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College Acceptance Rescinded: 6 Reasons to Keeping Earning A’s, Even After Your Dream School Accepts You

“I got in!”

Congratulations! Getting into your dream college is definitely cause for celebration! You’ve worked hard for years, challenged yourself academically, and demonstrated intellectual passion in tangible ways.  It has probably been exhausting!  Acceptance letters signal a noteworthy achievement!  What it doesn’t signal is that you can suddenly stop trying in school. Having a college acceptance rescinded is a reality that can happen, but it is also something that you can easily avoid.

“Why not? Isn’t this the finish line?!”

No, actually, an acceptance letter is not a finish line! Your responsibilities and activities remain extremely important. University admission has been your goal for so long, but that acceptance letter comes with strings attached.

“Wait, what now?”

Having a college acceptance rescinded means a university revokes its offer letter. Almost every school - from Dartmouth to Arizona State - will discuss college acceptance rescinded cases every year. This is more of the case at larger, state-schools, but I’ll let that sink in.

Colleges don’t want to rescind their offers, but they will, and they do for a variety of reasons. In 35% of cases, for example, disciplinary actions against a student resulted in rescinded admission. Other reasons leading to college acceptance rescinded: severe drop in grades, dishonesty on the college application, or suspension from school. 

“I’m not getting suspended or arrested, and I told the truth on my application!  I just have senioritis!”

Even assuming you are not completely irresponsible, there are many practical reasons to keep up the good work, so read on for 6 of them…

1) Mid-year Reports and End-of-year Reports

Keep studying! The most obvious reason to maintain your stellar performance is that your dream school is still watching.  They want you to continue being the amazing, potential-filled person they admitted.  Admissions offices do require and read transcripts from your school about how the rest of your senior year transpires.  65% of college acceptance rescinded offers come as a result of significantly faltering grades or challenging classes being dropped. Many times college will send "warning" letters telling you to get your act together before they would have a college acceptance rescinded. My advice? Don't let it get this far. 

2) Scholarships & Honors

Win more accolades! The last few months of high school are often the time when merit scholarships and senior honors are awarded, and your impressiveness remains 100% relevant. If you maintain strong academics, you should consider applying to outside merit scholarships. Finishing strong can help you in your upcoming freshman year of college.  

3) Resumé-building

Think about your future! Summer internships and jobs are just around the corner and those employers will be interested in how you spent the end of twelfth grade.  When you applied to college, you compiled your lists of honors and achievements and wrote a resumé.  You aimed high and you scored!  Don’t drop the ball now. Resumés, accomplishments and experiences are all tools you will need for the rest of your life!

4) Course Credit

Remember your AP tests and final IB exams! High scores on these end-of-year challenges can often earn university credit and/or higher course placement.  You worked hard in these challenging classes all year, but if you underperform on the exams, you may need to repeat the effort when you get to college.

5) College Readiness

Don’t have regrets later!  High school is hard, but it’s also a great opportunity to enrich your mind. The teachers and counselors and coaches who wrote impressive recommendations care about you and want to share their knowledge.  Show your respect and appreciation by continuing to learn, continuing to challenge yourself.  If you maximize your high school educational opportunities, you will be better prepared to excel when you arrive on your college campus.

Related content: High School Reading List: What to Read to Prepare You for College

6) High Aspirations

Pursue your ambitions! Go back and read your personal statement on the Common Application.  The essay that helped you get into your dream school must be pretty impressive, right?  Aspire to always be that person you described.  That’s the person your college accepted and that person is not going to put their feet up and rest now! Having a college acceptance rescinded, is in most cases a poor display of character and work ethic. Make sure you stay true to yourself for the rest of your senior year. 

“So no break at all…?”

Take a tiny break!  Eat your favorite dinner and accept praise for your accomplishment!  Share your happy news at your school and thank teachers, guidance counselors, mentors for their support. If you have a homework pass at the bottom of your backpack, pull it out and use it. Just don’t go off the deep end and abandon all of the wonderful things that brought you to this happy moment in time!

Keep up the Good Work!