When Do Colleges Rescind Acceptances?

Archive Ask The Dean Archive
1822

@HHuntforCollege -First of all, my condolences to you on the imminent loss of your mother. I’m sure that this is a very sad and stressful time for your family and is understandably taking a toll on your daughter’s schoolwork.

Regarding her struggles in AP Environmental Studies, you are wise when you suggest that she should speak to her counselor and ask for advice on how to approach the teacher. I can almost guarantee you, however, that the counselor will ask her, “Have you even TRIED to talk to the teacher?” So your daughter should actually do this first. If she’s uncomfortable approaching this teacher quietly before or after class, she could begin with an email asking for a short meeting at the teacher’s convenience. If the teacher says no to the meeting (or disregards the message entirely), at least your daughter will have tangible proof that she made an attempt to discuss her problem with the teacher. Of course, she should be sure to save that email and to also keep a written record of ALL efforts she made to improve in this class, including meetings with the counselor, tutoring (by a peer or a pro, if she resorts to that), etc.

If the teacher does agree to a meeting, your daughter can then explain that she’s struggling in the class and that her success there has been hampered by set-backs such as the illnesses and other situations you described, especially the pending loss of her grandma. However, the emphasis in this meeting should be on asking the teacher for recommendations on how your daughter can do better in the class and not on making excuses for what’s already transpired.

If the teacher does NOT meet with your daughter or if the meeting doesn’t produce any fruitful results, then it’s time for your daughter to talk to her school counselor, and she can begin by explaining that she’s already reached out to the teacher. If the counselor doesn’t seem to have any helpful thoughts, your daughter can ask if it might be wise to set up a meeting with the department head who oversees the Env Science teacher (and hopefully this teacher is NOT the department head).

Your daughter’s goal should be to not only improve her grade (if possible) but also to compile documentation of all efforts she made to stay afloat in this class. So if she can’t improve her grade, she CAN convince admission officials that she wasn’t slacking and that she took numerous measures to do well.

If your daughter ends up with a “C” (or even a C-) in Env Science, it will not likely lead to rescinded acceptances, although it would still be prudent for her to make a “pre-emptive strike” by emailing the admission office at the college she has decided to attend and explain the difficulties she had in the class and the many stresses on her during this spring semester.

If she finishes with a “D,” there MIGHT be repercussions, so it’s even MORE important that she contact the admission office at her intended college to explain the circumstances. BEFORE her final transcript arrives in the admission office. Ideally, her guidance counselor will also email the admission office to corroborate your daughter’s explanation and emphasize that she wasn’t slacking.

I know you’ve got a lot on your plate right now, but it would be helpful if you can continue to monitor this situation (and I suspect that you will) to make sure that your daughter does promptly attempt to meet with the teacher and then with her counselor (if the teacher meeting was unproductive … or non-existent).

Best wishes to you as you navigate the tough time ahead with your mom, and do take some solace in the fact that, whatever happens with this class, you will look back on it before long and realize that, although it doesn’t feel this way right now, it will look like small stuff when it’s in the rear view mirror.

1823

@HHuntforCollege …

p.s.

Your daughter will have to choose a college by May 1. It’s possible that she will know before then if her Env Science grade is down in “D” territory rather than at a “C” or above.

If she does feel that a D is looming, she might want to email her regional admissions reps at her top 3 or even 4 colleges and explain the situation and ask if a potential D will lead to a rescinded acceptance.

If a couple of the colleges respond with a “No” or a “Probably not” while a couple more say, “Possible,” this might affect where your daughter decides to commit on May 1.

But do be warned that the most probable answer she’ll receive will be along the lines of, “We will need to see your AP Env Sci grade in the context of your final transcript, and we will thoroughly review your entire application before making a decision.”

Thus sending these emails might pay off or it might just induce further purgatory. :frowning: Even so, it’s a measure that I advise your student to take if she knows before May that she is likely to end up with a D.

1824

@Sally_Rubenstone Thanks so much, this is the plan of attack we were really planning. When we started talking about it yesterday she didn’t really think it mattered because its not a grad requirement, so I pulled up some of the colleges that she had been accepted to showed her the importance. She’ll have her mid-semester grade by spring break which starts March 15, so that will give us a good time to make some decisions.

Thanks again.

1825

I recently got admitted to UNC. I’ve gotten all As and one B in an AP class. First semester I took Calc AB and ended with a 79. I’m in BC now I have a tutor and still am struggling. I got all As along with that 79 and I’m worried I will finish with a C in BC as well. I’m very worried in being rescinded can someone give me some advice?

1826

@zml136 -Your UNC acceptance won’t be rescinded with strong grades except for one C in a tough class. Even so, if you get to the end of the semester and have learned that you’ll definitely be getting a C in AP Calc, you can write to your admission rep (the staff member who oversees applicants from your high school) and explain that you were struggling in that class and even sought out tutoring but you still weren’t able to earn a better grade. The admission officials will appreciate the fact that you weren’t slacking, so it’s wise to alert them, but you really don’t have to worry about losing your place in the freshman class.

