When Do Colleges Rescind Acceptances?

@incomingfrosh1997 -NO! You should not be worried about a rescinded acceptance, and you better not be such a perfectionist once you get to college or you’ll have a very tough time there. Best wishes for a great (and NOT stressful!) college career.

Hi Sally, I am a high school senior who got accepted into a 4 year college that i plan on enrolling. The school says I need to maintain at least a C in REQUIRED SKILLS COURSES but I am endanger of failing an AP CLASS (ap stats) with a D. Will my application be rescinded if this does happen

@carcarcar -I really don’t know how to interpret “REQUIRED SKILLS COURSES.” Does the college explain (or is there another CC member who knows and can respond)? To me, it could mean either “Academic Classes” (as opposed to gym, yearbook, band, etc.) in which case you might be in trouble, OR it could mean, “Classes essential to your intended major,” which could mean that you’re NOT in trouble if you plan to major in art, music, philosophy, English or any of the dozens of other subjects that don’t depend on familiarity with Statistics. If I were you, I’d call the admission office and ask. Good luck!

Does AP Computer Scoence count? It’s an elective

Hello Sally! First of all, thank you for all the help you’ve been providing students on this thread.

Second… I was recently admitted to New York University with a 3.5 GPA and a 2300 SAT, but I am extremely worried about my 2nd semester senior year grades? All of my classes right now are A’s and B’s, except Calculus AB AP. In that, I currently have a D-… If it stays this way, my GPA will be around a 3.0 - 3.1. I’m doing my best to raise that D to a passing C, but I don’t know if that’s possible in the time I have left.
I called the NYU office already to ask whether a C would be okay (because earlier on, I had more hope that I would be able to raise my grade), and they said that it should be fine, and that they cared most about whether a senior graduated high school.
Even if I fail this one class this semester, I’m pretty sure I can still graduate (I’ll be meeting with my counselor to confirm this soon), but I’m terrified that that one D will get my admission rescinded. I’m planning on calling them again and asking specifically about one failing grade this time, but I’d really like your opinion as well. Do you think one D results in a high chance of a revoked acceptance?
I’ve heard that schools sometimes give students a chance to explain bad grades before considering rescinding - if NYU does that, I’d be able to explain myself because I was sick for a while at the beginning of the 2nd semester, and missed quite a bit of material, and struggled to catch up because of that. I recently started tutoring as well to help, but I should have started a lot sooner… Even if this grade doesn’t cause my acceptance to get revoked, I’m still planning on continuing tutoring during the summer, because I really can’t risk falling this low again in college.

I’m honestly really scared about this situation. I’ve seen stories where students with a few bad grades have gotten off easy with just a warning/request for an explanation, and others where similar students actually got their acceptances revoked…

What do you think?

And thank you again!

@carcarcar–Just as I explained already, I don’t know how to interpret “REQUIRED SKILLS COURSE.”
You should get in touch with your college and ask.

@kara2016-Given that AP Calc is known as a very rigorous course and that the rest of your grades are fine, NYU will probably let you off the hook. But you need to keep doing what you’re already doing … which is keeping in touch with them and letting them know that you’re working hard in the class in spite of your low grade. You can explain about the illness, too. Ideally, you’d offer to send a note from your teacher who will confirm that you’re not slacking off, though that’s not an imperative … just helpful. If necessary, you can also offer a note from your tutor that shows that you really are making an effort to get extra help. Colleges are typically much more concerned about students who stop trying rather than about students who do badly … particularly when it’s just in one class.

Private colleges usually have more flexibility than huge public universities do when determining if an acceptance must be revoked. So if you stay on top of this and keep communicating with your admissions counselor at NYU, your chances of not getting your acceptance revoked are very good. Your best bet is to do this communicating via email rather than phone so that you can keep a record of the correspondence in case you need it later. Good luck!

@Sally_Rubenstone Hi! This is probably me being ridiculous – but I’ll be attending a highly selective liberal arts college affiliated with an Ivy League university in the fall, and it looks like (if worst comes to worst) I’ll be wrapping up second semester with 4Bs and 2As. The Bs would be in AP classes that I’ve previously gotten As in. When I was accepted to this college I had one B in my first quarter. Could this grade drop hurt me?

