In the spring of my junior year, I took a dual enrollment science class and ended up getting a D. I didn’t drop the class in time and just kind of had to eat the grade. I was convinced it ruined my chances.
But during senior year, when my counselor sent my transcript to colleges, that grade wasn’t there. I think the college just hadn’t reported it yet. So the schools I applied to never saw it.
Somehow, I got accepted into an Ivy. I’m still shocked. I didn’t think the D would ever show up, so I didn’t say anything to the schools.
Now, the D has shown up on my transcript, and I’m pretty sure it’ll be on the final transcript that gets sent.
My grades were already borderline — several B’s, two C’s — and while I mentioned extenuating circumstances in my application, they only really applied to 9th grade. I don’t have a strong excuse for the D. I just didn’t do well in that class.
My senior year grades are good.
I’m kind of worried. I just want someone to give me a straight answer — how likely is it that I get rescinded?
I don’t think anyone can really quantify the risk in a situation like this.
If it does become an issue, I would just be as open and honest about it as possible, and I would also consider suggesting academic probation if they have a concern about your preparedness.
Did you not self report the grade on the application? Usually that is required, even before the transcript is sent. What did you self report for that class?
Regardless, you need to report this to the school ASAP. In your acceptance letter, they likely laid out the conditions of your admission, including grade expectations. They also probably said something to th effect of, “if you are in jeopardy of not meeting these expectations, you must report that to admissions.” So that is what you must do now. Yes, you are at risk of being rescinded, but no one here can give your estimated degree of risk. Only the admissions officer can do that. But you must report this to them ASAP - and I don’t just mean have your updated transcript sent. You must be proactive because they usually don’t like surprises like this. Get ahead of this as much as possible. Good luck.
Thanks for replying. Do you think I should only address the situation if they contact me or should I try to be proactive. I don’t want to specifically point it out if they aren’t looking. At the same time, I kind of want to get ahead of this and not come across as deceitful.
One thing I think I need to find out is if colleges clarify things or rescind you if they find a discrepancy. If they rescind (which hopefully won’t happen), will they even tell me the reason why?
Thank you for this information.
Cornell (the school I’m talking about) doesn’t require self-reporting grades. The only school I applied do that did was USC. Common App only asks for the GPA and current courses I’m taking.
I did see that information in my acceptance letter. But isn’t this talking about future, senior-year grades?
I don’t want to specifically point it out if they aren’t looking. At the same time, I kind of want to get ahead of this and not come across as deceitful.
Is it worth it to report before hand? The thing I’m most worried about is if they flag this, will they ask for clarification or just rescind me immediately. If they do ask for clarification, will it still be helpful to explain the situation then instead of before?
I’m sorry if this seems dumb. I’m just really worried and don’t want to make the wrong move.
The right move is to ask your guidance counselor to pick up the phone to talk to the regional adcom. It should be a full disclosure conversation- this is what happened.
Anything else is the wrong move. Except for YOU picking up the phone, but it sounds like you aren’t in the right headspace to do that. Anything short of full disclosure can only hurt you.
Do you want them to discover this in August as you are packing the car to move to Ithaca? No you do not.
Disclose NOW. Waiting to see if they find it on their own is a terrible idea.
They are going to see it when they do a final review of your transcripts.
I think the idea of asking your high school counselor to reach out on your behalf is a good one, if you don’t think you can handle this on your own.
Do to have other acceptances in case they do rescind? If so, best to do the outreach to Cornell immediately so that you have time to accept another college if they do rescind.
But you will have to tell your other acceptances too.
So sorry this is happening. It still might work out okay.
Yeah, I’m starting to realize this is the best option. I was kind of coping that they wouldn’t find out. I’m taking about this to my counselor tomorrow. Thank you.
Also, the idea of you (or your counselor) suggestion that you be allowed to start but on academic probation might be a good one, if such a suggestion becomes necessary. It might help “bridge the gap” with an assurance of a plan to address any concerns they might have regarding your academic preparadeness.
Paging @Hanna , as I think that this is something they deal with professionally .
Thank you for responding. I’ve decided that I’m going to talk about this to my counselor tomorrow, go the full disclosure route, and pray.
This is the worst part:
Wow, this is a lot.