1 Like
1827

Wow that’s scary that they can do that!

1828

My physical therapist’s assistant was accepted to UCLA. She said she had a rough time in English and received a D her final semester. They made their deposits, paid for housing, she got an invite to an overnight orientation and the second day while eating in the cafe on campus she got a call that her admission was revoked. She said, she couldn’t believe that she was THERE and ready and her family, friends, etc knew about her going there in the fall and how could they drop her?

Her parents went with a lawyer and in the end, she got refunds and did not attend. It was so late, that she had to piece together a schedule from a couple of community colleges that fall. Second-semester, CSULB let her know they had an opening under the requirement that she live on campus.

She ended up being very happy there, but she said it was the worst day of her life getting that call. Even as she was talking about it we both teared up. She said that was a LOT of at 18 year old to handle on her own.

1829

@RoseBud44 -That’s a very tough situation for anyone, especially a teenager. BUT … the UC schools are VERY clear that acceptances will be rescinded for any senior grade below a C. Students are not even permitted to make up low grades in summer school before matriculating.

Because I write the College Confidential “Ask the Dean” column, I hear from a lot of high school seniors with UC acceptance who know this policy but are freaking out because they are getting a D or F in a senor class.

Those who are proactive can SOMETIMES avoid a rescinded acceptance by explaining extenuating circumstances that led to the low grade. For instance, if your PT’s assistant was having a rough time in English because it’s not her first language yet she had been erroneously put in a class that was too rigorous for her, she might have been able to hang onto her place at UCLA, but she would have had to lobby hard for this.

And, of course, knowing how to approach an appeal can be difficult for an 18-year-old, particularly those who are the first in their families to go to college.

Moreover, many public high schools don’t have enough school counselors to guide students through the entire college process, including dealing with situations like this one. If student/counselor ratios were more reasonable (and if there were more great counselors around), then fewer students would end up in the straits that this one did.

I’m glad, however, that she was happy at CSULB. Oddly enough, this crazy process often does wind up in a “meant to be” way, even if it doesn’t always seem like it will!

1830

Hi Sally. My son was accepted to several colleges, and is choosing among Wooster, Allegheny, Pitt, and UMD (spring semester). This past semester, he got C’s in IB math and bio, his first C’s. I am concerned that he will commit to a school without knowing how the school will react to these grades, and am worried about second semester grades! If he can bring up his grades to all Bs and As, should he be ok? And if not? Should we reach out to the schools? Thanks!

1831

@twodogsnight -Since those C’s seem to be just SEMESTER grades, and not FINAL ones, your son will certainly be fine if he pulls them up to B’s (even B-'s). If he ends up with a single C in one of these challenging subjects, he should be fine too. If ends up with TWO final C’s,. my best guess is that these private colleges would still take him; the public ones could go either way. In any case, here’s what I suggest:

  1. He keeps a written record of all measures he's taking to improve in these classes (e.g, extra help from the teacher; peer or professional tutoring; self-tutoring using online resources, etc.). This way, if he does end up with two C's, he can use this record as "ammunition" to prove to his colleges that he wasn't slacking.
  2. At the start of April, when he (and you) should have a clearer sense of what direction these grades are going in, he should email his regional rep at ALL of the colleges that have accepted him, IF he's pretty sure that he will be getting a C (or, especially two of them) on his final report card. He can then explain all of the extra steps he's taken to do better, albeit to no avail, and he can ask if his acceptance will be in jeopardy. (He should also mention all his other grades, which presumably will be stronger.)

If one or more of the reps writes back to say that the two C’s might be problematic, while a couple more write back and seem unconcerned, then this will influence where your son commits on May 1.

However, in such cases, you will have to steel yourself for some ambiguous replies. Instead of getting emails that say, “Big problem” or “No problem,” your son is likely to get answers that are along the lines of, “We will evaluate you at the end of the school year in the context of all facets of your application, and we urge you to make your best effort to finish the year as strongly as possible.” In other words, NOT helpful. :frowning:

So … IF your son can’t seem to do better than two C’s and IF he contacts his colleges at the beginning of April and receives responses that don’t offer enough information for him to feel comfortable making a college choice without fear of losing his place in the class once his final transcript is submitted, then write back and we’ll consider the newest variables.

But with no C’s or just one C, he ought to be solid. And even with two C’s, he should be okay too … at least at some of his schools. So, come April, you may have to sniff out where he WON’T be fine if the grades don’t go up. Let’s cross that bridge when we get to it.

1832

Thanks so much. These are final grades however, in that the school just has semester grades and not final yearly grades.

