I am a senior at a NYC specialized high school. While I have great Junior year grades and standardized test scores, I’ve had a bit of bad luck so far this year in terms of grades.
I currently have a very low grade in both my AP Bio class and Research class. While the Bio grade is due to incorrectly inputted homework grades, and the Research grade (should) rise over the next few weeks, grades are captured tomorrow at my school. This means that on my first progress report my average is going to be considerably (6-7 points) lower than my current GPA on my transcript. When I apply to several schools over the next month or so I’m assuming that these will be the grades that they see when they request senior grades.
Is this the end of the world for my admissions chances? Would I be better off postponing my applications to my more selective colleges until my grades are better? Also would this hurt my chances of getting merit based aid at my safety schools?
If you can apply later then do that if you need the grade boost. While the previous years of effort won’t be totally overshadowed by the senior grades, those are the ones on top.
@devinlin1 I’m a little unclear, so forgive me. Are you saying that the grades YET to come out for 1st quarter are inaccurate and don’t reflect a better grade that you deserve (i.e the teacher input your grades incorrectly)? If so, I’d be hounding that teacher and explaining that those grades need to be accurate given your applications. If you’re saying that YOU did something incorrect in your homework and that the grades are accurately low (but expected to rise), then I’d consider a different strategy and potentially apply later.
I can tell you definitely that senior grades MATTER (1st quarter and/or 1st semester). I say this from experience as my son had a very poor 1st semester grade report (his worst in high school - not good). He had been deferred from two of his top choices in December and was asked to report his 1st semester grades in January. Within days of reporting them to each school, he was flat out rejected at both…
The first thing you need to determine is whether your mid-semester grades will be reported on any transcript sent to colleges. It is my understanding that most high schools report final semester grades on transcripts sent to colleges and not mid-semester grades, meaning any transcripts you would order sent within the next month would have only grades through junior year. If yours is among those then your worries are at least delayed if applying now. Note, however, if you are applying EA or ED with a college, check the college’s actual rules, because some of those require you to have your high school/guidance counselor provide a report with mid-semester grades before deciding EA or ED admission.
If your high school does include those grades on your transcript or they are needed to apply EA or ED to a college you are applying to, then yes, the bad grades can have a negative impact on the decision to admit or any scholarship that might come with a decision to admit. Thus, if your contention is that the grades are being misreported, you need to have any correction done quickly.
If your high school does not report mid-semester grades in the transcript and you are not applying EA or ED to a college that requires mid-semester grades for EA or ED, then your worries are at least delayed for a while and what becomes important is your final semester grades not your unreported mid-semester grades. if, after you apply, the college is one that requires mid-year reports that include first semester grades, then poor end of the semester grades could, and are likely to, have an adverse impact on both the decision to admit and any scholarship decision if admitted.
If the college does not require mid-year reports and makes admission decisions based on grades through junior year (many colleges do that), then any poor first semester or end of year senior year grades may become an issue after you submit final transcripts after completing high school, as colleges reserve the right to withdraw admission or scholarships if the final transcript submitted in June shows poor senior year grades.
@sharkbites, my school “captures” the grades a few mornings before they are actually released. Usually this doesn’t matter at all, as these grades will continue to change over the rest of the semester, but in this case if one of my EA schools requests to see my “current” senior year grades, the most recent progress report will be sent (even if this was captured weeks ago).
For my Bio class specifically, I handed in homework for a day I was absent, so I eventually will receive full credit. My teacher simply hadn’t changed these grades yet, so my “captured” grade was inaccurate. Again this is in no way locked in for the rest of the year, but it will remain on my first marking period progress report which will be sent to college if they request it.
From what I’ve gathered today, most of the schools I am EA-ing to very rarely/never request early senior-year grades, so I should have some breathing room to fix these grades before I get an official transcript to send out after first semester.