<p>Don’t know what any of you can do to help, but am so much in shock am grasping at straws. My son got a letter from admissions today saying his acceptance to class of 2014 was rescinded or maybe he will just be deferred a year based on weak second semester grades and lower than projected IB test scores. Does this sort of thing really happen to people? (Obviously the answer is yes) We were under the impression one had to really bomb out after being accepted to have an offer revoked. We are devastated, but understand why they would do this given that he was a stellar student (5.0) until first semester senior year when he dropped down to about a B+/A- average, at which time he promised everyone he would get back on track. However once he got his acceptances, he slid back into not focusing on grades and ended up with one C, a few B’s and A’s for the second semester. His school had projected IB scores at 43 and he didn’t study for them, getting a 35. It’s not like he did terribly horribly badly, but it IS bad because he had promised (kind of entered into a contract if you will) to do better after his relatively weak first semester. He doesn’t have a good excuse. The reality is that he had always been an unpopular nerd until junior year when all of a sudden everyone thought he was brilliant and popular and top man on campus. It went to his head and he started to believe he actually was so smart he didn’t have to work hard, partied, plus his best friends were into being popular and headed to state colleges, so no support from the peers, and he mistakenly thought he had figured out how hard he needed to work to still get where he wanted to go. Frankly, he got cocky and listened to the siren song of high school popularity. Thought he could party and still do well. It backfired, big-time. As parents, we see where Yale is coming from, but are still shocked they would do this 2 weeks before his orientation trip. What next? Does he approach the other 12 schools that accepted him and beg for admission? How can that be done delicately and quickly? What can he say to them?</p>
<p>Befuddled. Based on your postings below, it appears your daughter had gone through the same…no lessons learned? hmmmm.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/829832-super-star-daughter-bombed-1st-semester-2.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/829832-super-star-daughter-bombed-1st-semester-2.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/680113-need-advice-college-very-bright-high-achieving-dyslexic.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/680113-need-advice-college-very-bright-high-achieving-dyslexic.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/245769-acceptances-celebrate-discuss-support-here-7.html#post3320848[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/245769-acceptances-celebrate-discuss-support-here-7.html#post3320848</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-act-tests-test-preparation/26575-10th-grade-psat-7th-grade-sat.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-act-tests-test-preparation/26575-10th-grade-psat-7th-grade-sat.html</a></p>
<p>Wow. Sorry to hear that. Question one will be: Does he still want to go to Yale even if he needs to wait a year? Your note seems to say Yale is open to this. If so, I’d definitely consider using this year wisely if I know that in 13 mos, a Yale spot is awaiting me.</p>
<p>Otherwise, if he wants to cross Yale off the list (or if Yale has permanently crossed him off its list) then see what slots are available in the fall backs. There probably will be some. </p>
<p>Best of luck to you and him.</p>
<p>I’m not sure I understand the “or maybe deferred for a year” part–are they giving you that option? Regarding the rescinding the acceptance–could there be any possibility of filing an appeal? It is so surprising to hear that a school would do this so late, with pre- orientation in 2 weeks, first semester’s tuition paid, etc. Wow. So sorry to hear.</p>
<p>befuddled: My sympathies! That must have been very tough to take- for you and for your son. I hope you can figure out a satisfactory solution in the next couple of weeks. </p>
<p>I’m curious what you mean by:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Had he received some kind of warning letter from the Yale admissions office and had he made some type of written promise to shape up?</p>
<p>In any case, I can only imagine how stressed he must be right now, and I wish you the best.</p>
<p>Hmmm…after checking out the links from learninginprog above, I’m confused. Are there several befuddleds on this board? The previous posts seem to be quite diverse, with befuddled being a highschooler at times and at other times being a parent. Are we being bamboozled by a befuddler?</p>
<p>I have two children. Both have learning disabilities and one developed bipolar in college. I don’t want to go through the whole history now. I apologize as I confused things in the past 5 years at cc by once writing as if I were my child and another time writing about one child using a different gender. I hadn’t realized people referred back to old postings and would take offence that I was trying, probably stupidly, to disguise my child’s identity. My reason for doing so was that one child was, at that time, occasionally checking in on CC and I didn’t want him to know that I was hovering in the background, worrying about him to strangers. Just to clear the air about me and that I am a real person with a son with a real problem.</p>