1833

@twodogsnight -Oh, okay. I’d inferred from your question that your son still had time to raise those grades. But, since he can’t, he should just write to his admission reps NOW and explain the two C’s. He shouldn’t make a bunch of whiny excuses but if there’s a really compelling one (“I was out with the flu for 10 days”) he can mention it. He should definitely explain that he was trying hard., not slacking, and, if he took any special steps to improve (e.g., after-school help) he should include this, too.

He needs to ask in his email if the C’s will affect his acceptance. As noted above, he should also include all his other grades, just to put the C’s in context. If his intended major is NOT in math and science, he can point out that he views himself more as “a humanities guy” or “an arts guy” (etc.) but wanted to challenge himself so he took the two tough classes even though he knew they’d be demanding and he might not do as well as usual.

He should send this email message to his regional rep at each of his colleges (the admission staff member who oversees applicants from his high school). If he doesn’t know who that is, he can either find the info on the website or call the office to ask. He should also Cc his message to the main admission-office address.

Then, once he hears from all of his schools (which could take a couple weeks … and he can follow up if he hears nothing at all), write back if all of the responses are ambiguous. By then, too, you may have a decent sense of what the second-semester grades are looking like. If they are strong, then less damage control will be required. :smile:

1834

Just coming back to update on my son’s AP Calc issues. He did pass the class with a 74 and is now in regular Calculus with a 100 (since he has already learned everything that class is doing - one small benefit I guess.) Thank you so much for calming our nerves last semester. We are not contacting schools about the C since he has had C’s before and this was an AP class. He has many college choices and life is much nicer without the stress of that class and the $400 a month I was having to pay for tutoring.

1835

@Emory85 -Thanks for the follow-up. Sounds like this worked out to be best-case scenario.

No need to make contact with colleges about the C, especially because your son has many college choices. Congrats to him on those.

Hope you find something fun to do with that $400/month (other than college tuition next year :wink: )

1836

UCs typically give clear conditions of admission, usually a senior year GPA of 3.0 or higher with no D or F grades, in the admission offer. They also want you to contact them as early as possible if you do get a D or F grade: https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/how-to-apply/applying-as-a-freshman/after-you-apply/

UC (and CSU) have a well traveled transfer pathway starting at community colleges; about a third of graduates from UC (and CSU) got their start at community college. So you still have this option if you are unable to start at a UC immediately after high school.

1837

One C grade is unlikely to cause rescission, unless it it accompanied by enough other grade drops to drop the overall senior year GPA by a lot compared to GPA at the time of application.

But a D grade is much more likely to be a risk of rescission.

1838

I was recently accepted to UCR but I noticed on my original UC application that I had accidentally put that I would take two semesters of Gov’t instead of one semester of Gov’t and one semester of Econ. I clarified with my UCR freshman admissions counselor about the error and she had fixed it on my application file but I am still worried that I will be rescinded. Maybe I’m just being paranoid as she did say that I probably wouldn’t be rescinded for this but I’m still scared about my other UC’s.

1839

@yayschool22 -Relax! Your acceptance will not be rescinded for this small error. The class you misreported (an extra semester of Government) is quite comparable to the one you didn’t report (Econ). So it’s not as if you said you’d be taking two semesters of AP Calculus but were actually taking a semester of AP Calc and a semester of badminton instead. :wink:

But do make sure that ALL of your colleges–UC’s and otherwise (if any) know about the error. Admission folks–particularly at the UC schools–can be persnickety when the reported classes don’t match the final transcript.

1840

I had a quick question, I just submitted my deposit for the University of Minnesota. I am concerned because early in the year I broke my writing hand and fell behind in a lot of my classes and my teachers were not very forgiving. If I finish this year with all C’s and no D’s will it still be rescinded?

1841

@401mystatesucks - You don’t say what your GPA was BEFORE your injury, but if this year of all C’s is a major drop from your previous GPA, you may indeed lose your spot. Your also didn’t say exactly when your accident took place and if your C grades are for the entire year and not just one semester, but it does sound that way.

Since hindsight is 20-20, you probably realize NOW that you should have talked with your school counselor right after you broke your hand in order to come up with a plan to minimize the impact on your grades and to help to get your teachers more on board than they apparently were.

So, to do as much after-the-fact damage control as possible, you need to email your regional rep at U of MN right away (this is the staff member who oversees applicants from your high school) with a Cc to the main admission address. Explain what happened to you and how, specifically, it affected your studies. Concurrently, you should ask your school counselor to email as well, corroborating your story.

If your injury was especially severe, requiring bed rest, ongoing medications, atypical contraptions on your hand beyond a cast, etc., then a doctor’s explanatory note would be a wise idea as well.

While you may be tempted to simply send in your $$ and stay quiet, with the hope that your grades will slip under the radar, that’s not a good route to take. SOMEONE in the admission office will be checking your final transcript, and it’s better to be proactive TODAY than to get bad news in July.

I really can’t say which way this will go for you at MN, but I wish you luck–and a full recovery, too.