@dc2902 - Yes, you do need to worry but being proactive as you already have been should help. The fact that the D was in an elective might be a small plus. If the admission folks want to rescind, make a counter offer. Tell them you’ll take a summer class and/or start the fall semester on probation. GOOD LUCK!
Hello, I’m a recently-graduated senior/soon to be freshman majoring in art at UCLA, and I was wondering if having 3 C’s will be an issue?
First semester of senior year, I had:
AP Gov: B
Pre-Calc: C
AP Art: A
AP Lit: B
3.0 GPA
And then second semester, I finished with:
AP Econ: C
Pre-Calc: C
AP Art: A
AP Lit: A
3.0 GPA
Midway through second semester, I was worried about having 2 C’s (as UCLA’s contract says that if a student has “2 or more Cs”, they have to report it) so I reported what I /thought/ I would have by the end of the year. I thought I would manage to get a B in Pre-Calc, leaving my GPA for second semester at a 3.3. A week later, they got back to me and essentially said it was fine. However, now that I have a C in Pre-calc rather than a B, I’m worried. I still have a 3.0 for both semesters, as the contract says, but I’m worried that having 3 C’s is excessive? The classes that I’ve earned Cs in do not pertain to my major (Studio Art), so I’m HOPING it won’t be an issue? I definitely did not get into UCLA for grades (1850 on the SAT and a 3.5 GPA), so I believe it was my 4 years of 2 varsity sports, personal statement, and portfolio that got me in. Because of that, I’m led to believe that perhaps the grade requirements aren’t AS dire as they might be in any other situation?
Basically: What is the worst case scenario here? Is getting rescinded a possibility?
Thank you!
@Cianna–you do need to contact UCLA to report your third C but it’s PROBABLY not something you have to worry about. Send your admission rep at UCLA an email that emphasizes how hard you worked in PreCalc but also say that you just couldn’t pull your grade up above a C despite your best efforts. Insist that you weren’t ever slacking! I think you should be okay, but UCLA will want you to at least own up to your downturn rather than stick your head in the sand and try to ignore it. Good luck and let us know what happens.
Thank you for the prompt reply! On UCLA’s ‘Report Grade Changes’ form there is a section where you can explain the “circumstances surrounding the changes” in 1000 characters; when I reported my grade change last night, I wrote:
“First semester I maintained an overall GPA of 3.0, but finished Pre-Calculus with a C. Second semester I ended with a C in AP Macroeconomics and a C in Pre-Calculus as well, though my GPA average for both semesters is still a 3.0. Throughout second semester, I studied tirelessly to raise my Pre-Calculus grade, spending every free period reviewing in my math teacher’s classroom and every spare moment at home poring over the textbook. Once I studied as much as I could for Pre-Calculus, I put all of my focus into raising my AP Literature grade and preparing my portfolio for the AP Art test—two areas I have always had immense passion for. Both of these efforts proved fruitful, as I managed to raise my AP Literature grade to an A, and my AP Art portfolio has recently been selected to be featured in the AP College Board’s online gallery. I regret that I was not able to raise my Pre-Calculus grade, but I would like to emphasize that it was not for lack of trying. Thank you for your time.”
Is that a sufficient substitute for “emailing my admission rep at UCLA”?
@Cianna -That looks excellent. I like the way that you emphasized the positive (your success in AP Lit and art) as well as the way you stressed that you didn’t slack in pre-calc. You should be fine but keep us posted, please. It’s helpful to future seniors to know how your story plays out.
@Sally_Rubenstone
I am a transfer student who will start sophomore year at Duke. When I applied I was accepted with a 3.92 gpa (fall quarter) in an engineering major. My school is on the quarter system and I did well in winter quarter but my spring quarter grades were horrible. I recieved a B+, B, C+, and C. The C+ was in a lab class that was only 2 units. This brings my cumulative gpa down to a 3.52. When I recieved my acceptance, it only stated that it was contingent on a “satisfactory conclusion of my coursework” without any specific requirements. What is the likelyhood that I will be rescinded and what can I do to prevent this?
