C in Calc?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi,
So i want to study engineering (biomedical, specifically) and it’s my junior year, I’m in Calc AB and it looks like I may get a C. Do I stand a chance at any of these schools? Even if I retake this first semester class? (I’m CO in state BTW)
CU Boulder
CO school of mines
UCSD
UCB
UCLA (my mom went there)
USC
UCI (my mom went there)
UWash (pre engineering program)

Do you all have any recommendations? Will the AP scores counteract my bad grade? Are there any other schools I should consider?
Thanks!

2

For the Mid-tier UC’s, one C may be OK but for UCLA/UCB/UCSD probably not. Much will depend upon your UC GPA at the end of Junior year, your test scores, EC’s and essays. UC’s do not consider legacy, so no extra help there.

I would do everything in your power to try and bump up the Calculus grade to at least a B to be competitive for BME at the UC’s and USC. Showing good scores for the AP Calc AB test will help along with SAT 1 Math score and SAT II Math 2 score but none of these are calculated into your UC GPA. Your UC GPA will suffer a bit.

http://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/

3

@Gumbymom Thank you! There’s a slight chance that there’s an opportunity for me to retake this semester, would that look bad on an application, or worse than the C? Thanks again!

4

If your school allows you to retake the C (many will not), then I do not think it will hurt your application. It does show you are willing to work hard for your grades.

5

Can you afford the UCs out of state? $50K/year.

6

You’re worried about the wrong thing here. You are not adequately learning calculus. It’s unlikely you’re going to get thru an engineering program anywhere unless you improve your study skills. Not only do the classes get progressively harder (and use lots of math), but the pace is much quicker right from the start. You are spending an academic year learning a subject covered in 10 weeks in a UC class meeting only 3x a week.

For many kids, advanced math classes are like the canary in the coal mine, revealing weak study skills. If the terms “distributed practice” or “retrieval practice” don’t mean anything to you, if you prepare for tests by reading thru the book and your notes, then you have room for improvement!

There is a book you should read over the Xmas break, “Making it Stick”. It covers the current research in learning and is loaded with advice for current students. You should also order the book “Calculus Problem Solver” which is part of a series of books with thousands of worked problems. As part of the retrieval practice mentioned above, use this book to work problem after problem until you get them right; once this happens, you’ll get them right on tests as well. 2 other links worth taking a look at are http://calnewport.com/blog/2011/04/28/on-becoming-a-math-whiz-my-advice-to-a-new-mit-student/ and http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/11/14/how-to-ace-calculus-the-art-of-doing-well-in-technical-courses/

7

Like some other kids we see here, the OP seems to be in denial.

The UCs currently offer zero aid for the OOS portion of tuition, and they are planning on eliminating need-based aid entirely for OOS kids.

8

My daughter daughter got a C in both Calc BC and Physics junior year. However she got a 5 on both AP exams and is currently getting an A in Calc 3 senior year.

She was accepted to both CU Boulder and CO Mines. She didn’t apply to the other schools you have listed.

9

@mikemac @“Erin’s Dad” not exactly what i asked. But thank you for the feedback, and yes, my parents said they are willing to pay that much.

10

@mikemac actually, while i do appreciate your comment, it’s because my teacher is kind of a ridiculous grader, he takes off 8 points out of a 10 point question for a dropped negative. And, I did a prep course over the summer and got a B+

11

@tigerss

You haven’t even told us what your overall GPA is weighted and unweighted, or your test scores. Who can tell your your chances without at least that information? Just asking about a C in Calc in a vacuum means nothing. No one should have even addressed the question without knowing those other things.

You are apparently contradicting yourself regarding the affordability of any of the UC’s by saying in one thread they cannot afford $55K a year (and that will only go up, btw) and you wouldn’t ask them to pay that, and now saying they are willing to pay that much. Apologies if I am wrong, but it sounds like the latter was a throw out line to try and get an answer to your question regarding the UC’s. It is relevant to talk about this if it makes the rest of the discussion totally moot.

Besides that, IMO, it would be absolutely foolish to pay that kind of money for a UC. Depending on those stats and the rest of your resume, you might be able to afford a private school that provides merit scholarships. If your stats are not good enough for that, then they probably are not good enough for the UC’s, at least the ones you want. Give us the fuller picture of your upcoming applications and people can give better advice, but based on what you have provided I would focus on CU Boulder and the School of Mines if I were you. Don’t know what UW has available for aid these days for OOS, but it is no cakewalk to get into either. We need those stats. GPA W and UW, # of AP courses in total, and SAT or ACT scores.