<p>As the title states, how do colleges view mid year reports? Do they really consider them in the admissions process? Or do they simply use it to check up on your grades and courses to make sure you are taking what you reported/you aren't failing? Can the be a "make or break" factor in getting accepted? Or does it really not matter that much in making their final decision: by the time that you submit them, aren't many decisions already made? Just curious.</p>
<p>There are about 2500 universities and four-year colleges in the U.S. They don’t all do the same thing. My state’s flagship, for example, doesn’t even request a mid-year report.</p>
<p>Many selective colleges and universities, however, do pay significant attention to the mid-year report, particularly to your grades from the first-semester of senior year. It could make a difference for an applicant about whom the admissions committee was otherwise on the fence. At a college where admissions are fiercely competitive, a mediocre mid-year report could take an otherwise competitive applicant out of contention. But I don’t think there are very many places where a good mid-year report can make an otherwise unsuitable applicant suddenly a strong contender for admission.</p>
<p>Mid-year reports are not likely to bump you up significantly in the admissions process, but they do serve the role of either confirming the other information in your application (if you are performing consistent with or better than prior years) or raising concerns about your academic abilities (if your grades are noticeably worse than prior years).</p>
<p>I agree with the above comments but would like to add mid-year reports can influence financial aid in terms of grants and scholarships. I was able to bump up the amount of scholarship money I received based on my 0.2 increase in GPA based on my mid-year report.</p>
<p>Mid year report is the closest they are going to get to gauge how you will perform in college. It is why many GCs advise strong candidates to take the most rigorous courses fall semester of senior year, and do well. My nephew never got a chance to take any AP courses until senior year because he moved from one country to another when he was a freshman and was not on the right track to take more advanced courses. The first time he was eligible to take APs was his senior year. He aced all of his APs and showed the adcoms that he was capable of doing college level work. I believe that’s why he got into his top choice.</p>