<p>There was no contract or earlier warning from Yale. But when his grades were down at the end of first semester, he wrote a letter to every school he had applied to saying that his grades were down and he planned to get them back up. This he did first quarter of second semester - back to a 5.0 - but once acceptances were in, he allowed them to slide again. We think he thus in effect broke an implied contract. Also, his teachers at school projected all 7’s on IB tests, which he didn’t think mattered anymore in May so he didn’t study and averaged 5.5’s.</p>
<p>I can’t imagine Yale would rescind admission at this late date. Tuition has been paid, health forms in, etc. They told us, they rarely do it and it’s usually earlier when the grades were sent, not 2 weeks before school starts. They also send a letter to explain the drop first.</p>
<p>We’re shocked at the timing too. Yesterday we bought his sheets, camping equipment for orientation, and we were working on our calendars going over the events surrounding move-in date when the e-mail arrived from the admissions director. We have already paid tuition, which i guess they will refund. Maybe his high school (overseas) was slow to send out his final grades and they just got them? For the IB scores my son thought his school sent them but learned a week ago that he had to request them so he had just done that. As I said, although his final grades and IB scores are not Yale quality, they are not disastrous. His IB scores were a 35 overall which I think is around the 95th percentile as best I can tell. His grades had one C. What the letter said was that at the least they will defer him for a year or alternatively they will revoke the acceptance and tell him if he wants he can reapply in January after, perhaps, proving himself by taking courses somewhere else. They say appealing he decision to come this fall is not an option. Yes, this was my son’s fault, but I can’t help but feel devastated for him.</p>
<p>A zero-hour rescission via the USPS sure doesn’t sound like the Yale I know. Not even a phone call with just two weeks to go before school starts? Assuming this is for real, I would call Admissions to clarify the meaning of “or maybe deferred for a year.” Perhaps your child could benefit from a year to reflect and regroup.</p>
<p>If the preference is not to defer, your prior posts state that your son was waitlisted at Yale. Perhaps he could contact the college where he originally deposited. They may have a spot for him.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, but I remain skeptical about this. As far as I know, Yale doesn’t request that the IB scores be sent, especially if there is already a transcript with letter grades. It is also extremely late to be rescinding admission, unless there was something more dire than this, like something false in the application, or maybe a criminal problem. One C on the final semester transcript seems highly unlikely to bring this reaction.</p>
<p>So, if this is real, you need to contact Admissions pronto to get a fuller explanation. If this isn’t real, stop stressing about what it takes to get rescinded, and just do your best.</p>
<p>Are you sure it’s real?</p>
<p>Sounds like a stupid question to ask, but some kids at my high school thought it would be funny to forge one. They went to the extremes of making Yale letterhead and an envelope (looked exactly like the real thing - found the graphics online I’m sure) and mailed it to my house as an “April Fools” joke. Logically I was devastated until my mother noticed that it was postmarked from a local post office. Still don’t know who did it - probably never will - but it was still gut wrenching. </p>
<p>It couldn’t hurt either way to call the Admissions Office and talk to them about it. If it’s a fake, you’ll know. If not, at least your son can discuss his options.</p>
<p>It also says here, he was waitlisted at Yale
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pennsylvania/896628-princeton-vs-penn-m-t.html#post1064497864[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pennsylvania/896628-princeton-vs-penn-m-t.html#post1064497864</a></p>
<p>All too real I’m afraid. The letter came in the form of an e-mail from the Director of Admissions to my son. And yes, my son had been waitlisted at Yale and accepted Penn’s offer of admission. He got off the Yale waitlist via a phone call about 2-3 weeks before school got out, right in the midst of exams. The final transcript, which we finally got this morning, has one C, one A, one B+, and two B’s (if we ignore the A+ in pe). We’re guessing that he might have been under a closer spotlight than other kids who’s grades dropped second semester because he had the drop first semester and promised to bring the grades up, which he did only for as long as he thought they mattered, then he let them slide back down again. On the IB scores, he says that his Yale adcom requested them of him last week. Again, maybe he was under a microscope for having dropped the ball first semester. We know these acceptances always are contingent, but had we known that his acceptance was particulalry contingent, I’m sure he would have worked harder at the end of the year. Could anyone offer any constructive advice on how to go forward? He’s like to go to college somewhere and doens’t have much time to try to figure out how to try to make that happen. </p>
