<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I'm in danger of having my admissions offer revoked because of a single bad grade in my fourth quarter. I'm in the process of drafting a letter to explain my situation to the admissions committee. This is probably the most important thing I've ever written in my life so far, so I wanted to see if any parents could take a look at it and tell me their impressions/if I should change anything.</p>
<p>Please post here or PM me if you're willing to help!</p>
<p>Were you asked for a letter?</p>
<p>How do you know that you are in danger?</p>
<p>I posted on the college’s forums asking if I was in danger. An admissions rep responded with a “maybe” and recommended that I mail a letter of explanation.</p>
<p>It was also an F (which was due to something outside of my control), so it is pretty serious. My other grades look okay.</p>
<p>Was it an admissions rep from the school you are planning to attend?</p>
<p>Will your final transcript show quarter grades? Many just show the final grade.</p>
<p>If it was really outside your control, I can’t see the harm in sending the letter. What were the circumstances beyond your control?</p>
<p>Can you get a copy of your final transcript from hs to see exactly what your college will see? I agree with my-3-sons that quarter grades may not show up. Can you remember how your junior end of year grades were listed?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t send a letter just yet.</p>
<p>I was on a trip for the second half of the fourth quarter, and was asked to be excused for all the remaining tests and assignments. Our real teacher was out for the rest of the year so we had a sub, who agreed to excuse me, but either forgot to or just didn’t, since I got an F.</p>
<p>It wasn’t ‘entirely’ out of my control, since I had senioritis at the end of the year, so I wouldn’t have gotten an A otherwise, but I definitely would not have gotten an F.</p>
<p>edit: I have a transcript from my sophomore year which definitely shows quarter grades, but I will call my school today to make sure</p>
<p>This sounds like something you should talk to with your counselor and with the administration and get it squared away. </p>
<p>How long was this trip? I can’t imagine that a sub would have the authority to excuse someone from half a quarter’s worth of work. At our school, a contract would have been required at the least and certain work would have had to be turned in for grading.</p>
<p>I would not assume, even if you got an “F”, that the school is looking to revoke your admission, or will even bother to look. They already have a heavy investment in you, and it is a total pain-in-butt for them to change their minds, and start chasing more folks off the waiting list. You might want to talk to your counselor, etc., but I’d wait for them to contact you before sending anything.</p>
<p>I believe that if the problem- the whole problem, just as you told us is correct, then this is the school’s error.
If you acted on a school officials’ “ok” (the sub) and now you are being penalized for it then that is wrong.
Of course I used “if” alot. We have only your explanation of the problem, and so all here must guage their advice accordingly. Having once been a kid, and having one, most adults here know that person(of any age) may alter/shade/omit some facts if it helps their position when they may be in a jam. I recommend you show your documentation to the school verifying permission from someone at the school to miss assignments and tests without penalty, then show your school the problems that unexpected turn is causing you. Let them correct their error then have them send a letter detailing their error and what the corrected grade is now.
A lesson it’s never too early to learn: document document document.</p>
<p>Agree with YH about clearing up things with the high school first. Your stated reason for your F raises more questions than it provides answers–that’s how I think it would be viewed by your college.</p>
<p>I certainly hope scatj has learned some lessons here. Volunteering info on a forum board about an F wasn’t the smartest. Not knowing if a quarter’s grades will show up isn’t the best either. Perhaps that grade won’t even show up, and you have opened this can of worms for no good reason! Checking for accuracy with your school should have been step 1. Was this their error, as you tell us? Then have them correct it. If the grade didn’t change, then seeing if it would be reported should have been step 2. If it isn’t reported separately, but is just averaged in, then this problem is over. I’d say step 3 would be preparing a careful, honest, explanation to the prospective college so that IF they require an explanation then you are ready to provide one. Did your “senioritis” affect only that one class? If so, then your explanation of senioritis is a little less believable.
Add that to your explanation which I am, let’s say, skeptical if it is the whole truth, and ask yourself- do I expect my explanation to fully satisfy the admissions people, or just “raises more questions than it provides answers” as ellenmope so politely says.</p>
<p>In fairness… I don’t think the school has requested the letter. I thnk her grades have been such in the past that this feels like a true blemish. And truth is, even if it was a difficult lesson to learn (if she has nothing official to say the teacher gave her permission to miss), a final grade of a C isn’t going to get an offer of admission rescinded for a host of reasons. I feel for her. But if there are other teachers who granted this permission and feel the way she approached it was acceptable (and they aren’t also substitute teachers), they too could “stick up for her” with the counselor/administration. Even IF she didn’t go through every step perfectly, as a parent I would be pretty ticked that you failed my kid without any notice when you knew she was out of town. (all of the kids in the class would surely know even if you didn’t). Of course, my question is what was the grade at her departure? Was it already close to failing? Or was it a C and as it turned out, there were still way too many outstanding points to give her a pass on the rest of the year. Hard to believe if other seniors were required to do work that anyone would earn a pass without making up the work. But then again, there’s a whole lot about certain school rules that boggle my mind.</p>
<p>Op tells us: “An admissions rep…recommended that I mail a letter of explanation.” That could certainly be considered a request, but just as certainly is not a demand.
I’d recommend Op follow appropriate steps before sending a letter. It may not even be necessary for Op to send a letter.</p>