All A's and a D.. what now?

Applying to College
1

<p>SAT: 520 math, 730 writing, 800 critical reading</p>

<p>My PSAT qualified me for some sort of merit recognition, probably commended. </p>

<p>SAT IIs: </p>

<p>English (expected): 700s
AP US History (expected): 700s</p>

<p>Fresh: 4.0/4.0</p>

<p>Soph: 4.1/4.1 </p>

<p>Junior:
AP English: A-
AP US History: A-
AP Studio Art: A
Honors Spanish 4: A-
Chemistry: B
Algebra II: C/D <-----------------------------</p>

<p>I'm guessing that's like a 3.8 weighted. =( </p>

<p>AP Scores:
AP English: 5
AP US History: 5
Summer school this summer for 2nd semester. </p>

<p>Senior Year:
Statistics
AP English
AP Studio Art
AP Environmental Science
AP Spanish Lit
AP Spanish Lang
Govt/Econ</p>

<p>No special circumstances ... I just am very poor in algebra II. Tried my hardest, but had an unfortunate mishap with my teacher. There was a problem with some makeup work, teacher decided to make me take a makeup test to replace 2 missing tests, I wasn't prepared, failed horribly, the end. =( </p>

<p>Good extracurriculars.</p>

<p>What sort of schools do I stand a reasonable chance at? I was not expecting my algebra grade to drop so low.</p>

<p>I'm really not sure of what to do, because my strengths are so polarized, and my failure in algebra this semester. If it helps, my school counselor absolutely adores me. </p>

<p>UC Berkeley?
UC Los Angeles?
UC San Diego?
UC Davis?
USC?
NYU?
Boston University?
University of Arizona?</p>

<p>Should I even bother applying to:</p>

<p>Duke? (visited it)</p>

<p>Help. =( </p>

<p>Any ideas? Undeclared major, very interested in international relations, economic development in 3rd world countries, languages, art, environmental studies...</p>

2

<p>I think you can still get into UCSD and UCD for sure if the rest of your application is good, but Cal and UCLA will be reaches. I think you can get into USC also cause they look at SATs more, in my opinion. I'm not really sure about NYU, Boston University, or University of Arizona since I did not apply to them. And for Duke, I would still apply there if I were you, cause why not, you have nothing to lose.</p>

3

<p>u should be in a at Zona, BU...NYU will be problematic. With the math score as it is, you would probably stand a good chance at GSP.</p>

4

<p>What is GSP?</p>

5

<p>wow...looking at your stats is like looking in a mirror but with better english...I FAILED MATH JUNIOR YEAR TOO! I go to Berkeley, so, yeah...talk about it in your personal statement...</p>

6

<p>retake the SATs to bump up math...possibly write a letter explaining your poor math performances?</p>

7

<p>I got into UCLA and NYU with scores very similar to yours. Try to get that math score up and write some killer essays.</p>

8

<p>I think you need to evaluate why you did poorly in math -- both your SAT math score and you grade in algebra II show that you have a problem. </p>

<p>Figure out what the problem is -- it could be that you lack a good foundation in basic algebra (just because you got an A in a class doesn't mean you learned it). then come up with a way to solve the problem. maybe a tutor, on online class, a community college class, etc. There are tons of online math classes/coaches that you can do.</p>

<p>retake the SAT and score higher on the math.</p>

<p>write an essay about how you overcame your problem.</p>

<p>then -- it becomes a positive instead of a negative</p>

9

<p>Discuss that "unfortunate mishap." </p>

<p>You seem to be a generally strong student all around besides that incident.</p>

<p>At UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UC Irvine, holistic admissions are used, therefore if you have a strong personal statement/additional information, you can be forgiven for the D.</p>

<p>You probably need to raise that SAT I math score though, in addition to a strong essay, if you want a shot a UC Berkeley or UCLA.</p>

10

<p>Also, make up that D in a community college. Then when you fill out your applications, you don't even say you got a D, you just put down the make-up grade. But your high school transcript won't change and colleges will still see that you got a D, but as long as you make it up, they won't be so harsh. And be sure to send them a letter or use essays to explain your poor math performance.</p>

11

<p>Hey i got an F at a community college because i never went to the class and never dropped it. Should i retake it at the commuinity college? I didnt even need the credit for the class!</p>

12

<p>NYU has a holistic admissions procedure, so you do have a chance at NYU...they really do seem to stress this point when I contacted them. Nevertheless, I still think you should do something such as making up that D in a community college or talking about what happened concerning your Algebra grade in the 'Additional Information' part of the application.</p>

13

<p>Bouncy, the issue is not 1 D. It is the D combined with the 520 SAT score which will tell a college you have significant difficulty with math and probably other quantative areas. Chances are this could be a learning disability which might be helped with a different kind of teaching. Something to look into.</p>

<p>The UCs are nmbers driven, and I think you will have a hard time gaining acceptance at the top few. There are a lot of distribution requirements they need to know you can make it through. Your SAT math will also make duke and USC major reaches.</p>

<p>If you have time and the resources this summer, see if you can find a specialist to help you see if another approach to learning math might help you. Then you can retake the SATs and have a good story to tell in you application.</p>

14

<p>Lol, maybe the kid's just bad at math? It's not neccisarily a learning disability. Against the national average a 520 is quite reasonable, and a D is Algebra II hardly means that you have a problem. Jesus Christ.</p>

15

<p>Youll be fine at BU and Zona</p>

16

<p>Ace next year's math class, and you might be better off than if you had aced the junior math class.</p>

<p>As for Duke, if the larosse trial gets ugly, then they might be begging people to come to Duke.</p>

17

<p>thank you for all of the suggestions/advice!</p>

<p>I don't think that a learning disability is the problem ... I get pretty depressed sometimes but I'm not ADD or anything. Algebra II in particular has just been really hard for me (with a lot of effot, I pulled off A-'s in geometry and algebra I). I had a bad experience in middle school with my algebra classes because my parents forced me to take the advanced level math all three years (because at my high school, you can't take advanced science if you aren't in advanced math), even though it was obviously too hard for me. As a result I did very poorly, despite a ton of studying, felt awful, didn't learn much, etc...</p>

<p>Should I mention this in my application at all? I don't want to sound like I'm whining, but I have no idea if that is an appropriate thing to include.</p>

<p>if i take the semester of algebra II that i failed over again at summer school, is that the same as taking at community college? does it matter whether i take it over at community college or summer school (i.e: is community college better?)</p>

<p>According to my counselor, taking it at summer school will "replace" the old grade (as in when I report my grades, I report the summer school grade), but on my actual transcript it will remain the same. does community college change the grade on the transcript?</p>

18

<p>Does your school have grade forgiveness? My school does, and one of my friends retook pre-calc (got a D even though he got A's in math up until that point) and got an A which is what went down on the transcript that UF looked at. His GPA still suffered, but UF didn't see the D on the transcript, which I'm sure helped.</p>

19

<p>Begging students to come to Duke?</p>

<p>ummmmmmmmmmmm kay. Whatever. I'm not even going to go there.</p>

<p>But I would call the schools and make up the class over the summer. At my school, if you get a D the grade you get in summer school replaces it.</p>

20

<p>I'm trying to figure out how BU snuck on that list</p>