Is it possible that admissions could have already made a decision about an applicant without looking at his/her midyear report? I’m curious since my school sends them out rather late (and by late, I mean on the month of the decision release date).
Sure. Depending on the selectivity level of the school and the academics of a particular applicant, the mid year report may not add/detract much whatsoever.
For instance, Harvard needs to decline ~30K applicants. The kid with a 1950SAT and a 3.6GPA – no mid year report (even a perfect 4.0) is going to resuscitate that folder. That one is already been declined.
The midyear reports simply go to confirm the strengths of what’s already in the file – save for someone who’s tanking which would be a red flag.
They won’t mean much, either for the good or the bad, for most students. This isn’t something to worry about.