Athletic Recruitment and Subpar Grades for UPenn??

Athletic Recruits
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<p>Hello all,
The recruiting process for potential athletes is beginning soon, and today I just got my first letter from the UPenn coach expressing interest in my recruitment. I've been communicating with him every so often, so he is aware of my stats and is currently waiting for updates on my standardized test scores. I cannot begin to express how excited I am to even be a candidate for consideration, however, I must confess. I am terribly afraid that my grades will not allow me to be recruited. I think my standardized test scores are ok (I am going to submit only the ACT since my SAT I is much weaker) but this year I took the IB program and suffered a setback in my GPA. Please see below for my classes this year:</p>

<p>IB Chemistry HL
IB Biology SL
IB English HL
Newspaper staff (the only school-related extracurricular I could take since I have to immediately leave for club practice after school)
IB Chinese SL
IB Mathematics HL
IB History of the Americas HL</p>

<p>Prior to this year, I took all AP and Honors classes and got all As except for one B (a high B too). This has stayed constant since freshman year, and I ranked solidly within the top ten of my grade (of approx. 600 students). However, this year I only managed to keep mostly high Bs (the B range in my school is above 86% and below 93%) and a few As. I dropped to 13th in my school and my GPA fell significantly. I was told that for IB these grades were acceptable, especially considering that I attend club practice everyday from 4-7 pm, but the class that suffered the most was my math. I have never been especially good at math (it was the class I always got Bs in) but this year, it dropped from a high B to a disgraceful D (D range is 79-70%). In all honesty, I feel like taking the class was a mistake of mine: I am in the accelerated math program at my school, where 11th graders would be taking Calc instead of the normal PreCalc, and since the only IB math class (SL) taught PreCalc, it seemed obvious enough to take the class that would teach the next step in my math studies (HL). I will honestly say that I struggled in that class. IB in itself is hard, but I have never...the material was difficult, the teacher was strict, and a lot of my classmates were the talented mathematicians who would get 100s on their tests in Honors classes, so it was pressuring as well and I took a huge hit to my self-confidence. And the thing is, I do not feel as if my math is even that terrible. On my first ACT it was a 31, which was decent, and I just took the AP Calc AB exam and thought it was perfectly fine. That is how I feel, but obviously, my grades don't show it.</p>

<p>My school has a good relationship with UPenn and I was told UPenn looks highly on IB students, but I am so afraid that because of my math, even my recruitment into a sports team will not help me get into UPenn. School has not ended yet so I still have a chance to improve the grades that will go on my transcript, but could anyone shed some light as to whether or not a poor grade in one subject will completely ruin chances of admission, even with recruitment boosting my chances?</p>

<p>Note: Also, I am an ethnic minority, although I am not sure if that will help much. </p>

2

<p>This was a little hard to follow. Are you currently a 10th grader or an 11th grader? Pretty important to have that information before the folks here can advise you.</p>

<p>Is the D in math this year? But, the year isn’t over yet, there is still a final yes?</p>

<p>You are an ethnic minority…
Ok, it won’t help if you are Asian, but would if you were African American, Hispanic or Indian.</p>

<p>Charles</p>

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<p>In my experience on this web site and others, a “D” final grade is enough to sink your chances.at an Ivy. My suggestion would be to take responsibility and try to remediate the situation (go to guidance, talk to your parents, get a tutor, self tutor with Khan Academy, summer school, etc…) if UPenn is your dream school. UPenn is going to continue to recruit you until they determine you don’t meet their academic or athletic requirements. Don’t let this one thing hold you back.</p>

<p>Ivys like students who challenge themselves and succeed. Except for one class, you’ve done both. I’d try to minimize that one blemish on your student record by doing anything necessary. JMO. </p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

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<p>I already use a tutor but it hasn’t helped much :frowning: the problem is that the tests r super hard so she is supposed to give us a curve as almost everyone fails, but she goes off of one person who is this crazy math genius and thus doesn’t give us a curve and everyone just ends up with raw grades. I don’t want to blame the teacher but it just made things a lot harder. </p>

<p>And unfortunately, I am Asian. :frowning: but I am also extremely good at english and writing, so in terms of standing out I have an advantage in that field. I never thought that one single bad grade would completely destroy my chances…I’m not considering a career dealing with math, so I never thought it would have that much of an impact. Would having good math grades in standardized tests alleviate my math grade and make things look better?</p>

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<p>Any “C” or “D” on your transcript is going to add significant risk to you recruiting and possible eventual application to the school. That is not the way you want to stand out whether you have great standardized scores or not.</p>

<p>I’m no expert, but I’ve been on website for 5+ years as an observer and poster. One grade has the potential to break you if you don’t try to do something about it. This website is littered with such stories. I’ve heard of situations where a “C” has killed an athletic recruits chances at an Ivy or highly competitive LAC. It happens all the time. With acceptance rates between 7-15% it is extremely difficult to make the cut at these schools. You have an opportunity to do something about it.</p>