Statistically speaking, how many schools actually recind an offer?
@Sally_Rubenstone @labegg yes I’m curious too, how many schools rescind offers and what is the rescinding process like? Do students check the mail one day and see a revocation of admission letter sitting there? Are they emailed or is their portal updated? Is it ever too late to be rescinded? Do UC’s (specifically Cal and UCLA) bother offering alternatives (like academic probation/summer courses) or warnings (fear of god letters), or do they just straight up cancel your acceptance?
@LetsGoTransfer - Take the lead on this and write to Duke to explain your downturn. You don’t have to come up with a home-run explanation (“My house burned down with my computer and all my notes in it.”) You just have to insist that you worked hard but got flummoxed by the material or you missed a critical week due to flu or your class was taught by a T.A. who struggled with the material himself, etc. College folks like it when a student seems to take responsibility for a downturn, as long as this downturn isn’t a disaster, which yours isn’t.
@Sally_Rubenstone UCLA just got back to me and said nothing has changed, my admission is still valid! I’m so relieved and grateful. Thank you so much for your insight during this very stressful time period! 
@labegg and @Taylour - Based on studies I’ve read in the past, I would estimate that roughly 1/4 to 1/3 of all colleges will rescind one acceptance or more each year. But keep in mind that, even if only a quarter or so of all colleges rescind in a given year, the majority of colleges will rescind in SOME year.
According to one report published by the National Association for College Admission Counseling back in 2009, of the students whose acceptances were most recently revoked, 65% were rescinded due to low grades; 35% for disciplinary issues; and 29% for falsification of application information.
Also according to that same report, the rescinded acceptances came from a range of colleges. The report said:
You can read the whole article here: http://www.nacacnet.org/studentinfo/articles/Pages/FinishingStrong.aspx
As for HOW the bad news is delivered … I can’t answer for every college, especially the University of California schools, where policies are pretty strict and rescinded acceptances Standard Operating Procedure. (Not only do UC colleges impose grade and GPA restrictions but also the UC’s will spot-check activity lists for authenticity.)
The colleges I’m familiar with have contacted students most commonly via snail-mail letter or also often via email. I have not heard of a decision simply being changed on a portal, but perhaps someone on this thread has had that experience and will comment. It seems like a dumb way to go about delivering bad news since students don’t always check these portals over the summer.
Often the initial contact (letter or email) doesn’t say bluntly, “You’re out” but first asks the student to explain the low grades, disciplinary action, or application inaccuracies.
It is never too late to be rescinded. I have heard twice of college seniors about to graduate who were expelled due to application falsehoods. In both cases, the students had previously attended other institutions and flunked out. Then they reapplied to college wanting a “clean slate” so they did not disclose their first matriculation elsewhere. College officials can be very forgiving when a student does poorly at one college and then wants to make a fresh start at a new one. BUT they are not so forgiving when students conceal their initial stab at college life.
While the vast majority of application falsehoods are not discovered–like when the 6/hour/week hospital volunteer claims 10–the dire consequences of such dishonesty are definitely not worth the potential benefits!
@Cianna -Phew! I’m glad all is well, and thanks very much for letting us know. It’s helpful not only to me but also to future Bruins (and other UC aspirants) who may be in your (sweaty) shoes next spring.
I’ve recently received a letter in the mail regarding about UCSC rescinding my admission. Should I even try to appeal or just give up and go to community college. The problem is that I don’t want to stay home. My family mentally causes me distress and sadly, my family is the reason why I suffer from depresion. I’m afraid I won’t be able to focus at home whenever I study if I go to community college since I plan on transferring to UCI. If I do appeal, what are the chances of the UCSC admission office accepting me? I feel like there’s no hope since UCSC is overenrolled this year.
