Do schools often ask for Fall term M.A marks, if they come out after the deadline?

[Canuckonomist]

I think the title is the real question, but for schools like Columbia and UPenn with a deadline of December 15th, or NWU with a deadline of Dec 31st for appplications, do they usually ask students currently enrolled in their master's for fall term marks? Should one send them anyway? I wager they'll be quite influential on a few decisions for me this year (assuming I do well in Micro and Metrics)

 

Cheers,

 

Canuck.

[hubrishedge]

In my experience, you do want to send your info in. I applied to 15 places, and all had some mechanism for getting your fall grades in after the deadline. Several places even required it.

 

Particularly if you do well in Micro and Metrics, this is good news for you :-). Good luck.

[italos]

It depends what your MA LOR writer says in the letter.If you ask for a LOR from someone from your MA in November then probably s/he will write you a LOR but it is quite possible to write that you have exams in January.S/he will could provide more information once marks are out.Actually I do not see any other reason or way for a MA professor give you a LOR just knowing you for only 2 months without any formal assessment. This is what happened to me and I known from a friend that UB asked his first term marks.But if you are uncertain on your profile or you are confident you do well then write it down on you SOP and send them your marks once they are out.Some schools have an explicit requirement .The University of Cambridge always asks for master's mid term marks!

[asianeconomist]

Yale has a formal "Fall term grade report" form whereby you record your fall grades and append it to your application. I guess you have to provide formal proof of these grades when you enroll.

[nash12]

I would say it is not necessary. My main referee taught me two courses in the fall. He wrote a letter for me even before the final semester exams had taken place. He judged me on the basis of mid-terms, assignments and class interaction. And eventually I didn't end up sending the fall grades. It worked fine for me. I think more important than your fall grades, if you can muster a good letter from Queen's in the three months before the applications are sent out, saying something like you're one of the top students of your batch, it will really boost your application.

[Canuckonomist]

Having done my undergraduate at Queen's, I've already procurred my reference letter writers. My Grad Metrics and Micro profs aren't well-known, so no use getting a letter directly from them. If I can get midterm marks, I'll show them to my current writers and ask them to add comments to my letters.

 

I'll also send updated copies of fall marks to schools when they come out, too, I suppose. It couldn't hurt (unless the marks are bad, of course.)

[can_econ]

I don't think most schools require you to report them - however, most schools I applied to had forms as part of their online app that asked for a list of relevant courses and your grades in them. At UBC you should get all of your grades before January, so in time to put them on the form.

 

I'll mention too - some schools want you to have 2 reference letters from people who taught you at the grad level if you're currently in a grad program.

[reactor]

I don't think that you generally have to report them. Some schools ask them in case your case is borderline and they want to make you an offer or keep you in the waiting list instead of sending you a reject letter. Maybe, even if they don't ask for it, sending the (good-to-excellent) grades can increase your chances for an offer.

[Canuckonomist]

I suppose I ask, cause I'll likely want to report them. Thanks for the tips!