First, check with your counselor to see if the D+ will definitely be reported on your final transcript. If so, then you need to contact Cal with an explanation. You can provide the excuses you’ve given here, and some admission officials will be sympathetic to the extra stresses that you have been under while others may say, “These issues have affected nearly everyone.”
In addition, I think it would really work in your favor to also mention any technical/logistical issues you may have had if you had to take your classes online. For instance, if you had to share a computer with multiple family members or if you had to do a lot of your learning from your phone or if your Internet service at home was unreliable, it’s really important for the college folks to know that you had to endure these extra challenges. Don’t make stuff up (bad karma!) but if you feel that you faced any of these sorts of disadvantages that wouldn’t have plagued you if you’d been able to attend classes at school, it’s critical to say so.
Good luck and please let us know how you made out!
I am so grateful once again for your continuous effort to help us students go through these heart-wrenching times. I’m considered an international student to the university I’m about to attend, and because of that, although my counselor has sent both my transcript and high school diploma to my college, I’m still obliged to send it to the (ECE) - Education Credential Evaluators for authentication.
Upon reviewing my Common App self-reported grades out of anxiety after my admission. I’ve listed all my self-reported grades with their corresponding numbers correctly, except for accidentally putting one course that was placing it as (REG), when it was supposed to be (CPREP).
I’m haunted by my thoughts, if my transcript and the common app would be compared side by side. I hope this isn’t a huge mistake, as it truly was unintentional. Should this singular inconsistency be a cause for concern?
Thank you once again for being a light to us students. It means so much for us students. Best Wishes to you and Bless you always!
Also, I’d love to know If I’m not alone in this type of problem, and if you often see this as a common occurrence amongst students. Thanks so much, you’ve truly lifted a great weight.
Hello @Sally_Rubenstone, I recently committed to umich but I just got my first C+ since grade 9. I have two other grades in the low to mid 80s and 3 others in the mid 90’s. I’m a bio major and I’m very concerned since I usually get good grades and I’m worried that a 79 in calc may jeopardize my acceptance.
@random111111111 -You’ll be fine. Even in a “normal” year, you could squeak by with a 79 in calculus and a couple of lowish B’s without losing your place in the freshman class. But, due to COVID and all of the academic anomalies it’s spawned, admission folks are going to be extra generous, so don’t worry.
Hello @Sally_Rubenstone ,
My son was accepted to UCI. In his final semester he did not do well and got two D.
He has not yet received any communication from the college. Is there a timeline for rescinding the offer?
@arunpj1 -I’m retired from College Confidential now and thus am no longer following college policies as closely as I used to. But perhaps I can help anyway.
Did your son use his UCI student portal to notify the admission office of his D’s? If so, has he gotten a response of any sort or is the university sending him information about registration, housing, etc.?
And if he HASN’T notified the university of his low grades, he should do so IMMEDIATELY and write an explanatory letter if his downturn was caused by extenuating circumstances–including difficulty taking these classes due to COVID.
Thanks for your quick response @Sally_Rubenstone . I truly appreciate that your response. A couple of things happened in last few days.
My son completed orientation and enrolled to the fall classes this week. We are yet to pay the tuition fees.
In June, he has sent a letter through UCI portal explaining the drop in grades. On Friday, he received an email response from admissions office saying that his record is still queued to be reviewed for verification his grades. They further noted that if they need additional information, the Office of Admissions will send him an email.
What will be the best course of action now. Should we wait from them to contact us from admissions office or pay the tuition fees?
@arjun1 - It’s irresponsible of me to advise you on this important matter without knowing more about your son and his situation. What I CAN point out, however, is that:
If you pay UCI tuition NOW, you can receive a full refund right up until the first day of classes, should your son not be permitted to matriculate. So it seems to make sense to pay the tuition to help secure his place in the class.
If you are CA residents, you have probably read about recent legislation in your state that allows students to change their letter grades to a Pass/No Pass option that will be accepted by all–or at least most–colleges and universities. A “D” grade would still count as a “Pass.” Unfortunately, students were only given 15 days to make this change after the option was provided by high schools. This means that the deadline has already gone by in some districts or is most likely today or tomorrow in others.
If you live in CA and your son has not already converted his “D” grades to “Pass,” and if the deadline isn’t yet behind him, it seems wise for him to make this change immediately. Your school website and/or counselor should have more information on how to proceed.
