<p>I had a mix of A's and B's on my report cards throughout my high school year, except for up till now. I manage to get good grades in the 1st quarter of my senior year, but i got my first C in an AP class during the second quarter. i was sick during the second quarter, so I believed that the midyear report wouldn't be an accurate representation of my academic performance in school. What should I do at this point? any suggestions?(btw....its kinda depressing to get a C in an AP calculus BC class when i'm majoring in engineering. i hope I'm not gonna get rejected from all of the schools I applied to for that reason)</p>
<p>If you lack any strong hooks, I don’t think Dartmouth is realistic for you. There’s not really anything you can do too, as explanations/excuses really won’t be considered heavily, if at all.</p>
<p>you’ll be fine. I got in early decision and had a C in my english class for quarter one. As long as the long-term trends of your grades are good, it won’t affect you much. grades are only a foundation; ivy’s and other tops place more emphasis on your app as a whole rather than just scores.</p>
<p>@mooncake: same exact situation. first C in an AP class because of sickness. just wondering, is dartmouth’s mid year report optional? because that’s what my interviewer told me (unless they request it of you, of course). but i haven’t been contacted directly to send one in… have you?</p>
<p>If you are applying RD, then the midyear report is not optional. In fact, your RD application is considered incomplete without your mid year grades.</p>
<p>A really good friend of mine is an an oddly similar situation…she’s also going to be an engineer. I would say that first off, it’s a little late for details like that. They’ve probably already finished first reads. However, you can still send them something. I would ask your guidance counselor to send it, actually, that might give more credence to an explanation. But the worst that can happen is someone reads it and decides it doesn’t matter. They’re not going to blacklist you for sending them potentially relevant information, especially when they make such a big deal out of considering the whole application.</p>
<p>I will say this for Dartmouth admissions counselors: they actually do go through and read pretty much everything you send them. They spend a fair amount of time on each application. So sending them an explanation of why you got that C will not hurt you. If they’re on the fence about you, that explanation could push them over the edge.</p>
<p>Source: discussion with Monica Wilson(admissions director)/some of her lectures</p>
<p>Regardless, it can’t hurt to have your GC shoot them an explanation. Actually, he or she should have done so in the MYR, where it asks him/her to talk about your performance over the last semester, but if that wasn’t noticed, then I would definitely bring it to his or her attention ASAP and get something sent up to all of your schools about it. The worst they’re going to do is throw that in the trash, but it may well be taken as reasoning for your lacklustre performance.</p>