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alright guys. So I'm going to be attending UCSC next fall (most of you already know). First semester I had about a 3.5 weighted GPA... one of my better semesters during my high school career with a fairly rigerous schedule.I let senioritis eat me alive and i find myself with one B, all Cs and a D+in my math class. The D is not an A-G requirment, although I am still concerned of the ramification it may have on my admission. I called UC Santa Cruz and they said i needed to inform them in writing. The lady wasn't very helpful with letting me know the end result.

How forgiving do you think they'll be? Do you feel they might be a little bit forgiving since my first semester grades were sound? Any advice on how i should approach the letter i write?

By Blah1111 (Blah1111) on Monday, June 07, 2004 - 07:39 pm: Edit

What was your unweighted GPA for first semester? I'm not sure if this applies to all UC's, but for UCLA you need a 3.0 unweighted average in your senior year with nothing less than a C in order for them not to question your admission status. Do you have any excuses other than that you slacked off? From what I hear, colleges tend to be pretty lenient if you experienced an actual, legitimate situation (family issues, chronic illness, etc.) that hindered your otherwise potentially adequate performance.

By Lostnconfused (Lostnconfused) on Monday, June 07, 2004 - 07:52 pm: Edit

i had a 3.0 unweighted first semester.

By Lostnconfused (Lostnconfused) on Tuesday, June 08, 2004 - 05:04 pm: Edit

bump

By Ndbisme5 (Ndbisme5) on Tuesday, June 08, 2004 - 05:24 pm: Edit

Ouch... I was worried myself because I thought there could be a possibility I got a D in Precal. But I got a C! (D 3rd, B 4th, D final exam, C Final Grade) For the life of me, I just don't get math at all.

If I were you I would search the site and start writing a last resort letter. Perhaps start talking to your teacher and ask him if he would support you by writing a letter (just in case).

My admissions letter, about the last two sentences, said that if my grades slipped they can revoke. How many people are on the waitlist? How competitive are the admissions at the college? Do you know anyone that has had their admission revoked there?

By Lostnconfused (Lostnconfused) on Tuesday, June 08, 2004 - 05:45 pm: Edit

They asked for a letter explaining my situation... could someone provide me with their two cents?

To: University of California at Santa Cruz Admissions

I am currently a high school senior who has been admitted to UC Santa Cruz for the fall of 2004. I’ve carefully read and understand your conditions of admissions, however I regret to inform you that I’ve been struggling in my Functions Statistics and Trigonometry class and have received a D. This class is an elective and I have fulfilled all the necessary math requirements for high school graduation and the University of California system.

The reason behind the major slip in my grade is mainly due to the schedule change that was made in the middle of the semester. I switched math teachers and could not easily adapt to the new teachers style of running class. Also, his grading system differed significantly from my previous teachers. In my previous math class, the teacher weighted the grades and allocated a percentage value to each category of work. For example, tests were worth 60% of the students grade, homework was worth 15%, quizzes were worth another 15%, etc. Point value was not a determining factor in the outcome of my grade, meaning that if a quiz was worth 50 points and a test was worth 60 points, the value of the quiz was still significantly less than the value of the test regardless of the close point value. When I switched classes, I noticed that my new teacher used the standard percentage system to calculate grades. Therefore, a quiz worth 50 points was now worth almost as much as a test worth 60 points. When he recalculated my grade to fit his grading system, I noticed that it had fallen approximately 5%.

Transferring in the middle of the semester also made it difficult to clear up grade discrepancies with my previous teacher. I felt that there was a mistake in her relying two of my test grades to my new teacher. My new teacher failed to post updated grades until late towards the end of the semester, and by that time my previous teacher no longer had my test to clear up a possible discrepancy.

In addition to the grade mix up, the subject matter itself became difficult for me to comprehend. In addition to the time I spent studying at home, I spent a significant amount of time with my teacher during office hours receiving extra help. Regardless I was unable to pull my grade up from a D.

Being admitted to UC Santa Cruz is an honor, and I would like to thank the board of admissions for giving me the opportunity to be a part of the University of California system. I hope that this poor grade can be excused and not seen as a reflection of my motivation and potential to contribute. If necessary, I am willing to retake this class at a community college over the summer or make any other efforts to remedy this problematic situation. I sincerely look forward to attending UC Santa Cruz next fall and hope to pursue a double major in Politics and Philosophy at College 9.

By Demingy (Demingy) on Tuesday, June 08, 2004 - 06:27 pm: Edit

I think that your letter should focus a little less on blaming the teachers. That may not be your intention, but that is what I read. I think that there is some decent backbone in this letter, and there wouldn't be anything wrong with simply using that for your letter.

For example, paragraphs two and three can just be combined into one part of your reason for the low grade: there was a schedule change in the middle of the semester and there were different grading policies between the two teachers.

"the subject matter itself became difficult for me to comprehend. In addition to the time I spent studying at home, I spent a significant amount of time with my teacher during office hours receiving extra help. Regardless I was unable to pull my grade up from a D."--I think that this part is really where you should focus your letter. It shows that you knew that you were having a hard time understanding the material and that you made an effort to do well. I would say that this should be reworded though, and again it should be the focus of your letter.

Your final paragraph is okay. It shows your willingness to make it up, although I'm not sure if it is a good idea to say "I hope that this poor grade can be excused....." Perhaps word that sentence a little differently to show that it isn't an indication of your school effort.

In the first paragraph you should really change the wording of "I regret to inform you". It just sounds too formal, and it isn't a good idea to give them the idea right off the bat that they should think that this is a really bad thing.

Finally, I hope that this letter is sincere. You stated in your original post that senioritis had set in....

By Confused86 (Confused86) on Tuesday, June 08, 2004 - 06:35 pm: Edit

"My new teacher failed to post updated grades until late towards the end of the semester, and by that time my previous teacher no longer had my test to clear up a possible discrepancy."

I don't like the way you used "failed" in this sentence. You need to take responsability for YOUR actions. You are totally blaming it on external circumstances and not your own disposition.

Maybe you should add something like, "I take full responsability for the drop in my grades" to make you seem more human.

"In addition to the grade mix up, the subject matter itself became difficult for me to comprehend. In addition to the time I spent studying at home, I spent a significant amount of time with my teacher during office hours receiving extra help. Regardless I was unable to pull my grade up from a D. "

You need to revivse your writing. Your sentence structures are redundant and you repeat the same words over several times.

I seriously would not send this letter because it makes you seem immature.

By Ndbisme5 (Ndbisme5) on Tuesday, June 08, 2004 - 07:00 pm: Edit

Keep plugging at it. Didn't have time to read whole letter but...
a) show what you can contribute to college
b) show you are liable to be very disappointed, sad, etc. if you don't get to attend
c) try not to blame teachers a lot. The changing of teachers and different grading systems could do the trick.
d) give extenuating circumstances
e) try to show you were not stricken by the Senior Slack Plague
f) Try to shorten the letter

By Lostnconfused (Lostnconfused) on Tuesday, June 08, 2004 - 07:41 pm: Edit

Thanks a bunch you guys.. i made some revisions and sent it out. sigh.. wish me luck ?