I’m currently a junior and have been thinking about college and the application process quite a bit lately. So far, my classes this year are going well, including two APs, one college class, a dual credit, and other harder classes like precalc, chemistry, etc. I’ve also always been very involved in school, I am the Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper, member of student government, FBLA, have had a two-year internship, and I have lots of other current/past ECs, volunteer work, etc. Overall, I feel I have lots of strengths, such as my ECs, hopefully I will have strong essays when the time comes, and I’ll have good recommendations. I haven’t taken the ACT yet, but I’m anticipating somewhere around a 31-34 composite.
Anyways, what I am worried about is a class I failed last year. I failed the second semester of Algebra II because I took the second semester through BYU’s online program. (I had a lot of problems with my teacher first semester). I had a B all year in Algebra II up until the second semester final, which was nothing like what was in the BYU course and other students that took the final but had good grades throughout the course failed as well. It was a course where if you failed the final, you failed the entire course.
My counselor would not let us retake it. So, the second semester shows up as an F on my transcript thanks to that fiasco. Other than that, every year I have had all A’s and one B and this year is shaping up to be the same, too. Is this situation something I could explain to admissions officers or put on my application? Will it be a big red flag and prevent me from getting into “good” colleges? (I know “good” is up for debate, but in general a college with >30% acceptance rate). Or will sophomore grades not have a huge impact?
It has been really worrying me lately and any insight would be helpful. Thanks so much.
Well as long as you keep high grades, and preferably mostly A’s, in the rest of your classes throughout high school, the one failure shouldn’t matter too much, especially with all of your extracurricular activities.
^Umm no. Your GPA and test scores will be the most important factors. ECs will weigh little or none, despite what @MysticKiller74 said. Thankfully, you have your best years ahead to impress colleges. Colleges most view your achievement and course choices as a Jr and Sr. Good luck.
I think that you can still get into a good college.
I do think that the F warrants some explanation, and some evidence that you’ve actually learned the material.
Would you consider taking a standardized test such as the SAT II Math Level II that demonstrates your mastery of the algebra II and precalculus in June. Perhaps get a tutor to help you prepare for it. Khan Academy is supposed to be pretty good. I’m thinking that you can write an explanation in your application, and point to your SAT II score to demonstrate how you’ve overcome that failure.
Well, the F affects your GPA. It also can affect whether you meet a college’s minimum math requirements, although some colleges may accept a passing grade in a higher level math course or a high enough standardized test score in math to fulfill such a requirement.
A lot will depend upon where you apply. That F will have a bigger impact at larger schools that get 30,000 applications and mostly look at GPA. A smaller school that looks at applications holistically will take the time to see you had one bad grade and will look for an explanation, and will allow you a spot to explain in your application.
Strong ACT scores (especially the math) and a good math grade this year and first term senior year will go a long way towards making that semester look like an anomaly.
If you do well in precalculus and take SAT Math2 with a 700+, that F will have affected your GPA but shouldn’t be devastating. However, if you get less than a B in precalculus, that semester grade will read less like “odd one out there’s got to be a reason” and more like “lack of work/ability in HS math”.
