The Importance of Second Semester
Although the college counseling staff has already spoken to the class of 2013 about the importance of strong academic performance in the second semester, it is worth a reminder. There are three reasons seniors need to maintain strong academic focus through the year:
First, all colleges require enrolling students to submit their final high school transcripts. Colleges review these transcripts to verify that the student has maintained a strong academic performance throughout his or her senior year. If a student’s grades drop, he or she is in jeopardy of being asked for an explanation of the poor performance. After reviewing the explanation, students may be put on academic probation or even lose the offer of admission.
Second, students who are placed on a college waitlist in the spring and who wish to pursue that institution will want to submit strong grades, which may strengthen their application for admission.
Third, the high school transcript may still be important in years to come. Many graduate school applications and potential employers may ask candidates to report high school academic performance. Your high school transcript is part of your permanent academic record.