<p>Hi, I'm a sophomore in high school. Last year, I took Algebra II Honors, a junior level course. Before then I was a straight-A student, but this teacher is tough. He only grades tests and quizzes, and they are substantially harder than the homework assigned. My friends who were also used to getting As got Cs and Ds. He basically treats us as college students. I got a final grade of 85, so a solid B at a 3.0 unweighted/4.0 weighted GPA. Now I'm taking Trigonometry Honors, a senior course, but with the same teacher. Right now, I have a 69% in the class for this marking period and received a 79 the last marking period (without midterm). I have received math awards in middle school and I'm doing a lot better in my high school math competitions, but this class supports other ideas. I have straight As in all of my other classes and take Pre-AP/Honors in every class I take. My friends who got Ds in my math class last year are getting As in regular CP Trig this year, but it's too late for me to switch into this class. Next year I plan on taking Calculus 1 (we don't offer Honors in it for whatever reason) with Trig CP's teacher. </p>
<p>I have many extracurricular activities to which I am dedicated: Quiz Bowl, Student Government, Dance Team (third year), Drama (cast), Show Choir, French Club, Model UN, Math Team, Science Olympiad. I am applying to become a volunteer at a hospital this summer. I have been in dance classes for 10 years now. I also earned 3 college credits as a freshman by testing out of a freshman graduation course during the summer after 8th grade and got into an upper-level computer class. I have won 11 Science Olympiad medals since 6th grade in Regional and State competitions, ranging from 1st place to 4th place. I was also a middle school team captain my 8th grade year. My PSAT scores this year were CR: 58, Math: 59, Writing: 63. My book review was published in a magazine this past summer. I'm currently salutatorian of my class.</p>
<p>Would this year's grade greatly affect my chances of getting accepted at Duke, Johns Hopkins, etc.?</p>
<p>One class will not ruin your high school record that will contain 25-35 classes. You are a sophomore, so you have a long way to go. Don’t shy away from problems like this - in fact you should pursue more of them to better understand your strenghts and weaknesses. Duke and JHU are more likely to accept someone who has struggled yet found a way to succeed than someone who coasts with an easy 4.0 (and believe me, adcoms are skilled at knowing the difference).</p>
<p>It sounds like you have encountered the first significant challenge in your academic career. It is disappointing that you have responded by comparing yourself to students who are faring worse than you. It would be far more productive for you to compare yourself to those students who are achieving A’s in the class (there should be at least a couple of them) and try to understand their approach.</p>
<p>one grade won’t keep you out but you had better start working on those test scores, which can keep you out. A 590 is not a strong score for someone who considers himself/herself strong in math, and who has completed Alg II. (Alg II is not even tested on the psat, which is all Alg I and Geom.)</p>
<p>Put the energy you’re spending worrying about your grade into your work for the class. Find help. There are going to be people at your school who know Trig and will help you out – I know that if I was there, I would. One grade won’t keep you out, but if the colleges sense you worry more about your grades than you do about actually learning, THAT will. Work hard, and if that end up not being hard enough, work harder next year. Stop comparing your grades to others’ and don’t blame it on the teacher. No teacher wants their students to fail.</p>
<p>And yeah, work on those scores… those PSAT scores aren’t going to be high enough for the schools you are looking at. But you have time! Don’t be afraid to seek help.</p>
<p>Why not go talk to your teacher and figure out what you need to do differently? S was coasting along in math until 11th grade pre-calc. Suddenly, he started to get Cs for the first time on tests and realized that even though he was doing all the problem sets and getting the right answers, for some reason, that wasn’t enough for the tests. The teacher explained that this was not high school math any more - he was expected to understand the underlying concepts and apply them to problems that he hadn’t encountered before. It was a different way of learning math, a different way of studying. She really helped him rethink his approach to learning the material - and it has served him well all the way through college and into higher level math courses. </p>
<p>Consider this your opportunity to relearn how to learn math. And ask your teacher for guidance on how to make that leap. He or she has probably seen students like you before - good math students - who don’t ‘get’ what they need to do for higher level math.</p>
<p>guy1234 - where did you find that JHU has a minimum GPA? I don’t know any schools that publish, or consider in any way, such a cutoff.</p>
<p>A lower GPA will certainly make admission more challenging but it can be offset to a large extent by a rigorous curriculum or other highly attractive factors.</p>
<p>Same thing with new except it’s Spanish and I’m already bilingual so it’s a bit hard for me. I have a c in that class and ask other As. I recommend you to go online and get help for math. It’s only going to get harder</p>