I’m a poli sci major, and I am committed to BU. I am transferring, and if I finish the semester with an A-, A, A, A-, C+, would that C+ be a back breaker? The C+ is a physics honors class! Thanks! I was previously accepted with a C+ and a W on the transcript, so I assume not?
@TransferFall2018 -You are correct. You don’t have to worry about the C+ given your other strong grades and the rigor of the physics class.
Hi I just saw this and it eased my nervousness a bit,
but I am a senior art student who is planning on going to an art college.
I already got accepted into the college with scholarship and everything (meaning I’ve paid the tuition fee at the moment and room fees).
However I have an F in my Spanish 4 class, I’ve never failed a class and this is the first.
I’m too scared to talk to my teacher and I don’t plan on making up anything…
My grades are okay and my GPA is around a 3.4 ish and I try hard in my other classes.
Would the college (MCAD) rescind my acceptance or lower my scholarship money for failing a language class?
@scaredstudent101 -Good news! I know that college folks can often be fussy about F’s, even when the grade is in a class that has no ties to the student’s future academic plans. But I wasn’t sure if an art college would be strict about a failing grade in Spanish, so I called MCAD directly to ask. I spoke with a very kind and understanding admission officer who assured me that MCAD will take a “holistic” approach to this situation, meaning that your F in Spanish will be viewed in the context of your overall grades, which are strong. She said that, with a 3.4 GPA (give or take), you have nothing to worry about.
I wish that all admission officials were as reasonable as she was, and I told her that–one day when you’re a famous artist–I’m sure you’ll give a big donation to MCAD. (And maybe you should even earmark it for the Admission Officers Retirement Fund). 
Thank you so much for the reply, I’m very thankful that you took time to contact the admission officer! I was very nervous since it’s such a huge step in my career and my head completely blanked out, but thank you again! :x
Hey Sally,
So I currently got into NCSU engineering for the fall of next year. I got in with a 3.8 gpa my first semester. This semester however I am going to end up with 3 A’s, a B in Physics, C in Calc 3 and a possible C in C++. I don’t think the C++ class is needed for my major and I already have AP credit for Calc 1 and Calc 2. Do you think they will let me take Calc 3 again or will I get rescinded?
The condition was that I should have completed Calc 1, Calc 2, Chemistry and Physics…(which I have)
The only statement that was on the acceptance letter was that final decision was based on performing at a higher or same academic level.
I am really nervous about this because this is my dream school.
Thank you!
@wolfNC -My best guess is that you are not going to have any problems at all. If your Calc 3 grade had been a D, that would be a different story, but I think you should be fine. Your GPA has dipped since you were accepted, but MOST colleges allow a little wiggle room as long as the dip isn’t a nose-dive, which yours isn’t.
Hey Sally
So it turns out that my final actually brought my Calc 3 grade down to a D and I am freaking out. I was able to bring my other c++ grade up to a B though. What are the next steps I need to take. I really don’t want to be rescended!
Thank you!
@wolfNC -@wolfNC -As I said before, D’s can be problematic and you’ve got to take some damage-control steps right away. I know it may be tempting to say nothing, with the hope that somehow your bad grade will go unnoticed. But that’s a recipe for disaster because it WILL be noticed but very possibly too late for you to help yourself, if you don’t act NOW. So you need to contact your admission rep immediately. (If you don’t know his/her name, call the admission office and ask.)
Write an email to your rep that offers some reasonable explanation for the low grade. For instance, were there problems at home? Did you miss class due to flu and found it hard to get back on track? Did you simply feel that you weren’t well prepared by prerequisite classes for this tough one? If your Calc 3 teacher knows that you were trying hard, you can also ask this teacher to write a letter of support.
Above all, explain that you really want very much to enroll at NC State so you will take whatever steps are required to keep your spot. For instance, in your email you should offer to …
-retake Calc 3 over the summer
-start the school year on Academic Probation
-meet weekly with your advisor to make sure you stay on track
-do anything else you can think of that will indicate your level of determination
If you approach this problem in a way that shows your maturity and willingness to accept responsibility for your downturn, it’s likely that the university will not rescind your acceptance. These issues are always resolved on a case-by-case basis, so if you can prove that you weren’t just screwing around, the odds are decent that the admission folks will give you a chance.
Let us know how you make out.
Hi, my son is admitted to UPenn in RD. He studies IB and his PG and mid-term result was 45/45 and 41/45.
He just finished his IB exam and he expects he will score 38/45-43/45. In case he scores only 38/45, do you see any chance UPenn revoke the offer? Under what conditions will UPenn revoke the offer?
@telegogo - I don’t see Penn rescinding their offer for a 38, but I can’t say more specifically what conditions would leave to the offer being revoked. That’s a question you’d have to ask Penn because they evaluate each student on a case-by-case basis, so I’d need to see your son’s “Big Picture,” which I can’t.
@Sally_Rubenstone Thanks. The offer letter from UPenn did not specify any requirement, unlike UC Berkeley who require grade not lower than C. Is that a kind of unconditional offer?
I understand that there is no clear line on revoking the offer. Any idea of what is the score we need to worry?
@telegogo -Sorry but I don’t know which specific score would be considered a cut-off. Does your son get final grades in his IB classes or just the exam results? If he gets grades, too, and if his grades were strong, then a drop in his IB results won’t get him rescinded. If he doesn’t get grades, only a very big drop in scores should put him in hot water, but I’m not going to take a guess at a specific number.
