<p>Since I am new to this process maybe I am doing something incorrectly so I could sure use the help of some veteran parents. Ds High School messed up the transcript with a B in an AP class that should have been an A. This resulted in GPA changing from 3.57 to 3.65 unweighted. It also resulted in rank change from 16/261 to 15/261. They sent the incorrect transcript to the ED school and also forgot one of the teacher's rec's. Can this be corrected and will they wait for the teacher rec that was due today? Teacher says he will send it out tonight and call the school - will that be okay? This sure is frustrating and takes a great deal of time and this is only the first school - there are 7 more to go. Any suggestions that you could share to make this process easier and more effective would be appreciated.</p>
<p>How could changing a grade from A to B lead to a higher GPA?<br>
As for corrections, today is the deadline for submitting applications, but in fact, transccripts, recs, and so on, can be a bit late coming in. </p>
<p>I called on admission office to find out if something had been received and I was told they are not going to begin checking until a few days; right now, they're too busy just opening envelopes!</p>
<p>Changing the grade from a B to an A created a higher GPA because the A is worth more than the B. The A is what she earned but it was recorded incorrectly.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>Ds High School messed up the transcript with a B in an AP class that should have been an A. This resulted in GPA changing from 3.57 to 3.65 unweighted. It also resulted in rank change from 16/261 to 15/261. >></p> </blockquote>
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<p>Okay. This is what you wrote originally and did not make sense to me.</p>
<p>Thanks, Marite. You eased my mind on the teacher's rec issue. I hated the thought that D had wasted her ED chance. Do you have any recommendations on the best way to go about the teacher rec process?</p>
<p>If the teacher sends the rec tonight, it is well within the deadline (usually, it's the postmark date, not the date when it is received). But even if it is late being sent, colleges usually allow for it. It's not the applicant's fault. Sometimes, they will notify applicants that something is missing; but it might be worth calling at the end of the week to find out.</p>
<p>I also do not quite get the GPA thing the way you wrote it either but that's ok. Marite had excellent advice. The teacher/school package is ok if it comes a couple days later most likely and your D's teacher is calling to let them know his rec is in the mail and to they know it is about to arrive. The transcript error should be sent in ASAP by the school as well. I do not think they started to actually READ the applications yet! Besides, usually if something is missing in a package, they inform the student right away and give them a chance to get it in, particularly if it is a missing piece that the school should have sent and not the kid's fault. </p>
<p>In the future, first when she requests recs from teachers and such, she needs to give them a due date to have them in by. Then she has to check in with them a week prior to that or so and remind them and check to see the status. I know my D did this and some teachers forgot the date (though it was clear on her cover letter to them) and did not get them done by the deadline she gave them and then they took care of it right away once she checked in with them. All of this was BEFORE the actual colleges' deadlines, however. At our school, the teacher recs get sent to the guidance counselor who compiles the school part of the app package into one pile with my D and makes sure every piece is there. In fact, today she is having her school get her Carnegie Mellon (school) package ready and she makes copies of their entire package and then on our end she sends her own app package and copies all of that as well in a separate mailing. </p>
<p>The thing here is to have your D check with these folks before she needs the stuff, because some are just not as reliable or don't keep track of these dates and ultimately it is in her hands to keep them informed and check that they did what they had to do. Then after her app package is sent in, wait a bit, and the college should send confirmation that everything has arrived or what is missing. If you do not hear back from the college about that in a reasonable amount of time, then call to check that all her materials are there (but give them some time to process the envelopes and all). </p>
<p>Please make sure your GC sends the transcript correction right away and puts your D's name and social security number on the mailing and that she is an early applicant. I am sure it will get there by the time they actually read her stuff.</p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>After one ED ap, the thought of another 5,6,7, etc is daunting. My son was down to the wire with his online submission last night because he misread the short essay as "300 word limit" and not what it really said, which was "300 character limit"....which resulted in a last minute need to reduce 1/2 page of work to 2 sentences (the online ap cuts off your response at exactly 300 characters!). Imagine doing this for your response to "what was the most important moment in history?" So, at about 10pm, he hit "submit". I asked if he felt relieved. </p>
<p>He said "I'll feel relieved if I get in and don't have to do this again!"</p>
