Thank. You. Yes, he went to a small LAC where he did just fine.
We don’t know what goes on in any of these Admissions Offices. They say that they do holistic reviews, but I honestly don’t think that’s possible in the vast majority of the cases other than to distinguish among borderline candidates.
What I suspect happened in my nephew’s case is that Fordham had at the time, as a screening device, a policy to eliminate from consideration all applications that had even a single D or F anywhere on the transcript. They probably also had other screening criteria, all designed to get the pile down to a manageable number. I don’t think it means that this is Fordham’s policy today.
Anyone to whom I tell this story thinks that what happened was insane and indefensible - especially if they know the kid involved. But I think that it’s just life in the fast lane. There have to be all kinds of random things that happen during these admissions decisions of which we have no idea. So, I simply offer my nephew’s experience as a cautionary tale. That F could be a problem - although I have absolutely no way of knowing if it will be.