<p>S was thrilled to receive his acceptance to Ann Arbor recently. Here's the rub:</p>
<p>Previously an almost straight-A student, he is now getting a possible C or I hope not a D in first semester of senior year. It is in a Science class he is taking at a local prestigious university (top 20).</p>
<p>His struggles are actually more like college-freshman-itis: didn't realize how far ahead he would have to work to keep up with the class; didn't realize how demanding the grading would be; didn't know he should go to office hours to avoid digging himself into a hole. To top it all off, he won't really know his grade until the final curve - they take everyone's total score for the course and plug it into a skewed bell to assign letter grades. A 60 could be an A or an F, depending on how it compares to others. And the TAs are not real quick to hand back those graded assignments or give you the median, either!</p>
<p>He is worried about getting rescinded and frankly, so am I. Do we tell our sad story to admissions now, wait until grades come out, wait until the end of the year?</p>
<p>I would definitely wait until the grades come out before you/your son talks to admissions about the grade. A lot of high school seniors need to transition to college academics, so I think admissions people understand it when high school seniors don't do as well as they had hoped if they take a class for college freshmen. I really don't think it's a big deal at all, but if you want you could just write some short statement to admissions after the grade comes out--but honestly, you don't need to explain to admissions every bad grade your son gets. I'll bet your son won't get rescinded, even if you don't say anything to them.</p>
<p>This is a good wake up call, telling you that your DS's high school may not have given him the skills for success in college. I would be considering how to help him prepare to succeed next year.</p>
<p>You are so right, hmom5! In many ways I think this experience itself is preparing him for college. He has done nothing but study to make up lost ground for the last three weeks. I hope he will learn from this, but at 17 I'm never sure.</p>
<p>OH, I'm in the same boat as your son.
Straight A student in high school
..enrolled full-time in an early college program & while I got A's in my other classes--I got a C in Calculus and am facing a possible C in Organic Chem..
I've looked at each as a new learning experience ranging from time management to learning how to study for each class and ask for help!!</p>
<p>But, no, sad story telling to admissions is a no no.
Instead, talk about the risk and initiative he took by enrolling in such a program. (maybe?). So just wait til grades come out. Good luck to your son :).</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone, for your advice. We will wait until the grade comes in, then tell the admissions office what has been learned. Hopefully these lessons won't come at too high a price.</p>