@retro11 -The Tulane admission folks will not be happy with your downturn. Nonetheless, my cloudy crystal ball says that you will be asked to explain your drop in grades but, ultimately, your acceptance and your scholarship will not be rescinded. However, I suggest that you email your Tulane regional rep TODAY. (This is the staff member who oversees applicants from your high school. You probably already know who it is, but—if not—you’ll find your counselor here: https://admission.tulane.edu/meet-our-counselors).
You should insist that you’re definitely not slacking but have been crushed by a heavy course load. Be sure to include any measures you’ve taken to stay afloat, such as peer or professional tutoring, after-school help sessions with your teacher, extra hours of studying, etc. You should not, however, put a lot of emphasis on the impact that your extracurricular activities have had on your declining grades. Admission officials expect academics to take precedence over extracurriculars and aren’t going to cut you much slack because you’ve been busy planning the Key Club banquet or the senior prom.
Don’t wait until you hear from Tulane before writing. If you are proactive now, you will be sending a message that suggests, “I am paying attention and I’m not slacking, but I’m still having a tough time.”
Note also that Tulane will be focusing only on your FINAL grades and not on third- or fourth-quarter grades. So if these classes are two-semester classes and you did better in the first term, then the final grade that Tulane sees won’t be quite as heinous as the ones you’ve cited here. (When you mention “end of the year” grades, I can’t tell if you’re talking about the last quarter or your grade overall.)
Good luck on the home stretch, if you still have a few weeks to go. Keep your nose to the grindstone. If any of your teachers will let you do some extra-credit work to bring those C’s up to B’s, then grab it.
You’ll love Tulane. Make sure to get to Dat Dog on Freret Street for amazing hot dogs (even vegan ones if you must), to Atchafalaya on Louisiana Ave. for brunch, to Superior Seafood on St. Charles for Happy Hour oysters, and to Audubon Park across the street from campus to run it all off!