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<p>So the fact that the math class is IB and a high level class will not help me in this situation?</p>

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<p>JMO…Probably not if your final grade is a D… If a C, then a lot will depend on your athletic talents relative to the other recruits . A “C” on your transcript is still not a great position when seeking Admission to the most competitive schools in the world. You’ve got to have full support from the Coach to hopefully push you through Admissions. If there is another recruited athlete (at your position) with equal talents and better grades then it may not work out for you. Make sense?.</p>

<p>As I said, it is best to try to fix this now rather than later. I hope it works out for you. Good luck </p>

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<p>Wait. 13th in his/her class and 31 ACT and recruited athlete at Penn (arguably most lenient Ivy)? Your AI is going to be pretty good. The D is for sure bad and I"m not sure how you’re 13/600 with a D, but if you’re really ranked 13 and have a 31 and a high value recruit I don’t think all is lost. Still, whether or not you’re good in math you have to fix that D. HS math, right, not linear algebra or differential equations? Good luck</p>

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<p>Not sure if you answered the question, are you a junior or sophomore?</p>

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<p>I’m a junior! And our class ranks come from past year averages and the primary reason why I am not lower in rank is because my past 2 yrs had high GPA and grades. I think there’s a good chance that my grade average in math (what goes on my transcript) will be a C, but a D is possible as well. I have been in contact with the coach for several months now so he’s aware of who I am and what I do. In terms of roster, I am not the best athlete but I would be near the top (not counting other freshman recruits)</p>

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<p>Also IB HL math is similar to AP Calculus, but there is no MC and everything is in an open ended format. I don’t want to say it is harder, but in my school it is considered the hardest math course. </p>

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<p>I may have missed it, but what sport are you being recruited for?</p>

<p>DD (Darling Daughter) has a former high school team mate who was recruited and matriuculated to Penn. Her academics were on the lower end of the AI. She had a great season in her sport, but is transferring to another school in September. Just wasn’t a good academic fit.</p>

<p>Best of luck to you. </p>

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<p>I don’t think a C is deal breaker, but cast a wide net.<br>
Let me repeat, cast a wide net.</p>

<p>You are swamped at school with a very, very demanding schedule,
but when school ends, after your last final, start writing letters to a bunch of schools.</p>

<p>It’s flattering to get attention from a coach, but they are also flattering other kids too.</p>

<p>Charles</p>

14

<p>It really depends. I know a Harvard recruit who was committed but then got a D and Harvard said “never mind”, and he did end up at Penn.</p>

<p>I agree 100% with “cast a wide net” based on whether you definitely want to play in college and your academic target. Sports will get you into a better school than without sports.</p>

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<p>Is it possible for you to withdraw from this class? Perhaps retake over the summer or next year?</p>

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<p>Thank you all for replying. Currently I’m trying my best to get my grade average up, and hopefully when my standardized test scores come out (like AP Calc) I’ll have a good enough score to show that my math isn’t really bad, it is the class that is that difficult. Unfortunately, this is IB so there is no way to make up for it. As far as I know, my SAT and ACT math scores are not bad at all, so hopefully that can alleviate some of damage caused by my low math grade.</p>

<p>Can anyone answer for certain if having one really bad grade/subject (my math grades in the past were not bad but definitely not strong, got like low As high Bs in honors classes) will really ruin my chances of acceptance? I definitely do have the sport on my side and I think the coach is aware of my math problem, so hopefully I can have some chance. </p>

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<p>Btw IB math HL is a two year course, so I will be taking the second part of the course next year with a different teacher.</p>

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<p>No one can answer with certainty except the Penn Admissions Committee when you submit your application to them. Welcome to wonderful world of Ivy Admissions. </p>

<p>There have been many people before you that sweated it out and got accepted and many that were not accepted that did just fine elsewhere. Keep plugging away, try to put your best foot forward with many schools, and say a little prayer every night! ;-)</p>

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<p>I got a D in an AP course (a 5 on the exam though), and Penn accepted me without being recruited for sports. I don’t know what you mean you can’t “make up for it” because IB will consider retakes, though they won’t guarantee it. If your school won’t let you retake, you might be able to retake it elsewhere (but it would cost money).</p>

<p>Did you run the AI calculator from Tier One to see what your AI would be with your worst possible scenario?</p>

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<p>Depends on the sport and how good you are in it. I know a football player who got in without a B average from a top private high school, and with 1100s in the two part SATs. But he was heavily recruited in a sport that has some clout. Some swimmers I knew who made the times and the coach wanted them, had to retake SATs twice to get around 1400 (2 part) before they got the thumbs up. Their grades were good. </p>

<p>If you are world class in a sport Penn cares about, your grades might still keep you in the running. But otherwise, I think you are done. A D in non BC Calc is usually a sinker. And that 's what you 've got. </p>