D in math... will Hampshire drop him??

[jsmom1]

<p>My S was accepted EA to Hampshire and eagerly accepted (after an overnight visit which 'sealed the deal' for him). He can't wait to get there; he is so excited.</p>

<p>Last semester, he got a D in math. He hates math, has never done well in it (almost always a C throughout his high school experience, even w/ tutoring), and really just dropped the ball last semester. In the info we received from Hampshire after his acceptance, there is a statement that "those who receive a grade below a C in any remaining course work... must provide a letter of explanation as soon as possible. Failure to provide an adequate explanation may result in cancellation of the offer of admission." So, my S is going to write a letter of explanation (he doesn't have a particularly good "excuse" but will be honest and just admit that he stopped trying as hard but is now working hard to raise the grade before the end of the year) but would the school really withdraw his acceptance based on this one D in math? And what if he doesn't raise the grade and it's still a D next semester? (P.S. This math class was not a required class -- he opted to take it even though his school only requires 3 years of math and he had already completed 3 years. And P.P.S., he intends to study film and writing -- not math!)</p>

[ALF]

<p>I think that he should stress the not-required course angle in his statement. My daughter has a friend who failed a senior class and had to write this statement, but he was still accepted. I don’t know what Hampshire’s guidelines are, but I suspect that they want to make it clear to students that they reserve the right to rescind their acceptance for someone who totally slack off after they are accepted. If he can show that this has always been a weak subject, but that he is still sticking with it, even when he doesn’t have to in order to graduate, then I would think that he would be OK.</p>