When Do Colleges Rescind Acceptances?

@jilt21fj -Stop worrying; you’re fine. With all hell breaking lose around the country, and with high schools and colleges shut down, your C will have no negative impact on your acceptance.

BUT … if there is a clear-cut reason why your grade isn’t up to par, you can write to the admission office to explain (e.g., if you are taking the class remotely and are having technical difficulties or if your teacher isn’t really adept at teaching online). But if you don’t have a good reason for the grade drop (or one that doesn’t sound whiny!) just let it go. The C won’t hurt you.

Hello! Will someone get rescinded if they accidentally put a course grade for both semesters for a semester class? (They took asian american studies for first semester of freshman year and another course that is not asked for by the UC system but they accidentally put the grade they got in the second semester class under the asian studies class) they put the correct grade and they are both weighed the same and they already sent in a schedule change report. Sorry if this doesnt make a lot of sense but thank you for helping!

@disneydarling -This is nothing to worry about but do send an email correction to the school you plan to attend just to set the record straight. You won’t lose your place over this, I assure you.

@Sally_Rubenstone
Hi! I just got into Spring 2021 for UC Berkeley as a transfer from CC. This quarter I started taking 19 units (4 courses). Due to my family member losing their job from COVID and dealing with the potential divorce of my parents (especially during this stressful time which has worsened their relationship), I wanted to focus on my job at Target and my family. When I had asked, all they told me was to fill the update form.

I ended up dropping 2/4 of my classes and explained everything in the update form right away. I also explained that although I dropped the 2 courses due to family problems, I will still have enough units to transfer (over 90 units) and that the courses I dropped were enrichment courses so it’s not a requirement or prerequisite for my major. I also finished IGETC too. The 2 courses also have nothing to do with my major. (I’m a Linguistic major and the two courses were Coding classes that I took for fun, both 4.5 units).

I’m hoping that given the circumstances nowadays UCB would be more lenient and understanding but I am freaking out so much about getting rescinded because UCB is my dream school. I want to accept my offer of admission already but because of the Conditions of Admission which listed out the courses I had to pass with a C or higher, I’m worried about me dropping 2 classes looking bad. What do you think my chances are of getting rescinded?

@yunkix -Given the pandemic-related reasons for dropping two courses along with the fact that you’ve earned enough credits to transfer without them (and they’re not prerequisites for your major), it’s highly unlikely that UCB will rescind your acceptance.

BUT … what you DON’T tell us here could be important. What will your transcript say … that you Withdrew PASSING? If your transcript indicates that you were failing the classes at the time you dropped out, it’s possible that the university will revoke the offer. If so, you can still appeal it (and may be successful, given the circumstances).

Were you passing at the time that you bailed?

@Sally_Rubenstone It was only a couple weeks into the quarter so I was passing one course I dropped but I can’t remember the other one…It may have been a C… Do you know how likely though for UCs to revoke admissions because students withdrew failing?

@yunkix -Although I’m not familiar with the academic calendar at your community college, typically when a student drops a class as early as you did, it’s not on the record at all. So your only problem will be if the UC’s are unhappy with the fact that you didn’t actually take two of the classes you said you were taking. However, given the craziness and confusion of this COVID spring, and your reasons for dropping the class (your need to work more hours), I strongly doubt that you are going to have any problem. Let us know how you make out!

@Sally_Rubenstone I ACTUALLY JUST GOT AN EMAIL FROM THEM TODAY! They said my admission offer is sustained so dropping the courses didn’t affect my admission status !! I have just committed, THANK YOU FOR THE REASSURANCE!! I APPRECIATE IT!

@yunkix -GREAT news … and thanks so much for sharing it. I think it’s really helpful for all of us to see how each case is resolved, and it’s especially valuable for other students in similar shoes or for younger students who might end up where you are now. Although no two cases are identical, seeing other outcomes is still useful.

Here’s to more success for you as you begin your UC career ,

@Sally_Rubenstone
Hi I got into UCSD as a transfer student. I got an email from them saying i’m a military connected student which I am not nor anyone in my family is. Looking at my app again, I put yes by mistake. Will this affect my admission?

@forlistjk -This should not affect your admission at all but do email the admission office to explain that you ticked the wrong box by mistake.

UCSD enrolls many military-affiliated students and thus has a number of resources available to assist this population. So, if you were flagged by the admission office as being part of the military community, the admission folks probably want to make sure that you will be connected to these services, should you want them. There are also some financial aid opportunities for military-related students that the university might want to tell you about but which, obviously, you won’t qualify to receive. So you just have to set the record straight but you don’t have to worry about losing your place in the class.

Good morning, Sally!

I got into UCI; however, I was reviewing my UC application and realized that I forgot to include that I took 3 years of a foreign language. I completed the two years required of a foreign language; however, I actually took the three years that are recommended. I already contacted admissions, and I explained to them what occurred. They reassured me that it was fine because I did complete the two years that are required. In the course I received A’s both semesters, but I am very worried that my admissions will be rescinded. I was not trying to hide anything. My high school counselor also reassured that it just makes me a stronger applicant. I am just scared because I am the first person in my family to attend college, and I hade to fill out every application on my own. Will that affect my admission status? Thank you so much for your help!

@yellowwallpaper -I promise that you have nothing to be scared about. You were right to notify the university of the discrepancy in your years of language study, and your counselor was right, too … this “mistake” will only make the admission folks view you as a stronger applicant.

Congratulations to you on your acceptance and on navigating the stressful and confusing application maze on your own. So now it’s time to celebrate your success and NOT to be worried anymore!

