Scared to death of a revoked admission

Applying to College
1

<p>As the title states, I have been nearing a nervous breakdown after receiving my final grades. This spring I was accepted to numerous universities and finally decided on Northwestern University to be the school I attend in Fall 2007. At the time I had applied, my grade point average was 3.750. My extracurriculars were great and everything seemed to be smooth sailing until a few days ago. Receiving my grades, I realized my AP Physics teacher (who for some reason despised me) had given me a No Credit for his course. I was in awe as I was almost entirely positive I would receive a B- give or take 3 percent. I went to my physics teacher, Mr. Hanna, and questioned him about my grade. After a heated discussion that eventually led to a quasi-argument, I asked to see his gradebook to verify my grade. Mr. Hanna reluctantly showed me his gradebook in which I immediately saw that my highest test grade (107%) was marked as missing. All his paperwork was thrown out and it was clearly intentional that he "lost" my test. After calling 3 students on the spot to serve as witnesses that I had set the curve on the test, he finally entered the grade. Looking further down his gradebook, I saw that I received a 50% on our physics project that was worth 33% of our final grade. To add insult to injury, my partner (who had done LESS work than me) had received full points (as did 95% of the class). When I asked him how this could be so, he said my group only did 1 writeup (a measly 1 page explanation on how we went about our project) and that my partner came in and told him that he had done the writeup. Truth be told, I spent over 20 hours on that project and did ALL the mathwork and calculations turned in and felt bad that my partner wasn't doing much so asked him to just do the writeup. So he gives me a 50% and him a 100% because I didn't turn in a paper that would have taken less than 30 minutes that he never even asked for two copies of in the beginning. The F on the project resulted in my final grade dropping 16.5% which brought the prospected B- down to a solid D. When I told Mr. Hanna that this D could cause Northwestern to revoke my admission, he laughed at my face and said word for word: "Ha, that would be a kick in the butt wouldn't it?!" After 10 minutes of begging with even tears in my eyes, I realized it was impossible to change my grade now. I apologize for such a long rant, I only want to paint the most accurate picture of the situation I am in to receive, in turn, the most accurate opinions and predictions as to what will become of my immediate future regarding college. Although not spectacular, here are the other grades I received AFTER applying with a 3.75:</p>

<p>Trimester 2-</p>

<p>AP Senior English (req) B
Senior Cadet Connections (req.) A
ASB Leadership A
AP Statistics B-
AP Calculus BC A
AP Physics C+
Economics (req) B</p>

<p>Trimester 3-</p>

<p>Beginning Painting (req) A
AP Senior English (req) B-
Senior Cadet Connections (req) A
ASB Leadership Pass
AP Statistics C
AP Calculus BC A-
AP Physics D</p>

<p>My grade point average my last 2 trimesters has been 3.009 and my final cumulative GPA is 3.643. I also would like to add (if beneficial) that after I had applied, I had also won many awards involving Speech and Debate (including a 5,000 scholarship for a 1st place Oratory Speech among 18 schools), Future Business Leaders of America, and I have also improved in tennis to play for our Varsity Tennis team (all of which was obviously not added in my application.) I am writing this today in hopes to receive as much advice, opinions, and predictions as to what will happen. I figure instead of struggling to sleep at night because the uncertainty of not attending Northwestern University come September 2007, I should seek out as much information as possible to do anything and everything to secure or better stabilize my position in Northwestern’s Class of 2011. For those that have read this, thank you so much for your time. Any and all serious messages regarding this topic are VERY welcomed. Thank you all in advance.</p>

<p>P.S.: I apologize for grammar errors, run-on sentences, ambiguity, etc. I can only say that flurried emotions are the cause of my lack of English intellect in this thread.</p>

2

<p>I wouldn't worry about it. For all you know, Northwestern won't revoke you. If they do contact you to ask about the grade, you can explain to them what you just explained to us. I would let your GC know what happened so he/she can back you up if this happens.</p>

<p>Relax and enjoy summer!</p>

3

<p>Do you have a copy of your test? Drafts of the writeups you did? Email correspondence between group members? All of this can help you present your case to the GC, who can help you if NU decides to question you on this.</p>

<p>This is why my son documents the *&^% out of all of his group projects and keeps all copies of graded work until after the semester is over! You never know when a teacher may question who did what, or what procedures were followed. </p>

