Senioritis not worth admission revocations

Imagine going to the mailbox and opening the latch to find a thick, full envelope from the admissions office of your dream college. Sense the excitement and happiness you would feel, realizing that you don’t have to worry about being rejected as you hold that letter of acceptance.

Now envision, three months later, that same college sending you a letter stating that your application has been rescinded, withdrawn, and you are now no longer enrolled in the incoming freshman class. The shock and disappointment and shame you feel must be unbearable, and you then go back to worrying about which choices, if any, you have left.

Surprisingly, Castro Valley High School has had a handful of these cases among the senior class during the last half of the year. During the first semester, students are scrambling to get their college essays, teacher recommendations, and supplementary materials all turned in to the Common App or the UC Application, working diligently until they confidently press the click of the button, “submit,” and try to forget the tough and stressful past couple of weeks.

Most students continue with their senior year, studying for tests, participating in school events, going on with their daily high school lives without much thought or change in their schedule, habits, or actions. However, there are those who regress into a state of procrastination and laziness, and catch a condition infamously known as “Senioritis.” They don’t complete homework nor do they study for tests, dropping in attendance and getting tardies.

As their grades drop, colleges drop their application as well. And, expectedly, students are devastated.

Melanie Small in the Career Center, who’s always available for help and information on colleges and scholarships and other school needs, offers a word of advice to those students who are now scrambling to get their college apps finished. She discussed that slacking off during your second semester could cost you your future at your dream school. Apparently, 35 percent of all colleges report that they revoke admission offers, being an average of ten percent of the incoming freshman class per college. This is not due to the many waitlisted students, or the regret of a certain student that had been accepted over another, but rather because of final grades, followed by disciplinary issues and then falsifying an application.

“Public colleges are more likely to rescind acceptance applications than private schools,” Small said. “If a college is going to revoke an application, it’s usually in July or August, right when you’re preparing to go off to college.”

She also continues to remind students of how an acceptance letter received in the spring is all conditional. Admissions are contingent upon maintaining a C or better on your senior year classes.

Obviously, after college apps, seniors will want to kick back and relax, as they believe that they deserve a break from the past three long years of their high school career. But a rest that causes detriment rather than benefit isn’t worth losing a chance for the college of your dreams.