Hello Dean Rubenstone,
Thank you for the advice. I have never done “well” in math and science classes, but my other grades are fine…hopefully my teachers and tutors will be able to help me figure out a solution but I will also make sure to write a letter explaining my situation!
I have been admitted to UC Berkeley and UVa, however, I realized that when I was applying for colleges, I indicated that I was going to receive SUNY credit for my AP French class. I have since decided not to pay for the SUNY credit and to just take my chances with the AP exam, so the course I’d receive SUNY credit for will not show up on my SUNY transcript, which would not match up with what I said when I applied. What should I do?
@emilyskates -This is not a big deal in the least. You can send a note to your colleges to explain why the SUNY credit won’t show up on your final transcript. Just say that you would have had to pay a fee to get the credit so you decided against it. The colleges won’t penalize you for not taking the credit; they would only be concerned if you dropped the course entirely … which I assume you didn’t (right?).
@Sally_Rubenstone No, I’m still taking AP French. I sometimes wish I had dropped it, haha. Thank you!
@Sally_Rubenstone I was admitted to Duke rd and am projected to end second semester with 2 A’s, 3 B’s, and a C. In the “Blue Book,” Duke states that they reevaluate every applicant who earns a grade of C or lower in his/her final semester of high school. Normally I wouldn’t be worried about one C, but this reevaluation is worrying me. Assuming I was a borderline admit and have been mainly a straight A student with a couple of B’s, what are the odds that Duke would rescind my admission? Thanks.
@Sally_Rubenstone My D was accepted EA to several state schools (in VA) including Christopher Newport and Old Dominion, to study music performance/education. She has been accepted by audition to both music programs as well. She has a final grade of D in chemistry, which came at the end of first semester this year, after the acceptances. She still has over a 3.5, and this is the only D she has ever had. She will graduate with 5 AP courses, including GOV and LIT she is taking this year, which right now she has C’s in. She has received a warning letter from CNU, we assume b/c of the D. Our school has some semester and some full year courses (the APs are full year) so I am not sure if CNU realizes that the D cannot be undone or improved at this point. Hopefully the C’s will be pulled up to B’s but I’m wondering if she should contact the admissions office to get the bottom line on where she stands. I don’t think ODU will send her a warning letter (but I could be wrong) but I am worried she would choose CNU and then get her acceptance rescinded after graduation…she did get tutoring in Chemistry, and focused on passing the SOL (state test) rather than specifically worrying about the final grade in the class, at her teacher’s suggestion. She went to many help sessions with the teacher as well, nothing seemed to help. She also has been suffering from some health issues, but I’m not sure we want to let the school know about all of that. I would greatly appreciate your thoughts on this situation. Thank you.
@ANeeson98 -My best guess (and it’s a guess indeed) is that you may get a warning letter from Duke but your acceptance won’t be rescinded. But I suggest that you be proactive and send the first warning letter yourself. That is, tell Duke that you may not be able to do better than a C in this class, and then explain what you’ve been doing to try to improve (tutoring? staying after school for extra help?) And if you’re not doing ANYTHING, then maybe you better start now to see if you actually can pull up that grade before the term ends.
Definitely contact both CNU and ODU and tell them what you’ve told me here. Most colleges send out a warning letter every time they see a D, so your daughter’s letter isn’t surprising. But it is important for her to point out that the D is now a done deal, and that she did try to prevent it. I think she should be fine, but you definitely don’t want an unpleasant surprise in July, so it’s best to address the issue of the D and potential C’s before the school year ends just to test the (hot) waters.
As for the health issues … I agree that you may want to stay mum for now but it really depends on what those issues are. If your daughter’s grades were affected by a physical illness that was very straightforward and now behind her (e.g., she missed a week of school due to strep throat), it might be worth including. But if her illness is ongoing or not yet fully diagnosed yet or involves a mental health concern, you’re probably better off not bringing it up.
Good luck!
Thank you so much @Sally_Rubenstone I really appreciate your thoughts. Is it appropriate to ask them to spell out specifically where she stands? I mean, as you said, I don’t want the rug pulled out from under us in July. So we’ll focus on why the D was a D, what she did to try and bring it up, and maybe the fact that she could’ve withdrawn from the class and taken something easier, but she chose to challenge herself instead. Should I ask if final grades of C (even though they are weighted as Bs) are going to be a deal-breaker? Also, do we just email the person who wrote the letter, her admissions counselor, or who? Thank you so much for taking the time to answer this on Easter Sunday.
Hi, if I get 2 C’s in AP Music Theory and AP Literature, 1 B in AP Statistics, and A’s in my other 2 AP classes and 2 regular classes, will my acceptance to UT business school get revoked? I’m generally an A,B student with 3 C’s in AP Chemistry last year, one for each semester and one for the extra lab grade (counted as a semester). I’m nowhere in the top 7% and I feel super blessed to be accepted to UT business even without being in the top 7% since very few students get accepted without being auto admitted, but will these bad grades negatively affect my acceptance?
