My junior year just ended, and for the most part, final grades are in. Our school grading system had a mishap, and our grades were all inflated and messed up. I thought I had a decent GPA, 3 A’s, 3 B’s with 2 AP’s and an honors. Until today. I checked the grades and saw a C+ in math. Math is my worst subject by far, and at my old school, they didn’t teach it and I got A’s without doing anything at all. I have never gotten a C in high school but I think there is little chance of it changing, unless my teacher curves our final. I worked my butt off in that class, turning in every single assignment and studying hours every night, but I just couldn’t get it. When I saw that grade I immediately started messy crying (sorry, but it’s true). This year has been terrible in many ways, and this was just the icing on the cake.
How bad is one C? Will colleges see that and immediately shake their heads? I have pretty stellar EC’s, but I don’t know if it’s enough. I can certainly kiss Emory goodbye, maybe I have a shot at Oxford College still, my cumulative GPA still is within the average of their freshman class.
Am I freaking out too much about this, especially since my grades aren’t set in stone yet? I feel like, if it turns out to be a C, it’s over. My freshman GPA was 3.67 UW, sophomore was 3.72 UW, 3.83 W, and this year… YIKES. 3.3 UW (if math is a C) and 3.67 W. My top colleges are UWashington, Emory (Emory College & Oxford College), UC Irvine & San Diego, and UNC Chapel Hill (it would be a HUGE reach under different circumstance, but I have certain circumstances that give my chance of acceptance a tremendous boost)
lol i also just got a C in AP chem as of 6:32 today. dont worry i think you’ll be just fine. its only one grade. if you usually get A’s and B’s colleges will look at the C as an outlier and might not even give it much priority. just watch me freak out about this tomorrow though and post another thread. i’ve gotten 3 C’s so far. AP chem first semster and second semester. unfortunately for us, the second semester counts double so…
If your grades-- and those so-important SATs mean that you have to look at other colleges, then that’s what you do. So breathe.
If you’re really concerned, go to guidance/college placement and ask whether you have a reasonable chance of making the schools you’re hoping for, or whether you should include some other schools on your list… and which ones would be achievable but comparable to the ones you already have.
Breathe. In. Out. It’s.not over. College acceptance doesn’t hinge on a single C.
What is more worrisome is that you wrote your oldvx school didn’t really teach math and you got A’s. Did you change high schools? The C is a wake up call that your math base is very weak and that will cause problems in subsequent math classes. As you are finding out now, your old school did not do you any favors by giving you easy As.
You may want to find a tutor over the summer to teach you the math you were never taught or learned.
I agree with @SlackerMomMD, although I think you may want to head over to Khan Academy and just see where you’re at in terms of understanding. It does an excellent job of explaining almost everything math related, up to linear algebra/differential equations. I’ve been using it this summer to teach myself a lot of the stuff I never learned in my high school classes for one reason or another, and it’s been an excellent resource.
Best of all, it’s free and doesn’t require any serious time commitment.
^^ Good idea. I never think of Khan Academy because, well, I find myself playing games on Facebook, surfing the web. - all the things I accuse my children of doing. I do much better in a person-to-person situation.
Do what works best. The key is to learn, review the math.
@SlackerMomMD@micmatt513 Thanks for your help! I actually used Khan Academy to prepare for my final. I wish I had discovered it sooner It’s very helpful. I think getting a tutor is what I need at this point, since I have to take precalculus next year and a lot of that is building on things I tried to learn this year.
@primapup8 don’t worry it’s not over! I got a C in my pre-IB physics class and I got into several good schools-including UVA and Gtown (I’ll be attending Georgetown) I know how you feel though because I was were you are last year-try and get all the help you can and just take a deep breath and smile
I still do think you need to be realistic though. Sure, 1 C won’t necessarily hurt you, but 1 C, with several Bs in your 9th, 10, and 11th grade actually shows more about where your academic ceiling is. For sure, grades are not what define you, but they are the most important component of your application. Moreover, of all the years, your grade in the Junior year counts the heaviest, which unfortunately is your lowest, regardless of the 1 C you got. You will really need to be super stellar at other aspects of your application to make up for your grades; or you simply need to expand your list to schools that are slightly less selective, but nonetheless will give you an excellent/awesome/amazing college education. But the only sure way of not getting in, is to not apply at all. So, you should definitely apply, but don’t get your hopes up too much, and apply to other places as well where you will be equally happy.
@mommdc I think I will be able to get some financial aid, because I have two siblings in college at the moment, one at UChicago and one at LMU. My sister was able to get 50% aid to LMU. But I’m a CA resident so I’m thinking of applying to UCSD, Irvine, SF, and Davis. I’m the 3rd of 4 kids so maybe that could help me get some more aid? Not sure.
@ohiopop I am thinking about that. When I put in my GPA, SAT and ACT scores into the SuperMatch tool, pretty prestigious schools keep popping up, like Carnegie Mellon and Johns Hopkins. I feel like that’s really unrealistic. How accurate is that tool? My ACT is 33 and my SAT is 2200 (800 on Writing and Critical Reading, 600 on math) and I’m not sure to what degree that will help me. I feel like it makes me look like I haven’t been trying, but that’s not the case at all.
Well it looks like you’re mostly just needing some help with math. Your other scores are excellent. Try to review during the summer with a tutor or online so you have a solid math base before you start college. Does your school offer a summer course?
Make sure to run some net price calculators on college websites to see how much your family would be expected to pay and ask your parents if that is realistic with three in college at the same time.
@mommdc I am already taking AP Biology over the summer so I don’t have room for an actual course, however I am going on Khan Academy every single day to prepare for Precalculus next year. I may be getting a tutor for a month, but I will be gone for most of the summer. If I am still struggling at the beginning of next year I will go to a tutor. I am not going to let history repeat itself
I think this is a concern, at least if you are shooting for elite schools. At some Ivies and other top schools (at the level of the ones you mention) a single C can make it so you need two reviewers to approve you being admitted instead of just one. While this is in no way a deal breaker, it does make the path harder.
It’s very helpful. I think getting a tutor is what I need at this point, since I have to take precalculus next year and a lot of that is building on things I tried to learn this year.