Interesting post on this topic: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/2092055-deferred-acceptance-it-happened-to-me.html#latest
@bopper- Thanks for posting the link. It’s very apt here. I often see high school seniors on this thread who are so stressed out over whether or not an acceptance will be rescinded after a major downturn in grades that they don’t adequately consider what caused that downturn and how this might affect their adjustment to college. So I worry that, even if they don’t lose their place in the freshman class, they are not ready to tackle the demands of college life.
And I’m sure most folks will agree that Amherst handled this situation well. A year off should be very valuable to the OP. She can use the time to work on her mental and physical health issues, and–like all gap-year students (not just those “forced” into a gap year, as she was)–she is likely to enter college with more maturity and focus than the typical freshman.
Dear Sally, I got an F on a english online class that I took for enrichment. I’m preparing to transfer to UC Davis in the fall. I have completed all my IGETC requirements, and I took the class just for enrichment. Is it likely that my offer will be rescinded?
@midvalleygarden -You should probably be okay but you should explain the reason for the F if there is a decent explanation. What I often see in similar situations is that the student signed up for the online course but then got distracted by work, family duties, other activities, etc. and simply didn’t finish the class … but didn’t withdraw from it in time either. Is that what happened to you?
Dear Sally, I didn’t withdraw from the class in time. I just received this from the admissions officer:
As a provisionally admitted student, you were required to meet these conditions and maintain the same academic rigor and excellence upon which we based our admission decision. Your admission status is now under review and subject to cancellation for:
Poor academic standing your last term at De Anza College.
Admission cancellation is not something we take lightly, and we want to provide you with every opportunity to help us understand any challenges you may have been experiencing. You have seven (7) calendar days to provide additional information or documentation for consideration in this matter:
What should I do?
@midvalleygarden -You should write back immediately and explain that you were taking this class for enrichment but didn’t finish it and that you tried to officially withdraw but it was too late. Explain that you ordinarily take your academics very seriously but you viewed this class through a separate lens since you’d signed up “for fun” but then got waylaid by …
-an illness in the family?
-the death of a grandparent or someone close to you?
-the death of your computer (and no adequate replacement funds)?
-the demands of another class?
-your own illness?
-added responsibilities at work?
-added responsibilities at home?
In other words, there must be SOME reason that explains why you didn’t stick with the class. So whatever caused you to blow it off, explain it and apologize for your negligence to it, emphasizing that it’s not typical of you and that you would never be inattentive to an actual college class.
@Sally_Rubenstone But the truth is I did withdraw from the class, but at the time my phone did not send the request to the web server completely, thus my situation is very complicated. Should I tell them that?
@midvalleygarden -Yes, absolutely do explain this, adding that you would never intentionally discontinue working in a class without officially dropping it.
DRASTIC changes in grades. Small dips should not matter much. Acceptance can also be revoked if the student is caught in an offending scandal, but I would hope that is not the case for any of you or your children.
Hello, what happens in the case of a student’s grade drop because AP exams are factored into the final grade in the summer when report cards are reissued after final scores received?. Took a B down to a D (student does not do well on the AP exams) Its explained in the transcript, but how do colleges view this? The student took all AP and Honors classes Junior year.
@my2greatkids -Yikes! I’ve never seen this situation before where a final grade plummets so much due to an AP exam score. For starters, because the high school must have already sent an earlier (pre-exam) version of the “final” transcript to colleges, I have to wonder if the high school will send yet another one. Perhaps the school will just use the “bad” version for the student’s permanent record but not for the colleges? Can you find that out or do you already know that the second, re-issued report card went to colleges?
And if it did, I would like to think that the colleges will see that the student earned a B in the class prior to the AP exam and will not rescind an acceptance.
This late in the game, I really don’t see an acceptance being rescinded. Most colleges will let a D slide when there are extenuating circumstances (as there are here) that the school has explained. And even the colleges that are persnickety about D’s (like the U of CA system) would be unlikely to rescind in late August.
Again, I’ve not encountered this in the past, so I can’t respond with certainty. But it does seem unlikely that your student will get bad news at this point.
Let us know what happens, and good luck.
