Hi Sally,
I was accepted to Dartmouth ED. I had straight A’s all throughout out high school with only a couple A-'s. If I finish my second semester with 3 A-'s, 1 B+, and 2 B- (which would probably be the worst case scenario) would I be in danger of being rescinded or receiving a warning letter? Or should I be okay as long as I don’t end up with any C’s
Posted before about Bard-- Just wondering, will they look at the averaged out final grade or only second semester? If I end up with 2 C’s 2nd semester but my year average remains within a few points of the midyear grades I submitted and stays as a B, are the 2 C’s less of a big deal?
@walkbanx -Colleges look at FINAL grades, not at semester or quarter grades. I think you’ll be fine.
Hi Sally! I was accepted regents to UC Berkeley! currently have 2 C’s. Would this matter? and what about not getting an IB diploma but still graduating high school
@rion19 -You might receive a warning letter with 2 B-'s. If that’s the case, just be prepared to explain your downturn so that it doesn’t sound like slacking. It would not hurt to add some “documented” effort to improve to your weekly schedule such as asking the teacher for extra help or going to tutoring sessions, just so you can “prove” that you didn’t ignore the slip.
@ANormalSeniorGuy -I can’t tell if this would “matter” because I don’t know where you applied and what your GPA looked like up until now. Not getting the IB diploma would hurt at some colleges if you’d applied as an IB candidate but not at other.
So I would need more context to reply but I’m going off the grid for a few days now.
@Sally_Rubenstone I edited my post. I was accepted UC Berkeley Regents Candidate as well as had a 4.6 UC Weighted GPA and 34 ACT
@ANormalSeniorGuy -You would have to ask the Berkeley folks about the impact of not getting the IB diploma. I don’t know how they will react. Otherwise, if your GPA is a 3.0 or better and no grade is below C, you’ll be okay.
Are you sure that colleges will only see final grades? Or does it depend on the highscool/college? If my second semester grades are averaged with my first semester, I’ll likely have an A, 3 A-'s, 1 B+, and 1B. Is this enough of a drop to get a warning letter (from Dartmouth) if I came from straight A’s with only a couple of A-'s during my first three years of high school?
Hi Sally,
Okay, I got into Villanova. When I applied to all my schools in October/November I put on my Common App that I was taking 4 classes 2nd semester (Block Schedule, at my high school we take four classes one semester, and then four different ones the next). One of the ones I listed was an AP. What I ended up doing was not doing that AP class and instead I took release time and only 1 class (Honors Economics/Government) at school, while taking one more Class online. So I took two total classes over second semester. Over the course of my entire senior year I still took 7/8 classes and I earned A’s in all of them. My reasoning for taking the extra classes my first semester so I Could take the shortened schedule second semester was so I could work 30 hours a week my second semester and save money for college. I also stated that I was going to take two AP tests for other AP classes that I took the semester before on the Common App, but I decided against them as I don’t feel confident enough in the material. Should I be concerned about admissions? Should I contact admissions, or am I worrying too much? Thanks for your time!
@rion19 -Colleges will see whatever a high school sends them in June or July, which is typically a final transcript with only final grades in each class. And even when a high school sends a transcript that includes more grades than just the final, the colleges only focus on the final grade in each class. The admission folks may note that a student earned an A in a class in the first semester but then got a C in the second one, which resulted in a B for the course. But as long as the overall grade isn’t heinous, the college is unlikely to do anything dire although the downturn will be noticed.
If this turns out to be the case, it seems highly unlikely that Dartmouth will do anything about this.
@Sally_Rubenstone
Hi Sally,
I was accepted to Rice with a generous scholarship. However, my grades have slipped due to some personal issues and adjustments with medication for a learning disability. Best case scenario is that I end the semester with 4 As and 3 Bs, but worst case scenario is that I get 2 Cs, 3 Bs, and 2 As. In the worst case scenario, would I lose my scholarship and/or acceptance?
@Loganjt1 -I have talked about situations like this a lot already. College officials do NOT like to receive final transcripts that don’t match whatever was on the application. You made more than just minor changes so you are NOT worrying too much!
You should contact Villanova right away and explain to your admission officer there what you have said here. Emphasize that you took a heavy load in the fall semester so that you could work to make money in for college in the second semester. Also point out that you did well in those classes. Note, however, that college folks are usually not terribly sympathetic when a student gives up school work for paid work, except in extenuating circumstances.
@ambitionsquared - That’s a question that I can’t answer. My best guess is that, even with your worst-case-scenario grades, you will not lose your acceptance or your scholarship. However, the Rice folks may expect an explanation for the downturn, so you should be prepared to provide one.Given that it isn’t even April yet, you should have some time to pull up your lowest grades. And even if you can’t pull them up, you should at least provide evidence that you worked on it. Attend extra help sessions, hire a tutor, etc. In other words, you want to be able to “prove” that you weren’t just slacking.
@Sally_Rubenstone Do I have a pretty good chance of my decision being recinded?
@Loganjt1 -I wouldn’t say “pretty good,” merely “possible.” But if you’re proactive and contact Villanova and explain that you didn’t realize that making changes might affect your decision, detailing WHY you made these changes and emphasizing the good grades that you did get, you’ll probably be okay. Colleges really do not like to lose admitted students so the odds are in your favor.
@Sally_Rubenstone Thank you for your help, I appreciate it. I am seeing my counselor today and then I will contact admissions.
@Loganjt1-You’re welcome. Since you’re meeting with your counselor today, can you ask him or her to write a letter or email to Villanova explaining the changes in your schedule and assuring them that you weren’t intentionally slacking this semester but were panicked about the cost of college and decided to take a practice route this term? As I said before, you should probably be okay but it can’t hurt to have this little extra bit of corroboration from a high school official.
Hello, I was just wondering at what point colleges like Columbia and Cornell would send out letters of warning/rescind acceptances.
I might end up with a B+ (or even B) in one of my classes and have never gotten anything but straight As before. Especially in contrast with my previous grades, would this be a reason to have my likely letter acceptance turned into a rejection?
@CCCabc - At the end of the school year, your school counselor will send a final transcript to only the college that you plan to attend. The transcripts are typically reviewed some time in July, but this will vary from college to college. If the admission officials have concerns about a student’s dropping grades or about any other issues (e.g., disciplinary action, attendance), then the college will contact you and/or your counselor.
However, the type of grade drop that you’re talking about is irrelevant and will have no impact on your acceptances, so don’t fret.