<p>I was accepted into UCSB with a 3.7 weighted UC GPA, 2100 SAT (one sitting) and a 32 ACT. </p>
<p>However, around the time I applied, my grandmother’s Alzheimer’s took an aggressive turn and my whole family was thrown into chaos. My dad became depressed, and my parents started fighting all the time. If I wasn’t going with my parents every other day after school to visit my grandma for a few hours, I was home taking care of my younger brother and sister till late at night. I started working odd jobs to help out my family (my dad’s work performance suffered and economic tensions were high). Basically, everything fell apart in late 2010 and this stress lasted through march of 2011, when I was admitted to UCSB.
As much as I tried, my school performance suffered and I ended up with two D’s in my two most difficult classes, one in AP art history first semester and one in AP Stats second semester. </p>
<p>I just received notice from the admissions department that they were pulling my acceptance because of the bad grades, and also because I failed to report a D in pre-calculus from my junior year. (This one I’m ashamed of and don’t wish to discuss).</p>
<p>As to the non-report, I was incorrectly told by my counselor that, because I had already fulfilled my math requirements and I was taking an additional math class my senior year, if I didn’t include the pre-calculus on my application and didn’t use it to fulfill my requirements, the college wouldn’t factor it into my GPA.</p>
<p>If I write a well thought-out, well written appeal letter explaining all of this, do you think UCSB would reinstate me? Other than the poor grades listed above, I’ve maintained a pretty good academic history throughout high school. Plus, I’m very confident in my AP scores for both of the classes I did poorly in, I’m hoping that these will demonstrate that I didn’t slack off and fail to learn the material, I just succumbed to my situation.</p>
<p>So, any advice? Please and thank you: I’m dangerously near tears right now.</p>
<p>look, i hate to seem harsh, but my father died during my son’s senior year in high school. my father and my son were very close, and our entire family was devastated (to put it mildly). my son managed to graduate with honors, although his grades did slip a little temporarily as he adjusted to the loss. i get a little tired of reading stories like this on this website. ucsb has every right to deny (rescind, in your case) a student whose grades aren’t up to the standard of admissions. accept it gracefully, and move on. </p>
<p>people have problems. life takes strange turns. you’re not the first person to have a grandparent with alzheimer’s. don’t dishonor your grandparent by using their condition as an excuse for your inability to follow through with your end of the admissions offer with ucsb. please try to learn from this experience and take the next steps to prepare yourself for a successful transfer.</p>
<p>While I appreciate your reply and its truthfulness, I’m not basing my appeal on the fact that my grandmother has Alzheimers. Did you even read the rest of my explanation? The focus was the fact that I had the stress of a father with depression, parents on the verge of divorce, the fact that I now required a job to support my family, and the responsibility of my two young siblings for a large part of my senior year.</p>
<p>yes. i did read the rest of the story. and i guess i should have put “grandparent with alzheimer’s, etc.” many, MANY high school students have dealt with the problems you described. many have had to deal with even more. what you describe still doesn’t explain your non-disclosure (of the ‘D’ in pre-calc). what did you think would happen when the school received your final transcript and saw the ‘D’ that you failed to report??</p>
<p>of course you can write an appeal, why not? but your time and attention would be better spent (in my opinion) getting a plan together to do a community college transfer at this point. you still have options, and community college is one of them.</p>
<p>and good luck with whatever you decide. have a good cry–nothing wrong with that! just don’t get stuck in self-pity mode.</p>
<p>Justthegirl: Call UCSB admissions and talk to an advisor. Send the appeal letter if you haven’t already. Ignore CaliMami’s narrow, one-sided perspective-- her posts have been among the more egotistical, my son this and my son that blah blah blah of any on these threads. While there are no guarantees you will be reinstated, you will never know if you don’t give it your best shot. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>If it was just the issue of the two Ds in AP courses your senior year when it does sound like you were trapped in a family crisis type situation which could easily force you to be less focused on academics you might have a case for reinstatement. However, the unreported D in Pre-calculus your Junior year is going to be just about impossible to overcome. It is just going to look too much like you were attempting to deceive UCSB about your real academic record. You should seriously and honestly ask yourself if you would have still omitted the course from your application if you had received an A in it instead of a D?</p>