My DS applied from another college to the EE major back in January. His application has been complete since February. 2 weeks ago he noticed that his application was no longer complete and they needed his spring grades, he never got an email about this. He sent them an email and got a general canned response saying they needed his spring grades with no explanation as to why. He has not been able to get through on the phone. I have a few questions that maybe someone can answer.
- was this a deferral just to get more data points? I’m concerned because he was not able to take chemistry at his previous school, which is a prerequisite, but we explained in his application that it was not possible. If they want spring grades to see chemistry we are going to be SOL.
- if they are just looking for more data points will being deferred diminish his chance for acceptance? I’m concerned they will fill up before he is able to get them his spring grades.
- he will not be able to request his grades until the end of May. Will this hurt him as far as housing?
Thanks for your help.
I would send the grades as soon as you have them.
I have heard of cases of universities admitting students based on their high school grades through Junior year, and cases of the same schools asking some different students for their mid-term grades senior year. It appears that the reason was that the first set of students had superb grades and were well over the cutoff for admissions, but the latter students were close to the cutoff and the school wanted more information. Some schools will do this, some will not. Something similar is possible for transfer students.
I would similarly expect that this means that your son is pretty close to the cutoff and it could go either way. Since you have already explained to them why your son was unable to take chemistry I would assume that they know this, and are looking for the rest of his grades to make their decision.
I would not read anything into this other than what it is on face value: They have not yet made a decision based on what they already know and are looking for more information. Good luck and I hope that this goes well.
It is clear that a lot of schools are in a bit of turmoil right now trying to deal with the pandemic. I would expect that some decisions are going to come out later than usual.
Thank you for your input.
The college staff is likely working from home. I would send the grades and email the college to let them know they’re on the way.