@Sally_Rubenstone He got 45/45 PG last September and 41/45 as mid term report. These two scores was reported to the University before he receive the offer. He got 42/45 in the final exam in March and the transcript will be reported to the Univeristy in the next two weeks.
He finished his open IB exam just now and the result will be announced in mid-July. He believe he will score 38-43/45. He worries if the university will rescind the acceptance if he gets only 38/45.
My daughter has enrolled at Muhlenberg for next year as a History major. She will fail pre-calc for term 4 and may end up with a D+ for the year. Her unweighted GPA is still a 3.5. Math is her worst subject (as evidenced by test scores and past grades). How much risk is she to be rescinded or to have merit scholarship $ pulled back?
@K8sMom-There is definitely a risk of losing $$ and even a place in the class with a D or an F. However, as I’ve said many times, colleges look at each case individually and they are especially hard on slackers rather than on those who have always struggled in one subject area, especially math.
So your daughter needs to take the bull by the horns here and not wait until Muhlenberg contacts her (and if she waits, they WILL! This will not fall through the cracks.)
She needs to explain that she did work hard in this class. If she went to extra-help sessions, engaged a tutor, sought assistance online on sites like Khan Academy, etc., she should spell out exactly what she did. If the pre-calc teacher knows that your daughter wasn’t goofing off, a letter of support would be helpful.
If your daughter fell behind due to serious personal problems (e.g, protracted bad health, a death in the family, a divorce), she can mention this as well, but she should not elevate common concerns (“I broke up with my boyfriend”) to “serious” level even though we all know that these problems CAN feel VERY serious to teenagers.
Similarly, she should not use extracurricular commitments as an excuse for a low grade (“My lacrosse team made the States”). Again, we parents do recognize how exhausting such activities can be and how much time they zap. But the college folks typically have an Academics-Come-First attitude and give little sympathy to students who are derailed in the classroom by pursuits outside of it.
Your daughter should also offer some pro-active remedies for her low grade. These could include retaking pre-calc over the summer or starting the school year on academic probation.
Because her major will be history and her OWN history includes other low grades in math, it’s very possible that the college will let this go without any penalty at all. But it would be a mistake for your daughter to wait until Muhlenberg contacts her. She needs to step up now. If the rest of her semester grades were in line with what they were when she applied, she’ll probably be fine if she can “prove” as much as possible that she made her best effort to stay afloat in pre-calc, even if she ultimately didn’t.
Good luck. Let us know what happens!
@Sally_Rubenstone I’m kind of in a tricky situation. I got the Arts & Sciences pathway program at georgia tech for computational media (basically a guarenteed transfer program if I take certain classes and get above a 3.3 college gpa), but I technically still have to reapply to georgia tech confirming my credentials.
When I applied my gpa was a 3.7 but right now I have a C’s in AP calc and AP psych, and I currently have a D in AP Stats but that is going up to a C . I have B in AP lit, and A’s in all of my other regular classes. And my first year of college I will be attending UIC.
Do you think my georgia tech option will get rescended next year due to a poor senior transcript?
This one’s actually about graduate school, specifically a Master’s. I’m a double major who did 3 years of undergrad. However, I might well fail an Independent Study course. It’s not a course in a subject that has any application to my Master’s program (it was for my secondary major), and even with an F, my GPA would be above the 3.0 threshold for my program. Basically, what happened is the course ended up being particularly harsh (8 people started the independent study with me, I’m one of 2 who hasn’t dropped it, and I would have dropped it if I didn’t need the financial aid), and it was a self taught programming course when I’m a non-programmer. Add in computer problems during finals week, and I couldn’t produce the final project, nor did I really comprehend the final project. To be clear, I have enough units across both my majors that I’ll get my degree on time and with both majors even if I fail this course.
Given that this class has no applicability to my grad program, and my GPA is above 3.0 with no other Ds or Fs, is it likely I’ll be rescinded, or might my graduate program accept it?
@cocoforcollege -Your situation, as you’ve said, is tricky … or at least atypical … so I can’t predict your outcome. But my best guess is that you should aim for a GPA next year that is even BETTER than the requisite 3.3. Since you need to reapply to GA Tech, the admission folks will be scrutinizing your college transcript even more carefully than they might otherwise do because of your senior downturn. So if I had to gamble on you, I’d say you’ll be fine as long as you meet the college GPA requirement or … better yet, to be on the safe side … exceed it.
@Spaceship -I think that it is UNlikely that your grad-program acceptance will be rescinded under these circumstances. But, just to be on the safe side, you shouldn’t wait for feedback from the graduate admission office. Instead, write a brief email that explains to them what you’ve said here about the independent study course. Make sure you include all of these pertinent details … including the fact that almost everyone else in the course dropped out and that you would have withdrawn as well if your finaid wasn’t at risk.
But even as you present these complaints, try to avoid taking a whiny tone in your message. Instead, emphasize that the class, however frustrating and unsuccessful it was, taught you some valuable lessons about persistence and also helped you to understand the kinds of questions you need to ask or help you ought to seek if you should ever find yourself in academic hot water in the future. In other words, end on a positive note.
I really think you should be fine, but it’s still smart to take the lead on this.