<p>I'm triple qualified and I have my nomination for USNA c/o 2014. the person in charge of congressional nominations in my area told me as a sophomore that as a senior I should take a really difficult AP class to get used to what failure is like because she said it will give me a reality check as to how hard life at the academy is. So I signed up for Calculus AP, arguably the most difficult AP at my school, knowing full well that I wasn't really qualified to take it because I had only taken pre-calculus (not honors) the previous year and gotten a B. I studied a lot for Calc... a lot and I struggled and ended up with a D. I just want to know if the Naval Academy is going to just flat out reject me now or do I still have a shot? The rest of my grades are good and overall I have a 3.9 gpa in my entire high school career.</p>
<p>Wow mate, that was not your best choice, but I mean it shouldn’t totally sink you. D’s never look good on any transcript, and I mean, there is not much to do at this point but wait and see. </p>
<p>For everyone else out there: The academy touts itself as being a place where 4.0 high school, 3 sport varsity athlete, 1st chair orchestra, student body president, eagle scouts come to experience failure for the first time. Sure it is hard, and your will experience a modicum of annoyance during plebe summer, but once you get in, you have to honestly give an effort to get kicked out of this place for grades. There are so many resources available, I mean, teachers are required to set aside 1 on 1 time with students. There is no need to drive yourself to get a D in a class that is way over your head to prepare for this place, it will help you along plenty once you are here.</p>
<p>Tommy-
I would suggest speaking to your guidance councelor and doing everything you can to switch to a regular calc class for the spring semester. </p>
<p>If that is not an option, speak to your teacher about getting extra instruction and do everything you can to get that grade up.</p>
<p>This not necessarily a deal breaker, but it is a yellow flag that you just don’t need waiving over your head.</p>
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<p>I hope you’ve learned your lesson: Never, EVER, take advice from a government bureaucrat on a topic they know NOTHING about.</p>
<p>First off, the statement assumes that you are an idiot that wouldn’t be able to pass AP Calculus anyway, so why bother recommending a guaranteed FAILURE to a person applying for a program where failure is decidely frowned upon?</p>
<p>Second, high school AP Calculus, at it’s absolute worst, is nothing to the stress and challenges faced by an uperclass Midshipman, let alone a Plebe.</p>
<p>The person who gave you that advice was a certifiable moron, which is probably why they work for a MOC rather than having a real job.</p>
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<p>Lesson II: Don’t leap before you look, and if you look and see a punch of jagged rocks below, DON’T LEAP.</p>
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<p>On the face of it, no, but you may have “some ‘spalnin’ to dooo”. Be honest. Tell them you took a course that was WAY ahead of where you were and that while you may have managed only a D, that it taught you to better evaluate decisions to ensure that a) you can succeed, or b) that you need further preparation before tackling that challenge. Turn it into a learning experience and make sure they know you’ve learned from it.</p>
<p>Oh, and while you may not have aced the course, you still proved the original moron wrong: YOU PASSED. :D</p>
<p>so should I like write them a letter or what?</p>
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I would suggest you drop it. It is too late to do anything about it anyway. And blaming others for your shortcomings is not the way you want to present yourself if you plan on making the military your career.</p>
<p>So, as a sophomore you went to an Academy Day and the MOC’s representative suggested taking a difficult course. Completely independent of this, she probably also mentioned the requirement for a good math and physical science foundation. Even if she didn’t, someone, as a sophomore, with two full years to prepare, should have read the catalog, noticed the majors, studied the curriculum, and complied with the statement in the catalog that stated: “ Four years of mathematics courses, including a strong foundation in geometry, algebra, and trigonometry. Courses in pre-calculus or calculus are also very valuable and encouraged.” You should have realized how important it is. You had time to prepare. Don’t try to deflect the blame to someone else.</p>
<p>“Proper prior preparation prevents p*** poor performance.” (The 7 'P’s, an old Navy adage.)</p>
<p>It is for those who do well in the highest level of math and science that their schools offer and score commensurate SAT scores for whom the academic qualification is basically a rubber stamp approval. For all others, it becomes a balancing act, with everything else playing a greater role.</p>
<p>So, tommy…rather than tell you what you coulda, woulda, shoulda done - that’s water over the dam at this point - here’s where you stand.</p>
<p>About 2000 of the 14-15,000 applicants make it through the funnel to where you sit right now, i.e. triple q’ed with a nom. Of those 2000, 1500 will be offered appointments. So, you have a 75% chance of getting an offer. It’s in the hands of the Admissions Team at this point, and you’ll just have to play the waiting game.</p>
<p>If you’re successful in getting an appointment and wind up accepting it, realize that you might need a bit of extra help in Calculus during Plebe Year - and make sure you take advantage of it. One of the best things about USNA is that professors have to give you EI (Extra Instruction).</p>
<p>I’m a big believer in learning from mistakes - just not making the same ones over and over. 