@thomaskurian89 that sounds highly shady, if not outright illegal. I would suggest contacting legal help. If you’re really worried, I work with a civil rights group called the American Civil Liberties Union that would be glad to offer you legal help for free. It sounds like the college is violating the Americans With Disabilities Act, and I believe you should put a stop to this behavior before they can do it to someone else.
@letsgo7 Probably not. However, if you’re worried, I would suggest immidiately writing the college to explain your mistake, and if necessary, ask your guidance department to explain along with you, too. I’m assuming that AP Micro will show up on your transcript anyway, so there won’t be too much of a problem. Colleges will appreciate that you were honest enough to contact you, and anyway it’s a one letter mistake that they will understand.
Dear Sally,
My daughter (by the end of Junior year) has mostly As (and 1 B). She decided to challeneg herself by taking AP Physics 1 this year and it has been a disaster. Despite tutoring, staying back at school for help, her grades are getting worse. We are extremely worried that she may end up with a D not because of a lack of effort but just because the material is tough.
Would advise we withdraw her from the course? This would probably be her only bad grade , she should have As in her other classes.
Help
@pacificnwgal -It would be helpful to have a little more context. For instance, if your daughter drops AP Physics, can she go into a regular physics class? If not, would she have no other science this year? How about math … what math (if any) is she taking now? And how selective are the colleges on her list?
Obviously, the most important consideration is your daughter’s mental health. And it sounds like the AP Physics class is a killer and would probably put a damper on her entire senior year if she stays in it. Since she’s already being tutored and getting extra after-school help, it doesn’t sound promising that her grades will improve.
What does she WANT to do? If she wants to drop out, that’s probably the wise move, though I could advise you more responsibly if I knew a bit more about the rest of her course load and her college goals.
Daughter has been accepted to several schools. Her h.s. transcript listed her senior year classes that she would take this spring. At the time her transcript was sent as part of her application, her counselor listed 3 potential half-year semester classes just in case she didn’t get into her dual enrollment classes for spring semester, but now (as of last week) she is registered for 2 new college classes for spring semester. One of the schools she was accepted to said to “alert them” if there are “considerable changes” from the time she originally applied to college. Is dropping three second semester h.s. classes to add two college semester classes (dual enrollment) considered a “considerable change.” Do we need to tell this particular school about the change in her classes for second semester? She is still taking 2 full year high school classes in addition to the 2 semester college she’s taking now, and the two new college classes she’ll take second semester. This particular school had a section in her admissions info stated “reasons for rescinded applications” and considerable changes was one of the reasons.
@OhioKaren -You should tell ALL of your daughter’s colleges about the changes. There is no down side to doing this (except that it will take a few minutes of your daughter’s time) and the college folks can get rather huffy when a final transcript doesn’t resemble the one that was initially received. Even when the changes add MORE rigorous classes than initially reported (which seems to be true in your daughter’s case), it’s still a bad idea to not report the changes.
@Sally_Rubenstone how does a college get a different transcript? Do they not only get one?
All my kids got was a section of the common app asking what courses they intended to take. Seems reasonable that it might change from app time (fall) to the time they actually register for senior spring classes.
Most colleges will get the transcript at the time of application, a mid-year report with 1st semester grades, and then the college one accepts and will be attending gets a final transcript. Most acceptance letters will contain a sentance saying something similar to “This offer is contingent upon successful completion of any course work you are currently pursuing.”
Colleges know that the plan cannot always be executed for various reasons, particularly when it comes to a semester-length course. They usually will not have an issue if the change does not result in a decrease in rigor, But as @Sally_Rubenstone , they don’t like surprises. It takes less than a minute to type, "Due to insufficient enrollment, my planned Latin American Government class was cancelled. In its place, I will be taking The Role of the Supreme Court in the 20th Century.
@OHMomof2-When I was answering @OhioKaren above what I really meant was that the final transcript needs to include the same classes that the student put on the application and that were listed on the transcript that was submitted when the student applied.
But typically a college DOES get two or even three transcripts. One will be sent when the student applies, and if that’s in the fall before the first-semester grades have been posted, then the college will usually get a second one with the Midyear Report at the end of January. Then, at the end of the year, there will be a final transcript sent.