I have had around a C or D average this year in my Geometry Honors class. I’m only a sophmore but I was wondering if this will look bad if I want to attend an Ivy League university.
I’m a solid A student in everything else, and I do not intend to to major in math. I will have taken 4 years of all my core subjects (Honor’s and AP’s)
<em>I will have taken 6 AP classes and 11 Honors classes by the time I graduate</em> So someone PLEASE tell me if this “D” will haunt me and if it makes a diffrence on my transcript if I am applying to an Ivies (Dartmouth in particular)
<p>Sorry. You might as well forget about Dartmouth and any other Ivy. If you are getting D's, Ivy League is NOT the place for you. I am sorry if I come off as harsh but there is a REASON why the Ivy League is the Ivy League... and it sure isn't because they accept students who make D's!!</p>
<p>It seems to me that very, very few applicants to the top Ivies - Harvard, Princeton, Yale - have received anything under a B or B+ in any given course. That being said, if there were extentuating circumstances - and the grade was not due to a lapse in study habits, or something of the sort -Dartmouth may be forgiving. If you look at the Dartmouth RD roster, there is a tendency for the average GPA and test score to be slightly lower than those for some other Ivies.
That being said, your application may be "tossed out" at those schools who rely most heavily on the numbers - the Ivies, a few of the top LACs. Even now, I would suggest turning your attention to liberal arts colleges where the emphasis is not necessarily on the quantitative - where a lapse may be forgiven if the applicant has exhibited, as you no doubt will, an abiding interest in academics.
I know of a young girl who was admitted to Swarthmore with a C and C-; Bryn Mawr, Smith, Mount Holyoke, and Wellesley - by virtue of being women's schools, and thereby having a smaller applicant pool - may be more likely to overlook one grade. Sarah Lawrence, Hampshire, and Marlboro probably won't care. Kenyon, Earlham, Knox, Grinnell, and Bowdoin will probably be forgiving. Get A's in Algerbra II and Pre-calculus or AP Calculus, and you'll get into a great school (and hopefully Dartmouth) Good luck :)</p>
<p>i'm in the same boat. i have a C from freshman year Alg 2, and two other Bs on my transcript (math and chem) from soph. My gpa will definitely not be the best thing about my application. I think, though, that if you have significant strengths in other fields, an exceptional talent maybe, have demonstrated effort and dedication in other areas, get excellent teacher recommendations and test scores (make sure you study hard for an SAT II in math so that you can have effort and talent to show in this field despite one horrible grade in an academic course), then you might have good chances anyway. As stated in other threads, admissions seem to be very subjective. If everything else is spotless and outstanding in your application, then i doubt a D would reeeeaaaallly ruin your chances. Maybe i'm just indulging in some wishful thinking as a prospective ivy applicant. Otherwise it seems like solid common sense to me, i hope :/</p>
<p>The problem with doing so poorly in soph math is that it doesn't bode very well for jnunior and senior math. Lots of people who have no interest in math or science present good grades in the high school versions of those subjects when they apply to top schools, and a C or a D is pretty glaring; it also has a negative impact on class rnake, andeven high schools that do not officially rank often do keep track of deciles, which many colleges ask for becasue they like to know applicants' relative position in their class. Without considering ECs and other factors that might effect your application, I would suggest think about getting tutoing to bring up this year's math grade and also get started with extra math help early next year at the first sign of any trouble. With the applicant pools as strong as they are, I think you may be compromising your chances otherwise.</p>
<p>Yes, I think that having a D or even a C in math will hurt your application. If it's important to you to be able to attend a top ranked school,. I strongly suggest that you get tutoring and do whatever else you ethically can do to assure yourself of a higher grade.</p>
<p>SmartMex,
This C/D is a midterm grade? The year is only 2/3 over.You still can pull the grade up to a B-. Let your teacher know of your concern, and your struggle. Ask your teacher for extra help, get a private tutor if you can afford it, or find out if the National Honor Society students in your school can help you with extra coaching. (Most NHS students put in an obligatory number of volunteer tutoring hours ). Plus, nothing helps in math more than practice, practice, practice. Go over past material, do the reviews and problems over and over. Not everyone has a math aptitude, but give it your best shot.</p>
<p>There are a lot of great schools out there, don't get hung up on the "Ivy syndrome".</p>
<p>Wow that Amherst video shows me that pretigious colleges are damn selective- they rejected a straight A student because he got a B- in 10th grade! That's bloody crazy!!!
