<p>So, I was accepted to UW--my number one choice--some months ago. I had a really bad freshmen year, but achieved a GPA of 3.3-3.5 for my Sophomore and Junior years, and got a 2320 on my SATs. However, come Senior year, my GPA took something of a dip in the first semester (~3), largely due to some light slacking and problems in a few classes. What's really worrying me, though, is this last semester, where it's looking like I might have even a D in one class, largely due to some perhaps ill-advised Senioritis. This has sent me to worrying about the chance that my admission might be revoked sometime after they get my semester grades. </p>
<p>Has anyone here had any experiences with this sort of situation? Am I likely to get the boot?</p>
<p>Pretty unlikely. I was not admitted, but I have read the newsletter of the admissions office many times. Madison only revokes like 4 or 5 acceptances a year. (You would need MULTIPLE D's and/or F's to get rescinded.) That D might get you a "letter of concern", however. A letter of concern is basically a rebuke for your senior year grades. It is by no means a rescission, but it's a reprimand for your senior year and a warning that those grades won't be acceptable at Madison. Here is the sample concern letter from their website:</p>
<p>So last semester, my admission decision for UW-Madison was postponed, and I recieved a D- in Calculus along with all A's and B's in my other classes. I was accepted with the first set of postponed students, but this semester, it looks like im going to fail Calculus, with A's and B's in all my other classes. How worried do you think I should be about having my admission revoked?</p>
<p>Note to all HS students- you take clases to learn, not acquire a gpa, so keep up with the work in senior year. It would be a shame to struggle in college just because you neglected to study a subject when the material was presented, or to not get AP credit and skip a course when you had the chance. It is all about YOU, not anything else, regardless of the class/teacher problems that may exist. Those of you who have been slackers hopefully learned the lesson before college and will do better in college, if given the chance. Good luck to all of you.</p>
<p>So, just got my final semester grades in, and they're really not pretty. Two B's, Two C's, and a D in AP Calculus AB, where I failed the 3rd quarter outright, then semi-bounced back with a B- in the 4th and a C on the exam. =\ I am very worried indeed about this, because from what I can tell, this might be enough to get me revoked given what I viewed as a very borderline transcript up to this point, and if I'm revoked, I've got nowhere to go and no idea what to do.</p>
<p>So...I dunno. Any more light to shed? Anything I can do?</p>
<p>Well, I might have to revise my original position...a failure looks bad even if it's for only one quarter. If your transcript was borderline all along, they might worry that you aren't able to handle the rigor there. That's a load of crap, though, because high school performance isn't always an accurate predictor of college performance. Just because you messed up senior year doesn't necessarily mean you'll mess up at Madison. They rescind admission primarily to be fair to the students who worked hard right up until graduation. That aspect has some validity, but students who get perfect grades all through their senior year are definitely in the minority!</p>
<p>At this point, I would try to call the admissions office and explain your situation to them. Convince them you're ready to succeed at Madison; I would hate to see you rescinded. Looking at your grades and taking everything into account, here's my estimate of your chances:</p>
<p>Sustain admission (no letter): 2%
"Letter of concern" but sustain admission: 73%
Rescind admission: 25%</p>
<p>As long as you did not FAIL calc AB (i.e. not receive credit), your odds of revoked admission are about 1 in 4 (see above). UW-Madison, like any college, hates to revoke admission and only does it as an extreme measure. You will probably get a letter rebuking you for your grades, but it's a lot better than being rescinded!</p>
<p>I figured I'd fill you in on a few extra details I discovered, which perhaps would help in a scenario where I do have to send off a letter. The major deficit in Q3 I don't think even shows up to them to begin with, as that particular F is not visible on my transcript. Said grade was caused by a test that I took, was given back for revisions, and sometime between then and the end of the quarter essentially disappeared. As a result, a 0 was recorded in place of perhaps a 70. </p>
<p>Beyond that, would my AP test score help my chances of staying? I believe I did at least well enough for a 4, if not a 5 on the AP test, and I thought that might show that while there were issues with an individual assignment that dragged my grade into the metaphorical abyss, I did not flunk the course for lack of ability.</p>
<p>So, I stumbled upon this site (again) by means of a Google search and figured I'd finish the story, such as it is. I'm in. I got the "letter of concern" but not the "letter of academic probation", or much worse, "the letter of stay home". It came about 2 weeks after my SOAR session, which would've made it especially annoying if I'd lost my admission, but that hardly matters now.</p>
<p>I leave in exactly one week. Gettin' a little freaked out, but I suppose everyone does as friends start leaving and move-in day gets closer.</p>
<p>You learned a hard, but good lesson. Fortunately things turned out okay, I'll bet you don't slack off in college. The other part to this is that you will have a less solid background for your college courses than you would have if you had learned all of the material presented in HS. In other words, be sure to put in extra effort to learn the stuff you didn't last school year to survive your UW level courses. Good luck.</p>
<p>Congratulations, USG! I'm glad you weren't rescinded. I bet you were worried, though. With both the concern and revocation letters, they don't tell you whether or not you're revoked until the second paragraph! Except for a couple words, the first paragraph is the same for both letters.</p>