When Do Colleges Rescind Acceptances?

Archive Ask The Dean Archive
1642

@SpiritedDisplay1 -I’m still guessing here but I continue to think that this is all very routine and you have nothing to fear.

Comparing your college communications with others’ can sometimes be helpful but can also be stressful because, as you’ve suggested, your friend’s situation was different from yours. Thus it’s understandable that he would receive a different email. Your issue, in fact, was more minor than your friend’s, so that’s why it’s likely that you didn’t receive the added information that he did.

If you can’t sleep at night, you can ask your school counselor to call the admission office to get confirmation that you’re fine. But I really feel that you have nothing to worry about.

1643

Hi! @Sally_Rubenstone
I got accepted into Case Western Reserve 2023 as an ED applicant with a 10k scholarship, and I recently got a warning letter basically saying if I don’t bring my grades up then they might do something to my acceptance–which is understandable. I have 3 C’s and 2/3 of the C’s are B’s now, and I’m positive that I can bring my third C to a B; however, I am also afraid of my A’s dropping to B’s. Do you think they will rescind me if I end up with 5 B’s and one A? I’m stressing out because if they do rescind me or something I won’t have a school to attend since I applied as an ED applicant. Also, I already had my counselor call the admissions office and talk to them about my situation already, so they have a heads up, but it’s still really stressful.

1644

Thanks again Sally!

1645

@yaycollege564 -You should be okay with all B’s plus one A … and probably even with one C, if that happens (although I can rarely say for sure since college policies do vary). However, you’re wise to get your school counselor involved to advocate for you, especially if there are extenuating circumstances (e.g., illness, family problems, nutty teachers) that help to explain your drop in grades.

So stay in touch with the Case admission office to keep them posted on your improvement, and also stay in touch with your guidance counselor because a positive
exchange between the college and your counselor will go a long way towards lowering your stress level.

1646

Hi Sally,

I got accepted into UCLA, but I worry that my admission can be rescinded.

In my application, it shows that Spring 2019 I am taking: English 1B, History 001, Business 082, Guidance 130 (for CSU), Accounting Tax, and Quickbooks; Sign Language 1B withdraw.

Because I did not think of getting their acceptance, last Sunday when my husband was missing (I did report to police), plus knowing UCI allowed me to drop English 1B since I have English 1C to fulfill the English composition, I dropped English 1B.

In my report of change to UCLA, I explained to them about my situation to drop it (except mentioned UCI) and suggested to take a Dance class in summer to fulfill IGETC certificate. I did tell them English 1 B is a lecture class whereas the rest were online so that I can stay at home look after my husband and my daughter.

Do you think my admission would be rescinded? I am just too worried at the moment. But it may take up to 15 business days to get a response from UCLA.

Many thanks.

1647

@Bibihcmvn - l’m a bit confused by your situation, so if you want to send me a Private Message to explain it more thoroughly, feel free.

Did you just drop the English 1B class last Sunday when your husband disappeared? What will your transcript say … that you Withdrew Passing? And why did you drop it … are you concerned that you cannot leave the house at all to attend class because both your daughter and your husband require your full-time supervision? (I assume that he must have some medical or mental health problems.) But, if that’s the case, how will you be able to take classes at UCLA in the fall?

Although UCLA might not rescind your acceptance for dropping the one English class late in the semester, this situation COULD raise concerns in the UCLA admission office that you’re not in a position to attend UCLA classes due to your responsibilities at home.

Usually when a student fails a class or changes curriculum after applying, the decision to rescind or not rescind an acceptance is made on a case-by-case basis when the individual circumstances are examined. So my worry for you is not just that you dropped a class but WHY you dropped it. When the UCLA staff review your case, they may raise this issue and wonder if you will be able to take on the challenges of a full-time course load on the UCLA campus.

So if you want to reply here, or via a Private Message, and provide more details, maybe I can offer some advice on how to proceed.

