So what is the truth behind 1st term Senior year? I see some people slacking off while others work just as hard as they used to. Some are stocking up on AP cources while others are just letting their schedule be a little easier. How hard should one work, and how does it affect admissions? If 1st term grades don’t really matter, why shouldn’t all students just load up on the toughest course possible?
What is the truth on 1st term senior year so that I won’t get screwed over in the end?
<p>If you're trying to get into a top school, you cannot, cannot, cannot afford to slack 1st sem. of senior year. The schools you're applying to will have a copy of your transcript through the end of 1st sem. of senior year, and that is what they will be basing their decisions off of. Also, if they see a sudden downward trend, they will assume you are lazy (unless you give them a good explanation). The most important semesters in terms of admissions are both from jr. year, and 1st from sr. year. If you get accepted & enrolled, you will have to send that school a completed transcript after graduation.
You should definitely not be taking an easy course load next semester.</p>
<p>I mean not slack off, but just go a little bit easier. Is that hazardous? MY courseload for senior year isn't easy, but I didn't stuff it up with tons of APs like I see some of the people here.</p>
<p>So you're saying 1st term senior year grades are used in admission. I see, thanks.
Anybody else have an opinion on this?</p>
<p>I have no choice but to go full throttle in the fall. Acceptances and scholarships depend on how hard I work and what the results are of it all.</p>
<p>Many kids in my school slacked off the first semester and we are accused of having the worst case of senioritis ever while we had the best college placement ever. one kid in my school had his average drop from 95 to around 78 for the first semester of senior year. He ended up getting into many top schools such as Duke and University of Chicago. My average dropped from 96 to 90 and I got into Yale and Stanford. i doubt your senior year matters at all. i think your course difficulty is the only thing they are looking for</p>
<p>If your GPA is borderline, definitely keep working first semester. High mid-year grades can be a good swing vote and can erase any doubts that earlier, lower grades might have planted.</p>
<p>Senior year definitely matters. Don't blow your grades and get anything below a C. Someone I know just got word that his admissions was rescinded.</p>
<p>the classes you take are important for the "strength of schedule" part of the application.</p>
<p>Here's the plan: work hard first semester, get as many A's as you can. Then 2nd semester you can slack, and if you get some B's and C's and your final grades drop to B+'s or B's, it won't matter.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if you slack and get B's first semester, and then you drop to D's 2nd semester, resulting in a report card full of C's come graduation, when you had mostly A's your other 3 years, will put you in danger.</p>
<p>I think for certain people (including me) senior year is critical. I have an upward trend (3.3 - 3.6 - 3.9), so I think it is esp. critical that I get all A's in the hardest schedule possible my senior year to prove that I can get the straight A's I got last semester.</p>
<p>Senior Year is critical because you are asking for references, often from people who are going to be asked if you are sort of like a can of Sears Paint, Best, Better, Average, or Below Average in impressive academic and personal qualities. Sad but true. They have to check categories to indicate which cohort you fall in regarding the students they have seen in the history of their teaching a course in terms of talent, engagement, effort, contributions to class etc. Not a good semester to daydream, show up unprepared and to be distracted. Keep focused! Hard to do with so much on your mind and with visiting the colleges you are getting serious about, but run the race smart and give some energy to this last lap.</p>
<p>yes, the first term definitely matters for RD applications, since the uni will also see the transcript for tht term, bascialyl, work as hard, or possibly HARDER so tht u show consistency/improvement(if there are still space), and like some said, this is a time u ask for recommendation, its always best if u stilll show ur doing the work
but after tht, since the uni wont be able to put those stuff into their decision making, but just dont screw up ur exam/grades badly, or they mite rlly decide to reject u after seeing the transcript u havta send in after grad.</p>
<p>It's more complicated than that.
So - the classes are (and I need 3 classes to have the credits to graduate):
AP Stat
AP Physics C
English 4 (Required)
Gov/Econ (Required)</p>
<p>I dropped AP Latin Virgil because I needed to have only 4 classes so that I was free at lunch. This way, I will have periods 1,2,3,4, and at lunch I can go and take multivariable calculus and linear algebra (both 1 semester courses) at a college near my HS, and still make it back to school in time for cross country practice at 3:30.</p>
<p>How could I explain this situation to colleges?</p>
