So this is my senior year, and I’m applying to a bunch of different colleges. My attendance before this year was spot on, maybe 3 or 4 unexcused absences in total. This year I’m taking a lot of hard classes, like AP Psych, AP Calc BC, and AP Econ. My last class in TA for gym, and its just a filler so I have 6 classes on my schedule (I don’t need it to graduate). A lot of the times, I don’t show up and I had to suffer the consequence, I have 18 unexcused absences in the semester, all of them from ditching TA. It didn’t really affect my grades of course, I still have a 3.67 UW, 4.17 weighted. I’m planning on dropping TA next semester because it is completely useless and I literally don’t do anything. Will all these unexcused absences affect my chances in getting to some schools, like UC San Diego, even though my GPA didn’t drop at all?
18 unexcused absences? Are you sure these are unexcused absences or truancy? In my school an unexcused absence is when you leave for vacation or something like that but your parents call you in. If you parents don’t call you in, it is a truancy. And at my super strict school, if you reach over 5 truancy you get expelled…
I thought unexcused absences are when you don’t have a reason for an absences?
Anyone???
Not sure it will affect admissions, but ditching the stuff you think is useless or doesn’t matter is a bad habit to get into if you want to actually do well once you get to college. Throughout life there is a lot of seemingly senseless stuff that one has to do just because…and whether you like it or not. Once you are at college, it is you that has to get yourself to your classes. In some of the large lectures, no one will care if you are there or not. But missing a lot of classes will make it hard to learn material at an adequate level and do well, and there starts a situation that can really snowball in a negative direction.
Rather than worry about how it will affect admissions–since you’ve already done it and can’t erase it now, focus on turning this habit around in the right direction.
To the best of my knowledge, colleges only see your grades, not your attendance record. It is odd that your grades haven’t suffered as a result of your subpar attendance, but if they haven’t, your chances of admission are unlikely to be affected.
That said, in college it can be a lot more tempting to miss class. Neither your parents nor your professors are likely to scold you for being out, and you don’t have to explain yourself. But it can also be a lot more costly. Don’t get into the habit of missing classes all the time or you’ll find yourself behind on the material before you know it.
Sam998 well my grades haven’t dropped because I’m cutting TA exclusively. It’s not like I’m cutting calc or econ. And I’m still getting an A in TA because I’m pretty close with the teacher. That being said, I will try to stop cutting TA during the second semester because I don’t want my attendance to get any more. Thanks for your response!