Do Senior Year Grades Even Matter?

HoldenInTheRye · 10-02-2012, 12:04 PM

Do colleges even care that much about the grades you receive in your senior year? I know they probably take a look at them, but do they take them that much into consideration?

shh662 · 10-02-2012, 12:18 PM

Interested as well.... My first semester grades don't come out until after the application deadline

Erin's Dad · 10-02-2012, 12:30 PM

If you are applying ED or EA the grades will not be seen before an admission decision is given. Schools WILL look at your senior grades after that to see if they should rescind their acceptance based on a significant drop in grades. RD schools will generally see first semester grades for admission, and will also look at final grades for big drops.

BeanTownGirl · 10-02-2012, 12:46 PM

Yes! Your high school will send the first semester grades to colleges and they will be used by colleges to evaluate your application.
Your high school will also send the end-of-year grades and colleges may use those to rescind an acceptance offer if the students goofs off too much.

T26E4 · 10-02-2012, 01:29 PM

One seventh of your HS achievement, marked by the most advanced classes you take... likely the best predictors of your college success...

Rather important info for an evaluator, don't you think?

drac313 · 10-02-2012, 05:38 PM

First Semester Grades matter for RD to an extent and full year grades matter to show that you are not slouching after getting accepted.

StaticRoar · 10-02-2012, 08:39 PM

What are RD, ED, and EA schools? And which one is a UC?

glido · 10-03-2012, 12:40 AM

First semester senior year grades count. Keep on keepin' on bro!

Blckmgc · 10-03-2012, 05:03 PM

For ED and EA: First-semester senior year grades will not be seen in time to be considered during the application review process. If you are accepted they will be viewed in the same way as second-semester senior year grades, i.e. grounds for a rescinded acceptance if your grades drop too far in either semester.

For RD: First-semester senior year grades WILL be considered during the college's application review process. At the latest, first-semester grades will be finished by late January/early February, and most schools do their RD deliberations and decisions in late February throughout March.

midatlmom · 10-03-2012, 05:41 PM

While first semester grades will not be available in time, many high schools give out quarterly grades. If they are good or show an upward trend, a student can request that they be sent to his/her ED or EA school and they can potentially make a significant difference.

dblazer · 10-03-2012, 05:59 PM

For top schools, senior grades matter but not that much. Course load does however matter and they do check the first semester grades sent during the midyear report. If you have been getting all A's for the rest of your high school career and you end up with a B or two when you send your midyear, it won't send a major red flag. A more significant drop in academic preformance would raise questions though. If you're on the edge as a candidate, that is not the place you'd want to be. That said, junior year grades are the most important followed by sophomore year grades.

nugraddad · 10-03-2012, 08:29 PM

And of course, colleges want to see your final grades as well. They want to make sure that you didn't suffer from Terminal Senioritis...

Crimsonstained7 · 10-03-2012, 09:30 PM

Just to reiterate, if you apply in any sort of early decision/action, etc. then they won't see your senior grades at all in terms of a decision. If you apply regular decision times then they will see your first semester senior year. Either way, at the end of the year they ask for an end of year report. If your grades are decent (mostly B's) you'd still probably stay accepted, even at top schools (although maybe HYPS, etc. is different). Dip into any C's and that may pose a problem.

SlitheyTove · 10-04-2012, 12:06 PM

Yes they do matter. Schools are looking to see if you're slacking.

Some (many?) EA/ED schools will ask for midyear (or mid-semester) reports from your high school, so there is visibility into your grades. A couple years ago, Tufts admissions live-blogged the final decision-making meetings for ED. No names, but still

One theme that kept coming up again and again was that an applicant would be up for discussion. The adcoms would be saying yeah, yeah, looks good, strong grades, great essays and recommendations...and then they'd see the midyear report grades, which were abysmal. What would've been an acceptance turned into a deferral or a rejection.

motherlordship · 10-04-2012, 12:49 PM

I'm under the assumption that Junior year grades are the most important