<p>I always thought it ironic that in high school, where you really don't need to do homework to do well on tests and such, teachers make homework graded whereas in college homework isn't graded but doing it is much more necessary to keep up and learn.</p>
<p>soooo true
except i get more stupid graded homework assignments at uva than i would have imagined. thankful for them since they keep me on track but still it is annoying sometimes.</p>
<p>princedog - great post</p>
<p>Hazelorb wrote: (technical question: just how do you get those nice "quote" boxes anyhow)</p>
<p>"It was the 4th quarter and i would pass even if i failed the quarter, etc). so, the last quarter i got a 58 on the first test...
AND
but if you think my final quarter grade was anything but a B then you are wrong ... so i really have no patience for when people say they have slacked off in the last quarter because of this experience."</p>
<p>You were lucky you got your 58 on the first test. What if it had been the last test and you didn't get the result until after school was out? What chance then to "make sure your final grade was anything but a B?"</p>
<p>Princedog wrote:
"They are extraordinarily clear, no uncertain terms, that the offer of admission given several months ago, is conditional."</p>
<p>I would object to the term "extraordinarily clear". The statement is more to the effect of "contingent upon you continued level of academic success". It might help as a motivator if they defined this a little better ie: "If your final semester GPA drops 0.2 or more compared to your overall GPA when we admitted you, or if you receive any grade less than a B your admission will be reviewed and may (or will) be rescinded" - or something to that matter.</p>
<p>WorryWartMan,</p>
<p>replace all of the < with [ in the following syntax (I used < so it woudlnt convert it)</p>
<p><quote> what you are quoting</quote></p>
<p>or for more specificty</p>
<p><quote="username[ i]"=""> *what you are quoting </quote="*username[></p>
<p>WorryWart, it's never about the final GPA. It's about grades in individual classes. If a student got all Bs and As except for one D, the school would flag the transcript every time. Even straight As in every subject but one (a D) might have the same effect. It doesn't matter what the final year end grade is; all that matters is the appearance of a near-failing, or even subpar, grade.</p>
<p>Students don't get into these top schools with Ds on their HS transcripts, and so admission officers are very careful to "vet" all those who get that grade after their acceptance.</p>
<p>
replace all of the < with [ in the following syntax (I used < so it woudlnt convert it)</p>
<p><quote> what you are quoting</quote></p>
<p>or for more specificty</p>
<p><quote="username"> what you are quoting
</quote="username"></p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>i know where you're coming from, however, if your grade is in such a state that that last test really matters, then you should be studying your butt off to do well so that your grade comes out well. ie if i had a 100 on the 1st test then i wouldnt have worried that much about the 2nd test and my grade would have been fine. if i had a 70/80 on the first test then i would have known better than to not study for that last test because the result of that would have been apparent to me at least.</p>
<p>if anything, like ppl have said, this is a good wakeup call for your kid not to do something like that again. also, foreign language is important at uva so that might be another reason they cared so much. is your child going to attempt to continue this foreign language or start over? both options don't seem so good for your kid if they struggle with foreign language - uva requires 4 semesters of a single language. if he/she was just slacking off it is another story entirely.</p>
<p>I agree. More studying would have been the way to go, and there is major remorse about this - but of course this doesn't change the result. This particular language will not be continued at UVA. </p>
<p>I saw on another group that UCLA has an "admission contract" that spells out minimum GPA and required grades. Obviously it's best for admissions to have maximum flexibility, but this does give more specific guidelines as to when a problem will be flagged, and with students knowing that a problem will exist, it would give them time to be pro-active with admissions and even do a makeup course over the summer if needed. Again, a major problem seems to be timing, and the HS doesn't help by not sending report cards until late Jun even though graduation is in early June, and I'm sure the transcripts take longer to out still. This doesn't give anyone much chance for mitigation.</p>
<p>WorryWart, could I trouble you to post the link for the UCLA "Admission Contract"?
