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Archive for: Senior Slide

Senior Year Courses


If you’re a rising senior, don’t think for a second that your senior year courses don’t matter. They matter a great deal! Don’t think that your workload is over because you finished the toughest year of high school (junior year). Junior year is tough because you have SAT’s piled on top of your demanding coursework, but just because you might be done with your SAT’s, that doesn’t mean you can stop trying. Colleges care a great deal about the rigor of the courses you take during your senior year and, yes, your senior year grades absolutely matter.

Senior Year Classes, Classes for Senior Year, Senior Year Courseload

Your senior year courses matter a great deal. Don’t drop AP Calculus for AP Statistics. Seriously.

Many students think that they can drop AP Physics and simply take the regular physics class. Maybe they’ll drop AP Calculus, too, and take AP Statistics instead. Don’t do it! AP Stat is not AP Calc. If you want to gain admission into a highly selective college — like an Ivy League college — you’ve got to keep up the hard work. You’ve got to keep excelling in the most challenging courses available at your school. And then some! If your school only offers a few AP courses, that doesn’t mean that you can’t take more AP courses (or AP tests only) outside of your school. It’s possible to do that. Many of our students at The Ivy Coach do just that.

So as the school year approaches, wipe that thought of easing up your senior year courses out of your head for good. Don’t even consider it. You’ve worked too hard for too long to mess everything up now. Now is not the time to slack. If during the fourth quarter of senior year you get a B+ instead of your typical A in a class, don’t worry about it. Your admission isn’t going to be rescinded over a B+. But that doesn’t mean you can get a B+ in the first quarter.

And while you’re here, check out this post on Senior Slide.

Senior Slide and its Impact on College Admissions


When reviewing our students’ senior course selections, we are often asked how senior year courses and grades are factored into college admissions decisions.

The following are some typical questions that we receive:

Q. Since admissions counselors will only see my transcript through my junior year, how will they know what courses I am taking in my senior year?

A. On most high school transcripts, there is a space for “courses in progress.” On every college application, there is also room to include senior year courses. On the Secondary School Report of the Common Application (see chart below), the student is expected to complete the top portion prior to submitting it to his/her guidance counselor who is required to verify its accuracy and attach a letter of recommendation.

Current year courses—please indicate title, level (AP, IB, advanced honors, etc.) and credit value of all courses you are taking this year. Indicate quarter classes taken in the same semester on the appropriate semester line.

First Semester/Trimester Second Semester/Trimester Third Trimester

______________  ______________ ______________

______________  ______________ ______________

______________  ______________ ______________

______________  ______________ ______________

______________  ______________ ______________

______________  ______________ ______________

______________  ______________ ______________

Q. What would be a typical senior year course load for students who are applying to Ivy League colleges? I’ve already taken five advanced placement courses, and so I was hoping to get a break in my senior year and take easier courses.

A. Senior year is definitely not the time to take a break! College admissions counselors want to know that as a senior you are continuing to take the most rigorous and challenging courses in all five core disciplines (English, math, science, foreign language, and social science / history) and that you are excelling in those courses. For example, if you are planning on applying as a science major, you want to have taken all of the AP science courses offered and that would include AP Chemistry, AP Biology, and AP Physics. If you’re passionate about math and you’ve already taken AP Calculus BC, you would want to take Multivariable Calculus. Whatever your academic passion is, you want to max-out in that discipline. To more specifically answer your question: It is rather typical for students who are applying to Ivy League and highly selective colleges to have six AP courses in their senior year.

Q. How will colleges see my senior year grades if they’re not on my transcript?

A. When applying early action or Early Decision, some colleges may ask for your first quarter grades, especially if your junior year grades are less than stellar. When applying Regular Decision, most colleges will ask you to submit your first semester senior year grades. If your first or second quarter grades do not present a clear picture of your academic strengths and since admissions decisions for most highly selective colleges are not released until April, you may be asked to submit your third quarter grades. Your senior year grades can be a conclusive factor in the admissions decision.

Both academically and through extracurricular activities, senior year is a time for you to build on your strengths, experiences, passions, and talents. It is a time for you to prepare for all of the challenges that lay ahead in college and in your future endeavors. So, make the most of this exciting year, have fun but stay focused and when you receive your admissions decisions, your dreams may very well become a reality.

Most Competitive Class in History


For many seniors, the college admissions process was a long, frustrating, and at times, worrisome ordeal, but just because it’s over does not mean that you can forget about the remaining months ahead before you begin college in the fall.

Finals are coming up very soon and your final grades must be consistent with the grades that you earned throughout high school. In your acceptance letter from the college to which you plan to attend, there is a statement that says something such as: “This letter is contingent upon you successfully completing your senior year.” The word “successfully” means that the college expects your senior year grades to be similar to the grades that appeared on the transcript that they received when you first applied.

Beware – colleges do rescind acceptances! This year in particular, because of the combination of the economy and the fact that more students applied to college than ever before, most colleges admitted more students than in previous years. So if there is a significant dip in any of your grades, the college reserves the right to rescind their offer of admission. This is not to say that if you have typically earned all ‘A’s’ in English, and at the end of senior year you earn a ‘B,’ you should be worried, but if you earn a ‘C’ as a final grade, there is reason for concern.

In addition to your senior year grades, be careful about what you do outside of the classroom. June of senior year can be a time for exciting and fun-filled activities, including prom night and après-prom festivities. Poor judgment or infractions on your part that result in action by your high school, or by law enforcement officials, would need to be reported to the admissions office of the college to which you plan to attend. So be sure to use your best judgment at all times. You don’t want to have to write a letter to the college explaining your indiscretion, and worse, you don’t want to have to worry about the possibility of the college rescinding your acceptance when they find out.

This summer counts, too! Be on your best behavior throughout the summer. If the college to which you plan to attend has more students who accepted their offer of admission than they have room for, they just might be looking for any reason to rescind an acceptance. You don’t want to be in this position! So think of the consequences before you act. You don’t need to go along with the crowd; you can still have fun, just act responsibly at all times. In the end, you’ll be very happy that you did!