<p>Soozie's advice is excellent. The materials that are being sent separately ought to have your D's name, SSN and date of birth, and to clearly state that she is applying early. This will ensure that another file is not opened by mistake but that the materials will go into the correct file.</p>
<p>Thanks all for the excellent advice. D will follow Susan's advice from now on.</p>
<p>Momsdream: I know how you feel. In addition to all of this application stuff they have to keep their grades up on all of the course work and with many APs in the mix! I honestly don't know how they do it.</p>
<p>Actually, now that EA app has been sent out, my S is relaxing a bit. He is currently filling out recs forms to be given to his GC and teachers, perhaps this week, perhaps next. He has begun thinking about essays, but will not write in earnest until later. One app is due by Dec. 15, so it has to be sent before he knows the results of his EA app, but the others can wait until after Dec. 15. Still, it does not hurt to mull essay topics over when there is a bit less pressure.</p>
<p>Marite-- You called? S got a letter stating "we are unable to check the status of individual applications. The admissions office will contact you if necessary materials are missing from your application. If you are concerned regarding the arrival of any materials, you are welcome to send additional copies..." I would like to verify receipt of his transcript from Local U and (especially) the rec from his summer program. There's no way we can send a back up copy of that. Suggestions?</p>
<p>It's so good when they can relax a little. After all, they are seniors and should be having fun. Son's school is really piling on the work - lots and lots of papers! Sheesh! They warned the parents at back to schol night that the workload was going to increase dramatically this fall....but this is more than I expected. </p>
<p>Marite, do you agree that the apps aren't hard....just the essays! Thanks goodness for the Common App.</p>
<p>I called and talked to a somewhat harassed sounding person who said that the file room staff was not in a position to check folders now, as they are dealing with apps that are arriving; but I was welcome to call later this week. Anyway, I called the Extension School which told me that the transcript had been sent out on 10/7. It does not show up on my S's website perhaps because it is not a standard document (unlike the high school transcript).
For your S, you might check with local U when the transcript was sent. For the rec, you could possibly check with the rec writer. If it has been lost, it would be easy to resend, as those recs tend to be computer-generated. Do remember to ask the recommender to put your S's full name and DOB on the letter, and even SSN, so that someone does not stick it into a new file by mistake.
As you know, the colleges accept Nov. 6 SATs, so other late arriving materials are okay, too, as long as the student's part of the app arrived on time.</p>
<p>Momsdream:</p>
<p>Unfortunately, only two of S's colleges accept the Common App! For the rest, once S had figured out what ECs he wanted to list and put together a list of his awards, the rest is filling out basic info.</p>
<p>Marite, There is no reason to think the rec didn't go in, so I'm sure S would consider my wishing to check additional evidence of what he considers my obsession with this process. On the positive side, the program sends out recs for all the kids, most of whom apply to S's first two choices. I'm sure they have it under control, but am a worrier. (Their deadline for requests (3 max) was in September!)</p>
<p>1moremom:
I'm a worrier, too. I'm always afraid something will go wrong. In this case, it's not that the rec has not be written or sent, but that it may have ended up in the wrong folder. That's why I tried to have most recs sent by the GC, but there was one rec from his college math teacher (S will check this afternoon that it has been sent out) and the Extension transcript. The website does not seem equipped to show non-standard materials. For example, the Extension transcript was sent out well before S filed his app. His app is listed, but not the transcript. So I will call early next week and verify.</p>
<p>Everything else went out, overnight, from the counseling office. The summer rec might have arrived first. But, in my mind I'm hearing the voice of another CC poster who said parents should never call the admissions office. (I'm not really worried about the transcript; I believe the courses were listed on his app.)</p>
<p>1moremom:</p>
<p>I did not want. call, but rare is the day when S is home by 5, and then it's too late for him to call! The courses are listed on his app, too, and he sent in a catalog description of each. Perhaps, I won't call. If the transcript (required by the school) is missing from S's folder, I suppose the school will notify S.</p>
<p>But to give you an example of something going awry. I received notification that my new ID card had arrived. Inside the letter there indeed was a new ID. But it happened to be that of a (male) colleague. So now, I've been told to go get a new one and to send the misdirected ID to the colleague.</p>
<p>We had a similar experience with one of the science competitions. I spent an entire day on the phone, or by the phone, waiting to hear that a fax had arrived (when the original did not). Of course, S was in school. Could you email me a number? ;)</p>