Out of the 20 schools I applied to, Cornell was the only school I got into other than my state flagship (I meant it when I was shocked that I got in). Ever since I got accepted, I completely neglected keeping up with anything related to this other school (I didn’t complete my application for the honors college, I didn’t apply for scholarships specific to that school, I’ve missed out on honors college dorms
If this doesn’t work out, I’ll probably have to go to CC and transfer.
It doesn’t help that I’ve told everyone I already committed and found roommates. Gosh. I’ll definitely talk to my counselor and do anything I can to get this sorted out.
I don’t think there is any such thing as academic probation for a first-semester freshman, but if a school wants to put a student on some special status, they know what their options are. They don’t need suggestions from outside about how to do their job.
I’m just going to agree with others that I think talking to your counselor is the right next step.
I also agree this is an unusual situation in that the more common issue is a new bad grade in the last bit of senior year, not an unreported prior bad grade from a prior year. On the one hand, I think this logically should be less concerning for a college in terms of preparedness. On the other, I think it is possible they could have a concern about whether you were trying to hide something.
Which just brings me back to agreeing about immediately involving your counselor. Presumably they know why it wasn’t on your transcript initially, and now it is, and they know you had nothing to do with any of that.
Just for reference, here is an article discussing this practice (among other things):
As reflected there, however, I believe I have only heard about this happening in response to unexpectedly low senior grades. So I truly do not know if it would come up in this context, but I would continue to advise the OP to be open to the idea if Cornell ends up treating this as a preparedness issue.
hey op,
first of all- CONGRATS ON GETTING INTO CORNELL!! that’s a massive accomplishment and they saw potential in you that goes far beyond your grades and coursework. you should be incredibly proud of yourself, even if this situation does end up getting complicated.
i totally sympathize with you- Cornell is also the only “prestigious” school I got into, and i can’t imagine how much pressure you must be under. However, like the other commenters said, honesty is definitely the best policy. Let your counselor advocate for you, but also make sure to provide your input when it would be beneficial. In the meantime, definitely keep your senior year grades up and try to finish as strong as possible, so they have no doubt about your preparedness (perhaps having your counselor send your current updated transcript through your most recent grades would be helpful?)
(Also, as I was writing this, a random thought just occurred to me: would it be possible for you to have the course removed from your transcript somehow? Could you retake the class during the summer and get a better grade? Or contact the college and explain your circumstances and see if there’s anything they could do, like change it to Pass/Fail? These are definitely all going out on a limb, but maybe something can be done before contacting Cornell…)
At the end of the day, that one grade still doesn’t take away from all the amazing things they saw in you that made them admit you. If this turns out to just be a bump in the road, it’s definitely a great learning opportunity. If not, like you said, you can definitely apply to transfer to Cornell. I wish you the best of luck and hopefully you get through this unscathed!! See you in the fall :))
Be sure to check whether your state flagship conditions of admission require you to avoid D/F grades in courses that were in progress at the time of application.
Not to pile on, but here are Cornell’s DE reporting rules, you should share these with your counselor tomorrow:
How does Cornell handle dual enrollment, and do I need to submit a college transcript?
Some first-year applicants to Cornell take college or university courses during high school, sometimes called “dual enrollment.”
If you complete college or university coursework through a “University in High School” program and this coursework fulfills a requirement for high school graduation, there is no need to request that the college or university you attended submit a transcript to Cornell as part of the application process. In this case, the college credits will not transfer as Cornell credits.
If you complete college or university coursework that does not appear on your high school transcript and does not fulfill a requirement for high school graduation, your college or university transcript should be submitted to Cornell in addition to your high school transcript as part of the application process. In this case, the credit(s) you received may be eligible for Cornell credit. You should request that the college or university you attended submit your official transcript to Cornell. The Cornell undergraduate college or school you apply to will determine whether the credit(s) will be transferred.
It sounds like your situation is the second situation, so you are not going to be able to plead ignorance (not to mention common app asks each applicant if they have taken any classes at the college level, see screenshot below.) There is a good chance Cornell will find out about the grade anyway even if you don’t tell them because your enrollment at that school is in the National Student Clearinghouse, which schools routinely check for all new matriculants.
