The Midyear Report: Why Senior Grades Still Decide Deferred and RD Applications

By Dr. Lee, international college admissions advisor · Updated November 6, 2026

Many seniors assume that once applications are submitted, grades stop mattering. They do not. Selective colleges ask your school for a midyear report with your first-semester or first-trimester grades, and for a deferred early applicant those grades are often the most important new information in the file. Here is what the report is, when it goes out, and what to do if a grade slips.

What the midyear report is

The midyear report is a form your school counselor submits, separate from the school report that went with your application. It includes your grades for the first half of senior year, an updated transcript, and space for the counselor to note any change in your record or circumstances.^[4] On Common App it is a distinct counselor form; some colleges, such as Harvard, also publish their own version.^[1]

You do not send it yourself. Your job is to make sure your counselor knows which colleges need it and that your grades are worth sending.

Think of it as the second half of your transcript. The application showed your record through junior year; the midyear report shows whether the most demanding year of high school went the same way.

Who needs to send one

• Regular Decision applicants to most selective colleges. If a college requires it, its requirements page or your applicant portal will say so.^[4]
• Deferred early applicants, almost always. Penn's deferral FAQ tells deferred ED applicants they will be required to submit a midyear report.^[2] Michigan requires one for postponed early applicants when grades are available before mid-February.^[3]
• Admitted early applicants, at many schools. An admission is conditional on your senior record, and colleges routinely receive your midyear and final grades even after you are in.

When it goes out

Counselors send the report once first-semester grades are final, usually in late January or February.^[4] Schools on trimesters may send first-trimester grades earlier. Ask your counselor in early January:

• When do first-semester grades become final?
• When will you submit midyear reports, and to which schools?
• Will you note anything about my record, such as a course change or a difficult semester?

Why it matters so much for deferred applicants

A deferred application is reread in the regular round. Everything in it is already known except what happened after November: your senior grades, any new results, and your counselor's update. Strong grades in your hardest courses tell the committee the record is still rising. A dip invites the question the deferral was already asking.

Some schools give deferred applicants other ways to add information. Princeton's guidance on our school page suggests sending meaningful updates such as strong midyear grades,^[5] and Duke lets deferred applicants who applied without scores add them before February 13.^[5] Time any update letter to go out after your midyear grades, so the two arrive together. Our deferral week-by-week plan lays out the timing.

A note of perspective: research on Ivy-Plus colleges found that high school GPA separates applicants less well than test scores, largely because almost everyone in the pool has excellent grades.^[6] That is exactly why a drop stands out. The midyear report rarely wins an admission on its own; it can easily cost one.

A simple timeline

• October–December: keep grades steady; address any problem course early.
• Early January: confirm with your counselor which schools need a report and when it will go out.
• Late January–February: counselor submits reports; deferred applicants send any update letter.
• February: check each applicant portal to confirm the report arrived.
• June: counselor sends a final transcript to the college you will attend.

If a grade slips

• One B in a hard course is not a crisis. Do not drop the course to avoid it; a schedule change is more visible than a grade.
• A broader decline needs context. Ask your counselor to address it in the report, and make sure the second semester shows recovery.
• A failing grade or a dropped core course should be discussed with your counselor right away, and an admitted student should contact the college directly rather than waiting for it to notice.

If your school does not use semesters or letter grades

International and some U.S. schools do not fit the semester model. Colleges are used to this, but the report needs to make sense to a reader who has never seen your school's system:

• Trimesters or quarters: the report usually includes whatever grading periods are complete by January or February.
• IB or A-Level programs: there may be no official grade until final exams. Counselors often send predicted grades or internal assessment results instead; ask what your school will send.
• National curricula with exams in spring: mock exam results or term reports can stand in. Make sure the counselor explains the scale.
• Schools that do not rank: that is common and not a problem; the counselor's school profile explains it.

What the counselor can add

The report has room for the counselor to comment. That space is useful for context the grades alone do not show: a course change, a medical leave, a family move, or an unusually demanding schedule. It is not the place for a second recommendation. If you need context added, ask early and give your counselor the facts in writing.

After the midyear report: the final report

In June, your counselor sends a final transcript to the college you enroll in. Offers can be withdrawn for a serious academic decline or for conduct: in 2017, Harvard rescinded offers to at least ten admitted students over offensive messages in a private online group, citing its right to withdraw an offer over behavior that calls an admitted student's "honesty, maturity, or moral character" into question.^[7] Keep your work steady until graduation.

Midyear report checklist

• [ ] Keep first-semester grades steady in your hardest courses.
• [ ] In early January, ask your counselor when reports will go out.
• [ ] Tell your counselor about any circumstance that affected your semester.
• [ ] If deferred, send any update letter after midyear grades are in.
• [ ] Check each applicant portal in February to confirm the report arrived.