Informing Admissions of a Weak Grade

LOTR2000

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Jul 19, 2018
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While attending NASS, I missed an entire week of school. The policy at our HS is a zero for every physical education/health class missed, but it can be made up by attending another class later in the semester. I missed 2. When I returned from NASS, I was overwhelmed with work, which I tackled and completed. I prioritized AP classes/honors classes. I knew from the beginning that I would not have the time to make up all the classes since there were only 4 days until finals. Knowing that I would take my lumps somewhere, I decided it would be Health class (does not contribute to GPA). This earned me A's in honors/AP's but a B minus in Health. Looking back, I should have made up the classes before I left, but not entirely sure that is allowable. My question is- should I send an email to admissions explaining this?? I keep going back and forth on this. My BGO and a family member who attended USNA have both told me not to worry about it so much, and to NOT contact admissions but this bothers me.
 
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A B- isn’t going to doom you, if you have an otherwise stellar record. You were right to prioritize AP classes, as they mean the most to the academies. I agree with the advice that you shouldn’t bring this up, as it may be a mere blip if the rest of your application package is strong.

Now, that said, the academies value proactive, forward-thinking individuals who can handle stressful situations. An academy admissions coach told my DD to use high school to put herself in high-stress situations and then demonstrate to the academies how she thrived in that context. That mimics the academies and the military.

In your case, yes, you should have handled things better. NASS was not a surprise and you should have planned more smartly by taking initiative. I don’t think the outcome is fatal to your chances, but learn from it. Best wishes.
 
My BGO and a family member who attended USNA have both told me not to worry about it so much, and to NOT contact admissions but this bothers me.

Relax. You’re going to trust a bunch of strangers on the internet over two people who you actually know have a clue of what they’re talking about? This forum is great but it isn’t everything. Let it go, don’t worry, move on to more important things.
 
If you’ve mentioned it to your BGO, he/she can include it in the interview write-up if the BGO thinks it important. I agree that a B- in Health is not going to be an issue. Even at USNA you have to make tough decisions and may not always be able to do your very best at every element they throw at you. You prioritize and do your best under the circumstances.
 
Some kids would kill for a B-
For get about it.
 
Don’t call admissions. If I was a BGO in this situation with a candidate trying to tell me about a B- in PE or whatever it is and I got the list of items you mentioned here would be my comments...

How long did you know you were going to NASS session 1? Why didn’t you handle this before you left? You mentioned you didn’t you know if you could... well you didn’t ask the question so you don’t know. You will learn the phrase quickly in the military... what is the worst they can do... say no? Did you offer alternate solutions? Did you even speak to your health teacher to see what could be worked out?

In the end you made your choice of priorities. And sometimes that is as good as it gets. In about 8 weeks a bunch of new Plebes will be learning this exact lesson as they figure out how to handle academics, military obligations, PT, pro knowledge, sleep.
 
So now you know:

1) Be proactive...make up work before hand if you can
2) You were right in prioritizing your core classes
3) B- is not horrible
 
Perhaps your lessons learned can be incorporated in your application essays.
Learn from this choice and apply what you learned
 
^^ Or......just move on as others above have mentioned and don't continue to needlessly draw attention to your situation. You simply invite more questions about why you didn't do a better job of planning.
 
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