Transcripts were updated about a week ago, and I maintained all As last semester. I had a 3.81 UW GPA going into senior year, and with the updated transcript, I now have a 3.83 UW GPA. There are a total of 8 grades each semester and 8 more to go. Like I said, the first 8 grades were all As.
Now what grades do I have to keep to avoid getting rescinded? Will it look bad if I get Bs in classes that are related to my major? One of my schools put it this way “If grades from senior year include an F, a D, or three or more Cs, the student’s admission is reassessed by a university grade review committee.” Some have said to not let your overall GPA slip by more than .4. Others have said to keep at least a B average. But as a general rule of thumb, what kind of grades should I be expected to get?
Honestly, your grades are pretty good and I don’t think you should worry about getting rescinded at all. Of course, if you get C’s, D’s, and F’s they’ll most likely rescind your acceptance/s but getting B’s won’t hurt you even if it is related to your major.
High school teachers used to “threaten” us saying if you skip class or don’t do your work, then you’ll get your acceptances rescinded, but in reality, college admissions are chill and probably know how students are by now especially as soon as they get into their top choice.
I think a good rule of thumb would just be to maintain a B average and you’ll be fine. Good luck and just make sure you do your best to maintain your solid GPA!
@goodperson200 All you can do is just try your best and aim for good grades. I wouldn’t say to not strive for B’s as mentioned above because B’s aren’t bad and the only way you’ll wind up with C’s is if you don’t put in the effort. At this point, you just have to work hard to not let your grades slip too much and truly put in the effort. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you get B’s because it’s still good.
If the college lists specific grade or GPA thresholds, then you have your answer for that college.
If the college vaguely says something like they expect you to maintain your academic performance, then you basically have to guess what will trigger a rescission. Generally, a D or F grade, or a schedule change that they do not see until the final high school transcript, is a high risk. If none of these apply, and your GPA is equal to or higher than before, then you should be safe. If your GPA is lower, it depends on how much lower, and you do not really know how much lower will trigger a rescission. Going from a 3.8 to 3.7 is unlikely to trigger a rescission. Going from a 3.8 to a 2.8 is higher risk. Going from a 3.8 to a 2.1 is even higher risk.
@ucbalumnus I haven’t seen a school that explicitly stated a minimum GPA other than not to get a grade lower than a C and/or maintain your academic performance. I think that if I do get all Bs this semester, I’d end up with a at least a 3.7. My guess is that this is unlikely to trigger anything. But, I want to know your thoughts.
All B grades would be a 3.0, not 3.7. The drop in question refers to previously unreported grades to the college, not the effect on your overall GPA over 8 semesters.
3.8 → 3.0 would not be risk-free. Keep doing as well as you can so that even if you drop a little, it would not be all that risky.
@skieurope that’s what I’ve heard about UCs but just couldn’t find the info on it. Thanks for the info.
@ucbalumnus I meant my overall GPA, but I see you’re talking about one semester. If so, what is the GPA to avoid “risk free” assuming I have an overall 3.83 and a 4.0 last semester?
for goodness sakes, what is your real point? the question has been asked and answered repeatedly with the same basic info. Are you trying to figure out just how far you can push slacking off spring term?
Assuming that your GPA as known to the college is 3.83, and the college does not specifically state a GPA that you need to meet, then any last semester GPA that is equal to or higher than 3.83 should be safe (assuming all other conditions are met, e.g. no D/F grades, no schedule changes that were not previously communicated to the college).
If your last semester GPA is lower, it can be hard to know the risk, since colleges that are vague about it won’t say. A small drop to something like 3.7 is unlikely to be risky, but a large drop to 3.0 or lower is likely to have significant risk. In between, who knows?
Best action would be to finish strong so that you are not back here in June worrying about being rescinded after sending your final high school transcript.
If you do know before May 1 that your GPA will drop by more than a small amount, you may want to ask each college directly if the drop will lead to the possibility of rescission. If the colleges’ answers differ, you may want to factor that into deciding which to matriculate to.
If you did apply to UCs, their admission offers will list the conditions; most campuses have specific GPA and grade minimums listed in their conditions.
@ucbalumnus I did apply to a couple UCs but I’m kind of nervous because I didn’t do so well on the essay as I’m point off from the 25th percentile for the essay section. But, my overall SAT was fine and if you drop my freshman grades, then my GPA goes up to i think a 3.85. I don’t know how UCLA or UCB would look at this. I’m only concerned with those because that’s where I applied and I think they have specified a 3.0 with nothing lower than a C.
I haven’t made any schedule changes this year so no worries there. What kind of drop in the last semester GPA would be considered “too risky”? The quote on my first post about not getting three or more Cs, a D or an F comes from the University of Michigan. I know a .1 one drop isn’t going to lead to anything but generally speaking, what should I maintain for any institution like MIT(I didn’t apply here), ivies and other top institutions? Would a 3.5 still keep me safe?
I was just going to state that, that is Michigan’s wording.
Here’s the deal. Michigan and others want you to still try to do your best. You are now getting ready for college. At Michigan a lot of students drop a complete grade point from their high school grades. Michigan is a very tough school. Don’t start to have this attitude. Yes, maybe don’t do any really late night studying or all nighters but don’t forget you are now preparing yourself for college.
I am confused why you are even asking the question. You are a good student… Keep doing that.
@Knowsstuff I just want to take the last semester of senior year a little easier. College apps and the last 3 years and a half of high schools have stressed me out so much.
Also, I kind of want to get a job so I can pay my parents back for the application fees, and score sends. Obviously with getting a job, that’s going to take up some time for academics.