Use this as a learning experience and do better next time. Good luck!</p>
<p>Bull Major in the Making?</p>
<p>You’ll quickly find out when you get here that you’ll have semesters where every class on your schedule feels like an AP class and you’ll dread going. As you ease into your matrix for whatever major you choose, you’ll see that not all classes are as labor intensive as an AP class, but they will require you to devote time and energy nonetheless.</p>
<p>For your first 3 semesters, you will feel like all of your classes are AP’s, especially your Calculus, Chemistry, and Physics courses. Everyone talks about these three, but English, Western Civilization, and Government can be difficult too, so don’t neglect them.</p>
<p>This “D” shouldn’t doom you in the admissions process, if it all turns out the way things should in your situation. Trust me, if you’re an average MID like me, you’ll get a D or 2 in your life here and you’ll be happy that the prof had the mercy to pass you…one thing you will learn as a mid is to “Celebrate the ‘C’”, and “D” for done.</p>
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<p>My roommate was a bull major, and he ended up flying CH-53’s.</p>
<p>I’d say he got the last laugh on that one…</p>
<p>well its been a year since i posted this and I never really forgot about it because of the negative feedback that I received, which accused me of not taking responsibility for my D by mombee (which I totally and completely do take responsibility for) and also being called a bull major which, although I do not know what this means, doesn’t seem all too inspirational. Well, I was waitlisted for navy and was eventually rejected. Never giving up on my dream however, I attended a foundation school and achieved a 4.0 GPA my first semester, boosted my math SAT from a 590 to a 680 and now have a principal nomination for the c/o 2015. and since I am 3q’d still, it looks like I’ll be there on I-Day.</p>
<p>You’ll never see me post on here again, mostly because of the rude comments by mombee and the bull major dude. But I just wanted you guys, that did offer me some encouragement and solid advice, to know I worked hard and now it is going to pay off.</p>
<p>mombee: don’t the kind of person that makes negative generalizations about people based off of one post on an internet forum… you don’t know them or what kind of person they are. this is supposed to be a place for people to go to to get answers, not be degraded.</p>
<p>oh and by the way, I boosted that calc grade from a D to a B second semester of my senior year with the help of a tutor and a lot of desire.</p>
<p>(last laugh)</p>
<p>tommy …good, no GREAT for you! In way more ways than a doing differential equations, you’ve shown you’ve got what it takes. I predict you’ll do extremely well @ USNA …you’ve the ability and the ATTITUDE, which is THE essential. </p>
<p>btw, re: majors, I know a TON of bull majors who would and do run circles around a whole bunch of groups 1 & 2 majors. (I’m told gen engineering is one of the “parking lots” for slow moving vehicles) There are extremely bright and capable kids distributed throughout the curricula and departments @ USNA. Study what enthuses you, be it engineering or English, chemistry or calculus. Remember what ADM McCain (and a whole bunch of other USN pros) noted was THE ESSENTIAL ingredient to nurturing great leaders …men and women who can THINK out of the box, on the run.</p>
<p>My money’s on you boy! 
Breakaleg! GO NAVY! The greatest adventure of your young life is about to begin. I’m betting you’ll make the most of it. 
;)</p>
<p>Tommy you figuired it out. If you want it bad enough you can get there! Desire and hard work is the key to success. You’ll see alot of people who have superstar abilities but if they don’t apply and try them, then it’s wasted. There are no such things as “BUll Majors”. Some people do great with Engineering classes and can’t save themselves in an English class and vice versa. The big thing here is don’t give up or if someone tells you “no you can’t…” use this as motivation. I’ve been down that same road and will not ever concede to anyone who says “you can’t… or your in deep kimchi…”</p>
<p>We have a CA on here who plays similiar cute tricks and will always need to be confronted. Keep going and don’t look back. Best of Luck…</p>
<p>good for you tommy…</p>
<p>For future readers of this thread: AP Calculus is the most common course we find on the Bulletin Board in the threads titled: “Got a D. Will x school rescind my acceptance?”</p>
<p>Ds in AP Calc are very, very common. I would advise anyone not contemplating an Engineering or Math degree (literally anything other than engineering/math… even if it’s Physics, Chem, Bio) to stick with regular Calculus… it’s hard enough. You’ll get college calculus soon enough. Oh, and while I’m on the subject of Calculus, there is no subject in high school or college more poorly taught than Calculus. There are a very few teachers who know how to make the concepts of Calculus come to life, to enable a student to visualize equations on a graph by just seeing them, etc., and to make the connection between the graph image and real world events. Rant over.</p>
<p>You know, I find that a very reasonable rant and sound counsel. Taking it simply because one can, doesn’t always make sense. And Dunnie’s right on in that all calculus @ USNA, while it’s still calculus, is not ball-busting. </p>
<p>Conversely, it sure can be if one’s attempt to get out too far ahead on a path unneccessary. Despite what many might proclaim, these issues are not one-size-fits-all, even at USNA. </p>
<p>It hurts like heck when one unloads the revolver on one’s own big toe! :eek: If your pistol’s loaded, keep it pointed in a safe direction. And if it’s not? It’s always the allegedly empty gun that did the damage. ;)</p>