It's not senioritis - I swear!

lenabean · 11-21-2008, 05:15 PM

S was thrilled to receive his acceptance to Ann Arbor recently. Here's the rub:

Previously an almost straight-A student, he is now getting a possible C or I hope not a D in first semester of senior year. It is in a Science class he is taking at a local prestigious university (top 20).

His struggles are actually more like college-freshman-itis: didn't realize how far ahead he would have to work to keep up with the class; didn't realize how demanding the grading would be; didn't know he should go to office hours to avoid digging himself into a hole. To top it all off, he won't really know his grade until the final curve - they take everyone's total score for the course and plug it into a skewed bell to assign letter grades. A 60 could be an A or an F, depending on how it compares to others. And the TAs are not real quick to hand back those graded assignments or give you the median, either!

He is worried about getting rescinded and frankly, so am I. Do we tell our sad story to admissions now, wait until grades come out, wait until the end of the year?

I would be so grateful for any advice.

dchow08 · 11-21-2008, 05:27 PM

I would definitely wait until the grades come out before you/your son talks to admissions about the grade. A lot of high school seniors need to transition to college academics, so I think admissions people understand it when high school seniors don't do as well as they had hoped if they take a class for college freshmen. I really don't think it's a big deal at all, but if you want you could just write some short statement to admissions after the grade comes out--but honestly, you don't need to explain to admissions every bad grade your son gets. I'll bet your son won't get rescinded, even if you don't say anything to them.

hmom5 · 11-21-2008, 09:22 PM

I would wait until the grade is final.

This is a good wake up call, telling you that your DS's high school may not have given him the skills for success in college. I would be considering how to help him prepare to succeed next year.

lenabean · 11-21-2008, 10:22 PM

You are so right, hmom5! In many ways I think this experience itself is preparing him for college. He has done nothing but study to make up lost ground for the last three weeks. I hope he will learn from this, but at 17 I'm never sure.

Paradycia · 11-22-2008, 01:07 AM

OH, I'm in the same boat as your son.
Straight A student in high school
..enrolled full-time in an early college program & while I got A's in my other classes--I got a C in Calculus and am facing a possible C in Organic Chem..
I've looked at each as a new learning experience ranging from time management to learning how to study for each class and ask for help!!

But, no, sad story telling to admissions is a no no.
Instead, talk about the risk and initiative he took by enrolling in such a program. (maybe?). So just wait til grades come out. Good luck to your son

.

isleep2late · 11-22-2008, 01:31 AM

I thought a single C or D wasnt enough to get rescinded ?

lenabean · 11-24-2008, 10:02 AM

Thanks, everyone, for your advice. We will wait until the grade comes in, then tell the admissions office what has been learned. Hopefully these lessons won't come at too high a price.