Terrible Second Semester Grades

I have recently been appointed to USMA, and it looks like my 2nd semester senior grades have taken a fall due to a severe case of senioritis. I will definitely not have any Ds on my transcript, but I'll probably have a mix of Cs and Bs (but mostly Bs). Will this cause my appointment to be rescinded?

It just depends on your file really. I am assuming that you made mostly, to all, A's before now. So, from what I have been told, you would have to get a D or F to be in any serious trouble. However, this is not condoning this activity. You need to work on getting them up with what little time you have left to do so. But, I wouldn't worry too much about having your offer revoked. Kick senioritis in the butt for a month or two and be done with it all, then you won't have to worry about stuff like that!

+1 to cadet85. There is no excuse for senioritis. It will make the admissions folks think about when will you slack off in the military if they, in fact, don't rescind your appointment. It will certainly seem likely you would repeat this behavior again, probably at the worst possible time. If it were up to me I'd rescind it. You're lucky it's not up to me. Get back in the game and get those grades up soldier!

differing opinion here...

Seniors earning an appointment by and large have a huge amount on their plate.

Senior year includes AP calc, AP Physics, AP English, etc. Being a key member of multiple sports teams takes valuable study time, and don't forget volunteering, church, and the employment that the academy wants to see.

Oh yeah, NHS functions, student council, and various obligations are in there too.

Being an ex-teacher and coach, I can remember school nights my teams left at 3:00 and returned from trips on the road at 10:30 PM. All day Saturday games and matches and lots of responsibilities.

Now it's easy to say that time management is key to academy appointees, and it definitely is. But to say an appointment should be rescinded without knowing all of the factors including the difficulty of classes and the overall story seems foolish to me. There are bad teachers, and sometimes classes are terribly difficult for almost everyone.

If a kid goofs off with senioritis then he deserves a slap on the wrists and more if the situation warrants it. BUT... if he/she is pushing hard and trying to be all that they can, then I believe they should be given the benefit of the doubt. Afterall, many kids don't take a rigorous schedule and C's and D's wouldn't be in the picture.

Kudos to the kids that keep pushing themselves. I often wonder just how much any senior with an academy as a goal could truly enjoy their senior year with all the pressure on them.

Maplerock said:

Seniors earning an appointment by and large have a huge amount on their plate.

Senior year includes AP calc, AP Physics, AP English, etc. Being a key member of multiple sports teams takes valuable study time, and don't forget volunteering, church, and the employment that the academy wants to see.

Oh yeah, NHS functions, student council, and various obligations are in there too.

Being an ex-teacher and coach, I can remember school nights my teams left at 3:00 and returned from trips on the road at 10:30 PM. All day Saturday games and matches and lots of responsibilities.

Now it's easy to say that time management is key to academy appointees, and it definitely is. But to say an appointment should be rescinded without knowing all of the factors including the difficulty of classes and the overall story seems foolish to me. There are bad teachers, and sometimes classes are terribly difficult for almost everyone.

If a kid goofs off with senioritis then he deserves a slap on the wrists and more if the situation warrants it. BUT... if he/she is pushing hard and trying to be all that they can, then I believe they should be given the benefit of the doubt. Afterall, many kids don't take a rigorous schedule and C's and D's wouldn't be in the picture.

Kudos to the kids that keep pushing themselves. I often wonder just how much any senior with an academy as a goal could truly enjoy their senior year with all the pressure on them.

Click to expand...

I don't disagree with you but OP stated the story.... senioritis. I wouldn't say he deserves a slap on the wrist... rather a swift kick in the butt.

Candidate, you are NOT going to get your appointment rescinded, you DON'T need to be flogged, slapped on the wrist or even get a good talking to! A few C's are not the end of the world. My DS also got a few C's his last semester (and his FFR told him not to stress over it) and his grades have been solid since his first semester Plebe year. Almost everyone has a little senioritis, I am sure that you earned your appointment through a lot of hard work, enjoy yourself for the remainder of your senior year, you will have enough things to stress over in the 47 months you are at the academy.

Look, I disagree with what is being said here. West Point Rep strongly discourages stuff like this. I have specifically been told that it can be very devastating if you catch senioritis and mess up. You can have your appointment rescinded. It CAN happen. Now, that being said, they do need a good talking to at the very least. As candidates, we are told that stuff like that is a reality and can happen. To say your file cannot be rescinded is lying. It may not be rescinded, but if you are not on the admissions committee, you don't know. We are specifically told not to let this happen, AND why should it happen IF you are giving it our all? We make good grades the first semester, and if we keep our effort up, it should happen the second semester too. Period. I'm sorry, but the Army doesn't care if we worked hard until the very end. They want us to work hard through the end. If we start babying candidates (including myself), the transition into the Army is going to kick our butts. Kinnem was exactly right, you don't want to be known as the candidate that slacks off in the end. Why send a bad message to West Point before you even get there? You're going to fail a lot during beast, don't start before.

For RSR, we are not saying the candidate is a bad person and be punished, we are pushing them in the right direction. His or her appointment will most likely not be rescinded, but they shouldn't even be having to ask that question. Constructive criticism is good.

All that being said, for the OP, work your butt off to make your grades better starting right now going all the way through finals. That is all you can do, and that is all you should do. You have enough to stress about, so get this one off the list. Keep your head up and work hard.