We are in India. My son got average grades (First Class) in 10th grade in the vast and rigorous ICSE curriculum, then based on the school counselor’s suggestion he shifted to a Cambridge CIE school for his 11th & 12th.
Due to a number of reasons outside his control (multiple calamitous events in the family), he performed poorly in his 11th grade (AS-Level) exam in March and he was forced to retake all his subjects (English, Math, Physics, Chemistry & IT) this October. He has worked his heart out ever since his previous disaster and his school teachers feel confident he’ll do very well this time round. He is taking the SAT in December and he is consistently scoring 1500+ in timed tests.
A huge impediment is that his CIE 11th grade results will only come out on January 10 and I am not sure what to do as most colleges in the US have a January 1 deadline.
If he applies in December, the only thing he’s got going for him are his SAT scores, his extracurriculars and his essay. I doubt that will get him into Chemical Engineering which he loves in a decent university that provides financial aid (He is a US Citizen).
On the other hand if he waits until January 10, that should substantially boost his academics but it leaves him with a tiny pool of colleges with Chemical Engineering and financial aid. I am not entirely sure if colleges need the actual 11th grade transcript or whether they are willing to accept an assessment from the school counselor.
most US colleges require applications be submitted no later then Jan 1 and must include his entire transcript, including both 11th and first semester 12 grades, so waiting until Jan 10 to send in applications is a non starter for the majority. His applications CAN be updated with his latest grade results when they are available in mid Jan. His counselor can also mention the effect the calamitous events had on his grades, as well as how well he has recovered this year.
Is he NOW in 12th grade?
why would there be a 6 month delay in his 11th grade results?
He should look at U’s that offer automatic acceptances for hi SAT scores, such as the U of Alabama.
here is a list of some- be sure to look at individual college websites to check the date requirements for merit/ automatic acceptances . http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
Thank you so much for your reply, menloparkmom. Yes, he is now in 12th. He had to retake all his 11th grade papers in November as he did very poorly in March passing only English and Math and failing in the remaining three.
I didn’t know applications could be updated with the new grades. Thank you so much for the link, we were only looking mostly at private universities and colleges that seemed to meet need as per the common data set.
Over the weekend I went through colleges with full ride scholarships based primarily on the SAT and most of them have rolling admissions and accept applications late into the year.
Also what I have found is that while the Common app can be updated with the latest grades as soon as they are out, this does not affect any applications that have already been sent out until then. In other words, the update doesn’t work retrospectively.
So I am left wondering again whether I should apply for the (very few) colleges that have a deadline of January 15 or February 1 and whether this is workable as he has merely days to get the app out as soon as his results come out on January 10.
Also be aware that while colleges with rolling admissions technically accept late into the year, many of those have already been handing out admits for a while now. Once they fill up, they stop.
I wonder if, rather than grasping at whatever college may be available, it’s worth him taking a constructive gap year and applying unhurriedly for fall 2020.
@parentind
you wrote
“Also what I have found is that while the Common app can be updated with the latest grades as soon as they are out, this does not affect any applications that have already been sent out until then. In other words, the update doesn’t work retrospectively.”
your son OR his H school Counselor CAN send ANY new pertinent information - scores, awards, etc- to colleges that he has applied to- via an email to the college admissions office- be SURE that you ask that the updated scores be included in his application file/ record… Dont be intimidated into thinking that it can only be sent via Common App.
Thank you, SJ2727. I am still trying to wrap my head around how much of a difference 2 weeks can make. Usual regular decision deadline is around January 1, I’m hoping my son can get applications out of the door prior to January 15. Perhaps the mistake I’m making is that I am oversimplifying the ability to send transcripts, recommendations, etc soon after his grades are out on January 10.
Thank you, menloparkmom! I understand you now, I think that’s a swell idea.
Thank you, happymomof1! My son is a US applicant and I think this is a great idea for a safety in case he is unable to meet the January 15 deadline for few schools.
He should communicate directly with each admissions office, and clarify the documents needed to apply as a US applicant educated abroad. He should not be surprised if each institution requires something different due to this specific status.