@plaguedwithanxiety98 -As I noted just above, colleges tend to be most forgiving when a student is pro-active. Given that only your Spanish grade is low and the rest are good,I think you’ll be fine at Skidmore. But I do feel that you should contact your admission rep and acknowledge that you struggled in Spanish. Don’t wait to see if you get a warning letter.
You don’t have to provide any excuse. Simply say that you had difficulty in the class and never were able to keep your head above water there, despite your efforts. Point out that the “D” is very atypical and that the rest of your grades were strong. I really don’t anticipate a problem. Good luck!
@Sally_Rubenstone I was admitted to University of Southern California and recently I’ve received my IB Diploma scores. Before taking the exams, I’ve emailed one of the dean and he told me that although USC does not have a strict threshold a student must obtain relative to predicted score, he/she must perform at a high level until graduation.
Even though I was predicted 42/45 (HL: 7,6,7 SL: 7,7,6) I ended up with 36/45 (HL: 4,5,6 SL: 7,6,6); therefore I’m worried if my final scores would affect the acceptance decision. Please help me find out if this is a possible outcome. Thank you
@Q4Quentin - I dunno. I think you might get a warning but not rescinded. Does your school give actual grades in each class or just the IB exam results? If you got grades too, how were they?
@Sally_Rubenstone Hi! I saw that this goes back to 2010 so Thank You so much for still helping people throughout the time. However, I hope you can advise me on my situation?
In my senior year, i’m taking much more difficult classes than I did before because I want to be prepared for college and I have always been wanting to take these classes because they seem interesting therefore I have a lot more b’s than usual ( and 1 c so far). Would that look like i am slacking and cause to be rescinded from top 50 engineering schools?
I really care about these courses, and I do have perfect attendance (hopefully that shows i care about school?) but would colleges understand that i’m taking some of the most difficult classes in my high school and though i’m getting better, it looks like i’ll get lower grades than last year? Thanks for the help!
@RocketsandMoons8 -If it’s obvious from your transcript that you’re taking a more rigorous load this year (e.g., You were in Math 11 last year and are in AP Calculus this year or you took Honors Spanish last year and are in AP now), then you can relax and rest assured that admission officials will notice the difference and won’t assume that a dip in grades means you’re slacking.
BUT … is the increased rigor of your classes perhaps not obvious to an outsider? For instance, if you and everyone else in your school know that a class is a killer, but it has a fairly tame sounding name (e.g., “Humanities”) then either you or, ideally, your counselor will clue the college folks in. Can you ask your counselor to mention in his or her letter of reference that you’ve stepped up the level of rigor this fall and that classes that may not SOUND hard actually are? If you don’t think your counselor will do this (or if the counselor has already submitted your references), then it’s fine for you to contact the regional reps at your target colleges via email and explain. But don’t point out the obvious–i.e., if you’ve moved from a regular class to honors or AP, the admission committees can figure that out without having to read an extra email. So only write to point out that your schedule is difficult if this may not be clear from the transcript.
My son is taking all AP Classes as a Senior and has A’s in all classes except for a C in AP Chemistry. He is starting to see a tutor and is optimistic about maintaining his grade and hopefully improving. He has a 75% right now.
We are all concerned that if his grade drops to a D and he is accepted to his ED College that he will be rescinded. In his 4 years of high school, his past grades have been primarily As, a few Bs and one C in Honors Pre-Calc BC that he took as a Sophomore.
Any suggestions on how to handle this situation should it arise would be appreciated.
@TennisMom007 -It sounds like your son is doing the right stuff already. And he needs to keep a record of everything he’s doing to stay on track in AP Chem. This would include the tutoring, of course. He should also attend the extra-help sessions that he teacher offers, if any. So if his final grade slips below a C, he will have documentation that it wasn’t due to slacking.
And if, come June, he does expect a D, he should write to his ED school (which hopefully will admit him) or to whichever college he has chosen by May 1, and explain that there’s no senioritis in the picture by pointing out exactly what he did to try to keep his head above water.
If he follows this protocol, it is unlikely that his acceptance will be rescinded, unless he has applied directly to a major where chemistry plays a starring role. It that case, the college folks might considering rescinding the acceptance or could ask him to select a different program.
Thank you @Sally_Rubenstone . To make matters worse, one of his friends passed away unexpectedly last week. He is trying to work through it the best he can.
