Questions to Dean J re: Scary letter from admissions

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Virginia
1

<p>Hi Dean J,</p>

<p>Since you helped us so much during the admissions process, maybe you can help me out now. We just had our summer ruined by a letter from Dean of Admissions John Blackburn asking my child for a "satisfactory explanation" of lower grades in the senior year before he can "finalize admission" (I assume the grades he spoke of are the second semester, since you have the first semester grades and we received nothing before about grades other than praise for academic performance in a ‘likely letter’). </p>

<p>I know from an internet posting of the “UVa News” of April 17 2000 that this a form letter sent to a number of students, but there is also the ominous message in the News that "if a student's responses are deemed unsatisfactory, or if students fail to respond, they could be denied admission" and that "several students were denied admission during the last two years".</p>

<p>Coming about a month before my child expects to be going to school, this is really a summer-destroying shock. My child has turned down offers from several other very good schools to attend UVa and would have nowhere to go if not admitted. And what a mortification it would be after telling everyone they are accepted to UVa and then being rejected a few weeks before going.</p>

<p>Is this a strategy to raise angst and then "reluctantly" agree to let the child in after all? Or is there a real chance you would reject someone at such a late date? The actual GPA in the second semester only went down about 0.3 points from the overall GPA (and the overall only 0.02 points), but there was one nasty looking D+ (weighted up to a C+ as it was an honors class) in a very difficult language class. All other grades weighted to at least a 3.0. The semester GPA was 3.7 vs a 4.0 at the end of first semester.</p>

<p>Second semester senior year is a time when there should be a little let up. These ARE still children. There are so many distractions - class trips, prom (which our school in its great wisdom held in the middle of AP exams), girl or boy friends, preparing for graduation, cars, driving, etc. We've (I'm talking both students and parents here) danced to the tune of the college admissions offices for 3 1/2 years or longer. Can't you let up a bit for a few months. Do we really deserve this final shot? It isn't like the GPA went to a 2.0.</p>

<p>I know this may be done mostly to try to "shock" the students into a good start in college, but don't you think it might be counter-productive? People tend to achieve to the levels you expect of them. If the first communication from their school makes them think that you feel they are "screwing up" already, it has the danger of becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. Putting a student through the embarrassment of having to explain oneself to the dean a month before starting can't help one’s self-esteem. Plus the uncertainty this is causing waiting for the Dean's reply will destroy any focus on getting off to a good start. Has anyone run this strategy by any professional psychologists? It probably demotivate more students than it motivates.</p>

<p>Anyhow, any comments or suggestions you or anyone else on the site might have would be very much appreciated.</p>

<p>Thanks.
A Very Upset Parent</p>

2

<p>Send a letter via registered mail ASAP explaining in detail the low grade. Follow up with a call (or place a call this week). Offer to come down and speak with them in person. Assure them that the grade is not indicative of future academic efforts. They're looking for reasons to keep a talented student, not let him go. Let us know how it turns out.</p>

3

<p>In other words, grovel like a politician caught in a whore house.</p>

4

<p>That is pitiful and wrong on UVA's part. I'm so sorry for your family, when this should be a happy time of anticipation.
You wrote very well though, and Dean J is very approachable. Unfortunately, though, your son will have to do exactly as they say to protect his position there. I think that if he does so, it will be in his past and serve as maybe some sort of wake up call (not saying that he needed it).
I'm just feeling your pain. Keep us updated please.</p>

5

<p>Why is it pitiful and wrong? I went through senior year with 5 APs, year round sports, leadership in two clubs, plus the usual "class trips, prom (which our school in its great wisdom held in the middle of AP exams), girl or boy friends, preparing for graduation, cars, driving, etc". I never got a D+, and I didn't know any who did.</p>

