If you’re in senior year of high school and you’ve already been admitted to college, you might be tempted to think that your senior year grades really don’t matter. After all, you’re through the door, right? Nothing can touch you now!
Sadly, that’s not the case. As much as we’d all love to have a year of serious slacking in our senior year, you just can’t get away with it.
If you are admitted to college Early Decision, before your first semester grades have been accounted for, then you should be aware that your college offer of admission can still be withdrawn. If your senior year grades show a serious dip from where they were before, then it’s a real possibility. It happens all the time. In 2006 the University of Washington withdrew 23 offers of admission.
If you apply Regular Decision, then your first semester grades can have a huge impact on your application. Even if your junior year GPA is flawless, and your SAT scores leave others awestruck, you could still let yourself down with a suspect first semester GPA. Good schools expect an attitude of achievement, not a burst of energy. If you can’t keep up your grades in your senior year, how can they expect you to succeed in college? Your first semester’s grades can make or break your education. Your class choices can be important too.
There can be a lot of pressures in senior year, and of course you want to have fun and have a good social life too. But that doesn’t mean that you can let your grades go. You should always aim for the same level of academic achievement in your senior year that you always have. Your senior year grades can make a massive impact on your future, so be careful and study hard.