@TennisMom007 -So sorry to hear about your son’s friend. If this was a student at your son’s high school, I hope that the teachers there will be understanding and flexible with deadlines while the other students deal with the tragedy. If this student was from another school, your son should still ask his teachers for extensions in the immediate future, if he needs them and, of course, explain why.
Hi Sally!! If I get a WF or an F in an AP online class (I’m taking 6 AP classes total, including non-online), could that lead to an acceptance being rescinded? Which would look worse: a WF, or an F?
As a Senior my daughter is taking all her classes as dual Enrollment. She is taking English Comp, Government, Economics, and college Algebra, which is where the problem is. Her entire life, Math has been her weakest subject. Her intended Major is in International Studies/Social Action. This even shows in her ACT, where she has a 31CR but a 25 in Math. She has never been able to get an A in math.
The professor who teaches the College Algebra is not very good, and the whole semester she has been struggling. She is working hard, but yesterday they had a test that despite getting tutoring she is sure she failed. She is hoping to pass the final and class, but we are getting scared. Even with a C, that will probably hurt her.
She has already been accepted to one school, but wont hear from others until after this Semester is over. i am so afraid that if she fails this class, that even if she says she will retake, or take a different math class, that her offer will be rescinded, or all the other schools will reject her. If she contacts the admissions and explains all this, will that help? She has submitted all her applications already.
I wish i could turn back the clock and have had her sign up for an easier math class, or saved math for the spring. She has enough credits to graduate, so that would not be an issue… I thought that having a heavy liberal arts course load would have not looked good, thus taking the Algebra.
@zeta67-Colleges won’t seen any real difference between an F and a WF. That’s the BAD news. But the GOOD news is that most admission officials are accustomed to strong students who bite off more than they can chew by electing online classes they don’t really have time to complete. Thus, the college folks are typically pretty forgiving as long as the student has good grades in the remaining classes and is taking a challenging load.
So you can write to your colleges and explain that you were more ambitious than you should have been and so you withdrew from an online AP class. The withdrawal will only “hurt” you if the class is a key one … e.g., it is your ONLY senior English class, it fulfills a foreign language requirement, etc. But, otherwise, just drop out and explain.
@sdl0625 -Your daughter should definitely explain the math debacle to all of her colleges … the one that admitted her and the others where the verdict is still pending. She should put a positive spin on this … i.e., pointing out that math is her Achilles heel yet she decided to challenge herself with a college class anyway, which hasn’t worked out due to the rigor of the subject coupled with poor teaching. She should also note all efforts she has made to stay afloat (e.g., going to the professor’s office hours [??], engaging a tutor).
I think that the college folks will probably be forgiving when they realize that your daughter isn’t slacking. The only exception could be the University of California schools that have a strict rule about no grades below C.
Hi Sally,
I have a quick question. I recently just got accepted into a 5 year physician assistant program. I have worked very hard in high school, and have received straight A’s. However, I was thinking of dropping a class I am taking next semester in high school, Physics, because I am very overwhelmed with my other classes. I am in calculus and also take two other AP classes. Do you think it is possible that my acceptance could get revoked?
@cmariee–ANY time a student is admitted to a college and then wants to make a schedule change afterwards, it is important to contact the college to ask permission before finalizing the change. Get the response in writing. (Email is fine.) Even when the change seems inconsequential (e.g., when an engineering major wants to drop chorus or switch from photography to ceramics), it’s still a wise idea to ask first. And this is particularly true when there are core subjects in question and … in your case … a science. So you should email the college right away and explain your plan and the reasons behind it. Be sure to point out your straight-A record, your current calc and AP classes, and the amount of pressure you’re under already. You’ll PROBABLY find out that it’s fine to drop the class, but you don’t want to learn that it WASN’T fine when it’s too late.
would dropping a course that was only listed as “highly recommended” during your spring semester before transfer cause a school to revoke an acceptance? (specifically if you’re a physics major and your gpa is average, im not sure if the compsci class is a hook or not but i may end up dropping it before the spring semester even begins but i listed it on my list of future coursework)
it’s also an online class if that changes anything. my courseload for spring will consist of 20 units if i keep the compsci class; 16 if i drop it (and im taking challenging coursework)
@Sally_Rubenstone Hi Sally - I was recently admitted to Stanford under REA and now for 1st semester of senior year I have 2 Cs (in very difficult courses) and 4 As. Given that I had a straight-A record up until now, do you think I am at risk of having my admission offer rescinded? I heard that Stanford typically does not rescind offers, but I can’t help but be worried. Please help!