<p>In DS's case, the teacher handed back graded work without recording it in his gradebook, which affected DS's semester grade in an AP course. DS went in and talked to him, the teacher agreed to sit down with him, and go over what grades he had vs. what DS had in his stack of work (because DS swore he had turned in all the assignments), and that's how they found the problem. DS made sure to follow through and kept his cool as well. No hard feelings -- he and the teacher are good buddies now! </p>

<p>Teachers aren't perfect, either, but in your case, this guy sounds like he made it personal. I would suggest talking to the GC in any even to give your side if events, present what documentation you may have, and see what pressure can be brought to bear on the teacher. Someone neutral may be able to get you two talking a bit more calmly. Good luck!</p>

4

<p>You need to contact your college counselor NOW and tell him everything, IN ADDITION to writing it all down in a letter sent to him . It would help your credibility if you friends who served as your witnesses would also speak to the counselor on your behalf . I also advice you to get your parents involved as well in the discussion with the counselor. They may need to take it up the chain of command to the principal, and beyond if this teacher isn't made to change your grade.</p>

5

<p>You need to get this guy on tape, if at all possible. He may not have to say anything incriminating, but at least to get his general attitude towards you.</p>

<p>If I were you, I would tell my parents to call the school. I would make sure that teacher did not rest until I got the grade I earned. Where I go to school, the only way things get done if parents call and complain.</p>

6

<p>It's too late to help now, but CountingDown's advice is very good. I intend to make sure that my kids keep copies of all the work they hand in from this point on. Teachers are only human, and may misplace assignments or record grades incorrectly. In your case, it seems that your physics may be jealous of your accomplishments. Maybe he wanted to go to a school like Northwestern, or wanted his kid to go to such a school. Maybe he's evious of the scholarship money you have won. Maybe he just thinks you are smarter than he is. Whatever. Unfortunately, he has it in for you, so trying to reason with him won't work. You should get your GC and parents involved. If he were failing you for shoddy or missing work, that would be one thing, but you should not have to accept such unfair treatment. Good luck.</p>

7

<p>wow, your teacher's an ass. kinda reminds me of my physics teacher. </p>

<p>anyway, i truly wish you nothing but the best as many of my friends are going through a similar situation since my physics teacher decided to be an ass and hand out D's.</p>

8

<p>My physics teacher sounds like the same person.</p>

<p>Note to self: avoid that career path, I'm sensing a trend.</p>

9

<p>hahaha funny how my physics teacher is kind of like that too</p>

<p>amen to that Xeneise</p>

10

<p>my physics teacher is like that too.</p>

<p>he went to princeton so it could just be those damn eating clubs.
i dropped Physics C 3rd quarter and wrote a letter to admissions asking for permission and was promptly granted permission. i must say though, my letter was really good and I had some good reasons (and I had straight A's in my other 4 AP's). talk to your counselor first. my counselor didnt call NU or anything but if they call him, its best to prepare him. did you already send in your proof of graduation form? i would suggest sending a sincere letter with it. good luck.</p>

11

<p>oh gawd, i opened this up and imediately thought of my ap physics teacher..yuck...i seriously feel for you. hah...i guess there's company...</p>

<p>If you have an understanding guidance counselor, tell him/her about the situation and they will explain if need be, they may not even contact you. Let me provide an anonymous internet message board pat on the back, it's just one grade/aberrration, just relax dawg.</p>

12

<p>the D is a red flag that will call attention to your general slump. doesn't look that bad, especially given your unfair situation, but you don't wanna let the summer slip by and find out your acceptance is rescinded in august. take the initiative and get on the same page with your counselor. write a great letter explaining this (without victimizing your teacher and whining). do everything you can.</p>

13

<p>Thanks for the posts everyone, I will get a hold of my counselor tomorrow and try my best to explain everything to him. Do I send the letter explaining my grade before they ask me to or should I do it afterwards? I hear bringing negative attention to one's self isn't always the way to go. What are the odds of my admission being rescinded? It's such a scary thought... Does anyone have actual stories of rescinded admissions/close encounters? I read a lot of "ah you'll be alright" posts that don't do much justice due to their lack of qualifying sources/anecdotes. </p>

<p>I would also like to add that I am still in the top 10% of my class, if that helps any.</p>

14

<p>"Do I send the letter explaining my grade before they ask me to or should I do it afterwards?"</p>

<p>Ask your CC . The best thing would be for him to write a letter, if he thinks it is necessary, or to make a call to the admissions office. But first see if he can get your grade changed. Bring all your work with you , and call you friends to confirm they will back you up, then go in and talk to the CC.</p>