@nineminutes -Yep, you nailed it yourself. It’s you being ridiculous. You’re fine with the B’s.

Thank you so much for your response! I actually emailed the admissions counselor today to explain further about my situation. I’ll also be meeting with my high school counselor tomorrow to get more advice. Even if this ends well, I’ll be sure to always remember it so that in the future, I’ll reach out for the help I need before it’s too late.
Hopefully it all works out. For now, I will continue to work hard, and to keep in contact with the NYU office, like you advised.

Thank you again! Have a lovely day.

@kara2016-Thanks for your gratitude and good wishes. I think that your situation is likely to end well, but it would be helpful to many of us on this thread if you (and everyone else who’s posted here, for that matter) would close the loop and let us know what happened. Next years seniors, in particular, can benefit from knowing if this year’s seniors survived a GPA downturn.

@Sally_Rubenstone Hey! I was wondering if one bad AP score could hurt for WUSTL. Thanks!

@CollegeW20 - If you’re talking about a bad score on an EXAM, then, no, you don’t have send it to WUSTL at all so no problem. But if it’s a bad grade in an AP class, it would depend on just how bad the grade is and if it’s the final grade in the course. A D or an F as a final grade might hurt you, so if that’s what you’re looking at, you need to be proactive and contact your WUSTL admission rep now and explain the bad grade and, especially, how hard you’re working to pull it up.

@Sally_Rubenstone I am an international student and going to NCSU. My only senior course load is IB. I got predicted a 35/45. My exams are in 10 days, and I am unprepared and likely to score in the high 20s. But the admission letter said Final acceptance is contingent on your maintaining a level of academic performance that is equal to or better than your previous academic record. Would I be rescinded?

Hello Sally! Again, thank you so much for your help!

And will do, I will be sure to post the outcome on here when I receive my results! I hope that that really will help out someone else in the future.

For now, the counselor I talked to yesterday thanked me for being proactive, and said that NYU always makes sure to consult with students in order to get the context of their situation before having the committee discuss rescinding. She stated that she can’t really predict the outcome for me yet without my final grades, but encouraged me to continue to work hard.

Hopefully, it really will all turn out well ^^

I asked a lot of people, they say that UC’s and CSU’s require all C’s. However UC’s are more strict and CSU’s may be lenient if you have a valid explanation

@magnetocrazy - You’d have to contact NCSU to put your mind at rest, but a high 20’s overall IB score is considered a decent passing grade (if we’re really talking HIGH 20’s and not, say, 26) so you’ll PROBABLY be okay, even though the number represents a drop from your predicted score.

Colleges will rescind for “extreme” declines but it’s impossible to say how each school defines “extreme.”

Another factor could be the make-up of your final score. If you do very poorly in a couple of your HL subjects, that could be a problem, even if you still manage to finish in the high 20s.

@carcarcar (and everyone) … A single “D” (or an “F,” of course) as a FINAL grade in a senior class may lead to a rescinded acceptance. BUT if you are working hard to stay afloat and have corroboration (e.g., a note from a teacher or tutor) attesting to your efforts, or if there are extenuating circumstances (e.g., illness, problems at home, learning disability) that is keeping you from doing better, you should fight to keep your spot in the class, even if the college plans to revoke it.

Most college officials just want to make sure that student’s aren’t goofing off. So if you can indicate that you aren’t, that will usually go a long way with admission officials. But also, if you feel that you are heading for a D or an F, try to negotiate with your teacher. Maybe an extra credit project will get you just enough points to keep you in C- range, but you’d need to propose it NOW and not wait a day longer.

I withdrew from my high school before first semester ended and transferred to an online school due to medical reasons. I am taking only classes to fulfill my graduation requirement now because that is all I have time to complete. I sent an email and they want me to send my grades, I have a B in the three classes I am taking. I had a 3.9 for my 9-11 gpa. I am not sure if they are just asking for more information or reconsidering since I am now only taking three classes instead of the six I was in. She asked for clarification on my illness as well. Could they revoke an offer even if the change in classes is due to a medical issue?

@Sally_Rubenstone Do you think 3 B+s for the final year grades would be enough for an Ivy League school to possibly rescind or atleast send a letter requiring an explanation? The rest are As and A-s