1648

@Sally_Rubenstone I just message you but forgot to answer that in my current transcript which I just sent to UCLA, it no show yet. After SPring, it will show W, because I withdrew it before the deadline.

After dropping it, I still have one lecture class (Tax Accounting) but I need it for AS- Accounting degree. So I just add this detail to my explanation too.

1649

@Sally_Rubenstone

Hi Sally!

I have been waitlisted at UCSD as of 4/26:

What would you suggest for someone that has achieved 66 UC transferrable credits as of Fall 2018, has completed all IGETC areas as of Fall 2018, and is currently taking 14 UC transferrable credits this Spring, of which only 3 credits are required to finish major prep for UCSD…but is failing 8/14 credits. The 3 credit major prep course I will most likely ace, as well as another 3 credit communications class (required for CSU). The other two classes are a random 5 credit course for Arabic, and a random 3 credit philosophy course I took. So I get A’s or B’s in two classes and F’s in two classes. Not sure if this matters either (but I know they can see it on my application), but I’m taking these courses at 3 different colleges, just like I did last Fall. I probably spend more time on commuting then I do on homework haha.

I’m a veteran and I used the other courses as “fillers” so that I could receive full time financial aid (but they don’t know that, which sucks big time). My logic is that they’ll see someone who will have 72 UC transferrable credits (I think 70 is the max they’ll accept right?) by the end of Spring…and they’ll see that I focused on the courses I NEEDED to do well in for my major. I don’t like failing classes, but at some point you’ve got to prioritize…and I feel as if I put a mass amount of effort in my failing classes at this point in the game, then that would undoubtedly take away from effort put into my needed courses during this “final push”.

That said, two F’s, whether or not they’re crucial classes, is not a good look. I might have to ask a counselor about this though…my big question would be for grad school, regardless if I get into UCSD. I know my UCSD gpa will reset with UCSD courses ONLY, but if applying to grad school, I’m under the impression they’ll look at all transcripts? And my GPA will be an average of UCSD GPA and CCC(California Community College) GPA…but exactly how they calculate that cumulative gpa is my question. If I happened to have 200 semester credits at a community college…would they really factor that into my cumulative GPA? or will they just take the first 70 (or 60) UC transferrable credits and disregard the rest? I can’t imagine a graduate admissions counselor putting more weight on electives than upper div courses, you know what I mean? If anything, it’d be a good look if I had a rocky GPA in CCC and just crushed my UC GPA (which I plan to do as I’m much more familiar with San Diego/ have more connections then when I first moved here).

I think I do have a (somewhat?) special case as a Marine vet, being that I’m leveraging my GI bill to stay afloat. These two classes that I would potentially fail, literally have no academic value to me (they have intrinsic value of course, because learning is priceless), at least from the perspective of someone who is transferring. Right now I have 66 UC transferrable semester credits. With the two essential classes (which I will get A’s or B’s in) I’ll finish end of Spring, I’ll have 72 credits. If I pull off C’s or higher in the other two courses (5 credit and 3 credit class) I’ll have 80 semester credits…10 more than they even allow. From an academic standpoint, it just doesn’t seem wise to me, especially knowing if my cumulative GPA only factors in 70 credits. From a financial perspective, I’ve stayed in the classes full time this last semester so that I can receive 100% financial aid. When I moved back from Japan, I moved to San Diego as a California-expat and didn’t have any connects-I just made things work, and the financial aid really gave me a foot in the door!

So what do you think, shall I boldly email them right now? “Look UCSD, I’m going to fail these two classes whether you like it or not. You don’t need them, and I don’t need them, except for financial reasons. I’m old. I’m cranky. My back hurts when I get out of the bed in the morning. Don’t make me come down there UCSD. Sincerely, future graduate, saltier than King Triton himself.” Elegant right? That just might work…my finals are 5 weeks away, so if I literally tell them I’m going to fail these right now…seems like it’s my skillfully crafted (unorthodox as it may be) plan, right? :stuck_out_tongue:

Edit: Also, way too late to get W’s, and if I withdrew from those classes, I’d have to pay back a significant portion of money, which is not feasible whilst living by myself in this big ol’ scary California land.