<p>Yale has asked him to write an explanation of what happened and then he will have an interview with them and then they will decide if his offer is revoked or he is deferred. I imagine if he is deferred they (and he) will want him to do something during that year to prove he is worthy.</p>
<p>I’d start by having your son find out exactly where he stands at Yale. It is beyond my understanding why Yale would rescind an acceptance this late based on a not-that-spectacular drop in grades/scores. Is there something else in your son’s record that may have come to Yale’s attention? </p>
<p>If it looks like he will not be admitted to Yale this year and if he wants to go to another college this fall, I’d contact the HS guidance/college counselor. It’s possible the HS can get on the phone to advocate for your son at Penn, where he deposited originally, or at one of the other schools that accepted him last spring.</p>
<p>No, there is nothing else negative in his record - no drugs or dishonesty. No suspensions, etc. No traffic tickets. Considered a model citizen by his school. The e-mail from Yale does specifically mention that his integrity and honesty are not at question. They say they question his maturity and character becuase of the grade drop. I wish the high school guidance counselor could be more helpful but she has left the school, which was overseas, and moved on to another international school. No one at the school really knew how to help kids in the competitive college admissions process anyway as they don’t place many kids in those sorts of schools. I feel we are on our own on this.</p>
<p>The situation of befuddled’s son seems very weird to me. Email addresses can be faked–maybe the one that apparently came from the Director of Admissions wasn’t authentic. If you are using the Yale Payment Plan, you had to start paying by June. Don’t think that revocation after that point makes any sense.</p>
<p>While I don’t attend Yale, but have a couple of friends there, I adore perusing random threads by parents about college experiences/advice for incoming students. As a rising sophomore and only child, it’s still tough for my parents to feel okay about my leaving home. Some of the comments on here have made their way to my parentals via email. Anyway, this is all to explain why a non-Yalie is posting on the Yale forum.</p>
<p>Befuddled, on 8/26/09 you posted:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p><a href=“Must high school report drug suspension? - Parents Forum - College Confidential Forums”>Must high school report drug suspension? - Parents Forum - College Confidential Forums;
<p>I know you said a good friend of you child’s was the student in question. But from previous posts I understand your child applied to some of those same schools, plus you ask if it can be removed from their school records?</p>
<p>If your child was the student in question and it just so happened that somehow Yale became aware of his drug suspension Soph. year of HS, his acceptance’s rescindance makes much more sense.</p>
<p>Pardon if it seems like I’m accusing you of outright lying, but it seems much too grave for Yale to rescind an acceptance right before school begins (tuition paid and everything) simply because of low grades.</p>
<p>befuddled explained away other confusing posts by saying she had attempted to obscure the identity of the individual in question to preserve her son’s privacy. You may have hit the nail on the head biglawhopes. It is very hard to imagine Yale pulling its acceptance this late in the process without more extraordinary circumstances than described.</p>
<p>I was at Yale’s info session today and someone specifically asked about IB scores. The admissions person stated Yale expected scores in the mid 40s. SO I’m guessing Yale EXPECTED to see those 7s that were projected by your son’s school. Yale based their acceptance on your son’s earlier grades and projected IB scores. I’m sure the acceptance letter alluded to that (most letters state that acceptance is dependent on similar achievements or something to that effect). Your son must have known when the year was ending that he had not lived up to those expectations and he should have gotten this dealt with immediately (perhaps offering to take a summer class). Yale could not have rescinded him earlier because Yale just received the scores/grades.</p>
<p>I agree that the timing is unfortunate but I’m not surprised this is an issue. I’m surprised YOU are surprised. Have your son write his letter and prepare for that interview. Yale is aware of the timing so hopefully they give your son a bit of room when dealing with this. One suggestion: Saying he didn’t know he had to send transcripts, scores, etc isn’t really an appropriate response if he’s trying to show his maturity. It’s the student’s responsibility to make sure the year end grades are sent. He should take responsibility and have a plan to show how he will ensure success next time around (fall classes). The HS grades really aren’t that bad. I think it’s the combination of further decline along with the much lower IB scores. It looks like he simply slacked off (which he did). That’s the issue. If he simply struggled with the one C in perhaps a difficult class or one bad score, I don’t think Yale would be concerned.</p>