If you’re like most high school seniors around this time, then odds are you’ve already submitted your college applications. And some of you may have also received college acceptances.

Now many may be wondering, “do my senior grades matter at this point?”

In this article, you’ll learn why your senior grades still matter in the college admission process regardless of whether you received your college decisions or not. 

Do senior year grades matter in college admissions?

Yes, senior grades can either take you off the waitlist or the admitted list.

While college decisions will likely be based only on your freshman, sophomore, and junior year grades, this doesn’t mean you can slack off during your senior year.

It also doesn’t mean your grades magically don’t matter anymore once you receive your college acceptance letters.

This is because colleges keep tabs on every student they admit to ensure that s/he holds up their end of the bargain, which often means finishing with a strong academic performance. 

According to Kirk Daulerio, a former admissions officer at Princeton, Penn, and Bowdoin, “Sometimes in Early application rounds, students may be deferred or waitlisted because the admission committee hopes to see an improvement in senior year grades. I’ve [also] seen cases where acceptances have been rescinded due to a significant drop in grades.”

Below, we’ll go through all the reasons why senior year grades DO matter.

Overview:

• Significantly lower grades can take you off the ADMITTED LIST
• Significant changes in your extracurriculars can also result in your acceptance being revoked
• Significantly higher grades can take you off the WAITLIST
• Colleges will see your senior grades one way or another
• You must prove that you graduated high school

Reason #1 – Significantly lower grades can take you off the admitted list

Let’s start with the obvious: Poor or significantly lower grades will almost always mean losing your spot at the school. This is because it paints you as someone who does not have what it takes to succeed at a college level.

This expectation also applies to significant changes in your extracurriculars (i.e., quitting all of them immediately after you are admitted) and the difficulty of your classes compared to junior year.

Note: The only exception to low grades or changes in extracurriculars is an extenuating circumstance. However, this only works if you’ve had consistently high grades BEFORE this event and only dipped around that time.

Keep in mind that college acceptances are conditional, not guaranteed. This means even if you accept a college’s offer to attend, it only becomes final once all of your senior grades are posted.

There are three possible outcomes in the event of lower grades:

• You’re put on academic probation
• You lose merit scholarships
• Your acceptance is revoked

Reason #2 – Significantly higher grades can take you off the waitlist

By the same token, making significant improvements during your senior year can be the decisive factor that takes you out of the waitlist and into the admitted list.

This is because it shows colleges that you are serious about your studies and will likely thrive in a college environment, especially if you’ve challenged yourself with AP and honors classes.

It also conveys a positive message – one about hard work, a strong work ethic, persistence, and growth.

Reason #3 – Colleges will see your senior grades one way or another

In most cases, admission offices will not be able to see your senior grades in time to factor them into their decision, but this can change depending on when and where you apply. 

Colleges may see your senior grades if you apply during the regular cycle and especially so if it’s at an institution with a later deadline (ex: Stony Brook, UMich).

Your high school will also be required to submit a mid-year and end-of-year report to the admitting institution so a strong senior year is the only way to secure your college acceptance.

Reason #4 – You must prove that you graduated high school

If you do so poorly that you fail critical classes or your overall GPA takes a nosedive, you may not be able to graduate on time. 

Keep in mind that a high school diploma is a REQUIREMENT for most colleges so not graduating will likely mean not going to college that year.

Reason #5 – You might lose out on scholarships

Scholarships are “free money.” And in this case, one you probably ALREADY won.

However, if your grades slip too far, you may end up losing your scholarships or be disqualified from merit-based scholarships, in general.

What you can do

Your approach will vary depending on your situation:

If you got into your first-choice school through early admission then you could go on cruise mode or autopilot. This does not mean winding down but rather maintaining your baseline performance (strong grades and remaining committed to your extracurriculars). The nuance here is that there is no need to take on extra projects or leadership positions.

If you’re still waiting to hear back from colleges then continue to excel in your classes and extracurriculars and report any new achievements to the colleges you applied to.

Note: Your senior year classes need to be as challenging as your junior year classes, if not more.

If you experienced a significant life event that interfered with your studies, be transparent about it by reporting it preemptively and outlining the steps you have taken (or will take) to remedy your situation.

And if worse comes to worst and your acceptance is revoked, you can always appeal that decision.

Finally, senioritis is a major issue experienced by many applicants, especially second-semester seniors. If you find yourself struggling with senioritis, check out the helpful resources below as a first step.

Helpful resources (ranked)

Here are some great resources that can help you overcome senioritis and procrastination.

They are ranked in the order I found them helpful.

1. Avoiding Senioritis: Advice to Get You to Graduation
2. How to Avoid Senioritis
3. How to Beat Senioritis
4. What is Senioritis? How Do You Overcome It?
5. Your College Apps Are In – Now How to Beat Senioritis