<p>If this school was categorized as a “safety” and he was rejected this early in the game, it’s time to re-evaluate his college list. Make sure that both his GPA and SAT/ACT fit into the accepted student profile or common data stats (you should be able to find this on the specific college’s website). Rigor of his curriculum is next in importance then followed by teacher recommendations and EC’s. It usually boils down to a numbers game and if his numbers don’t meet the average admitted, consider the school a reach.</p>
<p>^ Was he rejected from a school using a VIP or priority application? How was a decision made so quickly? 
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<p>Is there a chance that he named another school in the essay? Maybe they knew he thought it was his “safety” and somehow guessed that he really didn’t want to go there ??</p>
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<p>Absolutely. Is any admissions officer really going to say that the essay was terrible? Or that a student was just not a match? </p>
<p>In this case, if your S thought this school was a safety and was rejected, then it’s time to redo the list. Common Data Sets are your new best friend. Use them.</p>
<p>The following applies more to rejections received later in the year. An fall rejection from a safety may merit a bit of exploration.</p>
<p>I think there’s a difference between a child wanting to know know why he/she was rejected and the parent asking the same question. I don’t think I could ask my child to call/write and ask such a question unless I felt that the child both really wanted to know what happened and could handle an protentially upsetting answer. It just seems like that would be very awkward for most students, like asking a crush “why don’t you like me?”</p>
<p>Rejections are usually (hopefully) coupled with acceptances from other schools. Most kids, in April and May, are forward looking. I can’t imagine many dwell too long on the rejections when thay have so much to look forward to. As a parent, I wonder “what might have been…if only…” but I wouldn’t want my child focused that way.</p>
<p>99.99% chance it was GPA and/or Board scores. just move on – their loss.</p>
<p>I think the only way you would get an answer is if it’s a tiny, not incredibly competitive liberal arts school, that may actually remember your application. Also if it’s miniscule, like Deep Springs, they may be able to give some insight.</p>
<p>I will say that when I sent my son’s updated transcript to his favorite schools last January, one admissions officer admitted that he “missed” one AP class and one math class on his first review of the transcript. Son had already been admitted, but what if he had been rejected based on not enough math classes or not enough academic rigor? If it’s a safety, it might be worth a call just to make sure they didn’t miss some basic class on the transcript.</p>
<p>Note: I posted this before, but I found at least one mistake on every version of Son’s transcript I saw, from freshman year on. After I posted that, some people looked at their kids’ transcript closely and found MAJOR errors (e.g. classes marked as an F that were actually dropped, etc.)</p>
<p>2girls4me, that’s kind of scary. My son is taking Speech as a senior because it’s required for graduation in our state. The thing is, most students take it as freshmen, but we didn’t live here when my son was a freshman, and he loaded up on more academic courses in the meantime. Hence, he’s taking speech now. It’s not exactly a blowoff, but it also doesn’t impress.</p>
<p>I just love it when government bureaucracy gets in the way of learning. "Excuse me, Mr. Fancy-Pants National-AP-Scholar, but you’re not graduating from our school system! You haven’t taken speech!" Imbeciles.</p>
<p>This reminds me of a story from my own college days. I took the same phys-ed course (bowling) twice because I enjoyed it. But, as I went to apply for graduation, I noticed in the College of Arts & Sciences handbook that I was required to take two different phys-ed courses. I was in a bit of a panic, imagining having to delay grad school in order to get one credit in, say, jogging.</p>
<p>When I went to the Arts & Sciences secretary and explained my concern, she put me at ease with a roll of the eyes and said, “We don’t keep people from graduating because of things like that. We’re not the College of Education.”</p>
<p>First I would look at the transcript and any other materials sent by the high school. Are the grades, GPA, rank, and test scores recorded on the transcript correct? Are honors and AP classes marked as such? </p>
<p>Then I would see if the GC is comfortable making the call, especially if she is familiar with admissions criteria for this college and is also shocked by the rejection. If this college is a true safety, a rolling admissions school with something of a predictable formula that made it seem like an absolute shoo in for your S, I’d be worried that there might be a problem with a letter of recommendation. If there is some way to pose the question of whether the student would be better served with a different letter of recommendation, it would be great if the GC could find out asap.</p>
<p>^^^ The College of Ed dig is hilarious.</p>
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<p>I’ve told this story before, but at course registration time at the end of junior year, my son had to convince one of the top of the class kids that yes he did have to take gym class and no he could not substitute another AP class if he actually wanted to graduate.</p>
<p>On these required but non-impressive classes: this is something to ask the guidance counselor to explain in the GC rec.</p>
<p>Good point, Hunt, thank you for mentioning that.</p>
<p>Due to a scheduling conflict my son ended up with a study period one semester last year. But he got a kick out of telling his friends that it was AP Study Period.</p>
<p>mantori.suzuki</p>
<p>I was just pondering what an AP gym class would look like.</p>
<p>S1 had something close to one freshman year. Most of the kids at his school end their day after 7th period – but not his program. Therefore, there was an 8th period PE class consisting entirely of math/science program freshmen. S found this perfect; he read a book while doing his laps. When the PE teacher mentioned this to the assemblage of parents at open house night, we went down afterwards and sheepishly asked, “would that student happen to be X?” “Why, yes!” she replied. We had a chat with S.</p>
<p>OTOH, the PE teacher let them pick activities that they wanted to do – so S organized a group of folks for Ultimate Frisbee and spent the rest of the semester doing that. Worked for him. At 5’6" and 88 lbs. at that point, he would have been toast in any other PE class.</p>
<p>bethie – you should drop by the 2010 parents thread. They are all asking about Grinnell! :)</p>