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<p>To keep it in the NESCAC family, Middlebury requires ED applicants to submit first term (quarter) grades when available.</p>
<p>fwiw: I used the guilt-trip with my ED son. I told him he “owed it to the teachers who wrote strong recs to continue to do well in their and his other classes…”</p>
<p>I think the overall lesson can be: senioritis is always a bad thing, regardless of the application status.</p>
<p>What would be considered a “dramatic drop”?</p>
<p>Probably depends on the school. If you were a student who normally was getting 3.8 to 4.0 every semester, you’re applying ED to a competitive school, and they see a 3.2 on a 1st semester midterm report card, it could be enough to raise a red flag that will get you denied or deferred rather than accepted ED.</p>
<p>The thing is, no one really knows what catches the eye of an admissions committee except those who are on an admissions committee.</p>
<p>and don’t forget, for many/most, senior year curriculum is the most rigorous of the four years in HS, as students load up on AP/IB courses. So a big grade drop can be a red flag to adcoms that perhaps the student cannot handle the extra rigor. Not a good message to send!</p>
<p>And, not just grades are reported, disciplinary matters usually are also known by the committees. Our high school has had several cases of seniors causing disruptive “pranks” around school, and a couple were also caught stealing test answers from a teacher’s desk. The school has had to remind students and parents that High School is FOUR YEARS and you aren’t out of the rules and responsibilities just because you’ve started to apply to college…and, if you are a serious problem, those applications aren’t going to find a happy home.</p>
<p>the colleges my son applied to all required not only 1st quarter, but 1st semester and end of year grades all be submitted by the GC. In my son’s case I sure hope they look closely at it since his 1st quarter senior year was his best quarter ever!</p>
<p>I heard of a student at my school last year whose grades dropped severely (like into the 70s) for his last quarter. He had been accepted into a prestigious college and needless to say he panicked. We found that honesty was the best policy when it came to putting off a rescindence (I don’t think that’s a word but oh well). He contacted the college himself and explained what had happened and they really valued that. Moral of the story: don’t try to hide discrepancies in your transcript if they happen, be up front about what happened, and above all stress that you love your college and won’t let it happen again.</p>