<p>But, like everyone's said, contact them in the appropriate way. And your SON should do it, not you parents. It's his mistake, his college career. They'll take him much more seriously. This happens to people, but don't be surprised. Would he have been accepted with that D+? No. They clearly state you need to maintain your grades. And I suggest not taking the attitude of "well his GPA only dropped .3 and that you 'deserve a final shot' and it's not like it's a 2.0". His self-esteem will not be harmed, instead, he'll be learning a valuable life lesson of taking responsibility for his actions, and hopefully, he'll think back to this one day when he has the decision to do work or go party. So, it may make him a better person in the end, because if he gets a D+ during his 4th year of college, businesses won't send him this letter, but instead they'll retract their offer.</p>

<p>Smile, this isn't the end of the world. Let your son handle this and learn from it.</p>

6

<p>It's wrong for a school to withdraw an offer of admission to a qualified applicant for anything short of a serious moral or ethical infraction. Sh1t happens, and schools shouldn't be screwing students over for getting a bad grade or three in their last semester.</p>

7

<p>I agree with Cav302--
to have your whole life potentially screwed up by this D+ once in his life seems totally unfair to me.</p>

8

<p>I'm going to be fairly general here since I don't have much information about Worry Wart's case.</p>

<p>Every year, there are students who let their grades slide after receiving an offer of admission from a college or university, despite the fact that offers are contingent upon maintaining their grades as they were when we read their application. This policy is not unique to UVa and if you look around other sections of this message board, you'll see posts about this.</p>

<p>When a final transcript arrives that shows a drop in grades, we're obviously concerned. Some of the letters we send state our concerns and others ask for a response. Obviously, the ones that ask for a response are sent in cases where there has been a significant drop.</p>

<p>As suggested above, the student should write an honest letter about what happened and send it to the Dean as soon as possible.</p>

<p>By the way, in the future, it's best to just call the Office of Admission to talk to the Dean of the Day if you want to get feedback. Our presence here is irregular.</p>

9

<p>I am sure if there is a satisfactory explanation it will not be a problem. Everyone understands that things happen. My grade dropped in english (but not that badly) because I missed some days due to a family tragedy, and when I got back IB exams started. I did the worksheets my english teacher gave me almost immediately, but then I sat 15 papers and I wasn't IN CLASS because of that. So when our first class back was held, she handed out grade sheets for the first time and I saw what i needed to hand in (she gave a lot of worksheets - senior IB english? I'm not usually one to complain about busy work but we really haven't had WSs like that since eighth grade or so - but she only collected like half of them). A minute after she gave me mine, I went right up to her with the applicable worksheets but she refused to accept. Whatever, I was emotionally spent and I wasn't about to argue over her accepting 4 worksheets in the last two weeks of senior year. I just hoped my grade wouldn't be that bad enough to warrant a letter from college but I figured even if she was...not so nice, that my explanation would be decent enough.</p>

<p>I guess the drop didn't matter, or if they only look at final grades it didn't affect my final grade that much (went from an A to a B+ due to high grades in the earlier quarters). But anyway my point is, these people aren't heartless. They don't WANT to reject you at this point. They want you to have a compelling reason. They don't want to have someone have done all this stuff and maybe gotten lots of help just to get into college or "fool" the admissions board, and then just do whatever afterwards. This is not your case I am sure but at any rate that is why they police grades like that. Send an honest letter ASAP and if the guidance counselor has any comments such as his grade was in the middle for the class, then it might be best to shoot off an email to the GC or teacher and ask for a statement to that effect (if that is the case).</p>

10

<p>Of course, since we are privvy to the acutal letter, this is on supposition. I do think the school has a right to ask, What happened? This is a D....not just a B dropping to a C. And we are talking UVA, not some local community college. ALL seniors face the pitfalls as worrywart's child. My daughter had a perfect transcript coming into the final semester of her senior year. At no time, did she let the distractions of senior year upset her courseload. It appears it's a simple request. A simple response, by your son, not the parents, will suffice.</p>