t/y</p>
<p>"Obviously it's best for admissions to have maximum flexibility, but this does give more specific guidelines as to when a problem will be flagged, and with students knowing that a problem will exist, it would give them time to be pro-active with admissions and even do a makeup course over the summer if needed."</p>
<p>I think all the UCs have this, with different limits. The system is huge, of course, and decisions must be cut-and-dry. I applaud UVA for allowing its admitted students the opportunity to explain themselves. I'm sure your student will rise to the occasion.</p>
<p>the UCs require a 3.0 unweighted gpa, but no grade below a C for senior year, or the student has some explaining to do -- and senioritis is not an accpetable repsonse.</p>
<p>I applaud all colleges for taking such actions, particularly top tier schools. Without mitigating family circumstances, a D should be unacceptable to all, bcos there is no doubt that UVa denied some other kid who likely finished senior year strongly.</p>
<p>btw: HS GCs out here know the UC rules and tell all students to be proactive by sending a letter to a UC campus as soon as they know about a bad senior grade, even if its first semester while decisions are still pending.</p>
<p>
[quote]
WorryWart, could I trouble you to post the link for the UCLA "Admission Contract"?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This comes from the UCLA admissions site:</p>
<p>
[quote]
Reporting Changes - Freshmen
Note: For security reasons, please do not include your Social Security Number when contacting us in writing.
Academic Changes
You should report any of the following situations:</p>
<pre><code>* If you dropped any courses which were listed on your application.
* If you changed any courses which were listed on your application.
* If you received any D or F grades, or if your senior year unweighted GPA will fall below 3.00.
* If you fail to meet the provisions of your admission contract.
</code></pre>
<p>Generally, the sooner you let us know of changes, the more options you will have.</p>
<pre><code>* Report academic changes
</code></pre>
<p>What will happen next
Once you submit your changes we will review them in the context of your overall record, and will let you know whether they affect your admission within 15 working days. In some cases, your offer of admission can be withdrawn.
[/quote]
</p>
<pre><code>I think there are also more formal admission contracts for transfers that they alude to. They also have a "provisional admission" which they alude to that might have a more formal contract that is individualized.
</code></pre>
<p>See: <a href="http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/NewBruins/NSG_Freshmen.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/NewBruins/NSG_Freshmen.htm</a></p>
<p>Bluebayou,</p>
<p>The link you sent was interesting. Sounds like they spell it out pretty well, and that the students should be aware of it.</p>
<p>Also interesting were the comments from the deans at the private schools - much less severe. UC is a huge system and it does sound like there is still some flexibility in their decisions, but it is also well defined in quantitative terms when there is a problem.</p>
<p>I assume it's just me but I would think a D would possibly effective admissions offer. Had my child had a D on their transcript when applying, most likely they would not gain admissions to a top tier university. And justly, if after acceptance, a D would still cause reasons of concern.</p>
<p>What I've learned in the past week from these posts and other articles and websites is that it is best to be proactive and contact admissions immediatley with an explanation. I think our attitude was more "don't stir up a hornet's nest" and call attention to it. I think this probably depends upon the individual college, in some cases the transcript would just go into a folder with maybe a "hmmm" from a secretary, and that would be it assuming all classes were passed and the degree given. But clearly UVA doesn't let this squeak by without asking for more info, and that appears to be the trend now. But 20/20 hindsight doesn't exactly make for clarity.</p>
<p>Did your son/daughter send the explanation letter already? It better be a compelling one. Otherwise, his admission is in a more serious jeopardy.</p>
<p>yeah be sure to reply to the letter sincerely and with haste. you should be looking out for a final response in the mail from Blackburn or whoever for final confirmation on what's going to happen. </p>
<p>and yes, it's absolutely rediculous to deny someone admission after already offering it, unless there is some discovery of fraud or deceit, some type of honor violation.</p>
<p>We received the reply (and were very grateful how quickly it came). The dean accepted the explanation as was still convinced that my student would do well at UVA. In any case, it was a supportive letter and we appreciate it and are breathing a great sigh of relief. Thus ends one of the most difficult weeks of my life.</p>
<p>I hope this has the intended effect, and not the opposite, as I mentioned in my OP. Again, it seems that if the school really feels a student might be in academic difficulty, it might have been more constructive to have the student attend a session to better familiarize them with the academic counseling services that will be available rather than making them write a “mea culpa” letter (or maybe both). I was left with the feeling that this was meant more to be a putative slap for the student’s self-indulgence, rather than a concern for a true academic decline.</p>
<p>Hopefully this will be our last communication from admissions, and my child can get on with orientation and the business at hand and have all future interactions about academic progress to be with the faculty </p>
<p>Thank everyone who offered support, and for those who didn't, you made some well reasoned points. And again we thank admissions for replying so quickly.</p>
<p>Most excellent, WorryWartMan! Think positive thoughts.....and try not to look back too much.</p>