@icametokill2o9 -Thank you for the update. I’m very happy to hear about your outcomes. But, as I’d mentioned in an earlier post, when you ask your counselor and therapist for letters of support, try to tell them to avoid ambiguities like, “… should continue to make strides” or " … at this time it is unlikely that other problems will arise." The Cal folks want to make sure that you are fully ready for a rigorous college experience so these letters should proclaim it loud and clear!
Hi, I’m really nervous right now and I’m really concerned about my math. I have never been a math person and have passed with tutors. I’m a senior and I’m taking Pre-Cal honors. The whole year, I’ve been between D and C. :-SS . The rest of my classes are As and one B I am currently taking 2 AP classes which I’m doing fine. I have committed to UC Berkeley and I’m afraid they might rescind my application if I end up with a D in pre-cal honors. Will they? When they received my first semester grades, I had a C. And surprisingly they accepted me. I’m majoring in Film studies.
@Scarsinstars -The UC’s claim that they do rescind for any “D.” But, from my experience over the years, I’ve seen that they don’t ALWAYS do it. So I suggest that you not wait for your final grades or for bad news from Cal. Instead, write to your admission rep now and talk about your on-going struggle in math and your efforts to stay afloat. List everything you’ve done to try to pass (e.g, tutoring plus extra help from the teacher … which you SHOULD ask for NOW if you haven’t already.)
The college folks mainly want to be sure that their students aren’t slacking. So try to prove that you haven’t been. You’ll still, however, be on thin ice with a D so talk to your teacher on Monday about not only getting the extra help but also about any extra-credit work you could do to boost your grade. At the UC schools, a C- is the same as a C, so at least aim for that. Good luck!
Hi, I was just accepted as a transfer student to NCSU as an international studies major. Right now I am currently failing my gen chem 2 class and my precalc 2 class. I might be able to pass my precalc 2 class if I do really well on the final, but it is almost impossible to pass gen chem 2. The gpa with which I was accepted was a 3.14. My other classes I have a B+ , a C+, and a C. I’m so scared that they will rescind my admission, and I’ve already sent the admissions department explaining the reason for the decline in my grades, which was caused by the loss of a family member and missing many classes as a result. They replied to thank me for my explanation and said that if they needed any more information, they would make sure to ask me. Do you think my admission will get rescinded?
@730aae-I really don’t know what your outcome will be. Your low grades are certainly reason to rescind but your extenuating circumstances may leave you in the clear. Since your major is international studies and the classes you’re failing are science and math, that could work in your favor as well.
If there is anyone who is close to your family (e.g., a clergy member or social worker or physician or even an attorney) who could write to the college on your behalf to corroborate the story about your loss and explain the impact on you and why you needed to miss a lot of classes, it wouldn’t hurt to ask him/her for a letter of support to be send to NCSU admissions.
I’m sorry for your loss and wish you good luck. Let me know what the outcome was, if you think of it.
Hi Sally,
I am currently an international IB Diploma student appearing for my exams. I’ve been admitted to a competitive UC’s CAS as an English Major. The university specifies that IB students ideally receive 5 or above (a B or higher, technically) on their exams. With two or more Cs (in my case, 4s) or a D/F (probably a 3), admissions have to be notified.
I’m worried about meeting the conditions, naturally because I’ve worked so hard and I don’t want to jeopardize the work I’ve done the past two years, but also because it could happen with Physics and Computer Science. Will admissions factor in course difficulty and the fact that it isn’t affiliated with my major? I have heard of students getting in with Cs and Ds, but I don’t know if it’s the same for me as an intl.
All I’m focussing on right now is getting through my exams and working as hard as I can, but I’m planning to write to admissions after I finish my papers. I know that they don’t comment on ‘hypothetical’ situations but I want to make sure they know that I worked as hard as I could. Is this the right way to go?
@sameepastrami -It’s my understanding that you haven’t gotten low grades on any IB exams yet, but you’re worrying that you might. If this is correct, then send NOTHING to your college now. But if you do end up with sub-par results on your Physics and Comp Sci tests, THEN you can write to admission officials and point out that you have worked VERY hard, but you still didn’t do well in two very rigorous areas that are outside of your future major.
Although UC’s claim to rescind for senior “D’s,” I have seen many instances where each student (including international students) is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. If you have teachers who can corroborate your efforts in these classes, you can ask them for letters of support. In fact, you can try gathering those letters NOW. But don’t actually send anything to your college until you find out how you did on your exams. Your fretting may be for nothing. Good luck!
Just like the previous post, I am also an international IB student that has been accepted to UVa. I have already passed my highschool with a bit of slacking off, ending my last semester with 2A’s and 4B’s, and will be able to obtain my highschool diploma.
While I know this will not get me rescinded, I am scared that I will be rescinded due to the failure to obtain my IB diploma. I applied with a predicted score of 37/42, however this will likely drop drastically as I have discovered that some of my teachers did not even cover the entire syllabus. I might end with a score of 30/42, and maybe go as far as failing individual subjects. (I’m not very optimistic lol).
Basically TLDR: I might not get my IB diploma, is that enough for me to be rescinded? It is relevant since I submitted my predicted scores, and even put IB exams as leaving exams on the commonapp (which I later found out isn’t exactly true).
@FaceTheAdversity -I can’t say for sure what UVA will decide. But, typically, when an student (international or domestic) gets final grades in IB classes in addition to IB exam scores, the college will not rescind if the grades themselves are reasonable … which yours are … even if the IB diploma wasn’t granted. (There are many international students who don’t receive final course grades … only exam scores … and these students who don’t receive the full diploma can be on thinner ice.)
