Do they really reject people based on year end scores?

silenced · 03-25-2006, 01:33 PM

Hey, I got into Caltech, and am currently failing in 2 or 3 classes.

Why? I was convinced that after midyear all you have to work on is actually getting a HS diploma, and not ur grades.

Then I read caltech's letter and got a bit worried. My reasoning up to this point has been "they just say that to scare you into not completely losing it senior year". Sort of a well meaning measure, hoping to make it easier for high schools by threatening kids with rejection.

Also, there's the fact I'm gonna have to put down a $500 deposit before I know if they'll ultimately reject me based on my grades, and that just seems silly.

So, in your opinion, do you think they actually reject people based on grades?

Furthermore, have you heard of any cases of such rejections from prestigeous schools such as Caltech?

P.S. plz don't tell me, study in any case {it's good for you / just so you can be sure} because tbh, these may be the last year of my life, or at least until retirement, when I'm free from obligations, and thus I want to enjoy it as much as possible, and not stress over studying that might not be needed. I know I sound arrogant for saying this, but I hope this will improve the quality of the replies I get.

Thanks...

summerskter · 03-25-2006, 01:43 PM

Um, you definitely can't FAIL any classes, especially for CIT. For a college like that, even a C will put you in danger. I know for USC my friend had to retake a course she got a C in during summer school or they would rescind her admission.

silenced · 03-25-2006, 01:50 PM

Hmmm interesting, although I had a few C's and one D already when they accepted me.

Do they only look at the final scores, or do you send ECs and stuff? Like, what can you send them, since I have this huge programming project and I think I could leverage it as an excuse for having C's and such in humanities classes. I'll try to get my Math/Sci/Computer grades to Bs but it'll take some work.

But from what I can tell, they gave ur friend a lot of leeway, I guess they wouldn't reject me outright.

Plz, keep posting.

ntek511 · 03-25-2006, 01:52 PM

summerskter is right.......you cant mess with caltech!

And to answer your question, YES, they do reject people based on final grades.
It surprises me that you even ask such a question. Haven't you heard stories of those people who got rejected from Duke, Harvard, Princeton...etc....because of falling (far from failing though!) grades...

Sorry...but my advice to you is to study .... if you wanna be secure that caltech doesn't kick you out!

Drew00 · 03-25-2006, 01:55 PM

i don't think you'll graduate if you fail 3 classes

silenced · 03-25-2006, 02:15 PM

Don't worry, I'll graduate.

By how far can my GPA go down before I'm in danger?

I had a 3.77 unweihted midyear.

Keep posting.

AcceptedAlready · 03-25-2006, 02:18 PM

3.0 or whatever a B average is would probably be the absolute least you can drop to. Caltech is pretty stern with its requirements though so don't quote me on that.

You realize you have all of summer to live it up so why are you risking being rescinded? F's will definitely not be acceptable and neither are D's.

silenced · 03-25-2006, 02:21 PM

Meh I can get everything to a C, and I'll prolly pull out a few A's. Oh well. Summer = 2.5 months. Thats only like 50% of what I could do. Anyway, everyone goes on vacation during the summer and I probably wont see a lot of these people again.

But whatever, if you say it is so then I guess I'll get studying.

Ofc, I'd like to hear everyone else's take on this.

Clippit the Paper Clip · 03-25-2006, 05:17 PM

Two or three F's is really pushing it. I know this isn't what you wanted to hear, but you really need to study and bring those grades up.

You'll have plenty of time to live it up in college, so you don't need to worry about not having enough time.

dufus3709 · 03-25-2006, 05:26 PM

It is not an absolute level that you have to hit, but a relative one. You can't drop off significantly from your normal level without having an explanation for it. People who have straight A's can have their admission withdrawn to an ivy for getting a C. It is very, very hard to predict when and when they will withdraw an admission.

If worse comes to worse, try to negotiate. See if you can start in the Spring instead of the Fall. See if they will let you start while already on academic probation. If you have a reason, but it doesn't sound as if you do, explain the drop to them and have you GC/teachers back it up. I would think that they would return the deposit if they drop you.

MomofWildChild · 03-25-2006, 05:30 PM

It's hard for me to believe that you were accepted to Cal Tech with several Cs and a D. It is also hard for me to believe your GPA was that high if you, in fact, had those low grades. You must have something significant going for you, or you are seriously BSing here.

dufus3709 · 03-25-2006, 05:54 PM

Look at it this way. You are an adcom at CIT and you are trying to find highly motivated and talented people who want to learn. These people love science and want to be engineers alot. CIT is on the quarter system and so you can't afford to ever get behind. Freshman year is grueling even though the first two quarters are graded pass/fail. If adcoms at CIT knew what you were writing on CC, they would probably drop you already.

BLY · 03-25-2006, 05:58 PM

Quote:

If adcoms at CIT knew what you were writing on CC, they would probably drop you already.

exactly...

silenced · 04-01-2006, 06:25 AM

Listen up, I'm in europe, and the GPAs here are on a 1-5 scale, just like the grades. I convert it to a 0-4 scale for the sake of simplicity, but the conversion i use isnt exact.

Anyway, I had a "3.77" on MIDYEAR. I had 11 As 1 B and 1 C

In my sophomore year I had a 3.08333... GPA (but I don't know if it would actually convert to that, all I did was average my grades and subtract one), including a D in history. The thing with sophomore year was that I suffered a minor case of brain inflammation, which I mentioned in my essay, thus explaining the low GPA.

Anyway, I have no reason to lie to you. All in all, I think my average GPA is around 3.5 unweighted, if you count my Midyear the same as an end year GPA.

Anyway, I won't have F's, but there is a likelyhood I'll have a 1 D and 1-2 Cs, and a GPA of about 3.35 (thats my estimate), and I'm wondering if this could gepordize my chances. TBH, looking from everyones comments I doubt it. Everyone seeemed to be thinking I had straight A's.

Also, I must appologize to everyone who got rejected from Caltech and has to hear this, I just realized it must be frustrating. I'd like to say that I have an interesting background in terms of travel, education and competitions, and that this probably was what got me in. Of course, this was more "good luck", rather than the hard work other people had to do to try to get into a good college.

So, can you estimate for me by how much I can drop from a 3.5? I'd like to note I've already started studying, but the D and C's are hopeless, I've already done too much damage so far this semester for there to be any hope of avoiding those. I just need to know where I'm at to see how much ass kissing I have to do in case I'm still in danger.

AcceptedAlready · 04-01-2006, 06:28 AM

I would stick with my original assertion that you shouldn't drop below a 3.0.