11

<p>On a side note, one of my best friends from high school was accepted to Duke RD. Come final grades, good ole Duke sent her a letter wondering why her calc grade went from a B+ to a C. Her overall grade was still a B, but her 3rd/4th quarter grades were Cs.<br>
So, it's not like UVA is the only one that does this. And her grade was a C in AP Calc, not a D+ in a honors course. I stand by my statement that UVA has a right to check up...it's not like they outright rejected him, and they probably won't, but they deserve an explanation. College is full of distractions that are greater than high school, and classes are much more rigorous and dependent on self-discipline, so it's better for the school to check up than let it by without notice only to have the kid fail later on, again, when it really does matter a lot.</p>

12

<p>Thank you Dean J for your reply and to the others for their comments. I tried to send you a private message about this but your box was full, and I also thought the post might serve as a warning for other students in their senior year and spare some other people the anguish we are suffering now.
Hopefully the explanation my student sends will be adequate - but in any case it will be honest.<br>
To those who expressed little sympathy, I suggest they realize that there are many kinds of people in the world with many styles of learning - some who are on all the time (like Shoebox's senior year and Momray's daughter), and some who are a bit bipolar in their approach - sometimes very focused on academics, other times focused on other aspects of life and who can sometimes fall behind the curve for a few weeks. How many people here have never crammed for a test to make up for not keeping up as much as possible? Both types of people have their place and both contribute greatly to society. And again, remember, these are young people - they do make mistakes.</p>

13

<p>No one is blaming your son but you have to realize, UVA is a to notch school. You can make excuses now for him; but what happens when its time for exams and spring fever hits, he's interesting in lining up that perfect summer job or planning a trip to Europe. These challenges are always in life. That is when one has to learn to prioritize.</p>

14

<p>I'm not really trying to make a lot of excuses. I've always tried to avoid that with my kids - my favorite line is "life isn't fair, get used to it". But as a parent I am very protective, and maybe I get my back up too quickly when my kid's well being is in jeopardy. I'm just facing the reality of what some teens are like and hope that the admissions people do so as well. Is "I made a mistake in perspective for a few weeks and got behind the curve, ie: I'm young and human" a satisfactory explanation? Let's hope so, as nobody's died or gotten divorced. Remember, they mature enormously in that first year of college. As for a summer in Europe, I can't afford it!</p>

<p>Mostly I was asking for advice on how best to get past this (and thank you all for much good advice, which along with a few Xanax has made me feel a little better). </p>

<p>I wasn't really looking for recriminations or even comments on the fairness of the process (although I appreciate the commiseration), as that isn't the main point at this time. Maybe I'm "making excuses" because I am feeling guilty myself for saying back in Feb "it's ok to lighten up a little". I guess my own frustration at having to re-address something I thought was long over (worrying about admissions) and the fear of being without a college at such a late date is a bit overwhelming, so I looked here for some perspective. </p>

<p>Finally, why do you assume this is a "son". Don't girls make mistakes, or do you think that is Y-linked ;-).</p>

15

<p>I wasn't "on" all the time. I frequently was cramming last minute work, trying to squeeze out extra credit points, and read about 3/10 AP Lit books, not to mention I never once had the motivation to start projects early. I simply realized that if I was going to get in, and stay in, a college, I was going to have to maintain As and Bs. Trust me, I was never an all-star student in high school, but I somehow managed to walk out with a 3.7. Frankly, the "distractions" of senior year made my grades rise because I was happy outside of school, and thus the excitement of senior year caused me to be somewhat "excited" about finishing with a bang. </p>

<p>And, we all I think posted something in common: we understand your child is a human. Not a big deal. UVA is just looking for an explanation, because if it's just "I didn't feel like working anymore", it is a cause for concern. Any other quarter and it wouldn't have been very good, at all. So why do it the final quarter? They just want to make sure the admittee still wants to do well in life and is still driven, which I'm sure your child is. Like I said before, UVA is almost helping your child because he/she will probably remember this, and come spring of 4th year, maybe they'll say "well, UVA once gave me a scare, and I have this awesome job lined up and I don't think they'd appreciate a C" and they'll put in a bit of extra effort, do well, and have a great life as a result. I doubt your child will lose their spot, as long as he/she writes a letter saying "yeah, I got behind a bit and I got overwhelmed" and explains that he/she really wants to continue her education, at UVA, and he/she's learned from their mistakes.</p>

