Sophomore year is coming to a close and I am trying to get my grades up! I am aiming for A’s in most of my classes, and I’m doing pretty well except for AP Chemistry. My school is divided into four marking periods. I got a B- (79.6 and 80) for the first and second marking periods and a C (76.4) for the third marking period. As of right now, I have a B- (80). I need to get at least an 82 to have a B-. The only grades that need to go in are two mock AP tests that my class took before the AP exam. The mock test had a curve, and I did pretty decent so I’m hoping it raises my grade. If that doesn’t raise my grade, I am relying on my score on the AP exam. My teacher said that if anyone passed the AP exam, he would change our average. It sounds pretty impossible but it has happened to an upperclassman I know and the principal is aware of it. I took it today and oh my, I do not think I passed. I strongly believe that I got a 2.
Anyways, my question is if my overall grade in AP Chemistry does not increase to some form of B and I end up with a C+ on my transcript, how is it going to affect my chances of getting into nursing programs at universities?
AP Chemistry is the only subject I plan on having some type of C in, by the way. I’m usually not a C student, I’m an A- to A type of student. I have a 3.6 unweighted GPA and a 4.4 weighted GPA. I am ranked #27 out of 329 in my class (Top 10%). I have not taken the SAT and ACT yet and I am planning to take both in junior year.
Dude chill. A few Cs throughout your high school don’t matter much. Just focus on keeping the rest of your grades up because you are obviously able and competent. What should matter the most to you is to live up to your potential.
Dumb parent question here: Have you gone to you AP chem teacher and had a talk with him about this? To ask him how you could better prepare, and let him know you are a serious and dedicated student?
I am not sure how I feel about your teacher adding your AP score back into your average, but it shows that he knows his success will be judged by yours. Take him up on it and ask him for extra help to get you both where you want to be.
My experience is some of these AP teachers know they have the gifted students (like you!) who will only work as hard as they need to, so they grade extra hard so the kids work harder, the result of which is more 5s on the AP test, which looks good for them and the school.
If I were you, don’t even THINK about worrying. AP Chem is pretty advanced for a Sophomore. My friend got C’s in math all through his high school career and still got accepted into Harvard. Don’t sweat about it!
Oh my god, really?! That’s insane! Congrats to him! My guess is that everything else was absolutely phenomenal, like his standardized test scores. How did he do it?
Yes, that is true! I did take regular chemistry, though. My school district is strange compared to others, for one takes physics in eighth grade if they are “advanced” and I was one of those students. These types of students take chemistry in ninth grade and biology in tenth grade as well as advanced math courses.
Don’t worry, I don’t think your question is a dumb one. Unfortunately, I already took the AP exam so doing any of this wouldn’t really work. I did do this before, though. Once every few days, I would go to my teacher’s room after school with my Barrons book and study and ask him any questions I wanted. He was happy to see me studying! I hope he could tell I really worked hard, and I really hope I passed!
No, unlikely to have an impact for most colleges. This sounds like a viable idea for a college-admissions essay-- “What I learned about myself when, as a sophomore, I was running scared over a C+.”
@shadyconcepts - Thanks! By the way, how was your pre-calc experience, the experiences of your classmates, and your class as a whole? I’m enrolled in algebra 2 honors right now and I am going to go to summer school to take pre-calculus honors over the summer. I’m a bit nervous to take pre-calculus…