@sdn0219 -How did your final grades turn out? Did you get a D in Calculus? How about your other grades? An appeal isn’t a very time-consuming so it’s worth a shot, even if your grades are low. Try telling your admission counselor what you’ve said here about the problems you anticipate if you stay at home.
If you do find that your acceptance is rescinded, you might want to check out this list of colleges where there are still vacancies. http://www.nacacnet.org/research/research-data/College-Openings/Pages/College-Openings-Results.aspx However, as you go through the list, make sure that you hone in on schools that have openings for FRESHMEN and not just for transfers. And if you need financial aid, also check that there’s a “Yes” in the financial aid column. If you truly want to leave home, be adventurous and consider some schools outside of CA, maybe even in the Midwest and New England. Good luck!
Hypothetically, if a friend of mine wrote college essays for a student athlete who will attend big 10 school in the fall and now feels guilty about it and would like to be honest, would the acceptance letter be taken away?
And what would happen to the friend who wrote the essays?
@cocopuff955 - In theory, the student/athlete would probably lose his/her spot in the entering class BUT, with
recruited athletes, unethical behaviors are commonly swept under the rug, so it’s impossible to know if this would happen here.
As for the essay-writer … if s/he attends the same university as the athlete, and the athlete’s admission is rescinded then it’s likely that the writer’s acceptance will be rescinded, too. If the athlete’s impropriety is ignored, then it would be tough to punish the writer.
If the writer is enrolled at a DIFFERENT college, it’s possible that officials at this college will not find out. If they do, they may choose to punish the essayist or not. If the essayist was in high school at the time of the dishonesty, the college might let the high school officials handle any potential penalties and stay out of it.
The essayist may feel that it’s important to clear his or her conscience but it’s a pretty lousy thing to do to a friend. The essayist should have thought through these repercussions months ago, before the essays were submitted. Now it seems that the essayist wants a clear conscience at the expense of a friend’s future. If the athlete was highly recruited, the essays that he or she submitted may have been pretty irrelevant anyway, and this student would probably have been accepted even with fairly crummy essays.
So the time for the essayist to clear his or her conscience was last winter; not now. Instead, the essayist should learn a lesson about honor and judgment from this episode and do penance by offering some genuine, significant, and ETHICAL assistance to others in the immediate future.
@Sally_Rubenstone - Am delighted to tell you that things have worked out well with my son. Armed with your fantastic advice, he spoke first with his academic advisor, who referred him to a specific admissions counselor. He spoke with the admissions counselor by phone, and she encouraged him to write an email with more details that the admissions committee could review along with his final transcript.
The committee has just informed him that, while they were disappointed in his last term grades, he will be welcomed at campus this fall.
I credit your wise counsel for helping my son navigate this tough situation. Being proactive about addressing the issue, taking responsibility, and presenting a clear action plan to solve the root cause helped my son put his best self forward to the school. And even more importantly, being thoughtful about what went wrong and planful about addressing it has given him new tools and a proactive mindset as he transitions to college.
We are both so grateful for your help!
@Sally_Rubenstone So like many people who post on this thread I am worried about being rescinded by Skidmore College(I was admitted through the HEOP program if that makes a difference). For most of my high school career I have maintained a 3.7+ GPA and never received a D,until now. However, during my second semester things were a little different(mainly in Spanish). Here are my final second semester grades:
AP English Lit-B
Chemistry-A+
Spanish 6-D
Journalism-A+
Full orchestra-A
Chamber Orchestra-A
As you can see the main problem is my Spanish grade. Aside from bad anxiety I do not really have any other excuse for this grade. However, if the college asked me to explain my grades both my counselor/principal said they’d vouch for,but is that enough. I have also been wondering if they would pay much attention to it at all since the rest of my transcript is full of As and Bs.Will I likely be rescinded? Please help me. Thank you in advance
@auntiek - Thanks for the happy ending. I really do feel that when a student takes responsibility, it can go a long way toward prompting admission officials to overlook bad senior grades. I’m delighted that this worked out for your son.