16

<p>Thanks Shoebox. I hope you are right on all counts. I know the "kick in the pants" theory often works, but it doesn't work for everyone, and can be counterproductive for some personality types. I'd have preferred a letter from the dean more like "your senior grades went down some, so we would like you to attend a seminar series in the first few weeks on maintaining academic focus" - perhaps something like that would really be more positive and useful.</p>

17

<p>Man, I'd rather write a letter then attend some seminar. This keeps it private instead of going to a place with other kids in the same spot, and have it known why they are there. The letter, instead, gently nudges and says "hey, you made an oopsies, are you okay?" privately and securely, which I think is far less detrimental. They know your child is focused, or they wouldn't have gotten in, they just want to give a heads up that this isn't the person they saw a few months back, and they want to make sure things are straight again. This way, your child can walk on to grounds in the fall and everyone will think he's a bright little bulb waiting to absorb more.</p>

<p>Trust me, I had a really rough junior year and I about cried when my dumb GC told me I probably wouldn't even get into VT. I applied though, and made it, and now I'm on to bigger and better things, aka UVA. I got my own kick, and it sucked. This will be tough, but then he/she will get through it and one day think back and say "darn I was naive then, I'm glad I've matured". Plus, they'll forget about it once they step foot on grounds.</p>

<p>One D+ is not killer. Yes, it's an alarm. But, people make mistakes. Remind your child that UVA is just trying to set them on the right path so that they won't make the same mistake again. Don't sweat it, it sounds like this was a terrible hiccup, but I doubt it will ruin anything :)</p>

18

<p>A seminar can be discrete and might accomplish much more than a "mea culpa" letter if there is a true fear by UVA that the students are on a slide. And your reaction to it shows it might be a good deterrent.</p>

<p>As for the letter being a "gentle nudge" saying "hey you made an oopsie, are you ok?" I think it is more like a bomb going off. This is not an empty threat, they have and do rescind admissions (I've been checking all day on the web). From what I found UVA only rescinded 2 in 2003, the only year I could find a number for, but I think there is a trend upwards, with some of the state schools moving way up (UCLA plans to rescind 90 out of 4600 this year, but their admissions were based on junior year grades only). We also heard from our guidance office today that the number of these "senioritis" letters is way up this year, so the trend is up. Let's just hope this isn't the year they decide to make some more examples.</p>

<p>The main problem is the timing of this - if you find out July 30 that you're not going to school in August, what are you supposed to do? You certainly won't be going to a competitive school (or one of the schools you rejected). Would they really do this for one 2.5? Let's hope not, but you never know, as admissions gets tougher every year, and it's hard to second guess.</p>

19

<p>If you're worried about a child's self esteem, being sough out and having to go down there with others is not a good esteem bolster. There is no way a seminar is discrete, and do you really want your child's first experience of college to be a negative one? Because meeting others because you screwed up in high school is not good, and others knowing is just degrading. College is a new, fresh start, which is why they're sending you the letter as a wake-up call to point out that they've made mistakes, but you can fix them and move on. It wouldn't make me think about my actions, it would just make me think "oh, well, nothing bad could have happened, I just ended up here". UVA is trying to HELP your child, not harm them. I doubt they'd revoke an admission offer unless there were multiple bad grades that significantly lowered a GPA. A slide from 4.0 to 3.7 isn't all that bad, other than the D+ is a sore mark. We all know your child won't be thrown out. It isn't an empty threat, of course, but in your case, it's a "hey, what's going on?". They haven't thrown your child out yet, and probably won't. They're just trying to point out that this slide isn't good, and they don't want it to happen again.</p>

<p>Also, I understand the late date and how frustrating it must be. I can't even imagine. But, they do have 3000 transcripts to get through, then mark those that need letters, fold/stuff letters, and send out.</p>

20

<p>My logical brain tells me they won't rescind, but my gut just doesn't feel very good. Hope you are right, and again, thanks.</p>