Will I get rescinded for a huge drop in my grades?Answered
I got into my Early Decision school with a full-ride scholarship back in December. While the scholarship doesn't have any conditions, my college wrote this on my acceptance letter – "Your admission is contingent upon the successful completion of the academic year at a level commensurate with your past performance."
Now, since it's a college in the US, I don't think they're very strict about this. BUT, I'm still very anxious because my grades are going to drop dramatically.
My predicted grades were all 90s and I had scored 95+ in most subjects during my freshman, sophomore, and junior year. I was basically an all As student throughout high school.
While my overall grade this year (senior year) will probably be above 80%, I'm afraid that my Chem grades might fall as low as 60%. I'm expecting at least an 80% on other subjects (and even 90%+ on two subjects).
The reason for the drop in my chem grades is that I've been sick for a while and was also sick right before my chem finals. I went for a doctor's appointment so I do have a slip that might prove that I was indeed sick (in case they think I'm lying).
My other grades won't be that bad, maybe a drop of 5%-6% but nothing serious.
Is it possible that I'll be rescinded for this huge drop in one subject?
(PS: I'm an international student)
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2 answers
It is possible that your admission will be rescinded for the 60% Chem grades. Not so much because of your 80s grades.
Since you already know 4 things:
1. "Your admission is contingent upon the successful completion of the academic year at a level commensurate with your past performance."
2. You HS counselor is required to submit the final transcript to the accepted college as protocol. Therefore you know they are going to see the 60, 80, 90 and other grades.
3. You have a reasonable explanation as to your lackluster performance in Chemistry.
4. The college is going to make a final decision based on your final grades to keep or not keep you in the freshman class without consulting you prior to their decision.
Therefore you only have 2 choices.
1. Keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best.
2. Get ahead of this and contact the admissions office with a letter explaining your final term grade expectations with a copy of the doctors note. Also it would be helpful to have your teachers sign affidavit which states that they were aware you missed class or assignments due your illness and had to grade you based on your work output. I would add a "silver bullet" option which states, you will enroll in an online Chemistry class equivalent to your HS Chemistry course this summer prior to matriculation and get a passing grade prior to enrolling in the college. That way if they are on the fence about letting you in, they know you are going to do everything possible in your power to make it up and not put them in a tough spot about making an exception for you.
Good luck
I would say that your offer could be rescinded if you do receive an F in Chemistry, but you should be fine if your grade is a C or above. I recommend being proactive and contacting the admissions office about the potential drop in your grades. Admissions officers take extenuating circumstances like illness seriously, and a drop in grades due to them is not treated the same as one due to a lack of effort.
This CollegeVine blog post has some more advice on how to explain your circumstances to the admission committee. Hope this helps!
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