for domestic. It sounds like if you already have been accepted you should be set because of the distance (There going to tell you last minute you can’t go). You will either be rejected or have no punishment, so I would email or call admissions. They are not going to reject you for asking what their deal with international grading is.

3

Okay, so emailed the admissions department, and they replied saying that it is rare for a decision to be changed, although it is possible depending on the case and severity.

I feel a lot better now. I have already started my hotel booking and looking up plane tickets (I live ~7,700 miles away from UMass!) I would hate to get a rejection letter now. Especially since I would have to wait a whole year before I can apply for college again as we don’t have any community colleges where I live. I’m just going to hope for the best! :slight_smile:

4

It may help to arrange a summer internship or studies and let them know how you are continuing to prepare for college. Send that info as soon as you arrange it and send the weekly reports on your progress so they can see your commitment.

5

Take what has happened to you as a warning. College is full of distractions. Learn to keep up your studies with all that will be going on around you. Get and keep yourself organized. Make use of a scheduling program if that helps keep deadlines in focus. Don’t wait until the last minute to do things, who knows what will come up also at the last moment.

Good luck in your college and professional career.