Second Semester

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

A handful of questions as I enter the beginning of the end

  1. How ‘much’ can I ‘relax’ this semester in terms of academics? What exactly does it mean when people tell you to “keep your grades up”? (For context, my grades have all been in the high 90s.)
  2. I was an AIME qualifier last year but didn’t qualify this year, will this hurt me when writing my LOCI/application update? (I’m not gonna mention it on my letters though.)
2

It somewhat depends how selective your college is, and where your stats fall within their typical admission profile.

But the short answer is: Not. (You can do that when College starts, when you only have a few classes each week).

Being done with applications, essays, etc., and not having the anxiety of admissions/rejections, and not having your parents and guidance counselors breath down your neck, should be “relaxation” enough.

Then continue with roughly those grades for a little while longer.
Basically, you cannot suddenly fall into a “rabbit hole”, because the college is expecting you to be essentially that same high-performing student come May that you presented yourself as when you had applied.

If you’re taking AP classes you’ll have to keep your efforts up and get the best possible AP score, in case your college allows you to use those classes towards credits or for placement.

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So hypothetically if some of my grades drop a tiny bit (to like low-mid 90s or high 80s, which I’m not trying to do) or I do bad on the AP exams (<=3) will I be rescinded?

4

There is no globally correct answer - and I certainly don’t want to send you into an emotional tailspin, because of one lesser grade someplace.

A college is not likely to rescind for “normal” variations - they realize that things “do happen”.

The stakes rise and fall somewhat with how elite the college is, and how much a “stretch” vs. “fit” your particular numbers were for that particular college. But as long as you can honstely say you are continuing to do your best and get whatever fair grades resulting from that consistent effort, I wouldn’t worry.

But, if you are trying to find out how much you can “safely” slack before it has consequences, then you’re asking for gambling advice which no one will be able to give, down to the decimal point.

Basically, if there was a personal tragedy, or other important life event, and it impacted your academic ability - then the college will seek a reasonable explanation to understand that there was a justifiable reason. You’re an adult; “senioritis” is “not a thing”, it’s just an excuse less mature peers made up - thus would not be acceptable among adults.

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