I was grieving the loss of my best friend at the end of first semester, and ended with B’s in both of my hardest classes (Calc III + Econ). I had applied to Harvard early and didn’t think at all that I would get in. Second semester I received an email from my admissions officer stating that they were concerned about the dip in my grades, and wanted an explanation; I told them what happened, promised to improve my grades, and they said that the explanation was understandable and wished me the best the rest of the year. They said that I was not being considered for a rescind, but a “decline of real significance” would cause them to, and they would revisit after receiving my final transcript. They also said the following: “We understand that you are confident that there will be an improvement of your final grades.”
Flash forward to this semester, my mother was diagnosed with late stage cancer, and my whole life changed. I have no time for anything anymore, and have assumed the position of the primary caregiver in the house. My grades are looking as though they will end the same as last semester. Getting into Harvard was the best thing that ever happened to me and I am so terrified that I will be rescinded. How likely is this?
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PIck up the phone and call your adcom.
Don’t procrastinate. None of us know what Harvard is going to do but the sooner you discuss this with an actual human being the better you are going to feel.
Sending hugs and best wishes to your entire family…. what a challenging time for you.
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@silversilver1
First of all, I am so sorry you are going through so much as such a young age and please take care of yourself.
@blossom is 100% correct, please call your adcom and speak with them directly vs email and then summarize the phone call in an email and send to the adcom too. Please also loop in your existing school and teachers to see what support they will offer you during this difficult time - they need to know and they don’t want you have an issue with your college acceptance!
If there is also a change in your financial circumstances, it will be important to speak to the college about that too.
Harvard saw something special in you and wants you as part of the their community, so remember this. This is the time to spend supporting your family (and I hope their is someone to support you too) and being honest with the college will go a long way.
Take care.
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I am sorry you are going through these stressors.
I would encourage you to speak with your HS counselor before you call your admissions counselor. Tell her you would like to make a call, and then practice what you will say to your admissions counselor with your HS counselor. Perhaps the HS counselor would also call Harvard and/or send along a note. Good luck.
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I agree. A communication from your high school as well as the personal call will give them more assurance and is the most professional route.
You should also discuss your situation and life in general with your high school counselor, or social worker or psychologist. They may be aware of services that can help you out right now at home. And you may also want to talk through the idea that you may want to defer admission for a semester or year.
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Agree with the rest but in the end, you define you and a college does not.
If Harvard rescinds - their loss, not yours. Your focus is on mom, as it needs to be and that’s priority.
You can and will get a great education anywhere. Harvard is one of many universities, a commodity in fact.
Focus on mom and Harvard or otherwise, will take care of itself. In the meantime, you are doing the right thing and that’s what matters.
So do as others say but in the end, Harvard is irrelevant. If it’s U of wherever instead, oh well. Your mom is the priority and doing right for her care is far more important.
Good luck
Ps this is a great achievement but I can’t imagine the statement to be true. Spending time with mom is certainly greater.
I personally think you should talk to your guidance counselor at school and ask them to get involved by letting the college know. Circumstances such as this are more credible when backed up by the guidance counselor. They can also make your teachers aware. And frankly, it might be beneficial to ease your burden a bit by sharing this information instead of trying to keep it a secret. Your teachers, in cooperation with the counselor, might be willing to help in some way so that your grades don’t suffer too much.
I am really sorry you and your family are going through this. I hope your mom recovers. Wishing you strength.
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I agree with the “talk to your counselor group.” I do not think they will rescind with two more B’s in the same classes - as long as the grades in those classes do not dip into C range.
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Reminder that CC is supposed to be a warm and welcoming community.
This student is coping with the serious illness of their mother and the loss of a close friend.
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OP: Your best bet might be to ask Harvard to approve you for a gap year in light of the circumstances.
Prior to this I did not have a 4.0 UW GPA. I had received 1 B in freshman year and 2 Bs in Junior year, but I had never had more than 1 B in a single semester, so I can understand why this is a drop. However, I’ve never heard of any colleges rescinding for Bs, only Cs and below. Is this common? Has anyone else heard of this before?
Thank you so much. I agree that I want to communicate with my admissions counselor as soon as possible, but one of the biggest problems is that my mom has forbade me from telling anyone of the fact that she has cancer. I’m worried that it will in some way get back to her, and if this happens, this is the type of thing that would make her extremely angry with me. I’m not sure what the best way to approach this is, and I’m also extremely scared that if I tell the admissions committee they will think I am trying to excuse these grades. I can confidently say that my grades slipping has not been a case of “senioritis” and simply the fact that I barely have time in the day to do anything as I am working a job, cooking and cleaning, driving my mom to and from appointments and work, and taking care of her in general.
Unfortunately, I do not have the phone number of my admissions officers, only their emails. I made an appointment to speak with my counselor so I will get her advice on what I should email them as well.
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Thankfully my mom and I are making preparations for her to move near family and siblings next year where she can get extra help as well. She’s already told me a gap year is out of the question.
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Thank you so much for your kindness.
Another unfortunate problem is that I am doing well in these classes at the moment. Both of these classes are known for being the hardest in our school, and both don’t allow retakes. Both teachers are extremely strict as well. I had previously talked to both of them about being able to retake or drop my lowest test scores, which are the reasons behind the Bs; I haven’t scored below a 90% on any test since then. Additionally, both of these tests were scheduled during my mother’s third chemo treatment, which was filled with a lot of work on my part and unbelievable emotional stress for my mom and I. Neither are willing to do any form of extra credit, reassessment, or dropping the scores. However I have been going to as many office hours as I can; I truly am trying my hardest to do my best in these classes.
I have also never heard of a college rescinding for B’s. I do nto expect that to happen to you so do not worry.
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You cannot expect grace for your issues but then not share your issues. That’s a choice you are making.
Telling an admissions counselor is not like telling friends or family, that socialize with her.
I’m sorry for your issue and mom’s health but you can see how what you’re saying makes no sense.
Good luck
At my school, when you speak with a counselor, they will often reach out to parents as well, even if I specifically ask them not to. I know this because it has happened to me in the past as well. I will be telling the admissions committee no matter what, what I was worried about was specifically telling my school counselor. I realize how my previous message may not communicate that clearly, but I cannot edit it again unfortunately.