The B in statistics is because my teacher is on maternity leave, so we have a substitute who knows nothing about statistics, so we are self studying for the AP exam.
This is perfect. I don’t think that your daughter should mention the weighted C’s at all. I really doubt they will have any negative impact. But she can certainly make a blanket statement along the lines of, “I’m taking an especially tough schedule this term and I’m really working hard. So any potential downturn in my grades shouldn’t be viewed as a sign of senioritis … just of a senior taking on a lot of challenge in fields that are outside of her comfort zone.”
Don’t ask them to spell out specifically where she stands but she can add something like, I’m really excited about my acceptance and would appreciate knowing right away if my D in chemistry in the fall semester is going to jeopardize it."
Her letter (and email is fine) should go to both her admission counselor and the person who wrote the warning letter. Needless to say, it should come from your daughter and not from a parent.
@marie122 -From where I sit, I don’t see that your acceptance is in jeopardy. But, if possible, try to pull up that AP Lit grade. Colleges don’t like to see C’s in senior English classes and maybe there’s an extra-credit project or something else you can do that would bump the grade up to a B-.
@Sally_Rubenstone I have gotten all As and one B+ throughout high school, but I am looking at 4 As, a B, and a C for this semester because I got lazy and I am also in over my head in calc 2. I was just accepted OOS at UVA. Do you think they would rescind because of this decline?
@violintigress -Colleges will not rescind for one C. If a student who has straight A’s through high school finishes up with 4 or 5 B-'s and one C, it’s possible that the college will not be pleased. But typically a single C in a mix with mostly A’s and a B or two will have no negative impact.
I know you have answered this question before, but can my admission be revoked if I get one C? I have all A’s currently in my classes, but am not doing so well in one of them and will most likely end up with a C… I have been accepted into Johns Hopkins and there is a huge chance that I will attend, but I am worried about that C. I know you have said that colleges won’t revoke admissions for just a single C, but what about an elite university like Johns Hopkins?
@KrazyKorean -JHU will not rescind if you have one C with a bunch of A’s. But if there’s a good reason for the lower grade (e.g., illness, inadequate substitute teacher), it can’t hurt to write to your admissions counselor and explain. But I wouldn’t worry about this. Just do your best to pull up the grade by graduation, if you possibly can.
@Sally_Rubenstone
I got into my SLAC dream college, but I had a very stressful time during the past month.
I have held all my grades in place, with a slight dip in IB chem from a 82 (I’ve had a very low 80’s in IB Chem for both years of the class) to the high seventies (78 or so), I know it isn’t a large dip point wise, but I am terrified because ive never gotten lower than an 80 in any class before. (The rest of my classes are low 90’s and high 80’s, Chem has always been a struggle).
I am also worried that I will be rescinded because I probably won’t get my IB diploma. Because this year was our school’s first year of IB, the scheduling was a mess and everything IA/EE wise was due in the past month, I was getting very stressed out and talked with our IB coordinator, she advised me that US colleges don’t care too much about the diploma itself, and that I should invest my time into making sure I maintain my grades and complete my IA’s so I can sit for my IB exams. As a result, I didn’t spend adequate time on my extended essay(I am not being paranoid, this essay was less than half the suggested length and was a mess organizationally.) and I do not think I get the IB diploma because of it. I will still get my school diploma and such, and I feel like I will still do good on all the exams except chemistry perhaps, but I am really nervous right now that not getting the IB diploma will cause them to rescind even if I keep doing everything I’m doing.
@Sally_Rubenstone I got into a great engineering program at a good state school OOS. However, I received a C+ in AP Bio this quarter, and I am worried. Overall, it looks like I will finish with B/B+'s in 3 classes (this includes bio class) and A/A-'s in 4 classes, and I am worried. I was a straight A student in high school (with a couple A-'s and 1 B+) prior to this, and the college did not see mid year transcripts ( which were fairly solid but 2 B+'s). I have 3 AP’s, a dual credit, a post-AP level class, and a leadership program in addition to my AP Bio class, and the remainder of my senior grades, even this quarter, are A’s and B’s. Will I be rescinded?!
@Sally_Rubenstone This may not be a reason for concern but still I would just like to make sure everything will be alright. So in my AP Biology class I received a C for my quarter grades. However, if I get an A or B this quarter, my final grade will be an A/B. The problem is that the C would show up on my transcript as my 3rd Quarter grade. So it would show for example: 3Q- C 4Q-B Semester-B . Is this grounds for rescinding my application. This is in regards to Dartmouth College and Cornell.
@hal1423 -You ought to be okay since your chem grade was on the low side when you applied. If the rest of your grades are consistent, the small drop in chem won’t hurt you and the fact that you didn’t get the IB diploma shouldn’t either.
@anxiety101010 and
@CCSenioritis
You are both fine