15

<p>you need to get your parents involved, and have them make it clear they're not going to let this teacher bully you. If they have to go to the principal or the school board, they will. This is not a battle to fight on your own; a teacher can steamroll some kid, but with adults its a different story.</p>

<p>I think you got hosed on the final project, unless it was specifically said that each person is supposed to do their own writeup. It's not uncommon (in college, at least) to divide the work and have different people work on different parts; that's what teamwork is all about. Can you have the partner verify that you did the calculations? Or do you have the saved paper you did them on?</p>

16

<p>At this point I'm not too sure what my parents are able to do. I have to send the grades within 5 days, and on top of that, both of my parents' English is very choppy. However, I do have proof of all the work I have done and my partner (a friend) would verify the work and effort I had put in this project. Do I have him call the admissions office? Write a letter? Or when I write my own letter should I just use him as a source and put his phone number down? And what are the odds of my admission being rescinded? Thanks once again.</p>

17

<p>eg1,
We learned to keep all assignments early on because both of my kids had this exasperating habit of doing homework, but being sufficiently disorganized enough so as not to turn it in. You'd be amazed at the As that dropped like rocks due to a completed-but-neglected-to-turn-in assignment. We also save project/assignment rubrics -- and scan them when they first come home so we know there's an extra copy!</p>

<p>It adds to the general clutter in my living room, but...</p>

<p>DS was lucky that in the situation above, the teacher was not defensive and was as eager as DS to determine the problem, since the lower grade bore no resemblance to his work and participation in the class.</p>

18

<p>you really need to get this straightened out at your HS. You have 5 days and this is Monday, its plenty of time. If your parents need to bring in another adult friend as translator, then do it. </p>

<p>College admissions offices are not referees, nor do they want to be put in that position. Northwestern (or any other college) is going to be admitting HS students long after you are done with college. They don't want to have a HS out there deliberately steering kids away from applying there, which means they are not going to accuse the teacher of something or call and start demanding answers. You got a D, the assumption is you deserved a D. And to be blunt, after having played the game a while colleges know there are 2 sides to every issue. I'm siding with you here, but you got to admit that probably every kid that gets a D senior year has a well-reasoned explanation of why it wasn't their fault in the slightest. The colleges figure that at least some of them deserved it ;)</p>

<p>So what I'm saying is your strongest chance is to get it resolved locally. If I've read your posts correctly, you're saying you actually did enough work and scored high enough to get a B- in the class. If this is really true then you need to get your buns down to the school, parents in tow (along with their translator), and demand to get things put right. Bring the lab partner who can attest that you did the lab work, and the paper showing all your calculations. </p>

<p>Your parents need to get on the offensive here. Start with the missing grade. When he say's it was "lost" or something like that, have them demand to explain how it happened. The teacher takes roll every day, right? When he saw the empty column did he look in his roll book and see if you were marked absent that day? Well, why didn't he? Did you miss any other tests? If not, why would he think you missed this one? Hasn't your attendance been pretty good? Your parents need to make it clear they're not buying any half-baked excuses, and the next stop is the Principal, and the School Board after that. In fact, given the time deadline your parents should call the Principal now and ask to set up the meeting with him and the teacher. Dad should arrive already upset he's taking time off from work, just to set the mood right.</p>

<p>You'd better be right here, not making this up or viewing things in the best light after the fact. If the teacher said work on the project in teams and then everyone do a write-up, then you're getting treated fairly. At this point, don't depend on your memory. Ask a few other people in the class what they did.</p>

19

<p>Agree. Relax and enjoy your summer before going to NW. </p>

<p>If they ever question you you tell them straight that a teacher has the gall to laugh in your face, yes he had a death wish for you. Actually you don't say that. Just say there was probably mistake in scores and the teacher wont change it because the paper work were not kept. Be nice and show class. That you have the the rest of your grades to back you up, that if you can do Calc BC with A, you are capable of making passing grade on physics.</p>

20

<p>I talked with my counselor today. As usual, he was very understanding when I told him my situation and he said he would send a letter describing to NU that my grade was not a reflection of absenses/senioritis, but more of an unfortunate situation. Afterwards I felt much better about the entire problem but I'm starting to wonder if that still won't cut it. Does anyone know of actual rescinded admissions cases? I would also be very interested to hear how others in my situation dealt with their problems.</p>