Hi! I got accepted into a competitive school (15% acceptance), have paid my deposit, and I have mostly As and A+s in all my transcript except bio with a 55% this quarter (overall grade in bio is now 77% because I did very well in the other quarters) I am planning to major in bio too. My gpa is still maintaining well above 3.0. The transition to online and doing online tests every week was a hard transition for both the teacher and the students. Will my app be rescinded? Please answer, I am very nervous.

@roaringkitten -You’ll be fine. At the end of the school year, write to your college to explain your low final-quarter bio grade. You’ll find that admission officials will be understanding of your situation given the tough transition to online learning and given that all your other grades have shown that you’re not slacking.

Hi I got accepted to UCLA for Statistics. I am a community college transfer.
How bad is it to drop a class that is not needed for a prerequisite and not for general ed? This class is Physics I. I originally took it because I thought I was going to CSUN but I got admitted to UCLA.

I am sure it is not needed for UCLA’s Statistics major. I took Chemistry 1 for the science general ed for IGETC and received an A. I aready have 60 transfer semester units with a 3.95 GPA (although physics will lower it).

Is it better to set the grade to pass/no pass? I might do that instead of dropping it because I’m scared of getting rescinded. Should I ask UCLA about dropping it?
I did ask about pass/no passing the Physics class but I didn’t mention I am considering to drop it. If I do drop this physics class, it would be the first W I ever received in my transcript. For now I am passing and not doing excellent at all. Should I take a letter grade for it in the very small chance I go to grad school?

Edit: I checked my community college’s policy on dropping the class and it states if I drop it before may 16 it would be an excused W (EW). Is this the same as a regular W?

thank you for helping me

@mathcoral–The smart plan is to ask UCLA about ALL of your options–not just the Pass/No Pass but also the withdrawal. Admission officials don’t like it when students drop a class after reporting it on an application, BUT … given the craziness of the pandemic along with the fact that this is not a necessary class for you and your record is otherwise very strong, it’s not a big deal to drop the class entirely before the deadline and take the EW (the EW is a grade that, I believe, is specific to the coronavirus outbreak. It may have been created specifically for these strange times and it basically means, “There’s a lot of nutty stuff going on right now so we don’t blame this student for bailing out of this class, and you shouldn’t either!”)

So, in a nutshell, here’s what I suggest:

  1. Ask the UCLA admission officials whether it matters to them if you take a Pass on the class or if you drop it with an EW. If it doesn't matter, pick the route you prefer--which, I'm guessing, will be to drop the class.
  2. If you don't get a reply by the deadline, and you're sure you can pass the class, stick with it but ask for the Pass/No Pass grade.
  3. If you're afraid that you actually might NOT pass OR the class is stressing you out incredibly during an already stressful spring, just go with the EW

Because of the pandemic, thousands of students are taking classes Pass/Fail that otherwise would never have been graded that way, and thousands of admission officials understand this and won’t hold it against an applicant if they see a “Pass” and not a letter grade on a transcript.

Due to all the unknowns around us, the closed schools and remote teaching, I’d bet the mortgage money that your UCLA acceptance wouldn’t be rescinded even if you were to fail physics. But there’s no need to find out since you have other options that are better.

Let us know how it worked out for you, and good luck next year at UCLA!

Hi! I recently got accepted to tulane for the fall, and when I applied I had mostly As, a few Bs, and one C on my transcript. Now, I ended my first semester senior year with 2 Cs. This semester will most likely be pass or fail grades, but should I be worried about having my admission rescinded regarding my first semester grades and contact the school when they ask for my transcript, or should I not stress just yet? Thanks so much.

@mangotango1239 --You should be fine. If these were normal times, my best guess would be that Tulane might flag your final transcript and ask you to explain your two C’s, although your acceptance would NOT be rescinded. But in today’s very ABnormal times, I suspect that Tulane will do nothing.

Certainly, if your C’s were in second-semester classes, I’m sure that Tulane would barely notice because of the all the issues and inconsistencies surrounding online learning. However, because these are FIRST-semester C’s, it might be wise of you to write to Tulane and explain why your grades dropped, IF you have a reason other than senioritis. But if you really don’t have a decent reason, just leave it alone. Admission officials are worried about filling their classes these days when there’s so much uncertainty about whether those classes will be taught in person or online, and when it’s highly likely that some students who say, “Yes, I’m coming” now will say, “Never mind” in August. Although Tulane claims to have admitted its strongest-ever freshman class, and the enrollment deposits have flooded in, I do feel that admission folks–not just at Tulane but EVERYWHERE–are going to allow a lot of wiggle room this year when it comes to senior grades, so you need not worry (assuming, of course, that you won’t be failing any class this spring).

By the way, my son graduated from Tulane in 2019 and had a GREAT experience there. He chose Tulane over an Ivy League school and several other enticing options, and I know he’d pick Tulane again in a heartbeat if he had it to do all over again (and I bet he’d LOVE to do it all over again!).

Hello! I was recently admitted into Macalester College for fall 2020. I accepted the offer and I’m now committed.

I’m generally an A student, with several Bs and one C throughout my time in high school. However, this semester, I’ve made two Cs in my classes. Both were college level dual enrollment courses, so they will affect my GPA as if I made a B in a regular high school course.

I do feel that because these were college level courses, making Cs doesn’t look quite as bad, but this is still quite uncharacteristic relative to my transcripts considering I’ve only made one other C (in freshman year). When I read about colleges revoking offers, I get so much mixed information. Some people would say that I’m fine, and that colleges only do this in the case of multiple failed classes or a legal infraction. Some information is quite vague, though, implying that a college would certainly question a student with my record making two Cs.

I guess I’m looking for reassurance more than anything. Am I in danger of having my offer revoked? If so, what steps should I take?

Thanks!