1650

@Sally_Rubenstone

In all seriousness though, the best solution would be to contact UCSD now, and tell them that I’m struggling in the classes but seeking out tutoring every week (I’m sure I can document this as well), right? I suppose I’m being a bit stubborn. I’m an older, independent student, and the last thing I want to do is put time into the classroom if it’s not needed to achieve my academic goals.

1651

@Sally_Rubenstone

Sorry for sendng multiple messages…College confidential won’t let me edit current messages on this thread for some reason…a notification in the bottom right hand corner of the screen pops up saying, “You need the Vanilla.Comments.Edit permission to do that.” :0

I’m also thinking, since I haven’t been taken off the waitlist yet, that maybe I should just wait until I have an actual admittance, before I start spamming the admissions office with “appeals” that might not even be needed if I don’t end up getting F’s or D’s…I’m starting to think that maybe it would be detrimental to say I’m struggling, whilst on the waitlist, yea? I mean how I see it, the UC is trying to get paying students into the exact amount of seats that they are offering. Because UCSD has so many applicants, they can be selective of course…but if all other admitted students have enrolled elsewhere and there are still open spots for my major, say late July, aren’t my chances high regardless of GPA/ Essays/test scores etc.? In my mind, a waitlist decision would actually play in the favor of someone who is going to receive substandard grades, simply because of the timeline. What do you think, Sally?

Thanks so much for taking the time to read all of this by the way! :slight_smile:

1652

@tacoturnup -I agree that you should NOT contact UCSD until they’ve actually accepted you. Then, if they DO, you can explain your situation and the two potential F’s. BUT … make sure that you don’t come off sounding smug. Admission folks NEVER want to see that a student received a poor grade (or, in your case, two of them) because s/he didn’t feel that a course was important. Although in real life, all of us do (and probably even SHOULD) prioritize the endeavors that are meaningful to us, in the unreal world of college admission, you’ll find that most of the admissions folks expect their applicants to put as much effort into the areas they don’t like or need as they do into the ones that are more valued.

So if you contact UCSD to explain your situation or when you contact other colleges (more on this in a minute), your emphasis should be on your military background, your atypical life experiences, the efforts you had to make to get through your education so far (e.g., cobbling together different classes on multiple campuses and wangling your tuition as an older student on the GI bill) and your future goals. You write well and with a sense of humor, which will be a plus in the process–and in the decades beyond it. So don’t hesitate to let your personality come through in your prose, but do be wary of being dismissive of the classes that you didn’t really require. That will work against you.

I also think that you should consider some private colleges. Although at first glance, the price tag will seem high, some of these smaller schools have decent dough to give away, and they are eager to “diversify” their student population. So–as a non-traditional student–you could fit the bill. We’re not talking Stanford here or Harvard, but if you want to stay in Southern CA, there are schools such as Occidental, Whittier and Chapman that may have more flexibility to admit students with F’s on their record but with an unusual journey behind them and clear-cut potential. And these places may be able to provide sufficient financial aid to bring their costs into the same range at the public schools. Note, however, that most of their transfer deadlines will have passed at this point. So if you’re interested in considering private colleges, you will have to take a semester or a year off before transferring or cajole the admission officials into making an exception.

In a few days, the National Association for College Admission Counseling will release its annual “College Openings Update.” (It usually comes out shortly after the May 1 Candidates’ Reply Date.) Here is the link to the 2018 version, now defunct. https://www.nacacnet.org/news–publications/Research/CollegeOpenings/ (If it doesn’t work next week for 2019, just search with Google.) The College Openings Update will list all colleges that still have transfer vacancies, even if the official application deadline has long passed–which is often the case. It will also say whether there is financial aid still available (often the case, too) and housing, should you need it. You can scroll through it and see if any names jump out at you.

