<p>If everything else is amazingly strong, 1 C isn't going to break you. It will however lower your app strength, but not to the magnitude that your counselor is making it out to be.</p>
<p>A C+ is not the end of the world.
I assure you that there are a number of people at top colleges who had a C+ or two and still got in fine.
Was there any specific reason you got a C+? If so, you could most definitely explain it in your college apps. Apart from that, how are your other grades?
All is not lost. My brother had a D and a few C's even, but made it up towards the end of junior year and first semester of senior year. He had extremely high SAT scores and solid essays, and is now attending WashU in St. Louis (who would have thought?!).
I'd say your counselor is being a tad bit pessimistic. A C+ won't totally kill you.</p>
<p>I got into several top-ten LACs with a C+ in physics. What you need to do is <em>explain</em> it. There's a section in the Common App where it asks if you want to explain/say anything that hasn't been covered--use it. If colleges know that you tried your best and that it wasn't due to lack of effort, it strengthens your app that much more. It shows perseverance as well as a willingness to admit what your weaknesses are.</p>
<p>Who knows if a C+ is going to hurt you..... trying to figure out the admissions process will drive you insane. The fact is you have the C+, and no amount of fretting will change that. Do as well as you can in all the rest of your classes and apply where you would like to next year, and hope for the best! Good luck!</p>
<p>slee00: I have a couple of B's mixed with A's and A-'s. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, there really wasn't any real excusable reason I got a C+ besides the fact that I consistantly freaked out before math tests.</p>
<p>I suppose the reason my counselor was so pessimistic was because the school I attend is really competitive, many students get accepted at ivy leagues since many students get good grades on top of great everything else. She worries because there are students who could get into ivy league schools, but they apply to many other schools as well, "their safeties", which causes competition for the few students at our school like me.</p>
<p>farya: Thanks for the advice...I admit I don't really know how to explain it though since I did well on the SAT math as well as previous math classes</p>
<p>My son just got into 9 colleges for engineering all with strong programs. There is a c+ in geometry, B in precalc and at the time of admission a low b. Your SAT's are better. There are so many other variables at play. Review the stats on US News and you'll get a feel where your numbers lie.</p>
<p>If you go to one of the top boarding schools, (Andover, Exeter, Deerfield, Groton, Middlesex, Choate, Hotchkiss, Milton, Milton, Loomis, etc.) then a C+ isn't even that bad.</p>
<p>Def not a killer. I had a C+ and even a single D in math (granted, they were isolated to Freshman year), but I still was able to get into a top 10 school. As long as it looks somewhat like a fluke, it shouldn't keep you out of anywhere.</p>
<p>Well, there's nothing you can do about it now so just make sure that it is indeed -- A FLUKE -- and make sure it never happens again. As long as you've got other stuff going for you (ECs, URM status, Legs, athletics, etc), you'll be fine.</p>
<p>got like, 3 Cs junior year and a one or so freshman year, still got into a top 10 LAC and elite public schools (though i did have a health "excuse" for lower grades)</p>
<p>my friend had like, a 2.8 gpa, lowish SAT scores (1800 or so?) a D and a few Cs but got into RPI cuz he was a recruited athlete</p>
<p>one C does not kill you and for the most part colleges do not compare you to the others applying from your school except by class rank</p>
<p>if you want a school that is elite, looks past some grades and at the applicant and doesnt care how many they accept from a school look at CMC... its solid</p>
<p>Wow, this was so reassuring. I'm in the same boat as you! Got a C+ (C+ first semester, B second semester, averaged out to a C+) in Trig in 10th grade, and I have a B currently in Calc (11th grade). I switched from a higher level Trig class to the lower level Honors class (Honors is the lowest level at my school). So this is something I should mention on the app?</p>
<p>I guess the only thing to do now is work hard to improve!</p>
<p>While this is reassuring to all of us mortals, I would add that none of us (I'm in a very similar situation to many people- some of us just can't do math the same way we can do everything else) should let this mean we can be complacent. Even if one C doesn't hurt you, two C's will.</p>
<p>I can relate to you exactly man
i have perfect scores, grades, teacher recc.s, ap scores, and a 4.5 gpa
but i got one b+ in ap euro which got me so mad
look ;; one c+ will def. not hurt you, everyone makes mistakes
and if your transcript and sat scores and ec's are great, don't worry
you'll do fine</p>