Those universities' standards/priorities are all wrong. Damn, rejecting a student because of a B-.. and in 10th grade!!! omg. thats so dumb. but then again i guess thats what makes these damn colleges so 'prestigious'. elitism</p>
<p>Nick,
What's dumb about the university's rejecting someone for a "B-" when due to space reasons, they'll have to reject many students with straight As?</p>
<p>They have to dig deeper into it than just a grade- the student they are rejecting might be a much better addition to the campus than the spotless record student.
Go into ECs for example, backround, essay or interests- not a grade. that is superficial and really is bad in the sense that the accepted kid might be a dull dumbass aside from grades and the other (I mean.. ONE B-?? pff) might be a very interesting sociable genius.</p>
<p>Anyway again, thats what elite schools have to do to be elite, I guess. although I do feel that lately the rat race (to the best schools) has become a little too populated, and the labyrinth has become doubly more treacherous.</p>
<p>Well looks like I can give up my dream of Cornell or Yale.. I really don't want to become part of this madness. And don't tell me otherwise: this high-ranking school stuff is madness. No other word for it.</p>
<p>Even when the high scoring, high grade, "dull, dumb jackasses" are removed from the pool, because of space reasons, there still are thousands more outstanding applicants that elite colleges must reject. This includes thousands of applicants with excellent grades, scores, ECs and very likeable personalities.</p>
<p>This is why when it comes to admission, relatively small details as well as trivial-seeming factors can make the difference between admission and rejection. Most of the elite colleges say that they could build an equally strong, well rounded class out of students whom they reject.</p>
<p>Yeah... it's all madness. I'm tired of this.. I want to aim for the top but frankly I've lost all hope that it'll get me anywhere. Looks like I'm gonna have to get mediocre grades, go to a mediocre college, and live a mediocre life. Not that bad, I guess. sigh</p>
<p>The choice is up to you. Clearly, you can choose to work harder and get better grades and ECs, but if you don't want to bother, that's your choice. People have fine lives without going to places like HPYS. People who go to HPYS are not guaranteed to have lives that are any more wonderful than are the lives of people who make other choices.</p>
<p>Maybe im just thinking like this because im tired.. tomorrow ill probably be like "Yale Yale Yale Yale"..
Im just feeling tired and discouraged. but thats ok. i guess you have to try hard in this world and fight your way to the top. thats the way its always been i guess.. peronally i would have preferred to stay in the womb, or not have been born a human at all. everything would be so much simpler..
oh well. since im here i might as well make the most of it.</p>
<p>Ok I have averaged it out and it appears I will have a "B- or B+" average by the end of the year. Believe me if you think you were harsh you should have seen the way I scolded myself. Will the 2 bad semesters be bad? I know out of all the Ivies, Dartmouth is one of the most down-to-earth one.</p>
<p>you're safe :) cheers to you on that. a B will do you no harm. looks like i'm still stuck with that C. is there any way to secretly repeat Alg 2 and have the grade overriden? Laughs. more wishful thinking. Otherwise, what would you make of a progression like this:
9th Alg2: C
10th Math Studies: B
11th Math Studies: A
summer(hypothetical) precal: A
12th AP Cal AB (hypothetical): A
i am willing to work my butt off if that's what it takes to redeem myself in the eyes of the college gods :/ Would this work?
thanks for your input. Sorry for using your thread, SmartMexicanGirl.....</p>
<p>i got a D soph year(legit excuse-but..)- straight As 11th/12, excellant ECs, national awards, 6 APs, and parent as a professor at princeton
am i screwed for princeton?</p>