BUT … even if your son missed the deadline or lives outside of CA and can’t make this change, it is likely that his two “D” grades will be viewed more leniently this year than in past years because so many other students who earned low grades due to COVID disruptions will have converted those grades to “Pass.” College officials may decide that they should not penalize students with D’s on their transcripts when so many others who SHOULD have D’s are submitting “Pass” grades instead.
In other words, your son may receive a “Get Out of Jail Free” card from UCI, even if the D’s remain on his transcript. I can’t say for sure, of course. But the fact that we’re halfway through August and yet his acceptance hasn’t been cancelled does bode well for him. So go ahead and pay that tuition now, but do be prepared to request a refund before classes begin, should your son receive bad news.
@Sally_Rubenstone,
Thanks for the prompt reply. My son is out of state student and thus not qualify for the Pass/Fail conversion. I agree that there is no downside with paying the tuition fee now and I will go ahead and pay the same now and hope that we do not get the bad news.
Hi there, I got accepted by several colleges (engineering major). however, I might end with a C for my AP Physics C: Mechanics which is an important course for engineering major of course. would I be rescinded for that? my previous grades were all A’s & B’s (never C). So worried now Thanks for your help!
No you will not be rescinded. This is a very tough course and being an engineer myself it still challenges me. Trust me it challenges the best of best in colleges. Just focus on the rest of your semester and try to hit a B. Talk to your teacher and see how you can change your approach. Also, Rome was not built in a day. You have to practice and solve problems everyday. You have to immerse Physics in your everyday thinking. Once you get into the mould it will just come in like a spark. Trust me. Good luck.
thank you so much for your encouragement!! I’m trying my best to bring up the grade during the rest of the semester and I think I’m doing a little bit better now (never took any physics course before). again, appreciate your reply!
@Sally_Rubenstone,
Hi, I am currently accepted into Duke Early Decision but am nervous about the possibility of rescindment. For Marking Period 1, I ended up with all As. I currently have mostly As in my AP classes, but have a B in AP Computer Science and a B in AP Biology for Marking Period 2. When I send my midyear report, will Duke rescind me? Will I receive a warning letter from admission?
Thank you so much!
-Mike
@Mike_100 —Don’t worry —you’re nowhere close to losing your place at Duke—or even getting a warning. A couple of B’s won’t hurt an accepted student with a tough schedule. But don’t let them turn into C’s because that would indeed put you on warning turf … or maybe worse.
I think now there is nothing critical. The main thing is to try to increase your grades and not get C. Set up your planning work time so that everything works out and everything will be fine
@Sally_Rubenstone Hi Sally. My daughter was recently admitted to a top30 lac with ed2. She was admitted with a 3.82UW GPA. She earned a C - in her first semester of grade 12 in AP CALC and a B in AP Literature, a’s in her rest of classes. If her grades in the second semester are the same as in the first semester, will she be rescind by the college? Thank you!
@li_sun --Your daughter will PROBABLY be fine. Colleges do not like to lose committed ED students. So if her second semester grades remain the same, she might receive a “warning” letter because of the C- but nothing more dire.
However, it would be helpful to know what grades her college admission folks saw before making their decision, and her school counselor should be able to tell you. Some colleges make ED decisions based only on grades through junior year. But for ED 2 candidates, the colleges typically see at least the first quarter of senior year (or first trimester if that’s the system the school is on) and sometimes the entire first semester (depending on when those grades come out and on what the admission officials request).
So … do you think your daughter’s college already saw that C-? (The B in AP Lit isn’t an issue). If they did get her first quarter grades, was she doing better in Calc back then or did she already have a C-?
If she already had a C- (or even a C), and the college accepted her anyway, then she has nothing to worry about. But if she had a B-or better back then, they may warn her with a C- this summer, and they MIGHT rescind her with a D.
I would recommend that your daughter take measures to bring up her calc grade that she can document. In other words, she should get tutoring or go for extra help with the teacher. That way, if her grade continues to be low and the college questions it, she will have “proof” that she wasn’t slacking. And if she shows that she wasn’t slacking she should be okay. (But if she’s applied as a STEM major, the college might take a closer look at her. If she did indicate that she wants to major in a STEM field, she should make SIGNIFICANT efforts to bring up the Calc grade to somewhere in the B range.)
Hope that helps. Please note that I am no longer officially affiliated with College Confidential and I had trouble getting into my account today (something about the old password being too short). So if I don’t answer future messages, that’s why.
Should this singular inconsistency be a cause for concern?
Thanks for your help!