Does your acceptance letter say anything about your admission being conditional based on your IB exam results? Probably not. But, in either case, if you do end up scoring poorly, you should write to UVA and explain that the teachers did not cover the material. Again, while I can’t say for sure, I think you’ll be okay.
hi, I am currently taking multivariable calculus as a dual enrollment student at a selective college. The course was extremely challenging and the lack of grades inputted (around 4 major test grades) provided me without any cushion/backup. It was also technically a virtual/online course so I received very little help all around. I am going to end up with a D in the class, but on the transcript, my school adds 10 points, so it’ll show up as a C. Will my college (a highly selective university) see it as a C or will they see the core score, a D? Either way, will they rescind? I will have all A’s except the calculus class.
Hi, I’ve been accepted to Purdue University and I was wondering whether my current grades would cause them to rescind my offer. I already had a D on my record when I applied. As of now(senior year 2nd semester) i have 6 classes and 1 is a C+(AP Psych and 1 is a D+(Pre-AP Pre-Calculus). The rest are B’s(AP Lit, AP Stats, AP GOV) and 1 A in a business elective class. Thanks!
@Smaran22 - College folks definitely don’t like D’s, and it’s possible that you’ll lose your place at Purdue if you get one. So make every possible effort to move up to at least a C- in math. Talk to your teacher about getting extra help after school or engaging a tutor. Keep a record of any initiative you’ve taken to improve your grade. That way, if you do get a D or D+, you can write to Purdue and explain that you really weren’t just being lazy and that you tried to earn a better grade. Then you can list these efforts that you made to stay afloat.
The fact that you had a D already and weren’t denied is a good sign. But if you do end up with another one, bend over backwards to prove that it wasn’t because of slacking.
@lbwfeinch -If you are a senior who has already applied to college and been accepted, then the “final transcript” that the college you will attend will see will be the transcript sent by your high school with a “C” on it.
If the college that you plan to attend also requests a a transcript directly from the college where you took the class, they will see the “D” and you should explain it as you have explained it here.
I think it’s unlikely you will be asked for that college transcript (unless you expect college credit for the class, which you won’t get with a “D” anyway), and I also find it highly unlikely that your acceptance will be rescinded under these circumstances.
I was accepted to Virginia Tech as a transfer from a CC. I expect to get a D, C/D, B/A, A in my four classes. The classes I’ll get a D and C in are important to the College of Engineering.
I bit off more than I could chew. I tried to take on an additional not-for-credit class and struggled with my college essays. I also deal with depression and anxiety, but I don’t think it’d help to mention that to admissions.
The language in VT’s letter is not too promising: “offer is contingent upon continued academic success and may be withdrawn if … (2) your spring semester GPA falls below a 2.0, (3) you receive a C or lower in spring coursework.”
My grades will be complete by around May 10. I have until June 1 to send in my deposit. My current plan is to draft up an email to send as soon as I know what my grades are for sure, but BEFORE sending my final transcript. I’ll earnestly explain what I’ve learned from this (what my weaknesses are, how to ensure it doesn’t happen again, etc), offering to show up in person and explain the situation at their earliest convenience. I’ll retake the courses that I don’t get Cs in if that’s what I need to do over the summer, or attend the Summer Academy at VT and take the classes later there.
(There’s might be a chance that I could get a letter from the professor whose course I’m likely getting a D in. He knows I’m normally a great student and I got an A in his class last semester.)
@strilk - Because the classes you’re doing poorly in are apparently relevant to your future major, you are probably in a deeper hole than many of the students on this thread who have gotten D’s in math or science but are aiming for humanities fields.
So you are definitely in danger of losing your spot at Virginia Tech. However, you are already planning some good “proactive” moves to work in your favor. Here are some smart things you already said you will do …
-Sending a letter BEFORE your grades reach VT
-Including in your letter what you’ve learned from your mistakes and how you plan to counter your weaknesses
-Offering to show up in person
-Suggesting that you’ll retake classes
-Asking for a recommendation from the professor who is probably giving you a D but who also likes you
This is great stuff and you will be wise to follow through on all of it.
The only other thing you might do is to suggest to the VT admission officials that you could start the fall semester on academic probation and/or meet with your advisor on a weekly or bi-weekly basis to make sure you are staying on track.
I agree with you that you shouldn’t mention your depression and anxiety (though I do think you should plan ahead and find a therapist you can work with in Blacksburg, either on campus or nearby). However, if there were stresses in your life that contributed your anxiety and depression that you feel will NOT be present at VT, you can include this in your letter by saying that you were dealing with some personal issues over the past year which won’t be following you to campus. (This often happens when community college students are living at home and the environment there is stressful or when community college students are NOT living at home but are dealing with school and paid work concurrently and perhaps also dealing with a bad housemate situation.)
While you are definitely on shaky ground with those low grades, if you approach VT in the mature and proactive way that you have demonstrated here, you will strengthen your position. Good luck! Let me know how it all turns out!
Hi Sally, I was accepted to Connecticut College and my GPA has gone down a bit from when I applied (3.83 W to like maybe a 3.6/3.5 W). Will anything be affected when I get into college like honors programs, scholarships, etc.?
@a3swim2017 -You should be fine unless one of your final senior grades is going to be a D. Can I assume that it’s not? If you’re getting a D, you will need to start doing some damage control!
Hi Sally,
I was accepted to UCLA as a physics CCC transfer. Prior to this semester I had straight As and one W, but this semester I’m getting 3 Bs and an A – pretty significant grade drop.
I’m wondering if there’s any chance of me being rescinded, or if at least a 3.0 is good enough regardless? The reason I’m a bit concerned is because the provisional contract is fairly vague, but does say to notify about a drop in academic performance. I know it’s a case-by-case basis, but is being rescinded for Bs (and no Cs) basically unheard of?
Thank you!!