So don’t put all your eggs in the UCSD basket since waitlist admission is a big crap shoot and then, even if you ARE accepted, your two low grades could be deal-breakers. The good news, however, is that if you finish your Bachelor’s degree with strong grades, then these low ones should not be deal-breakers when it’s time to apply to grad school.

Hope that helps and best of luck to you.

1653

@Sally_Rubenstone I’m so glad I came across this thread. Thank you so much for your thoughtful advice :slight_smile: Have a great Sunday!

1654

I am a student who got accepted to Rice for regular decision. I wanted to ask you question about if they compare your grades to the last semester or if they really just consider the absolute grade. I had an 83 in AP Environmental Sci, this was listed on my mid year transcript and made clear to Rice. I expect that I. Might get a C in that class along the lines of a 79 or 78. Will this be significant enough to qualify a rescind. My other grades are all A with a high B in AP Chem.

1655

@ricethroaway123 - I don’t anticipate a problem for you .You might get a letter from Rice asking why your grade dropped, but your acceptance shouldn’t be revoked because of it. And it sounds like you already warned Rice that the lower grade might happen. It would also be useful for you to explain WHY if you have a decent excuse. But DON’T use extracurricular involvement as an excuse. The college folks don’t like to hear that you got carried away with your duties as Key Club president or tennis team captain! If, however, you hold a job because your family needs money and you were working excess hours, that’s a different story.

1656

@Sally_Rubenstone Hi! I’m a student at a public state college and recently found out that I got accepted as a transfer to Vanderbilt, but my acceptance letter said that my acceptance is contingent on my “maintaining the level of achievement * have previously shown in college coursework.” I got All A’s my first semester, not even an A-, and this semester I have all A’s except a likely C+/B- in Organic Chemistry. Organic Chemistry doesn’t really have to do with my intended major at Vanderbilt. Should I be worried about my offer getting rescinded?

Also, when should I expect to hear back whether or not my acceptance was rescinded? I don’t want to tell all my friends and family that I’m transferring and offer my next year housing to someone else only to find that I can’t go to Vanderbilt anymore

1657

@soopertrooper -Congrats on your Vandy acceptance. Given that organic chem is a notoriously killer course, I can’t see that a C+/B- will derail your transfers plans. Just to be on the safe side, you can email the admission staff member at Vanderbilt who oversees transfer students to confirm this. Even so, I really feel it’s fine to spread the good news now. But just don’t celebrate SO much that you let that grade slip even more!

1658

@Sally_Rubenstone Hi! I was recently accepted into UVA as a fall transfer student. Currently, I am extremely worried about one of my grades currently at Clemson. In every other class, I have A’s and B’s, but in physics, I am struggling with a D. I have studied hard and gone for help, but those sessions haven’t helped me. The worst part is that it’s an honors course, so it’s even harder than usual. I’m really scared that UVA might rescind their offer because of this one grade. I bogged myself down this semester with 20 credit hours (not a good idea) because I decided to double major at Clemson in both econ and psychology, so to catch up, I took more hours.

1659

thank you! I respect your dedication, posting on this thread since 2011! I’m sure you’ve provided a lot of good information to many nervous students!

1660

Thank you so much! Sorry, this is so late, but it was my personal college counselor who called the admissions office. I also called the admissions office and they told me not to stress about it but if I didn’t bring my grades up, I would have to explain the situation? Is that supposed to make me feel any less stressed? I feel like it makes me even more stressed out.

1661

@yaycollege564-If you don’t bring up your grades, you should be prepared to explain what happened. But what the college folks are really looking for are signs that you’re not slacking and that you’re paying attention. Your interactions with Case so far have already proven that you ARE paying attention. So just do the best you can in all your classes for the rest of the semester and keep track of any extra measures you’re taking to improve your grades (tutoring, extra help from the teacher, etc.) So when (or if) the time comes that the admission officials want you to explain your downturn, you’ll have some specific “evidence” of your efforts to present. But, really, as long as you’re TRYING and not goofing off, you’ll be fine.